Chapter 30

Jackson sat on the edge of the bed, his back to the door and his elbows resting on his knees. He was so fucking tired that anyone who saw his hunched shoulders and lowered head might think he was about to pass out. He could handle sleep deprivation. He'd been trained to handle it but the last few days had been far more than simple lack of sleep. Combine that with Lisa's unpredictability, this meddling plan of Angie's over which he had no control or even insight into and Derek's insistence that he help with a bunch of completely unnecessary manual labor and Jackson felt like he could pass out at any moment. He hadn't even bothered to look at himself in the mirror today. He had no desire to see the stranger that would stare back at him. He only fully comprehended just how out of it he was when he took notice of two legs in the periphery of his vision that had not been there moments before. He hadn't even noticed Lisa's presence until she was nearly standing on top of him.

"Back from your nature walk with our mutual friend?" He asked before slightly turning his head and raising his eyes to get a better look at her. Her face had that post exercise flush to it; several strands of her hair had pulled free from the band that held it all back. "What did she tell you to do this time? She tell you to try smacking me around or maybe yell obscenities at me?" He couldn't suppress the exhausted laugh that escaped his lips when that visual ran through his mind. He would have laughed again at the expression that crossed her features but just couldn't find the energy to do so.

"She didn't tell me to do anything."

He warily stood and faced her. She looked like a different woman today. She didn't look like the woman he'd stolen or the bird whose wings he'd clipped. This was someone else. Who was this person that Angie was sculpting? She just stood there, seemingly studying him as much as he was studying her.

"Do you like what she's turning you into?" He watched as her eyes narrowed, her lips draw slightly together and her head turn slightly. She didn't like that but instead of the silence he would have gotten a week ago, this time she fought back.

"Did you like what you'd turned me into?" A sound, something like a clipped laugh, rose from his throat. He looked out the window and shrugged.

"Honestly, right now I can't really remember." He closed the small distance between them, taking in every detail of her posture and countenance he could clearly discern at the moment. She didn't step back. The muscles in her neck didn't turn rigid and her hands stayed loose at their sides. The hundreds of minute changes that a face can undergo depending on the person's emotional state told him that she wasn't concerned about his approach but he was so tired, maybe he was simply overlooking obvious signals. Hell, right now, he actually had to concentrate on walking straight.

He stopped right in front of her, his body nearly touching hers. A queer inclination overtook him. Just what would it take to get a reaction out of her now, like he'd once been able to illicit from her so many months ago. He suddenly wished, for the tenth time that day that he wasn't so damned exhausted. He smirked when he realized she was staring him down again.

"I'll admit that worked quite well last night. It caught me off guard Leese. If I'd known that's all it took to get you excited, I'd have given you that advice myself a long time ago."

Lisa said nothing so Jackson raised his hand to her face, lightly running his fingers up her jaw line and into her hair. She swallowed.

"You really are beautiful." It's the first time he'd ever really paid her a compliment. "The first time I saw you, in a surveillance photo, I thought you looked like some silver screen goddess. Then I got to follow you for eight weeks and I knew…" It was the first time her eyes took on a quality that didn't say, 'fuck you'. The look lasted only a split second but he'd seen it.

He let the last words hang in the air. He lightly pulled her forward, collapsing that small amount of space between them. He let his forehead rest against hers. He enjoyed a small moment of triumph when her eyes closed. What was she to him really? An acquisition? A challenge? Was she something more? If Angie didn't give her the green light, what would he feel when she was taken away from him? As hard as he tried to imagine it, he couldn't come up with an answer. He would stick with what he did know. He knew he found her attractive. He knew the essence of her character challenged him. He knew that he would rather keep her than lose her.

"Do you think she will kill you?"

She pulled away from him suddenly. Her look was deadly. She had the telltale signs covering every part of her stance. She'd lost an inch to her height, the automatic crouch presented before fight or flight instincts took hold. She looked at him slightly more out of the top of her eyes rather than straight forward as she pulled her chin a small degree toward her neck. Her hands had balled into fists. He knew right then, that he wanted her to fight. He was tired of her 'running'.

"You know she's the one that will determine it, right? I don't know what you think she is but she's not your friend. Angie's more like me than she is like you. If she thinks you'll endanger the company in any way, she'll put two bullets…" and he pointed to the space between his eyes.

The few moments he enjoyed, the control he'd regained for nearly a minute was suddenly evaporated when she relaxed noticeably.

"You sure she'd use a gun? Maybe she'll use Ka-Bar." She emphasized the line by swiping her index finger across her throat.

Jackson was tired of being jerked around and he was tired of failing to predict Lisa's erratic behavior. It was about time she experienced the same. The hand that had only lightly coursed into her hair moments before, turned iron. He didn't allow her to pull away as he crushed his lips to hers. If she tried to pull away, he didn't notice. He'd been on pins and needles since arriving on this island. He hadn't enjoyed any of the times he'd had her since coming here. He would enjoy himself tonight.

He heard her heavy breathing when he pulled away, whether it was from arousal or lack of air, he didn't care. The same hand that had been entangled in her hair now pushed her roughly to the bed.

"She'd use a gun. Though maybe a garrote, she was always far better at the hands on than me." As unsettled as he hoped he'd made her just then, she recovered quickly. He saw immediately that her bag of tricks was rather limited. She tried staring him down again. She'd have had better luck if she'd chosen a physical alternative. Angie's little lessons must not have extended that far yet.

He unbuttoned his shirt, just the first few buttons. She didn't move from where she'd fallen as he crawled over her.

"Does a garrote hurt?" She asked. He smirked as she continued with this strong, tough girl act.

"I don't know. I've never had the chance to ask someone who's had it done." Maybe Angie was doing him a favor. Maybe she was a genius and he hadn't completely realized it. Maybe her plan included keeping Lisa alive for him but also keeping Lisa alive for him. He'd always known she was smart, but if she could pull that off… he might just have to thank her.

"Have you ever killed someone with one?" He cocked his head at her. He was looking straight into her eyes. For the first time, it didn't seem like they were only playing a game, she genuinely wanted to know. For a half second, he contemplated whether or not he should answer that question.

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm not suited to it."

"Why?"

It took him aback. Should he answer? Her eyes bore into his. Fine, he'd keep playing. He was about to answer when he felt Lisa reach between them to unfasten his belt. Maybe Angie had taught her a new trick or maybe Lisa was getting good at improvising. He shook his head; he needed to focus but he didn't stop her.

"I was always better at planning than executing." She'd managed the belt and was now pulling down at the zipper of the kaki pants he wore. He couldn't find the will to care when he broke eye contact. The feel of her warm hand snaking its into his pants was enough for her to win the game a second time in as many days.

"Then why did we meet?" She didn't sound affected by her actions at all, keeping up with the conversation as though they were seated over coffee and not a like a woman who was stroking the man above her.

"It wasn't supposed to go down that way." Unlike her, he failed to keep his tone conversational. "You weren't supposed to go to a funeral." She didn't respond right away; apparently she didn't enjoy the reminder.

"How was it supposed to happen?"

"Someone else came to your house. You called in "sick" and you made the same call. But it wasn't me." He finally managed to open his eyes. He needed to see what was happening in those eyes of hers. For the first time, he realized just how physically vulnerable he'd allowed himself to become. He mentally berated himself for it. She looked determined and nothing else. "I only got personally involved because I'm better with… last minute changes. I'm good at improvisation, but so were you… and still are." He let himself taste her lips while she continued to stroke him. He decided he'd return the 'favor' and let his hand slide down her body before it easily slid under the elastic band of her shorts. Her lips hardened against his for a short while. He was certain she was trying to figure out how to handle this new bit of physical information.

She turned her head to the side, determined to continue the discussion anyway. "If…" He was now touching her as intimately as she was touching him and her body seemed as into this as his was. Now he wouldn't be the only one fighting for concentration. "If you hadn't been on the plane, would I be here now."

"No."

"I'd be dead?"

"Yes." If an observer had stumbled upon them just then, his word would have sounded more like an exclamation of pleasure and not the macabre answer it was. "Do you wish you were?" He finally managed to get out; the pressure was starting to mount past the point of his control.

Silence.

He pulled his head up slightly; not having noticed it had fallen to rest on the bedspread next to Lisa's ear. Had she stopped playing the game? Her hand hadn't but had she given up on the verbal front? He noticed that her eyes had finally closed and her face had flushed an alluring shade of pink.

"I don't know." She finally breathed out. Her free had reached up and grabbed the bicep of the arm perpetrating the depraved activity between her thighs. The move seemed more of an automatic reaction than one born out of any real purpose. It made Jackson smirk but only for a second before her grip on his more sensitive appendage increased suddenly, forcing his eyes to screw shut.

"What are you trying to accomplish here Leese?" It was the most honest question he'd asked tonight.

It seemed as though she wasn't going to answer. Maybe she didn't have an answer to that question or maybe the one she did have, she didn't want to reveal. Either way, at this point he didn't really care. He never thought a simple, nearly completely clothed hand job would ever get him to the point he was fast approaching. He wasn't sure if he could blame his exhausted mental state or the unpredictability of the woman beneath him. The only thing that had kept him from already finishing was the uncomfortable cramping his diligently working hand was currently experiencing.

"I don't really know Jack." She moaned out. "But do you think it's working?"

He felt the rhythmic tensing around his fingers. It was enough that he lost the same battle she just had. He rolled off of her when the sensations passed.

"It just might be." And he fell asleep.

XxX

AN: Whew. Unnecessary insight into the writing of the chapter. Most of it was written while my husband fed me margaritas. I almost posted it last night instead of this morning. That would have been a mistake. Contrary to popular belief, alcohol does not improve writing skills (not for this fan fiction writer anyway). Also, my husband kept making little additions every time I left the room and I only caught all of them this morning (he added another woman to the scene…men).

I'm going to have to agree with a few reviewers, I had lost sight of the main characters in this story but I swear I always planned on getting back to them. There was just some character development that I couldn't accomplish with just the two of them. Angie has been my tool for accomplishing that. I'll admit though, I did get a little carried away. I love writing OCs despite that they are not usually well received in fan fiction.

I'm sorry I didn't get around to sending PMs to all of my fantastic reviewers for the last chapter. I've been keeping busy outside this past week and just didn't get around to it. Don't think I don't fully appreciate your feedback, I'm sure I love it just a little too much.

And with that… Happy reading!