“Just think about the wonderful life I’ve given you, LuAnn. Remember what I told you all those years ago: ‘Go anywhere, do anything.’ I gave that to you. The impossible. All yours. Look at you now. Flawless beauty.” His hand went to the front of her robe. With slow movements he undid the strap and the robe fell open, fully exposing her quivering breasts and flat belly. He slid the robe over her shoulders and it fell to the floor.
“The most prudent action on my part, of course, would be to kill you. Right here and right now. In fact, what the hell.” He pointed the gun directly at her head and pulled on the trigger. LuAnn jerked back, her eyes slamming shut.
When she reopened them, Jackson was studying her reaction. She was shaking terribly; her heart was thumping around inside her, she couldn’t catch her breath.
Jackson shook his head. “Your nerves don’t seem to be as strong, LuAnn, as when we were last together. And nerves, or a lack thereof, really are the whole ball of wax.” He looked at the pistol for a moment, slipped off the safety, and continued speaking calmly. “As I was saying, the most prudent thing, when one is confronted with a weak link, is to snip it out.” He paused and then continued, “I’m not going to do that with you, at least not yet. Not even after you’ve disobeyed me, jeopardized everything. Would you like to know why?”
LuAnn remained planted against the wall, afraid to move, her eyes fixed on his.
He took her silence for assent. “Because I feel you have a greater destiny to fulfill. A dramatic statement, but I’m a dramatic person; I think I’ll allow myself that. It’s really as simple as that. And in very large measure, you are a creation of mine. Would you be living in this house, speaking and thinking as an educated person, traveling the world on a whim, without me? Of course not. In killing you, I would, in effect, be killing part of myself. That, as I’m sure you can appreciate, I am loath to do. Nevertheless, please keep in mind that a wild animal, when trapped, will ultimately sacrifice a limb in order to escape and survive. Don’t think for one moment that I am not capable of that sacrifice. If you do, you’re a fool. I sincerely hope that we are able to extricate you from this little problem.” He shook his head sympathetically, much as he had ten years earlier during their very first meeting. “I really do, LuAnn. However, if we can’t, we can’t. Problems come up in business all the time, and I’m counting on you to do your part, to do all you can to ensure that we successfully navigate this one.” Jackson’s tone once again became businesslike as he ticked off items with his fingers. “You will not leave the country. You obviously went to a great deal of trouble to get back in, so stay and enjoy it for a while. You will immediately report to me any further contact with our mysterious stranger. The number I gave you ten years ago will still reach me. I will be in touch on a regular basis. Whatever additional instructions I give you, you will follow precisely. Understood?”
She quickly nodded.
“I’m quite serious, LuAnn. If you disobey me again, I will kill you. And it will be slow and unbelievably painful.” He studied her reaction to these words for a moment. “Now go into the bathroom and compose yourself.”
She started to turn away.
“Oh, LuAnn?”
She looked back.
“Keep in mind that if we do fail to contain this problem and I have to eliminate that weak link, there will be no reason that I can see to stop there.” He glanced ominously in the direction of the doorway leading to the hallway, where barely twenty feet away Lisa lay sleeping. He turned back to her. “I like to give my business associates as much incentive as possible to achieve success. I find that they’re much more likely not to disappoint.”
LuAnn ran into the bathroom, locking the door after her. She gripped the cold marble of the vanity, every limb shaking uncontrollably, as though she had left her skeleton back there with him. Wrapping a thick, full-length towel around her, she sank down to the floor. Her natural courage was tempered with a strong dose of common sense and she understood quite clearly the serious personal jeopardy she was in. But that was far from her greatest fear. The fact that Jackson might set his murderous sights on Lisa made her nearly delirious with terror.