Curiously enough it was with this thought that LuAnn’s features grew deadly still in their own right. Her eyes stared across at the doorway, on the other side of which stood a person to whom she was probably more similar than dissimilar. They both had secrets; they both were incredibly rich from ill-gotten gains. They both had mental and physical abilities above and beyond the norm. And perhaps most telling, they both had killed someone. Her act had been spontaneous, survival the only motive. Jackson’s had been premeditated, but survival of sorts had also been his motivation. Perhaps not as wide a chasm as it looked on the surface. The results, after all, had been the deaths of two human beings.
She slowly rose from the floor. If Jackson ever came after Lisa, then either he would die or LuAnn would; there would be no other possibilities. She let the towel fall to the floor. She unlocked the door. There seemed to exist an ethereal connection between Jackson and LuAnn Tyler that defied a logical explanation. It was as though, even after all this time apart, that their synapses had become fused together at a certain, almost psychic level. For she was absolutely certain what she would find when she returned to the bedroom. She threw open the door.
Nothing. Jackson was gone.
LuAnn pulled on some clothes and hurried down the hallway to check on Lisa. The little girl’s steady breathing told her mother that she was asleep. For a while, LuAnn simply hovered over Lisa, afraid to leave her. She didn’t want to wake her. She wouldn’t be able to hide the terror she was feeling from her daughter. Finally, LuAnn made certain the windows were locked and left the room.
Next she made her way to Charlie’s bedroom and gently roused him from sleep.
“I just had a visitor.”
“What? Who?”
“We should’ve known he’d find out,” she said wearily.
When the meaning behind her words worked through his grogginess, Charlie sat straight up in bed, almost knocking over the lamp on the nightstand. “Good God, he was here? Jackson was here?”
“When I finished my shower I found him waiting for me in my bedroom. I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared in my life.”
“Oh, God, LuAnn, baby.” Charlie hugged her tightly for several moments. “How the hell—how the hell did he find us?”
“I don’t know, but he knows everything. The man who chased me. About Riggs. I, I told him about the list of lottery winners. I tried to lie, but he knew I was. He threatened everyone in the house if I didn’t tell him the truth.”
“What’s he going to do?”
“He’s going to find the guy and then he’s going to kill him.”
Charlie leaned up against the headboard and LuAnn sat down next to him. Charlie put a big hand across his face and shook his head. He looked over at her. “What else did he say?”
“That we weren’t to do anything. Be careful around Riggs and to let him know if the other guy showed up again.”
“Riggs? Why’d he mention him?”
She looked over at him. “Jackson seemed very suspicious of him. Like maybe he has an ulterior motive for being involved.”
“Son of a bitch,” Charlie moaned and abruptly rolled out of bed. He stood up and started getting dressed.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t know, but I feel like I’ve got to do something. Warn Riggs. If Jackson’s after him—”
She reached up and gripped his arm. “If you tell Riggs about Jackson, then all you’re doing is guaranteeing his death. Somehow, some way, Jackson will find out. He always does. I’ve got Riggs safe, at least for now.”
“How’d you do that?”
“Jackson and I worked out a little arrangement. At least I think he bought it. Who can tell with him?”
Charlie stopped pulling on his pants and looked over at her.
LuAnn continued, “For now anyway, Jackson’s going to focus on the other man. He’ll find him, and it’s not like we can warn him, because we don’t even know who he is.”
Charlie sat back down on the bed. “So what do we do?”