by Dylan Keefer
Lucifer’s Wake
The Raine Michelson Files
Dylan Keefer
Contents
Also by Dylan Keefer
Title Page
Prologue
1. Chapter One
2. Chapter Two
3. Chapter Three
4. Chapter Four
5. Chapter Five
6. Chapter Six
7. Chapter Seven
8. Chapter Eight
9. Chapter Nine
10. Chapter Ten
11. Chapter Eleven
12. Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
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About the Author
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 Blood Princess: Episode Five
The Chronicles of Gandos
The Sword of Light
The Aurora Chronicles
Child of Winter
Lake of Prophecy
Taste of Battle
Heart of Will
Spirits of Arktika
The Raine Michelson Files
Angel’s Poison
Demon’s Match
Satan’s Torment
Devil’s Advocate
Lucifer’s Wake
Mischief Miles Investigations
Scent of Mischief
Everscape Online
Traitor of Golden Blaze
Queen of Ragnarok
Champion of Everscape
Britney Allen: The London Crime Syndicate
Blood of Babes: The Slasher Files
Standalone
Lost in Space
The Lone Survivor
Mr. Buddy Bot
Evelyn
Copyright © 2019 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 2019
I dedicate this book to my friends and family who have always supported in my dream of being a professional author.
Dylan Keefer
Prologue
Raine sat as still as possible. She didn’t want to appear as nervous as she did because she knew he would see it as a weakness and exploit it. He was good at that. This was spur of the moment thanks to the dumb talk that she had to do this morning. She hated talking in front of groups. Why she always agreed she wasn’t sure.
“We have to understand that behind every crime is a cry for help. It took me a while to see that because when you’re in a position of being law enforcement or lawyer or judge, it is easy to be calloused to what happens out there. You see a drug dealer as a drug dealer. A pedophile is a pedophile. A murderer is a murder. You think that no one human could ever do what they do. Yet, there is a fine line between us and them. Seeing that line may not only keep you from crossing it, but it could help you see the help that is needed.”
“But,” one of the audience members raised their hand, “in your situation, you set up Eli Samuels. You played his game. Did you cross a line?”
Raine nodded. “I wanted to cross it. I’d been tortured by this man, and everything in me wanted to return the favor. But sometimes, you have to go to extreme measures to bring someone to a place where they can get the help they need.”
“Do you think that everyone deserves help?”
That question caught her off guard. She knew what she wanted to say, but she wasn’t sure she believed it. There was an awkward silence as she cleared her throat a couple of times.
“I think everyone needs help. No one deserves it, but if we don’t at least offer—then we aren’t a justice system that will make a difference.”
“So, you would offer that to mass murders? Rapists? Eli Samuels?”
Raine heard the door open and sat up straighter. Eli looked totally different. She wasn’t sure what she expected. Maybe she hoped that he was being beaten up or sickly or struggling. Instead, he was clean shaven, fitter than before, and smiling. That smile. It burned, and he knew it.
“Raine. I gotta say that I’m surprised to see you,” he said sitting across from her. His hands were cuffed together, but it didn’t seem to bother him. “Are you interviewing me for your next book?”
“I don’t think I would need to interview you. I’ve gotten to know you pretty well,” Raine said. “I could write a series.”
“Oh,” Eli said. “I know it would be a best seller. Can I just ask a favor? I want Matt Damon to play me in the movie, not one of these new young actors. They don’t have the chops.”
“Can’t promise anything.”
“So, I’m curious as to why you’re here,” Eli leaned forward with his chin in his hands like a child waiting to hear a story. “You aren’t looking for closure, are you? Because I’m not going to give it.”
“I wouldn’t expect that. I guess I don’t want the last thing in my mind being the image of you in that basement. I want to see if—if…”
Eli narrowed his eyes. “If there is anything redeeming that you can get a glimpse of. You wanted to read me to see if you could somehow gain a victory here. Is that it?” Eli shook his head. “You must have forgotten that I brought the redemption out of you, Raine. Your life is so much better because I broke you.”
Raine shuddered at the last statement. “Maybe? And maybe there is hope for you. I haven’t figured out how, but I know there is.”
“You’re wasting your time.” Eli said. There was no witty comeback. No snarky remark. His eyes had lost their playfulness. Raine smiled slowly.
“Am I really wasting my time; or—are you afraid that I’m going to breakthrough?” She stood up from her seat. “I’ll see you again, Eli. This game isn’t over yet.”
Chapter One
The taxi pulled up the driveway and stopped behind the minivan parked there. Micah nudged Raine. “You ready to meet the family?”
Raine grimaced slightly. “I’m not going to lie. I’m kind of nervous. You haven’t exactly told me much about your parents. Only your brother and his wife.”
“Well, my parents are really good people,” Micah said. “They just loved my brother more than me.”
Raine wanted to say that she was sure that wasn’t true, but she knew from experience that it could be. Parents were human, too. Micah hadn’t seemed like the angelic son that Kyle had been painted to be.
The front door to the house opened as they were getting their bags out of the car. There was a rumbling sound as a wheelchair came barreling down a side ramp off the porch and into the driveway. Kyle’s blonde hair hung over his forehead as he laughed and came to a stop right in front of them. The cab driver looked at him strange as if wondering how he speed over so fast.
“Big brother. Gracing us with his presence again,” Kyle said. He opened his arms and Micah leaned down for a hug.
“You have a license to drive that thing.” Kyle shrugged a
nd turned his attention to Raine.
“And you must be the beauty that has tamed my brother’s wild and stubborn heart. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.” He took Raine’s hand in both of his and then opened his arms as well. Raine embraced the hug. It wasn’t as awkward as she expected it to be. Kyle was so friendly that it seemed like she had known him all her life.
“Taming hearts, huh? You make me sound a whole lot better than I am.”
“Nonsense. We always wondered who the woman would be that could cause him to open up and live.”
“Well, he did a number on me, too.” She looked at Micah who was trying not to blush. She rubbed his back to encourage the redness in his cheeks.
“Alright. Let’s get this show on the road,” Micah said grabbing the bags. “I’m not sure you two being together is a good thing.”
Kyle heaved a bag onto his lap and started to wheel away. “You think this is bad. Just wait till she meets Rachel.”
Raine couldn’t help but feel like Rachel Duscane was her long-lost sister. The girl seemed like that best friend who went out for drinks with you just so you could vent about your day. While Kyle had greeted his brother with a hug, Rachel met him with a solid punch in the arm. She hugged Raine and pulled her into the living room with her while the guys took care of the luggage.
“You’ve got to be a big deal,” Rachel said. “I’ve known this family for years, and Micah hasn’t talked about a girl before. I’m glad you have each other.”
“Trust me, it was out of the blue.” Raine said.
“Well, you’ve already had some tests in your relationship. I followed the Eli Samuels case from here.” Rachel shook her head. “You’re a rock, girl. You sure you can’t move up here?”
Raine got to know a little more about the elementary school teacher. Rachel was a very active member of society which impressed Raine. Outside of work, she and Kyle both were on several community boards, volunteered with different organizations, and were active church goers. She didn’t expect that. She and Micah had never discussed religious beliefs. It hadn’t come up as important. She wondered if that was a reason why his parents leaned more towards Kyle.
The doorbell rang while she assisted Rachel in the kitchen with dinner. “Oh boy,” Rachel said. She took a dish towel and wiped off her hands. “Whatever you do, just take everything they say with a grain of salt. A lot of salt.”
That sounded comforting. Raine walked into the living room as Rachel went to answer the door. Micah looked less than enthusiastic about seeing his parents, and she could understand why when they walked into the room.
“Rachel, the house looks so good. You must have cleaned recently,” Mary Duscane noted as she looked around. Her eyes fell on her youngest, and she rushed over to give him a hug. “My son. How are you doing? I heard about what happened this week, and I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks, mom, but…”
“Couldn’t be prouder,” Edgar Duscane said. “I always think you can’t surprise me or impress me even more, and you do.”
“Thanks, dad, but…”
Micah caught his dad’s eyes, and the mood instantly changed. “Oh, Micah. You’re here. I didn’t see you.” He stepped over awkwardly and gave his son a hug that was more like a two-handed pat on the back.
“Good to be home,” Micah said with a plastic smile.
“Well, I wonder,” his mother said. “It’s not like you told us the last time you were visiting.”
“I told you, mom,” Kyle said. She didn’t acknowledge his comment. Her eyes immediately went to Raine. Oh boy, Raine thought. Help me keep my mouth shut.
“And you must be Raine,” she said. Her eyes glanced up and down Raine’s body and then stopped with an unapologetic look into her eyes. Raine cleared her throat.
“I am, Mrs. Duscane. It’s nice to me you.” She wanted to say that Micah had spoken so much about them, but something told her not to go overboard.
“Interesting,” Mary said. “I’ve followed you ever since I first saw you on the news. Kyle told me that Micah and this famous criminal psychiatrist were working on a case. I knew right away that he would fall for you. He has a thing for broken girls.”
“Mom!” Micah’s eyes grew wide. Mary waved him off.
“I’m sure Raine is very aware that it’s usually that the thing you study is usually the thing that drives you. Most psychiatrists and counselors are struggling with the same thing that they want to be the hero over.”
“A lot of times that is true,” Raine said. “And there are a lot of broken people in the world just trying to conquer demons. I’m sure you know that as a marriage and family therapist.”
Mary raised an eyebrow. Raine had been polite about it, but she wasn’t going to let Micah’s mother bully her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Rachel smirk. Micah’s dad stuck out his hand to her, and she shook it.
“I liked what you did out there,” he said. “Really stuck it to that Samuels guy. Hope he rots in hell for what he did to people.”
“Wow!” Kyle clapped his hands together. “I think we can talk about better things—and over dinner.”
During dinner, Raine watched the family dynamics. Kyle was a master at keeping the peace between Micah and his parents by fielding questions and controlling the conversation. He was a true classroom facilitator. They talked about everything from the weather to sports to Hawaii to Rachel’s crazy students.
“So, has Micah told you about Mya?” Mary asked Raine.
“He’s told me enough,” Raine said. “I’m really here to just to help him do what needs to be done.”
“She saved his life, you know.” This time, her comment was directed towards him. Micah stared down at his place. Raine could feel him tensing up. She reached over and grabbed his hand.
“I looked her up, too,” Raine said looking at anyone but Mary. “She was running for Governor?”
“She was going to be Governor,” Rachel said grabbing a roll from the center of the table. “Mya is probably one of the most loved individuals I know.”
“Rachel’s right,” Kyle said. “She spent several years out of college working public relations for the USO. Said that she saw a lot when she traveled, and it made her want to change the world. She figured the best was to start at home.”
“I remember when she first moved back and ran for superintendent,” Edgar said. “She swore she was going to make some changes in these schools, and by God, she did. After school programs, family nights, equal funding for different programs, and so much more. Two years. She turned this place upside down.”
“And she was always present in the community,” Mary said. “She was at every major event, reached out to local business, was voted onto the city council…”
Wow, Raine thought. The way that they spoke of her, Mya was not only well-known, but she was well-loved. Being well-loved was probably the only thing worse than being well-known, and if Mya put herself out there like it seemed then she had more enemies than anyone knew.
“It’s just too bad you screwed it up for the both of you,” Mary said with a head shake. Kyle groaned and hissed at his mother.
“What?” Micah had reached his boiling point. “What was that supposed to mean?”
Raine grabbed for his hand again, but Micah pulled it away. Mary waved him off again. “Nothing, dear. I just know that she really cared about you. You just cared about yourself.”
“Well, I had to because it wasn’t like I was getting anything from you!” Mary gasped.
“Son, don’t talk that way to your mother,” Edgar said sternly. Micah snorted.
“You know, it doesn’t matter because I’m used to just being the screw up. Sorry, I wasn’t the one that wound up in the wheelchair.”
Micah stood up and pushed his chair under the table before walking out of the dining room. Rachel gave a sympathetic look to Raine.
“Why?” Kyle said. “You can’t just treat him like your son for one night?”
“Not in front of Raine,” Mary said.
“Yes, in front of Raine,” Kyle said. “I love you guys, but—Micah—he’s not what you make him out to be. As long as you constantly tear him down, a part of him will always be brought down. Right, Raine?”
Raine took a sip of water. “I think I should go check on him,” she said. There were plenty of words that she wanted to say, but it wasn’t the time. Honestly, she wasn’t the person to say it. Micah stood in the driveway pacing back and forth.
“We should get a hotel room,” he said when she walked up.
“Why?” She asked softly. “Your parents aren’t staying here, and you have nothing against Rachel and Kyle.”
“I just—if we really pursue this investigation about Mya—I really don’t know how much I can handle my family being around it.”
Raine grabbed his shoulders and stopped him from pacing. Then she kissed him deeply. Micah slowly started to relax. Raine took her hand and stroked his cheek.
“We’re going to do this like we’ve done everything else—together.”
Chapter Two
The coffee was like black tar. Though he had never tasted tar, Greg imagined that it tasted very similar to what was in the styro-foam cup. He gagged a little inside of his mouth and spit out the remainder of the taste into the cup before pitching it all into the trash.
“Here.” He looked up and saw another cup being presented in front of his eyes. This cup had a logo on it, and the aroma seeping from the lid was a lot more enticing. The woman who held the cup gave him a comforting smile. Next to her was a nervous looking man.