by K. J. Dahlen
“Is that why you killed all those women? To watch their souls leave their bodies?” Jessie asked softly.
Michael nodded.
“And what did you determine?”
“I don’ t know, I never saw it again. My mother was the only soul I witnessed leaving. That is until I died. I could feel the pain of Frankie’s blows. I even felt the rib he broke pierce my lung. I could feel the pain as it got stronger and I struggled to breathe as my lung finally collapsed. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and with every heartbeat, I felt it slow down. I tried to stay alive, but Frankie kept hitting me over and over again. He wouldn’t stop. Then the rib he broke went right through my lung and punctured my heart. It didn’t go in very far but when Frankie moved me, the rib slipped out and my heart’s blood began flowing and I knew then I was bleeding out. I did manage to catch his eyes before he killed me. He got to watch my soul depart my mortal body but I couldn’t leave him there alone. Frankie had never been alone before. I couldn’t let the shadows take me to hell. Not yet, I needed to know he was going to be okay.” He paused to wipe his face. Beads of sweat had built up and rolled down his face despite the coolness of the room they were in.”
Jessie watched him with blood dripping from her cut lip.
“When our blood mixed together I could feel myself, my soul being absorbed into his. At first neither of us wanted the other one to be there and it was an unholy battle to see which of us was stronger.” Michael chuckled. “I fought to gain control but by all that’s holy, Frankie was stronger than I would have thought. His psyche beat me back time after time. Every once in a while I’d escape long enough to find a woman. I had to keep trying to find out if what I saw when my mom died was real. As much as I tried, it was never the same again. I could never find that same feeling watching her leaving in the white lights.”
*
“So how many women were there?” Jessie asked quietly. She was freezing and in pain, but she had to know how many bodies were out there. She needed to stall this killer until Lucifer could get here. She knew he was her only hope, but she also knew her time was running out.
“You will be the thirteenth. Lucky you, huh?” Michael answered. Taking a deep breath, he walked over toward the wall of the cavern. Bending over, he began looking for something in the pack he’d hidden there a long time ago. He picked it up along with a cloth and began polishing the item. When he was ready, he straightened his shoulders and turned to face her.
When he turned back toward her, she saw he had a huge knife in his hand. Jessie knew her time had just ran out. Just then, she also knew something more. She gasped as enlightenment hit her. “Oh, my god,” she whispered. “This is where you killed them isn’t it? This is your own killing field isn’t it?” She shuddered as she came to this conclusion. She felt like she might throw up.
Michael smiled and nodded. Looking around the small cavern, he looked back at her. “Yeah, this is where most of them died. Michelle died beside the rock bench she loved so much but the others I killed on this farm, all died here. Of course, the three other women died elsewhere but if I could have, I would have brought them here. Their blood stains these floors and their souls are trapped here in these stone walls.” He caught her stare and took a step toward her. “Now you will join the other souls trapped here.”
Jessie’s breathing picked up. Here it was. Her imminent death. Now there was someone to miss her. Lucifer. Before this, she had no one. She felt the will to survive kick in strongly. She needed to stay alive long enough for Lucifer to come. But did he even know where she was? She had to hope he could trail them. His knowledge of the farm land. She tried to move backward but it wasn’t easy. With his talk of souls and murder. She’d known he was insane when she read that journal, just not to this degree. With each step he took toward her, she was able to scoot back only a few inches.
Suddenly, there was an unholy shout echoing in the cave and Lucifer rushed in.
In a fury of motion, he rushed the man she knew as Michael. Lucifer looked determined and his expression showed no emotion at all. He moved so fluidly, he was on top of the killer so fast that all Jessie could do was blink.
Jessie watched him as he leapt into the air and landed a resounding blow to Michael’s skull.
Michael had been caught entirely unaware.
Michael’s head snapped back from the blow. Then he was bent over double as Lucifer’s fist hit his belly. Michael then began fighting back with only the strength that the insane had and soon both men were bleeding. Michael had caught Lucifer in the arm with the knife in his hand before Lucifer could get the blade away from him. Blood splattered along the cave wall.
The desperate killer still had the knife in his bloody hand and both men were circling one another in order to find an opportunity to strike the next blow.
Lucifer was so fast for as large a man as he was. She couldn’t believe anyone could move like this. Jessie sat stunned as she realized now that his training had kicked in and it was this that would save them both.
Tears ran from her eyes stinging her cuts as she prayed Lucifer wouldn’t be injured too badly. She couldn’t lose him. She would rather die than lose him.
Michael had this manic gleam in his eyes as he swiped the knife repeatedly at Lucifer but kept missing. He screamed like a deranged wild animal in frustration as he panted and huffed.
Lucifer just kept steady on his feet. His expression showed nothing. He wasn’t even breathing hard.
A few seconds later, the fight was all over as Jinx came up behind him and struck the back of Michael’s head.
Michael dropped to the ground immediately.
Jessie watched in amazement as more of Lucifer’s men filed into the room from a dark shadow along the far wall. They had entered the room silently and Jinx kicked the knife out of his hands.
Hades and Butcher turned the man over and tied his hands behind his back.
Lucifer walked over to where Jessie was laying. He squatted down and looked her over. He didn’t want to touch her yet, not until he knew how badly she was really hurt. “Are you ok?” he asked.
“I’m better now that you’re here.” She stared at him a moment then asked, “Can you untie my hands?”
Lucifer nodded and pulled his knife out of his belt. Reaching behind her, he cut the binding on her wrists.
Jessie groaned as feeling came back to her arms and hands. Wave after wave of pure agony washed over her until the blood began returning to her arms.
Lucifer gathered her into his arms and just held her for a moment. Then he pulled away and gently rubbed her sore wrists.
Jessie leaned forward sobbed into his shirt. “I thought I’d never seen you again. I thought he was going to kill me before you found me.”
“I’m so sorry baby,” he murmured in her ear. “He never should have gotten that close to you.”
Jessie looked up at him through blurry eyes. “He truly is insane. He told me I would have been his thirteenth victim, but we only know about nine. We have to find those other victims. We have to give them and their families’ closure.”
*
“And we will baby.” Lucifer rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “But first, we need to get you out of this freezing cave and get him into a jail cell.” He stood up and assisted her to her feet.
Hades and Butcher each grabbed Michael under his arms and dragged him toward the opening Lucifer had come through. A short time later, they passed through the opening in the stone wall and were joined immediately by Demon, Charlie and Mitch.
Just as they cleared the rock formation, Michael jerked himself out of Jinx and Butcher’s hands, grabbed a weapon from the back of Jinx’s waistband, and aimed the gun straight at Jessie’s head. No one noticed that when Michael came to half way through the tunnel, he had been working the rope that bound him, he had dislocated a thumb to loosen the ropes and gain his freedom.
Before he could pull the trigger however, another shot rang out and Michael fr
oze at first… then dropped slowly to his knees before falling face first in the dirt.
It all happened so fast no one expected it. Everyone was caught unaware, then Lucifer snapped his head over to where Charlie and Mitch were standing. But it wasn’t Charlie who had the smoking gun in his hand. It was Mitch.
Mitch had nailed Michael. All this time he’d been the one who wanted Michael alive, so he could question him about the crimes he’d committed. Now he would never get his answers.
Lucifer held Jessie close to him. He pulled her in tight when he heard the commotion behind him and he hadn’t let her go since then. He couldn’t lose her. He felt he should have protected her better.
After a moment of silence, Lucifer turned his head and saw Michael lying in the dirt. Someone had turned him over and it was apparent from the hole in his head where Mitch’s shot went. Michael’s eyes were wide open, but they had a glazed look to them.
“I suppose it all ended here where it started,” Demon spoke quietly. “Good fucking riddance too.”
Chapter Fifteen
Jessie didn’t want to look but she made herself turn her head and see what happened. As soon as she saw the blood, she knew her nightmare was over. Michael would never hunt another woman, his rage was over now, as was Frankie’s. Sydney would be at peace now, and so would the other women. She planted her face in Lucifer’s chest and wept silent tears. She thought about Sydney then about Margie at the diner. Closure… it was painful but now they had their answers.
She hadn’t seen the men leaving through the woods back to the compound for a vehicle. The first she knew was when they pulled up with a couple of trucks.
Lucifer led her over to the first truck and helped her into the cab. Some of his men had picked up Michael’s body and threw it in the back of the second truck. Mitch and Charlie rode with the body. The rest of Lucifer’s men piled in the back of the first truck and Demon drove them to the house.
When they arrived, Lucifer jumped out and pulled her into his arms. Carrying her inside, he stopped at a table and sat down with her on his lap.
Demon handed her a bottle of water.
She took a sip and winced from the cut on her lip.
The rest of the men along with Charlie and Mitch sat down around them.
“Can you tell us what happened baby?” Lucifer asked gently.
Jessie sniffed and wiped away her tears. She couldn’t look at anyone but Lucifer, so she addressed her explanation to him, “When I heard the explosion, I went to the door and saw everyone running outside. Then I saw him and ran to your room. Before I could get the bedroom door shut to lock it, he pushed me back into the bedroom and shut the door. I tried to get away but he shoved me to the floor. He screamed at me and kept asking about his journals. I told him I didn’t have them but I don’t think he believed me. He knew we couldn’t stay there much longer so he hit me hard enough to knock me out. I guess he tied my hands behind my back and I think he must have climbed through the window. The next thing I knew I woke up in that cave.”
“You called him Michael at one point in the cave,” Lucifer reminded her. “I thought his real name was Frank?”
Jessie’s eyes had a touch of fear in them at his words. “Well, at that point, he was Michael. It wasn’t Frankie or Jordan anymore but Michael.”
“What does that mean exactly?” Mitch asked looking perplexed.
“I think he had a duel personality. A split personality. Most of the time he was Frankie, but the way he explained it when Frank killed Michael, his soul entered Frank’s body. I don’t think that’s possible but I think Frank was so upset by what happened, his personality split and a small part of him became Michael. Then Michael explained that Frankie tried to suppress him all the time which made it hard for the killer to come out as much as he would have liked.”
Mitch took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Hanging his head for a moment, he looked up and asked her finally, “Did he ever tell you how many women he murdered?”
Jessie nodded and swallowed hard. “He said I would be his lucky number thirteen. He told me other than Michelle, he brought the others to the cave to kill them. That cave was his own killing place. But he also told me there are three other bodies out there somewhere.”
“Why would he come for you here?” Charlie asked.
“To get his journals back. He wouldn’t go to jail, so he had to get his journals and destroy them before someone else found them.”
“Did he ever say why he set fire to the institute? Why he killed all those other people?” Charlie asked.
“He said he thought the staff would let the other inmates loose, but the fire burned too hot to fast, there was no time to unlock their doors. He only wanted one or two people to die in that fire. One was the Doctor who treated him. Doctor Davison and the other person was Nurse Becky. Davison was a sadistic bastard and the nurse enjoyed the torture as much as the doctor did. He said he tied them up and left them in front of the windows so he could see their pain as they burned.” She visibly shuddered as she took a deep breath.
“So he watched the place burn did he?” Mitch shook his head.
Jessie nodded and looked pale. “He said he watched until the flames consumed them then he turned around and walked away. He didn’t feel anything about the rest of the patients who burned.”
“I think I’ve heard enough for now,” Mitch stated. “We better get his body to a coroner and start wrapping up the case. We’ll be back out tomorrow for a formal statement and then we’ll need the books to find the bodies.”
Jinx grunted as he held his glare on Mitch and Charlie.
It was Charlie who broke the silence by agreeing, “We’ll make do with the copy she gave us before.”
“For now, but eventually you’ll have to turn over the originals journals,” Mitch insisted.
With that, both men got up and walked toward the door.
After they left, the members of Lucifer’s family just sat there for a moment. Then Jinx made the comment, “Well hell Captain, I’m glad that’s over.”
Lucifer smiled. “Me too.” He looked down at Jessie and his smile faded. “You need a doctor.” He took a napkin and dumped water from the bottle on it to clean her cuts.
She flinched a little at his dabbing around her cheekbone. “I don’t think so.”
He shook his head at her but made no reply.
“We still have to be careful for a while.” Demon nodded.
“Why is that?” Jinx looked concerned.
“Because we’re going to have feds crawling all over this place until they recover the bodies of those women that psycho buried.” Demon pointed out.
*
Jessie groaned after Lucifer seemed to be done wiping her sore face and planted her face in Lucifer’s chest again. She didn’t want any more shocks. She didn’t think she could take it. She felt grimy and smelled like mud. Her face and ribs hurt something fierce now that it was all over. She looked up at Lucifer. “I think I need a shower and a nap. Can I still use your room?”
Lucifer frowned. “Why wouldn’t you? You belong there too.”
Jessie shrugged and got up. Without saying anything, she turned and walked down the hall. Entering Lucifer’s bedroom she noted the room was cleaned up and the bed freshly made. All signs of the struggle from earlier had been dealt with. She went over to her suitcase and gathered some clean clothes. Going into the bathroom, she started the shower and then gazed into the mirror.
Gasping in horror, she noted some dried blood on her face and neck. Her hair was messy and her eyes were turning dark with bruises. Her lip was still swollen from where Michael had struck her. Turning away, she couldn’t look at her face anymore. She stripped off her clothes and stepped under the hot water.
Fresh tears ran down her face as she let the water run over her tired and bruised body. The sound of running water hid her sobs. She was so upset that she didn’t hear Lucifer join her until his massive arms wrapped around her pulling her wet body clo
se to his.
“It’s over baby girl. He’ll never hurt anyone again. You’re safe now,” he whispered in her ear.
Jessie nodded. “I’ll leave first thing in the morning then.”
Lucifer’s grip tightened on her. “What the fuck you mean, you’ll leave first thing in the morning?” he growled.
Jessie turned her head and saw the expression on his face. He was seriously pissed. She was confused. “Don’t you want me to leave?”
“Hell no,” he swore.
“Oh.” Jessie swallowed hard.
“I told you before girl, you belong to me and I claimed you. You aren’t going anywhere,” Lucifer vowed.
Jessie turned in his arms. Looking up at him, she informed him, “I thought I was here under your protection until the cops caught Michael. I thought you’d want me to leave once the coast was clear.”
“You’re my woman. That’s not for a few days, that’s forever. I claimed you in front of my brothers and those guys are my family. That means something. That’s more of a commitment than a marriage. You aren’t going anywhere.”
“And that’s what you still want?” she had to know the answer to that question. She truly didn’t think he’d meant for her to stay forever.
Lucifer tipped her chin up to see her eyes. “Sweetness, I need you more than the air I need to breathe. Every fucking day of those four months we were abused and nearly starved to death while our own guys tracked us down to rescue us was hell on earth for me. Since the day we were rescued, I haven’t allowed anyone to touch me and I haven’t touched anyone else. I couldn’t bear it. When we were released from active duty, I brought my men home and we started up the Warriors MC here. We live and work the land. Some of the others came and went but we’ve all formed a band of men who need each other. Here, we can all breathe and just be.” He paused then shrugged. “I don’t know how to explain it any other way than that. I haven’t touched anyone for four years until you came here. I found I wanted your touch, I needed it. You settled something inside me that those fucking rebels broke a long time ago.”
