A/N So with a lot of helpful advice and suggestions from emptyvoices this chapter has been edited and changed quite alot I think. I feel that it is much better now though. Remember to tell me what you think when your done.
After leaving Alexis alone in her bedroom Jackson proceeded to lead Lisa down the hallway to yet another spare room. Lisa entered and turned back around to face Jackson.
"You're not going to get away with this." She said angrily "And I don't trust you enough to let my daughter out of my sight." she said attempting to push her way past Jackson to get back to her young daughter.
Jackson pushed her backwards with such force she fell onto the bed behind her. "You forget who's in charge here. As long as you're here with me you'll do as I say. Got it?" he asked impatiently.
"I'll never let you control me or my daughter." Pushing herself off the bed, she attacked him with a sudden fury. Jackson seized Lisa, propelling her back against the mattress immediately straddling her on the bed. Wrenching her flailing arms above her head, he dug his fingers into her chin.
"It seems we have a little problem now."
"You mean other than the fact that you're holding me and my daughter captive you selfish bastard" Lisa asked sarcastically.
"I'd watch my mouth if I were you Leese."
"Yeah and what are you going to do if I don't? You need me to take care of Alexis, remember?" She asked defiantly
"Keep it up Lisa and you'll find out. You do not want to try me." Jackson said menacingly.
"More empty threats, Jack?"
"Not a threat Leese; just a promise. My associate is currently parked outside Landon's house just waiting for my call and personally I would like nothing better then to see him die in agony but that's up to you. So, what will it be? Ready to pay attention?"
Lisa was silent in response to Jackson's dire warning.
"Now, this is how things are going to work. Since your husband had to follow you we will be leaving shortly. I'm not going to risk staying here long enough for him to alert the police. We're going to go on a little trip." He said smugly. "You try anything while we're out in public and trust me you'll be sorry or more specifically Alexis will. Understand?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you." Lisa felt horrified at the very thought of being taken away further from her home.
Jackson slapped her across the face. "What did I say about testing me? Trust me; it's not a good idea." Lisa suppressed her reply as she realized that enraging him would not help her to escape safely with her daughter.
"We're finished here. Put your arms behind your back."
"Excuse me?" Lisa asked surprised.
"You heard me, Lisa. Put your arms behind your back. Don't make me do it for you."
Lisa complied with his order as Jackson walked up behind her. He roughly tied her wrist together. "I'll be back later. Don't…"
"Get cute" Lisa finished for him "You really need to get a new line"
"It's getting late maybe you should try getting some sleep." He said before exiting the room and locking the door behind him
Lisa sat on the bed trying to figure out how to comfortably lay down with her hands behind her. She would wait until they left the house to try to escape. She would make him start to trust her and then it would be easier to leave with Alexis once they were outside. Her first instinct was to try to get her hands free but then there still was the problem of the locked doors. Other methods of escape just seemed futile.
She gave up out of frustration and decided that maybe it was better to allow Jackson to believe she was behaving for him. If Landon was here he would know what to do. She thought despairingly. Landon and Alexis would be her motivation to get away from Jackson and not give into his control.
Jackson made some phone calls and was able to get some extra clothes for both Lisa and Alexis delivered to his house so he wouldn't have to worry about that later. When he was finished he decided to go check on Lisa. They could be a happy family, he thought. If only she would give me the chance. They already had a daughter together and the only thing missing from their perfect family would be a son.
He knew that Lisa would refuse to have another child with him but Jackson would thoroughly enjoy breaking her until she complied. There would be no husband this time to try and get in the way of what he wanted. He didn't really need the children necessarily to complete his idealized fantasy but he realized quickly that using Alexis as leverage was a good way of keeping Lisa under control. Having a son would just give Jackson more power over her as she would fight to protect both her children from him.
He was surprised to find her where he left her on the bed with her hands still tied behind her back. She had fallen asleep in the time he was gone and he decided it would just cause him more problems if he woke her. "I see you're finally learning to listen." He said quietly to himself and slipped out the door.
After Lisa, he checked on Alexis. Once he was satisfied that everything was under control he decided to get some sleep himself. It would be a long day tomorrow.
The next morning he woke up early and hurried downstairs in order to make the final preparations for the trip. He took a quick shower since he knew Lisa was still sleeping soundly in her bed. Once dressed, he walked down the hallway towards the two bedrooms and unlocked the door to let himself in to check on her.
He grabbed her shoulders and impatiently shook her awake. She slowly opened her eyes realizing that the previous day hadn't been just nightmare but a grim reality.
She struggled to sit up without the use of her arms and glared at Jackson who was standing over her. "Exactly how long do you plan on keeping up this whole pretense of a family." She asked angrily.
"Hmm," Jackson said pretending to think. "Until I get tired of you."
She kicked him hard in the shins causing him to stumble and Jackson cursed from the sudden pain as Lisa tried to run for the door. She didn't get far before Jackson seized her ankle yanking her backwards, causing her to fall to the floor.
Pullingher roughly to her feet, he pushed her against the wall, gripping her shoulders.
"That wasn't smart Lisa. All you managed to do was piss me off. Maybe you forgot what happens when you don't pay attention." He said angrily and then he quickly drove his knee into her stomach. She instinctively bent over gasping for air but he forced her back upright. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him "Do you need more of a reminder? Perhaps we should bring Alexis over here and she can see what happens when you don't behave." he said viciously, waiting for her to respond.
She shook her head numbly. "What's that Lisa? "You don't want your daughter suffer?" he asked mockingly.
"Please, don't." she said quietly. "I'll behave. I promise, just let her go. She doesn't deserve this."
"I really don't think you're in the position to be making any demands." He released his hold on her and threw her back on the bed as she pushed herself towards the headboard in an attempt to put distance between them. "I was coming back to ask if you were hungry and if you wanted breakfast but I don't think you deserve that right now. Maybe later when you've learned to mind your manners." he said walking out of the room not waiting for her to reply.
Jackson knew he shouldn't let his anger get the best of him but she made him livid with fury, yet there was something about her that he loved. If he couldn't have her nobody would. He had wanted her ever since he got the Keefe job and was obsessed with stalking Lisa to learn all about her life and habits. Her husband simply didn't deserve her as much as he did. Jackson had gone through much more trouble to get Lisa all to himself. She belonged to him and he would never willingly let her go. After he had calmed down and decided that he wouldn't do anything he would later regret, he went to check on Alexis. She wasn't awake yet either but he wasn't in the mood to wait for her to rise on her own.
He shook her far more gently than he had Lisa and she slowly opened her eyes. Jackson waited as she sat up in the bed and become more alert.
"Are you hungry?" he asked calmly.
She ignored his question and looked frantically around the room insisting that she wanted to see her mother.
"First you have to eat breakfast and then maybe you can see her if you behave well for me." He said mildly.
"No, I want to see her now" she demanded.
Jackson fought to keep calm"That's just not possible"
"But I want to see her now" she said her voice getting louder with each of her demands
"I said no" He exclaimed furiously as Alexis shrank back against the bed in fear.
"Now," he said, his voice becoming calm. "Would you like something to eat?"
Lisa sat on the edge of the mattress praying desperately that Alexis was all right since she hadn't seen her since last night. She was worried sick about her daughter's safety when she wasn't around to protect her from anything Jackson might do. It worried her even more since he insinuated to Lisa that he wouldn't refrain from harming her if the need arose. She took a deep breath to regain control of her emotions.
Even if she wasn't showing it, she was scared, more so for her daughter than herself. She had convinced herself that she could handle herself and take whatever Jackson's twisted mind came up with. Alexis was so young and Lisa worried that she wouldn't be able to cope with this situation much longer. She knew she had to get them away from Jackson somehow.
If Jackson really did lose his temper and seriously hurt one of them, the results would be devastating. With that idea in mind she struggled to get her hands free and loosen the ropes. She realized after several minutes of straining against the bonds, that the rope was too tight and her wrists ached from the resulting abrasions from the effort. She leaned against the headboard in frustration, contemplating what she should do next.
Jackson waited for Alexis to be finished with her cereal while he finished packing. They couldn't leave yet since he had to wait for his final arrangements to be confirmed and his itinerary delivered.
He knew Alexis would keep asking to see her mother and decided that he would use that as leverage to make Lisa behave properly. He was sure Lisa also knew how badly her daughter wanted to be with her and would comply with his demands to be able to see her again
He walked Alexis back to the room and told her to stay there until he came back. She obeyed but she couldn't help but wander over to the door so she could hear what was going on.
Jackson unlocked the door to Lisa's room and let himself in.
Lisa had been watching the door waiting for his return and pushed herself further back against the headboard to restrain herself from wanting to do further bodily harm to him that would just anger Jackson more.
"What do you want now?" she asked angrily
"I just thought you would like to know that your daughter is asking for you."
"When can I see her?" she asked hopefully
"Well that depends on whether you plan on behaving for me. Are you going to do follow the rules? This constant bickering is starting to get old."
"I will," she said, eager to see her daughter again.
"Good to hear that, Leese. Now take a shower and get changed. Alexis needs a bath before we can leave."
He put fresh clothes down on the dresser and walked over to the bed, removing his knife cutting through her ropes swiftly.
Lisa rubbed at her chafed wrists and forced herself to get up off the bed and walk past Jackson to Alexis' room. Once inside the bathroom Lisa turned the water on so Jackson wouldn't be able to hear her speak, deciding to seize the opportunity she had to talk to Alexis without Jackson being around.
Lisa bent down to Alexis' level while she helped remove her old clothes and spoke quietly. "Alexis, Mommy has something very important to tell you and you need to listen to me very carefully. Do you think you can do that for me?"
Alexis nodded in response. Lisa continued speaking quickly, hoping Alexis would understand.
"I know you want to go home and see Daddy but we're both going to have to wait a little longer."
"Why?" Alexis asked
"Mommy will explain later. Right now you need to listen without asking any questions, okay?"
Alexis was silent looking at her mother fearfully.
"We're going to have to go on a little trip soon but I promise you that I'm going to get you home to Daddy as soon I can. Now this is the most important part. Mommy needs you to behave while we're here and during the trip so you don't get hurt." She knew Jackson wasn't opposed to inflicting harm on her but she didn't know how long he could stay calm even if Alexis was a defenseless toddler. "The second thing is that if Mommy says it's time to leave, you listen without asking me any questions. Do you understand all of that?"
Alexis seemed to understand everything Lisa had told her and she finished her bath and changed her into the new clothes Jackson had provided. She proceeded to carry her out to the living room where Jackson was waiting for them.
She put Alexis down and she reassured her that she would be back shortly and turned to go back into the bathroom. When she was all finished with her shower, she dressed slowly, walking back out to the living room attempting not to appear anxious around Jackson to attract his attention.
"Sure took you long enough." Jackson said impatiently. He turned his full attention to Lisa who shivered under his apparent scrutiny.
"I'm making lunch so you can either stay in the living room with Alexis where I can see you or you can go back to the bedrooms."
"The living room is good." Lisa answered thankful to be out of the bedroom.
"Try anything though and you'll go straight back there."
Lisa had no desire to be locked up again so she tried to comply with his demands for her daughter's sake. As long as she could stay with her daughter, she could ease the trauma Alexis had to endure.
Lisa had turned on a cartoon to entertain Alexis and had allowed herself to be distracted by it herself. She hadn't heard Jackson telling them that lunch was ready.
Lisa hadn't wanted to eat solely based on the fact that it was Jackson who had made the meal but starving herself wouldn't benefit anyone but Jackson. She would need her strength if she hoped to get away from Jackson with Alexis. She spent the majority of the meal coaxing her daughter to eat despite Alexis' reluctance.
Their lunch was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. Jackson was annoyed at the intrusion and immediately forced Lisa and Alexis to go to the back of the house before answering the door.
"No one makes a sound." Jackson said forcefully to them before ushering them into a small room that Lisa hadn't even noticed before. She was certain his objective was to get rid of whoever was at the door before they got suspicious.
Lisa tried the door knob hoping that Jackson would neglect to lock the door in his haste however the door wouldn't budge. She searched the room for anything that she could possibly be used as a weapon for when he returned but found nothing. Walking over to the door, she placed her ear against it hoping to hear any part of the conversation determined to find out the identity of the visitor. Jackson cursed inwardly upon seeing the cops standing at the entrance but he did his best not to hide his sudden anger.
"Good afternoon, officers." he said in a pleasant tone. "Is there something I do for you?"
"We are canvassing the neighborhood because a little girl went missing a couple days ago. The girl's father came into the police station yesterday and has filed a missing person's report on the girl's mother as well. We're asking people in the surrounding area if they would mind us searching their premises."
"I'm afraid my wife's asleep. She's been really sick the past couple days." Jackson said, wanting them to leave.
Lisa could hear the sound of distant, unfamiliar voices that were questioning Jackson. Unable to grasp any of the precise words, she pressed her ear closer to the door.
Her heart sped up wondering if Landon had indeed gone to the police. Maybe this would be their one chance to be rescued. The only problem that remained was the door being locked. If she attempted to scream for help, she risked Jackson's retaliation for disobeying his orders to stay quiet. She had feeling his response to her behavior would be brutal.
Despite her frantic need for help, she hesitated momentarily in alerting them not wanting to have Jackson kill them in desperation to evade arrest. This is our last chance. Lisa told herself as she put Alexis down and pounded on the door hoping the strangers outside would be able to hear her.
The officers immediately stopped talking when they heard the thumping that resonated throughout the house and paused to listen further.
Jackson forced himself to contain his silent fury in order to pretend that nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Sir, there appears to be someone making quite a lot of noise back there." the younger officer pointed out.
"As I said earlier, my wife is really sick. Most likely she needs me and her strep throat has caused her to lose her voice."
"I see. Well, we hope she feels better. Sorry for disturbing you."
"Have a nice night officers." he said, offering them a smile as he shut and locked the door behind them.
"You're going to wish you hadn't done that, Leese." he mumbled to himself, quickly walking back to the room where Lisa was waiting. Once there he threw the door open pulling her into the hallway disregarding Alexis' presence. He shoved her against the wall, pinning her wrists above her head as she struggled in his grasp. "Would you like to know who was at the door?" he asked angrily. He didn't give her a chance to respond. "You're husband went to the police despite my warning." he said, yanking her forward and slamming her body against the wall once more. Lisa groaned in pain.
Alexis watched the scene in terror. "Mommy?" she asked frightfully.
"It's okay, sweetie," Lisa said, trying to reassure her.
"No, it's not okay." Jackson said sarcastically. "Because I warned him not to go to the police and I warned you to stay quiet, now somebody must pay the consequences."
Lisa brought her knee up quickly and hit him hard in his groin, the sudden pain causing him to release her arms. She grabbed Alexis by the hand and ran down the hallway towards the living room. Jackson was momentarily stunned and then his anger took over. He wasn't about to let Lisa get away from him and sprinted down the hallway after her. He caught up to her just as she got to the door and tackled her from behind, pinning her to the ground.
"I thought you said you were going to play along, Leese. Obviously I was mistaken." He said while he yanked Lisa up roughly from the ground and pulled her to his chest.
Alexis stood by the door helplessly, watching her mother being abused. "Go back to your room Alexis. You're mother and I have some business to take care of." he said forcefully. Alexis started to edge away from the door, terrified of what would happen if she didn't obey.
"No!" Lisa yelled knowing she had seen houses nearby. "Run Alexis! Get help!" Jackson tightened his hold on Lisa.
Alexis looked at the door and then back to her mother.
Jackson knew he couldn't let her get away but he knew he couldn't release Lisa. Alexis could easily be controlled by her fear of him. "Go ahead Alexis. Run to the neighbors but Mommy here is going to suffer." He said menacingly, pulling out the knife that he kept on his belt placed it near her throat. "You don't want Mommy to get hurt, do you?"
She backed away from the door and shook her head, while tears threatened to spill over onto her face.
"Honey, Mommy is going to be fine but you need to get away from here." she said attempting to ignore Jackson's obvious threat.
Jackson dug the tip of the knife into her throat and a trickle of blood ran down her neck. Lisa gasped at the sudden pain but tried to hide it for the sake of her daughter.
Alexis knew she didn't want to see her mother harmed because of her so she started walking back to her room. Jackson smiled to himself and followed her back the hall pulling Lisa with him. He locked the door behind Alexis once she stepped into the bedroom.
Lisa finally allowed the tears to trickle down her face now that her daughter was out of sight. Jackson pulled her into the other bedroom and pushed her down on the bed.
"Now what do you think is a fitting punishment for your little betrayal?" he asked her mockingly. "Maybe we should do a little recreation of that first night I came to visit you after the flight"
She shook her head pleadingly, unable to speak, frozen in horror at his suggestion.
"You didn't enjoy yourself, Leese?" he asked sarcastically. "Personally I did but I think you could have contributed a bit more. What do you say?" he asked derisively as he caressed her cheek.
"Get away from me" she screamed and jumped off the bed, backing away from him.
"You did get a wonderful daughter out of it. You should be thanking me. You love Alexis don't you?"
"Yes, I love her very much. It's not her fault her father is a sick, twisted bastard."
"Tsk, tsk calling me names isn't going to help you, Leese" he said, dragging her back to the bed.
"Please, don't do this to me again." she pleaded, after he propelled her violently onto the mattress.
"I told you that you would regret drawing attention to yourself. You don't think that is a fitting punishment for what you did?"
"No, because raping me won't change anything! You just get some kind of sick twisted pleasure out of this, don't you?" she screamed trying to force him backwards as she felt his hands tear into her clothing.
Alexis could hear them screaming at each other in the other room and she wondered if she made the right decision. She crawled into bed, curling herself into a ball as she covered her ears with her hands praying that it would all be over with soon.