It Began When Her Car Stopped

Author's Note: Here now is the final battle between Jas and Swain. Fans of Jas and Lana should enjoy this. At least, I hope you do.


Chapter 5:


"Jas' bike outside of a motel, how unusual," Swain said sarcastically as he and his lead henchman pulled up to the motel beside each other.

"Should we go in now and give him the wake up call he won't forget?" Mason asked.

"No, let him sleep tonight," Swain told him. "I want him well rested for this."

"But I thought you wanted the girl," he said.

"Which is why we'll wait here. Until she emerges."


A few hours later, only minutes before sunrise, Lana began to awake, still dressed from the night before. "Jas," she breathed as she rolled over and curled an arm around him. "It's almost morning, time to wake up," she said softly.

"Ummm," he groaned as he began to awake. "Think I could get another minute?" he asked as he looked to her.

"Sure, I'll get breakfast," she said just before she kissed him softly and made her way outside.

As Lana was nearly to the vending machines, Swain's plan was put into motion.

"Good morning, my sweet," Swain said as his pale blue eyes locked on the petite brunette.

"Jas, I think we have company!" she called. She recognized Swain from the bar and though she was a bit fearful, she refused to let it show. She knew she was trapped and that Jas would be her only real hope.

As Mason went to get hold of her, she began to fight back. Just as she had in years previous, but this time her opponent was too strong.

"I love it when they play rough," Mason said to Swain as he lowered his mouth to Lana's.

"Mason!" Swain stated angrily as he watched Lana pull away and begin to struggle again. "If you touch her, we are all dead. You don't know Jas like I do."

"But you said -" Mason protested.

"Do you see Jas retrained anywhere? Do you see him watching this while he can do nothing? Until you do, you do not touch her," Swain ordered.

"So you have a brain cell after all," Lana stated as she still fought to get out of the large man's firm grip.

"Maybe one touch won't hurt us," Swain said as he nodded to Mason.

At that Mason simply knocked her unconscious before moving her to his motorcycle. Swain then following on his own.

A half an hour past until Jas awoke again, soon realizing the sun had risen and Lana hadn't returned. "Lana?" he called, hoping she was still somewhere in the room. "Beautiful?" he tried again, his pulse quickly increasing as he was surrounded by a heavy silence.

"Should've known it was too good to last," he muttered with a pained sigh as he looked to the side of the bed Lana had slept on.

He was hurt, much more so than he thought he should be. Though he did find it a little comforting to know that on foot she couldn't have gotten too far.

'No,' he chided himself mentally. 'You should be glad she's gone. At least now Swain won't find her.' He let a few more memories of Lana play before he pulled his jacket back on and began to head out.

But before he could get to the door, he heard a phone ring. On the second ring he saw it was coming from the phone on the night stand. After the third ring, he answered. "Hello?"

"If you want to see your princess again, follow what I say to the letter," Swain told him.

Again, Jas had to fight his anger as it began to boil in his veins. "How do I know she's even still alive?" he asked, knowing what had to have happened.

Swain moved the phone to Lana and told her, "Your white knight wants to talk to you."

"Jas -" was as much as Swain would let him hear.

"Still listening?" Swain asked as he put the phone back to his ear.

"What do you want?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice calm.

"You," he said. "There's what looks like a warehouse about ten miles east from your motel. We'll continue this when you get here," he added before hanging up.

Within minutes Jas was speeding down the road on his way to the warehouse as Swain had called it. He couldn't be sure what he would find, but right then he really didn't care. Lana was still alive, nothing else mattered.

"You must be quite a girl," Swain said to Lana whom he currently had unbound to anyone or anything. He knew she wasn’t strong to fight them and with him keeping watch, he knew she couldn't get away. "You're the only one I know of that caused Jas to run from a fight."

Lana didn't reply. She didn't care what Swain had to say, she was just waiting for him to be distracted enough to where her petite stature would be of use. She knew she may be small by comparison, but she was strong and soon she could have the advantage being as quick as she could be.

"Should've known," Swain said with a smile as he looked into her eyes, albeit briefly as Lana quickly shifted her gaze away from his. "All those days and nights, they can only lead to one thing, especially for a girl like you. Good girl meets misunderstood boy from the wrong side of the tracks. It's almost cute."

"Cute is you thinking you'll win," Lana shot back.

"I'm flattered," he said. "But don't think you can hide it, I can see him all over you. Almost as though he's here now."

No sooner had Swain said those words, Jas was just pulling up outside. He cut the engine and moved to his saddle bag. Just what Lana had feared the night they met would now be what would save her. And himself.

Keeping a watchful eye out in case some of Swain's men came around, made sure to make his work quick. He flipped the flap and began to take out his four loaded guns. He slid one into the back of his jeans, one into his right boot and the others two stayed in his strong hands.

"Welcome back, Jas," one of Swain's men said as he and two others appeared around a corner.

On a normal day he wouldn't have minded trading banter with the goons, but this was not a normal day by a long shot. He could see in each of their hands they were carrying weapons and without a second thought he simply fired, killing the three men almost instantly.

"Sounds like your white knight's ridden to your rescue," Swain said as he stood.

"Enough with the metaphors!" Lana cried.

"It's funny, I remember telling you that for years," Jas said as he walked in, one of his guns already on Swain.

"Jas," Lana breathed as she stood, wanting to dart over to him, but knowing Swain wouldn't let her.

"My, my, you look well rested," Swain told him. "Maybe I should wake you like this more often."

"This is between us. Let her go," Jas ordered.

"Now you're demanding," Swain said with a smile. "Soon you'll be begging."

"Hey, Jas, I always knew you'd show up again," Mason said when he appeared, taking hold of him quickly.

"Never," Jas said strongly to Swain as he moved to break free from the larger man's hold.

Swain moved behind Lana, pulling a large knife and holding the long blade's point to the center of her chest. "Let's see if her heart really does only beat for you," Swain said as he moved it as if to plunge it into her.

But Lana wasn't afraid of Swain this time. She felt she had already been faced with something worse than the threat of death and forced herself back, sending Swain back as well.

In his surprise he stumbled and Lana broke free, the knife clattering to the ground.

The scene also managed to surprise Mason and Jas flipped him just before he sent a life ending bullet into him before Mason could reach the gun from Jas' left hand that had just fallen.

"Lana!" Jas called. "Catch!" he added as he tossed the gun from his boot to her. "Now go!" he said with a nod towards the door.

"Oh, stay," Swain said as he drew a gun of his own and fired at her.

Lana kept her gaze on Jas briefly until she saw his silent pleading and ran outside. She didn't want to, but she knew she owed it to him to let him finish this on his own, just as it had begun for them.

She knew why he had given her the gun, just in case any of the others showed up outside. She also knew he hadn't meant for her to just leave the warehouse, but there was no way she would leave him there and she could only hope he would forgive her for staying.

To Jas, Mason and the others were already dead, now it was Swain's turn to die and that was the thought he clung to as he ran through the incredibly large building and sent a hard kick into Swain's chest.

In Swain's surprise, he fired the gun, hitting nothing more than a panel of the building.

Not knowing what he had hit, or who had fired, Lana jumped nearly out of her skin at the deafening pop. In her mind, Jas had fired and shot Swain, but he'd yet to emerge. She soon found comfort in their struggle continuing though, knowing that even if Jas was hurt, he was still alive.

"I'd forgotten about your kickboxing," Swain said as he stood again, his left hand pressed to his chest.

"Glad I could refresh your memory," he told him as he jumped and kicked him again. This time the gun flew from Swain's hand as Jas had intended and he moved his boot to his throat as Swain fell since having lost his other gun in the struggle. He only had one left now, but at the present it didn't seem he would need it.

"That's right, kill me like you did Ed," Swain said as he fought to breathe. "Prove you're the man I always knew you'd be. A murdering waste just like me."

"I'm no murderer," he said as he looked down at him. "Ed was an accident. Now, I'm saving more people than I can even imagine."

"You'd kill an unarmed man? And here I thought you believed in fairness," he told him.

As Swain had hoped, the idea was enough to sicken Jas enough to take his boot from his throat. He had never seen himself being capable of this and hated that Lana was seeing this side of him. And in his distraction, Swain stood and pulled another gun.

Luckily Jas could see the glint from the chrome barrel as the gun raised to his chest. He quickly pulled the gun from the back of his jeans and fired, the final life ending bullets of the day now lodged in Swain's chest.

Lana swallowed hard in fear and strained to listen for any voices or struggle, wanting to believe that Jas had won, but finding herself too terrified to look for herself.

Long seconds passed, to Jas and Lana they had been hours as both were now too afraid to see if the other was still there.

It was Lana who managed the strength first and headed back into the large building, her gun now meeting the back of her pants as she slowly walked. "Jas!" she cried when she saw him. And just as she had tried so hard to fight her fear, she saw his front covered in thick crimson and she could only run to him.

"Lana?" he asked, though his voice was choked from the shock and he began to sink to the ground as his thankfulness began to outweigh his disbelief.

"You're gonna be okay," she told him as she fell to her knees beside him, though the tears stinging her eyes showed her uncertainty.

"Lana, I'm fine," he told her with a soft smile as he began to regain his strength.

"How can you say that?" she asked as more tears began to emerge while she put her right hand to his middle.

He began to stand again, wanting to prove to her that he was fine.

"How can you -" she tried to ask as she stood with him.

"Beautiful, look," he said as he lifted his shirt slightly to show her it wasn't his blood. Running his left hand down his mostly clean abs, he said, "See? No wound, he didn't get me."

Lana practically fell against him as the relief flooded through her and she had to wrap her arms around him to steady herself.

"Hey, it's okay," he assured her while returning the hold to keep her from sinking to the ground. "They're gone and we're okay. You are okay, right?"

"Yeah," she told him with a deep breath as she tightened her grip, wanting to stand on her own but still not able to.

"You were really worried, weren't you?" he asked.

"Why does that surprise you?" she asked in reply as she looked up at him.

"I guess because no one ever has before," he confessed as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "We should go soon," he added after a few seconds.

"Where to?"

"I see a beach with our names on it," he answered as he glanced over to Swain's body briefly.

"What?"

"He had a place near the beach and I'm the only one left who knows about it. Anyway, somehow I doubt he'll be using it any time soon. And he still has the keys on him."

"Then let's go," she said as she began to regain enough strength to stand on her own.

They made their way outside to his bike and he told her, "If we drive for the rest of the day we could be at the beach house by midnight."

A few hours later they met traffic and Lana took the opportunity to ask him, "That first night, was that really the first fight you ran from in your life?"

"It was," he said truthfully. "I'm not entirely proud of it, having run from a fight, but I'm glad I did."

"I guess I should be pretty angry with myself," she stated. "Letting myself get nabbed by Swain like that. But the only thing that kept repeating in my mind was if it'd been you to leave the room -" she went on, her shock refusing to fade. "I guess it was my turn to save you. And I should thank you, for a lot, but for one thing in particular."

"For what?"

"Thank you for not letting me lose you," she said.

"You're welcome," he said. "And I should thank you for the same because honestly, when I woke up, alone, in that room I thought for sure you'd left me."

"How could you think that?"

"I guess I'm still not quite able to believe that you really want to be with me."

"Then we're even," she told him.

"What else did Swain tell you about me?"

"That he could see you all over me."

Jas laughed slightly at that. He couldn't help it, so much relief was still running through him as well and it was true, it didn't take a rocket scientist to see what was between them. He just couldn't believe someone would say it so soon. "Anything else?"

Lana rested her hands at his waist and thought for a moment. She knew she didn't have to worry much about her hand placement now, the sun having dried his shirt, both thankful he'd been in black so it wouldn't show. "He wrote us off as the whole 'good girl falling for the bad boy' thing. That it was cute. That was about it."

"Was that how it started?" he asked.

"Not for me," she said. "You walked into that bar and were already earning your hero title. After that it was your voice that got me and then how you didn't reek of booze or a number of other things. And then at the motel you trusted me. And then you took your jacket off -"

"And then you jumped me," he continued with a nod and slight laugh as he turned more to her.

"Did not!" she cried with a laugh. "And even if I had, I didn't hear any complaints."

"And you never will," he stated as his smile grew wider and for the first time he managed to do what he had wanted since their second day on the road. Kissing her as intently as he could manage on the bike, turned as much towards her as he could be.

It was cut short though as traffic began moving again, but still they were beginning to relax more as they knew their enemies had truly been destroyed.

"Are you okay?" Lana asked when she and Jas sat down to dinner that night, realizing his smile had faded again.

They were both tired and had originally planned to skip dinner, wanting to get to the beach house quicker, but decided an energy boost was truly needed.

"I don't know," he answered. He was disgusted with himself for what he had done and for the side of him that he couldn't keep Lana from seeing.

Seeing Jas' hands on the table, Lana reached out and tried to take his left into her right, having to settle for her hand resting on top, her fingers at his palm. "Never regret what you did for us earlier. If it hadn't been for that we'd be dead now."

"I know," he said. "I just never wanted you to see me that way. That's what I was trying to get away from."

"It's what you're away from now," she told him. "And I don't think any less of you. I couldn't. You just saved so many people that now you're a true hero." 'And I love you,' she heard follow in her mind, but somehow the words wouldn't pass her lips.

"I know," he said. "I just don't feel much like one right now."

"Is there anything I could say to make you feel better? Because I just can't stand you feeling this way."

"Think you'd be willing to answer a few more questions?" he asked. He was comforted by her words, but needed a change of subject.

"Sure," she said with a soft smile.

"Your first time, how old were you?"

"Lovely dinner conversation," she said with a surprised laugh.

"I'm tired, humor me," he said with his own laugh.

"Too young. Your turn."

"You're not getting out of it that easily," he said with a slight smile, beginning to feel a little better knowing he'd gotten her to laugh.

She sighed and answered, "Thirteen. I'm not proud of it, but it happened."

"Right now I don't care if it's a lie, just tell me you were willing," he said.

"I was, not nearly as much as I am with you, but I was," she answered honestly. "Now, your turn."

"Sixteen. Where did you learn the move I got to see earlier?"

"Remember when I told you about the older brother of the semi-fiancée getting in on the act?"

He nodded in reply, not wanting to interrupt.

"He never hit me, but it was obvious what he had in mind for me one day," she began. "He got me by the wrist, hard, and laughed when I tried to pull it back, only holding on tighter. The younger brother just looked on with a smile. That move was how I got out of that. Just pure instinct."

"What happened after that?"

"I got the hell out of there. Never looked back. I was fourteen then."

"How did you meet these pricks?"

"Grade school," she answered.

At that Jas couldn't help but laugh a bit in disbelief. "Let me get this straight. Twelve years ago, you walk into school and meet a guy who five years later treats you like that and five nights ago you walk into a bar and meet me?"

"Yeah," she said, finding the same humor in the irony. "How about this," she began, "tell me more about where we're going."

"And ruin the surprise?" he asked.

"I like hearing about perfection from perfection," she said with a soft smile.

"I'm far from perfection."

"Not for me." She wanted to kiss him then, but what she wanted from him at that moment wasn't sex. True, there was no one she wanted or felt she needed more, but what she was feeling for him now went much deeper. And though she knew she should be fearful of caring so much for someone she basically just met, she could tell from how he was looking back at her that she was not the only one at that booth feeling this way.

He smiled softly in return and picked up where he had left off, "It's a two-story sea green house on the beach. Our back yard will basically be one of the most incredible white sandy beaches you could ever see with turquoise blue water that goes on forever."

"And at night?"

"Not a cloud in the sky, the brightest stars you can imagine and we'll have each other if we get cold," he answered.

"And the sunsets?"

"You're really getting into this, aren't you?" he asked with a slight laugh.

"The only thing better than hearing you speak, is hearing what you have to say," she answered.

"All right," he said, his smile yet to fade. "Every warm color you can imagine during the day and at twilight everything becomes bathed in a tan glow. Even the still glittering water. And under the moon's light is when the water really shines."

"And if we want some alone time on the beach?"

"Depends on what kind you mean," he said. "But I'll answer for both. Just to watch the sunset or just to be out there at night, not a problem. On the beach activities, there are parts of the beach where it's possible and not entirely uncomfortable from what I've heard."

They both laughed at that last part and it was only then they were brought back to reality enough to realize it was getting late.

"All right," he said. "Are you ready to head back onto the road?"

"Ready when you are," she told him.

Jas and Lana spent the next two hours driving to the beach house, neither minding as they knew with each passing mile they were that much farther from where Swain and his men had been.

"Wow," Lana breathed when they reached the house. She couldn't see it too well in the darkness, but the security lights from the buildings near by helped to illuminate it enough for her to see it was just how Jas had described.

"I hoped you'd like it," Jas said as they climbed off the bike. "Swain wasn't here much, but when he was it was his version of party central."

They soon made their way through the house and up the stairs to the master bedroom, doing what they could to keep from falling asleep on their feet.

Soon they crawled into and flopped down on their sides of the queen size bed despite still having all but their socks and boots on.

"Ow," Jas groaned as he rolled over.

"You okay?"

"Jacket," he muttered as he yanked it off and threw it as far as he could from the bed.

"That's not a bad idea," she said at no higher than a whisper as she lifted her satin shirt off and let it fall to the floor behind her.

"This brings back memories," Jas said as he looked to her beside him.

Lana only laughed slightly and moved in to kiss him.

Jas kissed her back, but it was obvious they were too tired to go any farther.

But still that didn't stop their wandering hands. Jas' left soon grasping her still clothed right breast while her right moved under his shirt, her fingertips running down the silky skin of his firm torso.

"Lana," he breathed as he broke their kiss.

"Yeah?" she asked as her hand ran down to his abs.

"I don't know how to say this," he said.

"What?" she asked as her hand moved back upwards.

"I think I'm too tired to rise to the occasion tonight," he confessed, an embarrassed smile tugging at his lips.

Lana laughed slightly as she said, "I wondered how long it'd be until one of us admitted that. I'm more than a little tired myself."

"Come here," he said with a smile as he draped his left arm over her. Soon she was against him, her right arm resting around him in reply. "You'll still be here when I wake up, right?" he asked as his smile faded, his voice no higher than a whisper as he began to realize his need for her.

"I guess you'll have to stay yourself to find out," she answered, realizing now she needed him, too.

Those three words returned to their eyes again, but still neither could voice them. The want to was there, but they just couldn't. Parts of them were worried they wouldn't hear it back, others fearful that it had happened and that it had happened so soon. But more than anything, they were afraid of saying it and having the threat of it being taken away return.

But Lana did manage to voice another truth, "Jas, no matter what you may think or what some may want you to believe, you're not losing me now." She paused for a moment and added, "And I can only hope I never lose you."

"You'll always have me, Beautiful," he told her. But it was all he could say as he soon claimed Lana's lips in another tender kiss that they knew couldn't last too long, though they were both determined to have it last for as long as it could.

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A/N: Apologies all around for this being a sexless chapter, but considering their day, I think they have earned a bit of a rest. And no, this is not the end. Chapter 6 will be up as soon as I'm done writing it and lemony goodness will return. But first let me know if you liked this or hated it.