Chapter 11
The house was small. The front door led right into the living room and there was also a tiny kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom. Only the living room and the bedroom had windows and even those weren't too big, which made the whole thing rather dark. Another door in the living room was the way into a little overgrown backyard that bordered on a park lined with thick hedges and trees. The adjoining garage offered just enough space for the blue Ford they had been provided with.
Lisa's room was in the basement, barely big enough to fit a single metal bed, a miniscule table and a chair. The content of her bags went into a hidden closet in another room downstairs. With much chagrin Lisa noted that the room where her things were kept was actually larger than the one she was supposed to live in.
"Allright, ground rules." Jackson's voice yanked her out of her thoughts. "You never, ever leave your stuff lying around. We can't be scrambling to hide everything if we get unexpected visitors. Even inside your room, you can only have the bare essentials – water, food, a book, nothing else. And the hidden closet has to stay hidden. Is that understood? You are my prisoner and it can't look any other way." The smile he gave her let her know just how much he enjoyed that fact.
Jackson stepped closer and continued. "The blinds are drawn at all times, day and night. If I have to leave and you're alone and you realize I forgot, you stay in the basement until I get back. If you need to go, there's a bucket and some toilet paper under your bed. Someone sees you roaming the house alone and we're dead."
He waited for Lisa to nod in agreement, which she reluctantly did. "If we get visitors, you are going to your room immediately and you are cuffing yourself to the bed with these." Lisa flinched when he dangled a pair of handcuffs in front of her face. "I don't care what you have to do to get there by yourself, but I want frightened, I want desperate, I want crying when I come into your room with my associates. You play along with whatever I do at all times and under all circumstances. And you always, always wait for me to tell you it's okay to come back out. Is that clear?"
Finally, the full reality of what she was about to do crashed down on Lisa. She swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat and sighed a quiet yes.
"And last, but not least: no contact whatsoever to the outside world. No 3 a.m. calls to your daddy when you feel sad and lonely and you think you can't take it anymore. No anonymous postcards to your friends to let them know you're okay. No quick dash to the backyard to get some fresh air. You stay in the house and no talking to anybody but me or the government monkeys."
During the last part of his speech, Lisa had looked to the floor while concentrating on his words, so it startled her when she lifted her head and realized just how close he had gotten. Lisa took a quick step backwards and immediately regretted it when she detected the familiar smugness on his face. Jackson was playing with her.
"How about another deal, Leese? I'll be a good boy as long as you are a good girl. How does that sound?"
"Sounds peachy." She was getting better at being acerbic. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."
It felt weird to stand naked under the hot water knowing that Jackson Rippner was right on the other side of the bathroom door. Lisa was dead tired, but restless and the thought of spending time with him in this gloomy little house made her queasy. Already she longed for the company of her friends who could always make her laugh and take a little of that burden off her shoulders. After she was done, she got dressed and made an effort to erase all traces of her presence.
Jackson was sitting on the couch when she came out. Without a word, he grabbed a towel and some clothes that lay by his side and went into the bathroom. While listening to him splashing around Lisa pondered her options - she had brought a few books, maybe reading would help her fall asleep. But this meant she would have to go down to that depressing room in the basement. Staying upstairs would unavoidably result in Jackson's company and Lisa wasn't sure whether she was ready for that. It was all so … surreal.
She was just checking the freezer for comfort food when the sound of his voice from right behind her made her jump. "Did you bring any nice clothes? Because we're going out."
"What!"
Jackson rolled his eyes. "We have one evening off before all this shit gets started. I just got out of prison. I'm definitely not staying in tonight - and you look like you could use one or two of your favored vodka concoctions."
Lisa shrugged. What the hell.
Two hours later, they were sitting side by side at the bar in a loud club in the center of Washington. Lisa stole the occasional glance at Jackson and all things put aside, she had to admit he looked handsome. She wasn't the only one who noticed, though, there was a whole throng of women giving him the old flutter of the eyelids and the hair toss. Every now and then, he would reply with a flirtatious grin and a wink, but he seemed to favor the bartender.
She kept hovering around them, apparently just as attracted to him as he was to her. "Another drink, honey?"
"Yes please." It was Lisa's fourth and slowly, she began to feel the alcohol take hold.
"So, what brings you to Washington?" The bartender asked looking at Jackson.
"Business." Jackson put his arm around Lisa. "And my half-sister, Maureen."
"Your half-sister. Is that so?" She drew out the words, obviously pleased.
"Just a little chore I picked up over the weekend …" Slowly and deliberately, Jackson let his eyes travel down over her cleavage to the glitzy nametag that was attached to her chest. "… Cherry."
Cherry leaned closer to him across the bar. "She doesn't look like much of a chore."
"Don't let the innocent looks fool you." Jackson wrapped his fingers around his glass, grazing hers on the way.
She leaned in even closer until their faces were only inches apart. "I'm not an easy one to fool, you know?"
"I bet you aren't." He gave her a stunner of a naughty smile and moved his mouth towards hers.
Lisa groaned.
With a regretful sigh Jackson backed away. "Can you give us a second, Cherry?"
While the woman went to the other side of the bar, Lisa raised an eyebrow at Jackson. "Looking for something specific?"
"Yes, actually. A year can be an awfully long time, you know?" Without warning, he pulled her against him. "And as I'm fairly certain that you're not up to the task …" Lisa froze when she felt his breath on her neck. "… Cherry will do."
He released her, giving her a little pat on the shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
Lisa watched Jackson cross the distance to the bartender, eyes always on his prize, and shook her head. He was different from what she had seen in the TexMex, less polite, more aggressive in his advances.
She slid off her stool and walked onto the crowded dance floor, letting her body find the rhythm until she was moving in perfect harmony with the music. Jackson and Cherry were still talking, laughing, touching each other more and more intimately until she took his hand and led him to a door. "Maintenance". How romantic. Lisa abandoned all thought and with her eyes closed, gave herself over to the pounding beats.
She had completely lost herself in dancing when she suddenly felt a hand on her arm. It took her a moment to find her way back into reality.
"You ready to go?" Jackson asked. He looked like a cat that had just finished an entire bowl of cream.
Lisa regarded him wearily. "Ready when you are."
"Let's leave then." He led her towards the exit. "By the way, I didn't say any thanks for the quickie. I heard that leads to trouble."
Lisa yanked herself free and gave him a shove. "Don't you dare." She pushed him again and he made no move to stop her. "Don't you fucking dare, Jackson."
In silence they drove back to the house. Well, in relative silence, anyway - Jackson was humming.