Page 401 of Under Her Skin
It was a bondage room, but it had Jackson’s twist on it. It wasn’t a place of experimentation, of BDSM, or of loving adventure, but a torture chamber. He wanted her humiliated, scared, and in fear of her life. That’s what turned Jacksonon.
She looked back at him, and his face was alive with desire andtriumph.
“Before you left me for the bastard,” he said. “I was planning to have this built in our home—after Dad had passed, obviously. Eventually, after the two years were up and you were going to leave me, I would have brought you here for one last time. One last time before I killed you. I was never going to accept you leaving me, Ama. You know that now,right?”
Barely conscious and terrified, she nodded. Jackson took her in his arms. “Now, there are two ways this evening could go. One…you try to enjoy it and make me happy, and you live. Your sister lives. The other …” He nodded to the case of knives. “I useallof them on you. They won’t even bother to count the stab wounds, Ama, I swear to you. I’ll take my time, and you will know what hell feelslike.”
“Why?” Ama said now, her voice barely more than a whisper, “Why me? Why all of this just for me? Why did you try and kill Incatoo?”
Jackson grinned. “Speaking ofwhich…”
He grabbed the remote control and on the flat screen, the video of Inca being stabbed played. Ama gave a cry ofdistress.
“I’ve watched this over and over again, just enjoying the terror and pain on her beautiful face. The way the knife slides into her belly like butter. The way the blood blooms across herdress.”
Jackson looked back at Ama, who was trembling uncontrollably. His eyes were cold and dead, and now Ama saw the madness within. “I wish I had ordered the men I sent to kill Penny to film it too. I didn’t even think about it until I ordered the hit onInca.”
He was insane. A monster. A …Ama didn’t have the words for it. But inside her mind, one thought began to fester.He is insane …use that. Use it to get Selima released. Use it to save your own life if youcan…
Ama knew what she had to do now. She had to push all her feelings aside and allow Jackson to do what he wanted …even it meant the worst kind of violation. If it meant getting him to trust her, she would take thatrisk.
God, Enda, I’m sorry …I’m trying to fight my way back toyou.
Please forgiveme.
Enda had not foundanything in the rubble of his father’s home. He’d contacted the forensics team, who had let him examine what little was left of his father and brother’s possessions. There were some old photographs, badly burned and warped, a few old letters that Macaulay had written to Olivier and Jackson’s mother, receipts, and bills. But there was nothing else. Noclues.
Frustrated, he drove into his office. The police knew to find him there, and at least he could coordinate the search fromthere.
Raffaelo called him just after midday. “Guesswhat?”
“Tellme.”
“We’re coming to theStates.”
Enda was astonished. “Inca’s wellenough?”
Raff hesitated, then sighed. “Not really, but she is insistent. There’s a surgeon over there who might be able to fix some of the scarring. Between us, I think Inca’s using that as an excuse. She knows I couldn’t say no to her. She is much stronger now and she’s not hooked up to any machinery. I negotiated a nurse to come with us, but yes, we’re coming toAmerica.”
Enda sat down with a bump. “Selfishly, Raff, I can’t wait to see you all, but do you really think this is a goodidea?”
“Inca and I …we want to be there for you, Enda. You are my brother, and we can’t see you hurting likethis.”
Enda was so touched he couldn’t speak. Raff laughed softly. “We’ll be there tomorrow, Enda. Staystrong.”
The next day,Enda drove out to the airport to meet their private jet. Inca smiled at him, but he was shocked at how thin and pale she was. Raff hugged him tightly. “We’re all together now …we will find Ama, I swearit.”
Enda insisted that Raff,Inca, and Inca’s nurse, a sweet woman in her fifties called Giovanna, or ‘Vanni,’ as Inca already called her, stay with him. “Don’t be fooled by that gorgeous face,” Inca had warned Enda, as Giovanni giggled, “She rules me with a rod ofiron.”
Enda marveled again at Inca’s ability to draw people to her, even when she was obviously still in a lot of pain. Raff looked older, saddened, and wrecked by what had happened, but Enda watched him rallying, trying to hide hismisery.
When Enda got Raff on his own later, Raff admitted he was shattered. “I just feel so damn helpless. Is the answer really locking Inca up in an ivory tower to keep hersafe?”
“God, I’m so sorry, Raff. If it’s any consolation, I feel exactly the same,man.”
Raff nodded. “Of course. Sorry. Look, take me through what you’ve found outalready.”
They pouredover the maps of California. “We think he planned this down to the most minute detail; wherever his compound is, it is deeply hidden. The places the police and my team have searched all had roads leading to them. Wherever Jackson is, it’s out in the wildssomewhere.”
