The BMW turned into her father's neighborhood as Lisa gazed around the suburb in shock. As they started to pull in front of the house, Lisa grasped Jackson's arm. "Please, you don't have to do this, any of this. Just let us go."

Jackson paused and glanced at her coldly as he opened the door. "This should only take a moment, Leese."

"No!" She cried out as he slammed the door behind him and walked down the sidewalk, removing what looked like to Lisa as a long, jagged knife. He approached the home carefully, advancing up the cement walkway.

She closed her eyes concentrating on the cuff, trying to pull herself free when she heard a tap on the window. Her eyes flew open to see a tall middle aged man with light brown hair looking down at her with a concerned expression on his face. "Are you all right?" He asked and she shook her head rapidly. Nodding, he beckoned towards her. "Open the door. I can help you."

Grateful for the kindness of this passing stranger, she managed to unlock and started to open the passenger door. "Lisa, no!" She heard Jackson yell out as a sudden blur of movement knocked the man off his feet as a muffled sound of a gun was heard amidst the scuffle. Lisa was stunned to see streams of red liquid surging down her leg and she fell back against the car seat as an intense feeling of lightheadedness started to sink in. I don't even feel the pain. How can that be? She asked herself as her mind seemed to wander into a comforting fog which was an altered bliss compared to the reality she was facing.

Distantly, she heard the passenger door open as Jackson swore upon seeing her injured state. Immediately, he knelt down beside her, gently pulling the skirt back to reveal more of her thigh to better assess the injury. "Damn it." He said shaking his head. The bullet was still lodged in the wound and it would have to be removed quickly as soon as they got to a secure location.

Lisa looked down at the pavement as she saw the man who had offered her assistance lying in a pool of blood. "What? He was…" She stumbled with her words. "Why did you…?"

"He's my associate, Lisa. Incidentally, since your father evaded him getting out of the house, he was going to kill you in retribution." He stated harshly.

Confusion and dismay radiated through her as Jackson grabbed a first aide kit out of his car, seizing gauze, medical tape and hydrogen peroxide. Quickly, he applied the peroxide to the gauze as he pressed the cloth down on her injured thigh. Lisa moaned in pain as he cleansed the bullet wound as much as he could and taped the makeshift bandage to her leg. "I can't remove the bullet here, Lisa. This will have to do until we reach a safe house." He told her.

As she tried to fight the pain in her leg she looked at him and managed to say, "Why didn't you let him kill me?" She asked faintly.

He glanced at her wearily. "Don't you ever get tired of asking the same mundane questions, Leese?"

Wrapping her arms around her as she shivered beneath the thin white blouse she was wearing. "You saved my life." Lisa affirmed quietly. Jackson was silent as he removed his sports coat and draped it over her trembling form. Removing a bottle from his first aide kid, he shook out a couple white, oblong tablets as he handed them to her with a bottle of water.

"What are these for?" She asked wearily.

"They're Norco, Lisa. Just a narcotic for the pain. I trust we don't need these anymore." He said as he gently unlocked the cuff around her wrist as she tucked her newly freed arm under the jacket. He knew that she wouldn't attempt escape since the bullet wound would hinder her movements. At this point, his concern was keeping her from going into shock.

"I don't need…" She said stubbornly as she tried to hand the pills back to Jackson.

"I need you coherent Leese and I can't have you passing out in the car. Don't make me force the issue." He said warningly.

Shaking, Lisa swallowed the pills and handed the bottle of water back to Jackson as he got behind the wheel of the car satisfied with her compliance. Turning on the ignition, he started driving away from her father's home heading towards the freeway.

Her thoughts drifted to her father and she wondered if he had made it safely away from Jackson and the inevitable pursuit of his ruthless company. I was willing to let my father die rather then concede to their demands. What does that say about me.

"Your dad wasn't in the house Lisa." Jackson said answering the question she was afraid to ask. "My associate never got a chance to get into the house."

"You killed your own partner, didn't you?" Lisa murmured.

"He was going to kill you." He replied simply.

She closed her eyes, trying to put the pieces together. Is he still the same man I met initially at the bar in the airport or was that all a lie?

"Thank you." She managed to say hesitantly. Her eyes flew open when she felt his fingers touch her shoulder. On instinct, she jerked backwards. "No, don't touch me."

His fingers lingered on her arm as she attempted to huddle away from him. "What happened to you, Leese?" He asked.

"Nothing, it was an accident." She muttered.

With that, Jackson immediately pulled the car off to the side of the road and seized her chin. "Do not lie to me." He said harshly as he changed his grip to her shoulders, deftly pulling down the fabric to reveal her scar. She struggled within his grasp which only caused him to increase his hold on her shoulders.

"Please…" She pleaded frantically trying to pull away. He shook his head in refusal and pulled her closer, his pale blue eyes fixed on hers.

"Don't make me ask again, Lisa." He told her, his voice unwavering.

Lisa closed her eyes as her body released a shudder. "I….Two years ago, I was walking back to my car to meet my father for lunch and he was there waiting. No one saw it happen." She whispered. "He held a knife to my throat the whole time and to this day, I can still feel him pressing against me." She swallowed and continued. "I tried to scream and pressed the knife into my chest. In that moment when I felt the blood trickling down my shirt, I wished I was dead because inside I felt dead already. After that, I swore I would never let it happen again…that I would never let anyone use me again." Tears were coming unheeded down her cheeks. "And then you came along to do the very same thing I feared for the past two years. You tried to use me to…." She shook her head, gasping in pain as she fought against the tears that she could no longer control.

His arms wrapped around her as he pulled her to his chest. She resisted, fighting his hold on her as his unyielding grip pressed her into a forced embrace. Lisa was panicking as her entire body stiffened at the touch of a man who had only hours earlier threatened the life of her father. But then he saved mine. She told herself. It was disconcerting but an odd connection had been formed between herself and Jackson, a man she had once regarded as her enemy.

"Relax Lisa. Don't fight me. It's all right." He murmured soothingly as she felt his hand stroking her hair and finally Lisa gave up her futile attempts to resist as she allowed herself to cry and release the last two years of repression she had felt. Leaning against him as his arms enveloped her small frame, she allowed herself to weep, feeling the despair, anger and resentment she had bottled up for so long. Lisa for those few moments felt free from the prison she had purposely encapsulated herself. A prison of doubt, emptiness and weariness of those around her.

I was so afraid that I lived an empty shell of a life rather then really knowing what it was to be alive.