"Wake up, Leese. Stay with me." Jackson said, shaking Lisa's shoulder urgently. Her eyes flew open as she groaned in pain. Her leg felt like it was on fire as the agony of the bullet wound traversed her thigh. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion as she turned her head to Jackson. "Just want to go away for a while…let me sleep." She whispered as she started to close her eyes again.

He glanced at her noticing that her skin was flushed and fluid from the wound was starting to seep through the bandage. He knew he had to stop for the night and as he spotted a sign for a motel off the side of the main highway, he gripped Lisa's arm pulling her up as she slumped towards the door. "Damn it, Lisa. Stay awake." Her eyelids fluttered but she didn't respond.

Quickly he pulled into the parking lot of the inn and glancing at her, he decided that he would go into the lobby on his own to check them in. There would be too many questions if he dragged Lisa in semi conscious into the office and the risk of her escaping now was minimal.

As he departed the vehicle, Lisa watched him through a misty haze of pain that dulled her senses causing her to want to relapse into the warm depths of unconsciousness. Gathering her strength, she forced herself to dispel the fatigue that threatened to overwhelm her. Gripping the handle of the door, she opened it and slowly put her uninjured leg on the pavement, struggling to stand. Propping herself against the car, she moved her wounded leg from the vehicle and carefully put it down on the pavement.

The entire limb was numb and as she tried to disperse the weight onto the foot, she immediately collapsed with a cry of pain towards the ground. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist before her body hit the cement, holding her upright as an arm slipped underneath her legs. "Always the fighter, aren't you Leese?" Jackson whispered into her ear as he carried her towards a motel room door and swiftly opened it, taking her inside. Rapidly, he shut the door behind him and gently put Lisa down on one of the double beds as he reopened the first aide kit on the bed removing a variety of metal instruments and different bottles of various liquids.

Lisa's eyes widened upon seeing him meticulously laying out the different objects on the bed as she instinctively attempted to crawl backwards on the mattress. "Jackson, I need a doctor." She said weakly as fear pulsed through her from seeing the sharp instruments he was preparing to use.

"I can't risk it, Leese. I'm sorry." Jackson said as he reached for her leg.

She shook her head and attempted to maneuver herself off the bed as he gripped her arm. "This is for your benefit as well as mine, Lisa. If I take you to an ER, my associates will know immediately."

"But you're not a doctor, Jack." She protested sharply as she struggled against him.

"Maybe not but I do have some medical training." He countered as he tightened his grip on her arm. "I can make this as painless as possible but you need to remain absolutely still, Lisa." He said as he tried to reach for her injured leg.

"Like hell." She cried out as she managed to move her leg away from his reach. Sighing, he opened up one of the bottles of liquid pouring some of it into a piece of gauze. Immediately, he was on top of her, restraining her flailing hands with one of his arms as he pressed the material over her mouth and nose, at the same time holding her head down on the pillow. Tears popped into her eyes as she fought the urge to breathe.

"Don't fight it, Lisa. Just relax. Breathe." He murmured as he felt her body finally go limp underneath him as she was finally forced to take in air and the sickening smell overcame her propelling her into unconsciousness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lisa woke up to find herself tucked between the sheets of the double bed in the dingy motel room that Jackson carried her into last night. She vaguely remembered her arguing with him about him personally removing the bullet from her leg and then he pressed a pungent smelling cloth to her face….then darkness.

Her leg was still sore but no longer in the agony she had experienced in the car. Peeking underneath the blanket, she saw that clean strips of gauze had been wound around her leg and she was surprised to see stitches underneath the bandages where the gaping injury once had been.

Turning her head to look around the room, she saw Jackson passed out on the bed next to her, completely oblivious to her waking state. Propping herself up with her arms, she gazed at his sleeping state and wondered how someone could be so deadly on one side yet in sleep, his face was serene, resonating a calmness as well as a tranquility that held no sign of treachery.

I don't truly know him just like I don't understand myself. She thought, shaking her head. Realizing she desperately needed to use the bathroom, she attempted to push herself to her feet not wanting to wake Jackson. The lines of fatigue on his face were evidence to her that he only had just fallen asleep and Lisa felt a small pang of nagging guilt. Why do I feel badly for the guy who only hours ago threatened to kill my dad? She asked herself scornfully but she could not shake the feeling away.

Her efforts however discreet had managed to attract his attention as he immediately awakened. Jumping to his feet, he gripped her arm, trying to guide her back to the bed.

"What are you doing up? You need to rest." He told her.

"I've already had plenty of rest." She countered. "What I need is the bathroom." Lowering her eyes to the floor, she murmured, "I didn't want to wake you."

"Why, Leese? So you could try to escape out the window? There are no windows in there."

"No…I…" She stumbled over her words. "I'm sorry." She said finally.

"Sorry? About what pray tell?" He demanded.

"For last night. I panicked. You have no idea of what it's been like for me to live the past two years not speaking a word to anyone about what happened. To live while the anger and resentment inside me becomes all consuming that all other feelings are stripped away…numbed out all because I didn't want to lose control."

"Life can never be controlled, Leese. You can't spend your life not taking chances because of some obscure promise that you made to yourself that you know you cannot keep. I'm learning that the hard way." He muttered.

"This isn't the life you chose?" Lisa asked shakily.

"Why would anyone choose this life, Lisa? It chose me. From the moment that I accidentally started a fire in my parent's house that took their lives and when my uncle became my guardian, I focused on logic, rather then emotion but every time I did a job, I swore it would be my last but it never stopped, Eventually, I became numb to everything around me. Then I followed you for eight weeks for my job and a part of you was the same way. I didn't know why. When it came time to act I was supposed to hand the job off to an associate." Jackson said quietly.

"Why didn't you?" She inquired.

"You were supposed to die after the call was made. All traces were to be destroyed. I couldn't let that happen." He replied.

She considered this looking speculatively at him as he met her gaze, his pale blue eyes focused on hers intensely. Taking a deep breath and swallowing a painful lump that had formed in her throat, she said, "We can't stay here." She said softly. He nodded in agreement as she finally came to a decision. "I sent my dad to my mother's house back in Dallas. We can meet them there. Your company or whatever might not expect that and if what you say is true, they'll be checking every hotel in the state."

He looked at her with surprise. "That might work but why the sudden change of heart?"

Lisa struggled to get to her feet with Jackson's assistance and as they made their way to the bathroom, she told him, "Because now I know I can trust you."