by Dylan Keefer
Satan’s Torment
The Raine Michelson Files
Dylan Keefer
Contents
Also by Dylan Keefer
Untitled
Prologue
1. Chapter One
2. Chapter Two
3. Chapter Three
4. Chapter Four
5. Chapter Five
6. Chapter Six
Epilogue
About the Author
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Also by Dylan Keefer
Also by Dylan Keefer
Series
The Blood Rite Saga
The Blood Empire: Episode One
The Blood Princess: Episode One
The Blood Princess: Episode Two
The Blood Princess: Episode Three
The Blood Princess: Episode Four
The Chronicles of Gandos
The Sword of Light
The Aurora Chronicles
Child of Winter
Lake of Prophecy
The Raine Michelson Files
Angel’s Poison
Demon’s Match
Satan’s Torment
Britney Allen: The London Crime Syndicate
Blood of Babes: The Slasher Files
Standalone
Lost in Space
The Lone Survivor
Mr. Buddy Bot
Evelyn
Copyright © 2018 by Dylan Keefer.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of
America. No part of this book may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents
either are the product of the author’s imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For information contact : purplepress.org
First Edition: October 2018
I dedicate this book to my friends and family who have always supported in my dream of being a professional author.
Dylan Keefer
Prologue
Open your eyes.
That was what her brain was telling her to do. At least, that's what the voice in her head seemed to be saying. She wasn't quite sure. Everything was in a fog. Everything felt heavy. Then she realized why her eyelids didn't want to pop open. A headache. It was a subtle throb that didn't make itself known until it was beating at the sides of her skull like a jackhammer trying to break ground. No light appeared from behind the curtain of her eyelids. That either meant it was night or there were no windows in whatever dark hole she was in.
Dammit, Heather, open your eyes!
She obeyed. Her body voluntarily jerked as consciousness became her friend again. Groaning, the girl tried to control the fear that immediately gripped her inside. She couldn't feel her arms or hands. The rope that bound them together behind her back was unforgiving. If it weren't for the numbness, it would probably hurt a lot. Her feet and legs were bound in the same manner causing her to sit up in an abnormally straight position with her head the only thing free to move.
Shit! The room was dark, but her eyes quickly adjusted. She was in some sort of basement. His basement? There hadn't been much of a glimpse—well, not a sober one.
“Hey! Hello!” Her voice seemed to hit a wall. No echo. No other sound. Was she in a soundproof room? “Is anyone there? Please!”
She tried to focus on moving her fingers. Maybe she could reach the ropes and somehow free herself. Her hands were too numb. She relaxed. There was no use fighting it right now. She needed to think. Dumb headache. She listened in silence for a while with her head leaned back. How long had it been since the party? There had been a lot of drinking which she had planned to avoid, but that hadn't gone the way she wanted.
“Heather, you need to chill out. You know that Eddie just needs to blow off some steam.” She sat pouting in Tisha's car with her arms crossed.
“That's not the point,” Heather muttered. “The point is that he expects way too much out of this relationship. Unrealistic things.”
“You are marrying him, aren't you?” Heather nodded slowly. They were engaged and had been for over a year. She had pushed for them to get married for them to get married right away, but he had wanted to wait. He had training to go through, then he was looking at deployment, and then things just kept coming up. She had warned him that the longer he waited, the harder this relationship was going to be—not for him, but for her. “You guys are high school sweethearts. The 'it' couple. I think you can make it through a fight about...”
“I cheated on him,” Heather blurted out. Tisha turned quickly in her seat with mouth wide open.
“You what? Heather!”
“Don't act surprised,” Heather sighed. “Everyone thought I was doing it in high school and college. Why not now?”
“But I knew you weren't,” her friend said. “When?”
“You don't want to know,” Heather said, but Tisha gave her a look that said she wasn't dropping the subject. Heather dropped her head. “Remember that dinner thing we had at Celina and Dave's? Everybody was there?”
“Oh no,” Tisha groaned. “You hooked up with that guy Joe, didn't you?”
Heather shook her head and bit her lip. “Worse. I—hooked up with Dave.”
Tisha sat back in the driver's seat and ran her hands through her hair. “Heather. What. The. Hell.”
“I know,” Heather groaned.
“He's not only married, but you and I were Celina's freaking bridesmaids!”
“I know. I know.”
“You know, but...” Tisha closed her mouth and breathed several times through her nose. “So, Eddie has a right to be upset that you are a little too free with other guys. He's been faithful to you, and you've been a whore.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Parked on the side of a main street in front of a bar that held a bunch of their friends celebrating a going away party. They were all dressed up, but now the mood had changed. "It was a mistake, Tisha. You know that I love Eddie, but I messed up. I know that." "And what are you going to do about it?" Her friend didn't look at her but merely stared ahead at the traffic. "I'm going to tell him." "Tonight?" Heather nodded to her friend. "But can we just go in and make tonight about our friend leaving. That's it." In answer, Tisha grabbed the door handle and got out of the car. Heather jerked again. This time, it was the sound of a door opening. Light poured into the basement illuminating just how dark and dusty it really was. She squinted as a shadow filled the doorway and took each step slowly. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Her voice quivered as his steps grew closer. His features weren't clearly seen until he stood directly in front of her and reached over her head. There was a small snap, and a light came on from the pull of a string she had not noticed. Heather shivered. He was really handsome—strong, chiseled features, fit but not too muscular, deep eyes. And she knew what had happened.
"Hello, Heather," he said walking over to pull up a chair that was behind her. "How are you feeling? You were asleep for a while." "Why are you doing this to me?" He dragged the chair around her and placed it in front so that when he sat, his knees almost touched her own. "Do you remember me? Do you remember what happened at all?" She swallowed hard as he smiled. "I guess, you might still be a little foggy. I'm the guy at the party tonight that you were flirting with quite heavily." "I wasn't flir--"He smacked her on the cheek. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to get her attention. "You were, Heather. B
lame it on the drinks you had, but the truth is that you are a natural flirt and whore. That's why your fiance didn't go with you to the party, and Tisha did."
“How—How do you know all of this? I don't understand.”
“Of course, you don't. You're all alike, aren't you? And I guess I'm the one that has to make an example of you. Just like I have to do with her.”
Heather jumped slightly as he reached around and wrenched her hand. He pulled off the engagement ring and held it to her face.
“This isn't a symbol of love to you. It's a symbol of you convincing another man that you will be true to him when you won't!” He was getting louder, and she didn't know what he was going to do next. “But I'm going to convince him this time. Eddie is going to come to his senses and realize that you aren't worthy of love. And when I do, then you'll get what you deserve.”
He turned the ring in between his fingers, almost mesmerized by its beauty. Heather gulped and sniffed back the sobs that were trying to find their way out. "Please, I don't know what you want me to do, but I'll do it. I'll do it just please, let me go." He closed his hand around the ring and looked at the pleading girl. She shook her head and whispered her, please. They feel on deaf ears. He stood up and kicked the chair away. "Too late."
Chapter One
Sleep seemed to come a little bit easier tonight. That didn't mean, he slept. Eli had gotten used to the fact that he never really slept throughout the night. The only time he came remotely close to that bliss was when a plan came together, and at that particular moment, his plan sat in his basement. He had untied her with the promise that if she caused any trouble, she would regret it. The girl had been very compliant. She knew. She knew that she was the reason she was in this spot. Though he may seem like a monster, he was helping people. That's all he wanted to do.
Eli turned his head. It was five forty-nine. The sun would be up sooner or later, but his first errand of the day wouldn't be open yet. Maybe a good run and a shower would help. Maybe, she would be ready for some breakfast.
“Hey, Mike. Haven't seen you run in a while.” Jess Winchester and her husband, Todd waved at Eli as he stretched in his driveway. He smiled and waved back.
"I know. I've slacked off a little bit but found some motivation today. How are you guys doing?"
“Great,” Todd said as they stood by their car. “We're taking the kids to Arizona to see some family tomorrow through next week. Both of us finally got off work and decided a little family vacation would be nice.”
“Maybe a date night or two if we leave the kids with their cousins,” Jess said with a twinkle in her eye. Eli smiled.
“It's awesome that you both still do date nights. You both are a model couple,” he said. “I hope you guys enjoy your trip. Tell the kids hey for me.”
Their car sped past him while he set a pace for his six-mile run. It had taken some time for him to establish himself in this neighborhood. A change in appearance, style, mannerisms, and everything that Eli Samuels stood for and could be known for was erased. To the Winchesters and other neighbors, he was a widower who moved to Hawaii from Louisiana and owned his own marketing business. He worked mainly from home and did a lot of traveling. No one knew who he was—who he really was. No one.
If Marjorie Samuels were still alive, she would have done everything in her power to stop him from what he was doing. She had been a devout Catholic ever since she was a schoolgirl and had tried to get her son and daughter to follow God and the church ever since they were young. Bill Samuels, wasn't religious about anything but his wife. So, even though he didn't believe in God or the church, he went for Marjorie's peace of mind. And everything had been picture perfect—until young Eli's perfect picture had been shattered.
Six miles wasn't a challenge, but the morning was in full swing, and he needed to get going with his plan. After a warm shower, Eli started breakfast. It had already been several months without Becca, and in that time, he had become a decent cook. Though he hadn't planned on being alone so soon, he knew that ultimately, he had to finish this alone. No woman would understand. There was some unwritten law where all women stood together no matter what. He hated the feminist who claimed that they were oppressed. The blacks and the Jews could claim it, and even the gays could claim it in some fashion over the women. But women, especially white women, were not oppressed. He was all for the downfall of chauvinistic bureaucracy, but that was not the majority.
He scraped the last of the eggs onto a second plate before balancing both plates on one arm and holding his handgun in the other. Heather scampered to the far side of the basement when he walked down the stairs. Eli waved the gun at her.
"Come on. You gotta eat." He placed the pate on the floor and then sat down Indian-style in front of it. He took his fork and started to stab at the food on his plate. He chomped on it greedily before looking back up at her. She hadn't moved. "I'm going to be gone all day, so you need to eat. I'm not reheating it for you." "Please," was all she could say. He kept eating. Eventually, she would learn that he did not pity her. He did not feel sorry for her. She was in the wrong, and he was trying to do the right thing.
The smell of the food was too enticing, and the girl slowly walked up and got on her knees in front of the plate. She peered at him through messy strands of hair and saw him nod to the plate. Heather took a hold of it, and once one fork-full of the food hit her mouth, she started to wolf-down the rest.
"I'm not sure how long I'm going to keep you down here," Eli spoke as if this were an amicable conversation. "Eddie has his weekly basketball night with the guys, right? I think I'll start after that. I wanna leave him with clues about your past and present. I don't think I should start off with your thing with Dave. I should wait, and maybe reveal that to him somehow tomorrow. I'll just make sure he gets some shots of those pics you used to send that one guy in college while you were dating." Heather lowered her plate. Her face grew pale. "Why would you—how could you..."
Eli shrugged. “Really, Heather, it's more like 'how could you?'. If we are pointing fingers here, I mean.”
“You're going to ruin a relationship because—what—you're too sick in the head to have one of your own?”
Eli ate his last bit of sausage and shook his head. “No. See, you ruined this Heather. You did.” He reached for her plate quickly which hadn't been finished. “And for that comment, you don't get any more until I get home.”
She remained on her knees as he left the room and locked the door behind him. Maybe she wasn't going to learn. Somehow, she seemed to still think that he was the bad guy. It would take a day or two. He had time.
Eli pulled out his phone and sat down at the kitchen table after the dishes were put away. He hummed Aerosmith to himself as he waited for the phone to ring. On the third one, she picked up.
“Hello, this is Hanna.” Eli closed his eyes and focused on her voice. It sounded so beautiful. For the longest time, he would dream of just seeing her and being in her embrace again. He remembered every single moment.
“Elijah, is this you?” His eyes opened. He heard her sigh. “Elijah, please talk to me. I know you're the one that's been calling every week. I don't know how I know, but I do. Eli, I know what they're saying about you on the news. I don't believe it. I know you. I do, but I—also know that you've disappeared. You can tell me what's going on. I can help you. Please!”
He hung up the phone. For a moment, he sat there and just thought about the sound of her voice. It always comforted him. It always soothed him. The one woman that was always faithful. He scrolled through the phone and dialed another number. This one only rang once before being picked up.
“Raine Michelson speaking.”
“Hello, Dr. Michelson. You sound chipper today.” There was a pause over the phone, and Eli smiled. “I hope I'm not interrupting something. I just wanted to say that tonight I'll have a surprise for you. I hope you don't mind staying up a little bit past...”
“I'm not playing your games anymore,�
� Raine growled into the phone. “You are going to get what's coming for you.”
“I think that you're going to get what's coming for you, actually,” Eli said. “Honestly, I do know that the last few have been bad, but you still haven't learned your lesson.”
“I confessed everything,” Raine said with exasperation. “I have no other secrets to reveal. You won.”
“Confessing is not the same as learning. You've changed nothing. You've righted no wrong. You've suffered nothing.”
“What do you want from me!” He let her frustration ring in his ears. What did he want? He wanted everything to go back to what it was supposed to be like. He wanted the life he should have had. He wanted his mother.
“You aren't ready,” he said hearing her groan. “When you are, you'll know. Until then...”
He hung up the phone. Time to go.
“So, what's her name?”
Micah looked around at the several pairs of eyes staring at him over the table on the back porch. He picked up his beer. “What are you talking about?” As soon as he put the bottle to his lips, Kyle laughed.
“I told you that he would take a drink when I asked him! That's his tell!” The others at the table laughed. Micah frowned.
"What? I don't have a tell." "You have a tell," Rachel laughed. "Why do you think you always lose at card games with the family? It starts off as a tell; then you are just too buzzed to play well."
“She's got you there,” Kyle nodded. “Before it was beer, it was milk. Dammit, if we didn't have to but an extra half gallon of milk just for you.”
