Lisa Jackson - Most Likely To Die

Leaving the mini quiches in the kitchen and leaving all the unhappiness and tragedy in the past where it belonged, the three old friends walked into the living room and into the arms of the men they loved.

As those final countdown moments drew near, the small, intimate group of old friends came together, champagne and sparkling grape juice glasses in their hands. Rachel noticed Kristen’s daughter, Lissa, nonchalantly making her way closer to Leo, whom she’d been flirting with all evening. Now, that would be a pair, Rachel thought.

Dean leaned down and whispered in her ear, “That is grape juice in your glass, isn’t it?”

“Of course. You know I wouldn’t drink anything else, not now.”

“What are you two lovebirds whispering about?” Kristen asked. “I can understand Lindsay and Wyatt acting like newlyweds since they just got married last month, but you two have been married since September. Really, now!”

Everyone laughed, happiness filling the room.

Rachel looked to Dean for approval before sharing their wonderful news. He nodded. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and said, “We’re pregnant.”

The women shared hugs and kisses. The guys shook Dean’s hand and slapped him on the back. The two teenagers stood side by side and smiled at each other. Then they all lifted their glasses and made a toast-to Rachel and Dean, to good friends, and to the future.

The clock struck midnight. A new year dawned.

Leo turned to Lissa and kissed her on the cheek. She threw her arms around his neck and planted one right on his mouth, then hand in hand they walked to the windows to watch the fireworks bursting brightly in the dark sky.

Dean pulled Rachel into his arms. “Happy New Year, Mrs. McMichaels.” He laid his hand over her still-flat belly. “I love you and I love our little rug rat.”

Then he kissed her passionately as the other two couples followed their lead.

Dear Reader,

How great is it that you picked up a copy of MOST LIKELY TO DIE? I hope you enjoyed the girls of “St. Lizzy’s,” and their love stories set in a background of tense suspense. I was more than thrilled to write my portion of the book and to be able to set the bulk of the story in Portland, Oregon. Portland is special to me as it was the closest “big city” to the small logging town where I grew up, so I felt right at home introducing you to the area!

I’ve got lots of great news on the horizon. For those of you who didn’t get a chance to read the hardcover edition of SHIVER last year, the paperback will soon be available. In March 2007, you can visit Our Lady of Virtues Hospital, an abandoned mental hospital that puts the weird goings-on at St. Elizabeth’s to shame. SHIVER is Detective Reuben Montoya of the New Orleans Police Department’s story. You remember Montoya. He was first introduced in HOT BLOODED and has popped up in my New Orleans books ever since. Now, the cocky, brash detective gets his own tale, one that involves a twenty-year-old mystery and a beautiful, spunky woman, Abby Chastain, who is ultimately tied to the old hospital. I think you’ll like it.

In April 2007, right on the heels of the publication of the paperback edition of SHIVER, is my next hardcover novel, ABSOLUTE FEAR, the sequel to SHIVER. If you finished SHIVER, then you know there were some loose ends left at the end of the book. ABSOLUTE FEAR answers those questions and brings in some new characters: Defense Attorney Dennis Cole and Eve Renner, his lover, the woman who claims he tried to kill her. He’s been incarcerated and now he wants the truth and vengeance, not necessarily in that order. ABSOLUTE FEAR is an edge-of-your-seat thriller, a tense story of lies, deceit and betrayal. I think it’s the perfect follow-up to SHIVER!

Also, I’ve got a special surprise for all of you who loved IF SHE ONLY KNEW. I have a new novel, ALMOST DEAD, that brings back some familiar faces from San Francisco. Remember Cissy Cahill, Marla’s daughter in IF SHE ONLY KNEW? Well, it’s ten years later and Cissy’s back with a sexy husband and an innocent baby. Once again Cissy’s life is turned upside down. Everything she holds true turns out to be false. Her marriage is a sham. Both she and her child are in life-threatening danger, and people around her start dying. Fortunately Anthony Paterno of the San Francisco Police Department is on the case, but he might just be too late. ALMOST DEAD is a bizarre, twisted tale that’s guaranteed to keep you up late. Look for this original paperback in August 2007! In the meantime, please turn the page for an excerpt of SHIVER!

Again, thanks for picking up a copy of MOST LIKELY TO DIE. If you want to contact me about any of my books, you can do so through my website: www.lisajackson.com.

In the meantime, keep reading!

Lisa Jackson

Twenty years earlier

Our Lady of Virtues Hospital

Near New Orleans, Louisiana

She felt his breath.

Warm.

Seductive.

Erotically evil.

A presence that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to lift, her skin to prickle, sweat to collect upon her spine.

Her heart thumped, and barely able to move, standing in the darkness, she searched the shadowed corners of her room frantically. Through the open window she heard the reverberating songs of the frogs in the nearby swamps and the rumble of a train upon faraway tracks.

But here, now, he was with her.

Go away, she tried to say, but held her tongue, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn’t notice her standing near the window. On the other side of the panes, security lamps illuminated the grounds with pale, bluish light, and she realized belatedly that her body, shrouded only by a sheer nightgown, was silhouetted in their eerie glow.

Of course he could see her, find her in the darkness.

He always did.

Throat dry, she stepped backward, placing a hand on the window casing to steady herself. Maybe she had just imagined his presence. Maybe she hadn’t heard the door open after all. Maybe she’d jumped up from a drug-induced sleep too quickly. After all, it wasn’t late, only eight in the evening.

Maybe she was safe in this room, her room, on the third floor.

Maybe.

She was reaching for the bedside light when she heard the soft scrape of leather against hardwood.

Her throat closed on a silent scream.

Having adjusted to the half-light, her eyes took in the bed with its mussed sheets, evidence of her fitful rest. Upon the dressing table were the lamp and a bifold picture frame; one that held small portraits of her two daughters. Across the small room was a fireplace. She could see its decorative tile and cold grate and, above the mantle, a bare spot, faded now where a mirror had once hung.

So where was he? She glanced to the tall windows. Beyond, the October night was hot and sultry. In the panes she could see her wan reflection: petite, small-boned frame; sad gold eyes; high cheekbones; lustrous auburn hair pulled away from her face. And behind her…was that a shadow creeping near?

Or her imagination?

That was the trouble. Sometimes he hid.

But he was always nearby. Always. She could feel him, hear his soft, determined footsteps in the hallway, smell his scent-a mixture of male musk and sweat-catch a glimpse of a quick, darting shadow as he passed.

There was no getting away from him. Ever. Not even in the dead of night. He received great satisfaction in surprising her, sneaking up on her while she was sitting at her desk, leaning down behind her when she was kneeling at her bedside. He was always ready to press his face to the back of her neck, to reach around her and touch her breasts, arousing her though she loathed him, pulling her tightly against him so that she could feel his erection against her back. She wasn’t safe when she was under the thin spray of the shower, nor while sleeping beneath the covers of her small bed.