Chapter 16
The night had finally come to an end, Audrey and her father had retired to bed, but Jack was still up. He was paranoid about the Chinese car, he knew who was waiting for them outside it was Cheng's right hand man Zhao Bai.
He took a seat on the couch, his head resting on his hands as he tried to conjure up a plan. It was then when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder, slightly shaking him. Jack looked up, knowing already who it was.
"Jack, it's nearly two in the morning. Come to bed… Please." Audrey whispered.
Jack gazed at her; worry was etched all over her face, his eyes then wondered to the window. The car had since departed, but his gut feeling told him that Zhao would be back, probably with his men.
"Jack…" Audrey said, again her voice just above a whisper. "What's wrong?"
"Audrey…I…I should have never stayed here…"
Audrey moved her hand to his cheek, stroking it gently. "Jack what on earth are you talking about?"
"That man…Audie…the Chinese man…" his voice drifted off.
"What about him? Jack, he was probably a CTU agent."
Jack shook his head, "He's one of Cheng's men."
Audrey smiled gently, "Jack, its okay, I love you no matter what happens. Don't blame yourself. Jack, we can't control the future but we can control what happens now, so please… I hate seeing you like this."
Jack smiled sadly; he pulled Audrey onto his lap, brushing the strand of hair from her eyes. "I'll never stop loving you Audrey… never… you're my world, my everything. When I was in China the only thing that kept me alive was the fact that I'd promised you that I'd be back and I was determined to keep that promise."
"Oh Jack." Audrey whimpered and she bent down to kiss him passionately. Filling the kiss with all the love and care she had for him. A moan escaped Jack's throat as he pushed Audrey's back onto the sofa. His hand slithered under Audrey's nightdress and grasped her breast. Audrey moaned inside his mouth.
"Jack… Stop…we can't…dad." Audrey said between kisses.
Jack was about to reply when the light switched on in the kitchen.
"Shit" Audrey muttered under her breath. "Now what are we going to do?"
Jack snickered, which earned him a slap from Audrey. "It's now funny" she hissed. "Act like we're asleep." Jack simply nodded as his body cocooned behind Audrey's, his head nuzzling into her hair.
"I love you Audie." he whispered as sleep finally caught up with him.
"I love you to." Audrey replied to the now sleeping Jack.
---
Jack's sleepy eyes fluttered open when he heard a clatter coming from the kitchen. He and Audrey were still curled up on the couch together, but now had a blanket around them. Jack looked down upon the sleeping Audrey. Her chest was gently rising and her breathing was even, he smiled, it was the one thing he liked doing, was watching Audrey sleep in his arms. She looked so vulnerable and sweet, and he had an overwhelming urge to protect her. He bent down and kissed her gently on her forehead, and then wandered into the kitchen to discover what made the sound.
Jack paused and stood in the doorway, watching Heller clean up whatever mess he had made, cursing under his breath. Jack coughed lightly.
"Oh, sorry Jack I didn't mean to wake you, I just couldn't sleep that's all." the old man grumbled, his voice above a whisper.
"Its fine, what time is it anyway?"
Heller gazed at his watch, "am. You couldn't sleep either then?"
Jack shook his head, hesitating before answering. Was he really going to trust this man again? The man that only a week ago called him cursed, who had prevented him from seeing Audrey.
"Sir…" Jack began but quickly corrected himself, "Jim, that Chinese man that you saw earlier." Heller nodded, "Well, he works for Cheng Zhi his name is Zhao Bai. He was the man that tortured me in China and I think he's come back for me and possibly Audrey. "
For the first time in his life James Heller did not know what to say. Jack looked at him, if he was honest he expected Heller to send him away and forbid him from ever coming back again - but he didn't.
"Do you know why they want you back? I thought CTU cut a deal with the Chinese for you…"
Jack nodded, "Yeah Jim they did, but Audrey… they had nothing in return for her."
Heller shook his head, while pinching the top of his nose, thinking. "Well one thing for sure Jack is we can't let them capture Audrey again. I suggest that we talk to this Zhao Bai and come to an arrangement with him."
"Jim, I would gladly give my life for hers. What if I was to go back to China, in her place?"
Heller was about to respond when Audrey came into clear view of both men, tears shrouding her face. She glared at both of them- Audrey had heard every word that Jack and her father had said. Her eyes locked with Jacks', burning into him.
"You're not going back Jack. I won't allow it." she said, anger filling her voice.
Jack broke their eye contact and looked down to the floor, "I may not have a choice."
"You always have a choice" she whimpered and then turned to her father, "Is there nothing that you can do?"
"Audie, I wish I could…but I'm no longer the Secretary of Defence, I'm just a civilian."
"Audrey" Jack whispered, he reached out for her, but she withdrew further back. Jack glimpsed down, fixating onto a spot on the floor. "No doubt he'll be back tomorrow; I'll talk to him then."
Heller intervened, "No Jack! What if it's a trap? I suggest that you both go while you can…"
"There's no point. Wherever we go, they will always find us. This is the only way, Jim, I thinks its best if you take Audrey away-"
"No" Audrey cried, through her tears, "Jack I'm not going anywhere- I'm not losing you again."
Heller, sensing that they needed their privacy excluded himself from the room. Once he was gone, Jack brought Audrey into his arms, wiping her tears tenderly with his thumb.
"Audrey, you don't have a choice. The Chinese want you back or something in return for you and I'm not going to stand aside and watch them take you away again. I'm going to do whatever I can to keep you safe…" he paused before saying the following bit, "..Even if that means going back to China."
Audrey buried her head into the crook of his neck, "Why Can't they leave us alone Jack?Why?"
Jack smiled, "I don't know Audie. But what I do know is that I love you and I need you to go with your father, to another house- so I know you'll be safe."
Audrey shook her head.
"Please sweetheart.. For me …and then as soon as it's safe…you can come back."
"And we can be together?" Audrey asked pressing her forehead against his.
"If we can.. Audrey I want to be with you more than anything in this world. But right now I need you to go with your father."
Audrey reluctantly nodded her head, "Alright Jack I'll go. But first promise me one thing."
"Anything." Jack replied softy.
"Be careful" she whispered.
Jack shook his head in agreement, before leaning forward and kissing her sweet lips for the final time.
"I love you" she breathed, "come back to me Jack, I don't know what I would do if I lost you again."
"I love you with all my heart Audrey… and I always will." He kissed her once more before going into to the adjacent room to talk to Heller.
TBC
A/N: please press that button down there and leave a review. I'd love to hear what you think, and sometimes the reviews help me to write faster as i know that some people are enjoying the story. So please leave one :D