Innocent People's Lives

Chapter Ten

She woke up under a blanket with her stomach growling.

Lisa sat up slowly. She reached to her left side and felt some warmth on the sheets. Jackson had been there, beside her. But the sheets weren't rumpled. He had kept his promise. He'd slept on top of the covers. He hadn't touched her.

She glanced over at the old clock. It was after six in the morning. She didn't remember falling asleep. She didn't remember much of anything other than Jackson being CIA.

The door opened with a squeak.

"Oh good, you're up. Time to go. Hungry?"

Jackson held out coffee and a paper bag. She didn't even care what as in it at this point. She was starving to death.

"Thanks." She opened the lid and drank the thick, dark sludge. It was better than nothing.

"Okay, I'll be in the car. Five minutes."

And just like that, he left. No mention of last night or yesterday. Nothing.

And she couldn't be happier.

Somewhere in Tennessee, a few hours later, Lisa found perhaps the last payphone in North America. While Jackson was filling the gas tank, she slipped into the store for snacks and made a quick call. Despite the unknown number calling, he picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?" Mark's voice said, nice and clear. It made her feel warm inside to hear it again. Screw Jackson. She had to trust someone else. She had to tell him.

"Mark, it's me, Lisa."

"Lisa, thank God. I was beginning to think you were dead. Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine at the moment. Just a little banged up."

"I went to your hospital room and you were already gone."

"I know, I'm sorry about that. It just wasn't safe."

"What are you talking about? There was security—"

"I know about Sarah, Mark. I know that she's dead. She was alive when we got there. There's no reason for her to be dead. Her injuries weren't that bad."

"It was a blood clot. It's a common complication. Lisa, where are you?"

"I can't tell you. I won't even be here long. We're on the road."

"Who? Who are you with?" he pressed.

She tangled the cord around her finger. "I can't say. I'm safe. I just had to hear your voice."

"Tell me where you are. I'll come get you. You'll be safe with me."

"I can't. I won't put you in danger."

"In danger? What are you talking about? I'm not in danger. Lisa, please…"

"Mark—"

The line suddenly went dead and she whipped around to see Jackson, his long slender finger having disconnected the call. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked in that icy calm voice of his.

"I didn't tell him anything about you."

"What the hell—who were you calling?"

"Mark. He can help us."

"He works for Keefe! How do you know he's not dirty, too?"

"I trust him with my life."

He laughed, grabbing her arm. "Well, I don't. Let's go. He's probably already got a trace on it. We need to vanish fast."

"No!"

He pulled her toward the car as she tried to dig her heels in. "Stop being such a child, Lisa!"

"I'm not going with you! I trust him! He can protect me."

"Or he'll just kill you himself. No, not an option. You never should've made a call. Now they know you're alive and you have help. You just doomed us both."

"Or maybe I just saved us! Did you ever think about that? We need help, Jack. We can't do this all by ourselves. It's just not possible."

"We have to. There's no other option."

"You asked me to trust you. Why can't you trust me?"

"It's not you that I don't trust—it's your judgement."

"My judgement? The only thing wrong with my judgement is that I'm trusting you!"

He shook his head and opened the passenger's side door, all but shoving her inside. "Now's not the time. Now shut up and let me think."

He slammed the door and hurried around the front to climb in. Lisa huffed but hooked her seatbelt. He was already a terrible driver. That's when he wasn't in a mood like a two-year-old. Seriously, there were unmedicated bipolar people with less mood swings.

"I trust him, Jackson. Why can't that be enough?"

"Just because you're fucking him doesn't mean he's a friend."

Crack!

She slapped him hard across the face without warning. Jackson seemed stunned for a moment, but then he gripped her wrist, twisting it. Her fingers curled into her palm under his iron hold.

"Try that again and I will break your arm. Don't test me, Leese."

He let go and she pulled her arm toward her chest. She didn't doubt that. She knew he was a man of his word, no matter how terrifying that word was.

"I want to see him. He can help us."

He shook his head as they merged back onto the highway. "Not an option."

"What could it hurt? You pick the place. Please, Jack? He can help us."

"No."

"What will take it to change your mind?"

"If you're thinking you can seduce me, Lisa, that's not happening. I know you're not the type, even if you're fucking security man. You're a prude."

"You don't know me."

"I never stopped following you, Leese. It's been ten years but I still know everything about you. Every habit. Every little quirk. I know all about your relationships. I know everything. And I'm telling you, he's dirty. As dirty as a cop in Gotham City."

"Gotham City? What the hell are you talking about?"

He glanced over at her. "You've never heard of Gotham? Batman? What kind of rock do you live under, Leese?"

"I don't do comics and superheroes."

He sighed. "Basically it's the most corrupt city on earth. Much like Washington, D.C. Keefe would love it there."

"You're insane."

"No more than you are."

She shook her head and turned to look out the window. She was done arguing with him. He was just as stubborn as she was. There was no way either one of them would give up ground in an argument. Not this soon.

Author's Notes:

Merry Christmas, readers! Now, if we were further along in the story, perhaps this update would've included some JxL stuff, but sadly, we haven't gotten that far yet. But this chapter does have one of my favorite scenes between them so far.

Enjoy and thanks for the reviews! Hope to have more updates soon – I'm still filling in gaps and rearranging already written pieces.