Lucifer's Woman Read online

  Hades nodded slowly. “She’s got a point Prez.”

  “So, what do you think we should do about this?” Lucifer shook his head. “Let the bastard get away with it? Let the families of those women keep wondering what happened to their daughters and sisters?”

  “No of course not, but if Michael is out there somewhere and he’s watching this farm, he’s going to know we found the journals and he’s going to come after us.” She looked over at Lucifer with tears in her eyes. “He’s going to come after me. He’s going to know I found his journals and he’s going to have to kill me to keep his secret, maybe even all of you as well. He isn’t going to want anyone knowing what he did or who he is. Not if he’s managed to keep his secret this long.”

  “How did you find his journals anyway?” Hades asked curiously.

  Jessie tucked her hair behind her ear again and explained, “I inherited my grandmother’s farm. It’s about three hours away from here. The attorney had told me my grandmother rented out rooms in her house to make the rent. He said it gave her someone to talk to after my grandfather passed away over ten years ago. It was while I was going through the rooms I found the journals. They were hidden in one of the back bedrooms. I was also told the last tenant left three years ago but that was a lie. According to Michael’s journals, his last kill had been only a year and a half ago. How would that information have gotten into the journals if he wasn’t around at some point recently?”

  “Where was your grandmother’s farm?” Jinx asked with a frown.

  “Over by Colten’s Edge.”

  Jinx stared at her for a moment. Then he looked over at Lucifer and back to Jessie. “You’re Emma Bennish’s granddaughter?”

  Jessie nodded slowly. “How did you know that?”

  Jinx shook his head. “Hell woman, everyone in the county knows Emma and her late husband George. Colten’s Edge may be three hours away, but everyone knew them. George raised a fine line of horses and traded them all over the country. He was a savant with his horses. After he died, Emma had to sell off the horses because whatever he did, died with him. She couldn’t take care of them and while they were gentle with George, they wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch them. No one has ever been able to figure out his secret with the animals he raised.”

  Jessie seemed to slump in her chair. She sucked in a deep breath and lowered her head.

  “What’s wrong?” Lucifer asked.

  “If everyone knows my grandparents, then he might know my grandmother is dead. He’s probably already come back for his journals and when he found them gone, he knows he has to find me.” She looked panic then gazed around at the room as if to find a way out. “I have to get the hell away from here. I can’t stay here.”

  “You aren’t going anywhere.” Lucifer growled pulling her into his arms. “I won’t let him get you, but you aren’t going anywhere.”

  Jessie glanced up into his face. Raising her hand, she cupped his chin. “You can’t stop him from coming after me. You can’t stop him. You don’t even know who he is. How can you find a ghost?”

  The rest of the room was silent and soon the quiet was too loud.

  Jessie then noticed the utter silence and she gazed around at the bikers. She found the look of shock on more than one of the faces around them.

  Finally, Demon asked what they all wondered, “Prez, are you okay?”

  Lucifer turned his head to stare at his VP. “I’m fine, why?”

  Demon looked from him to Jessie and then back to him again. “No problem, just wondering.” All the men knew he didn’t like to be touched, yet they seen this with their own eyes.

  Lucifer glared at each and every man in the room.

  Their gazes went from confused to surprise, but they met his look head on.

  “What do you want us to do?’ Aries asked his leader, not touching on the “touching” subject.

  “I want you to find out if the bodies are indeed buried on this land,” Lucifer instructed. “Even if we only find one of them, it would prove he was here. If you find one, the rest of them are probably buried here too.” Lucifer snuggled into Jessie’s neck.

  One of the men gasped at this action.

  Lucifer chose to ignore their reactions. “This farm has been in my family for over a hundred years. My granddad, great granddad, and dad worked this land for all those years. It’s been passed down from father to son and now it belongs to me. When we were discharged from the service, this place was waiting for me, for all of us. We found a good life here, a safe haven from the rest of the world and I’ll be damned if some low life bastard is going to take that away from us. We lost everything that ever meant anything to us. I won’t lose this place too.” He moved Jessie back to her own chair and reached inside his shirt pocket then laid a small SD card on the table. “There are files on this card that you guys need to read, and you’ll need them to find the bodies if they’re still here. Her iPad didn’t make it, so you’ll have to find some way to read it but it’s all there.”

  Then he got to his feet and pulled Jessie to hers. Wordlessly, he led her down the hall.

  *

  A stunned moment later, the men all heard his bedroom door close.

  “What the everlovin fuck was that?” Jinx swore out loud.

  Demon shook his head. “No fucking clue.” But he now knew. Lucifer had a woman. One he touched and cared for apparently. It was a shock, but it seemed natural to Lucifer.

  Everyone looked a little shell shocked. Lucifer had come back from the war on terror almost a broken man. Those four months he and his men had been taken hostage were rough for everyone but especially rough for Captain Nick Leroy, a.k.a. Lucifer. A man could only take so much and then they break, the rebels wanted to break him, but they couldn’t. They took him to hell over and over again but still they never broke the man, but lord knows they came very close.

  After they were rescued, Lucifer wouldn’t let anyone else touch him not even medical personnel. They had to literally hold him down to give him medical care when they first got him back. The following months were pure hell for Lucifer until the top brass decided to release the men due to severe PTSD.

  Lucifer, Demon, Jinx and Juno, another man in their group were sent home. The three of them came here while Juno went home. He thought he could make it on his own but within months, he came knocking on their door.

  That was three and a half years ago and Lucifer still couldn’t bear to have anyone touch him. Until today. This was the first time in four years Lucifer had allowed anyone to touch him and it’d astonished his fellow teammates. The fact that he had touched her was also shocking.

  Demon smiled as he realized this might be a good thing. Astonishing but good.

  Jinx looked a bit upset but even he made no comment.

  “What’s on that little disk Demon?” Hades asked as he avoided the subject of Lucifer’s change in behavior.

  “The thoughts and words of one very sick motherfucker,” Demon told the man.

  “Well then, let’s find a way to read them. I wanna meet this bastard and send him to hell.” Hades rapped his knuckles on the table.

  The men all paused at his play on words. Hades wanting to send someone to hell. It was so appropriate, yet inevitable that they do so.

  Jinx snickered.

  Demon gave a slight smile as he shook his head.

  *

  Jordan Tate stood in the shadows and watched the wood line. He remembered these woods and his memories usually gave him a feeling of coming home but not today. Today, he felt uncertain and that was something new for him.

  This place was only one of many all over the states he used but this place was special to him. He’d grown up in a place like this and while that should be nothing more than hateful reminder of the hell he’d endured as a kid he didn’t remember it that way. The only woman he loved had tried to make his hell bearable, right up until the day she was taken from him. That had been the day Michael had come to him.

  He
couldn’t control the impulses inside him and when he took Michelle’s life Michael had become stronger than ever in his psyche. Michael had come to him a long time ago when he couldn’t take the beatings anymore. The boy he’d been then had always known he shared his soul with another but until the day his mother died, he hadn’t known about Michael.

  It had been Michael who showed him the way, Michael who’d whispered in his ear when the pain wanted him to check out.

  Michael had been getting stronger over the years between then and now and it was Michael standing here in the shadows searching for anything that might have changed over the last little while.

  Michael screamed inside his head that they needed to find her. They needed to find Emma Bennish’s granddaughter and stop her from telling the world what Michael had done. First though, Michael needed to know if his secrets had been revealed already.

  Walking quietly through the woods, he made his way to the rock bench he’d visited for the first time so many years ago. The closer he got to the bench the more he began to notice signs that the ground had been disturbed.

  He came to a stop about fifteen feet shy of the stone bench. From where he stood, he could see signs of a struggle closer to the bench and a feeling of dread washed over him. The tracks he’d followed all the way here stopped. He knew in this moment; his secret was no longer a secret.

  Clenching his hands, he knew now, he had to find this missing girl who knew his darkest secrets. He had to shut her mouth for good. He was about to turn away and retrace his steps when a stray beam of sunlight penetrating the tree tops flashed on something near the bench.

  He stepped closer and knelt to pick up the item. It was a small metal charm on a long chain. Searching the area even closer he could see more signs of a struggle. His training had taught him to recognize certain signs and he could make out a foot digging into the leaves to gain a hold. He could see two distinctive sets of footprints, one smaller and one much bigger. Whoever was here was standing back to front as both sets of footprints were facing the same direction. The charm and chain had probably been torn off her neck as she struggled with someone.

  He turned the charm over in his hand and noted three initials etched in the soft metal, JNG. Whoever had been standing there had the initials JNG. Closing his hand over the charm, he turned and went back the way he’d come.

  With his job, Jorden Tate had the means and the power to get the knowledge he needed to find her and now he had a place to start.

  Chapter Seven

  Lucifer shut the door behind then and pulled her into his embrace. Pressing his mouth down over hers, he kissed her hard and deep. He needed to know if he could tolerate her touch yet again. As soon as his mouth touched hers, he felt like he was coming home.

  He didn’t understand it but he felt his blood rushing to a certain part of his body and he didn’t want to think beyond that feeling. Turning her against the door, his fingers rushed to her jeans. He ripped the button loose and pulled down her zipper. Pushing his hand deep in her panties, he touched her core and felt her warm moist haven.

  Lucifer groaned as his fingers thrust deep inside her once, twice and suddenly he couldn’t wait. He pushed her pants down to her feet and ripped his own jeans down past his ass. As much as he wanted to give her time, he knew he couldn’t. He broke off the kiss they were sharing and whispered, “I can’t wait.”

  “Who’s asking you to?” she whispered back.

  Lucifer groaned and turned her to face to wooden panel. Then he thrust his hard cock deep inside her willing body. Her warm wet pussy welcomed him and Lucifer once again felt like he was home. He snapped his hips and dove deeper with each thrust. He knew he wouldn’t last long. Reaching around, he thumbed her clit and she began pushing back into him. “I can’t hold out much longer.”

  “Me either,” she cried out and then he felt her tighten as she climaxed.

  “Fuuck.” He exploded within her. His mind went blank and he lost it for a moment. He pushed her into the door to hold her in place.

  Panting, her body shuddered against him,

  A moment later, they both moved away reluctantly. Lucifer carried her over to the bed without breaking his hold. He laid her down face down on the bed then covered her with his own body not willing to pull out of her yet.

  His cock was still semi hard, and he didn’t want to lose that feeling. She felt so good and he loved being deep inside her. He was beginning to crave her touch.

  Finally, he pulled away from her but he didn’t let her go completely. He kicked off his own jeans and hers then pulled her into his arms. He just held her. Neither of them said a word for now and the silence they shared wasn’t uncomfortable.

  Jessie’s fingertip made circles on his forearm for a moment before she asked, “Your men seemed a little freaked out for a moment out there. Any idea why?”

  Lucifer sighed deeply. He knew he had to explain to her the reason why but he didn’t want to. He didn’t want her to see his weakness. “Probably because you’re the first person I’ve been able to touch in over four years.”

  Jessie leaned up on her elbow to stare at him in concern. She just searched his face for a moment. “Really?”

  Lucifer nodded. “Really.”

  She laid back down. With her head on his chest, she sought out his heartbeat. When she found it, she closed her eyes and let the sound calm her for a moment. “And the reason for that?”

  Lucifer huffed at her calm question. He couldn’t believe this wasn’t freaking her out. “PTSD.”

  “Oh,” she whispered softly.

  When she didn’t say anything else he had to ask, “Don’t you want to know the reason?”

  “Only if you want to tell me,” she answered with a shrug. “Otherwise, it’s not my business.”

  “Why?” He was perplexed. The woman didn’t have any questions? No way.

  She looked up into his eyes. “Because I’ve felt and seen the scars on your body and I know that you went through some bad stuff. Someone hurt you enough that you’ll never be able to forget what they did to you. Those kinds of nightmares I’ve never had and never want to have them. All in the service of your country, I’m guessing. I’m not going to judge you or any of the others for what happened in the past. I can’t do that. But one thing I will do is listen if you want to tell me about it. I don’t know the horrors of war but I do know the inhumanity men can do to one another. Seeing it every day is not something I understand but I have a feeling you and your men do.”

  Lucifer listened to her but didn’t know if he could believe her. All of the head doctors he’d seen wanted him to get over what happened. ‘Be a man,’ they told him. ‘You lived and now you have to forget what they did to you.’

  How the hell do you forget? He asked himself every day since his release from the service. He remembered it every fucking night he closed his eyes.

  “I usually have the nightmare every night. I can’t believe I didn’t last night.”

  “You did,” Jessie informed him.

  Lucifer froze and slowly turned his head to stare at her. “I did?”

  She nodded. “Yes, you did.”

  “I don’t remember. Did I do or say anything to scare you?”

  Jessie shook her head. “No, I was able to bring you out of it before it got bad.”

  He frowned and felt stunned. “You brought me out of my nightmare? How the hell did you do that?”

  Jessie ducked her head but he wouldn’t let her do it. Hooking her chin, he brought her face up to his. “What did you do?”

  “When I was eleven, my family was in a bad car accident with a drunk driver. My father and younger brother were killed outright, my mother was trapped by the wreck, and I ended up in a coma for days. My seatbelt broke and I was thrown around the car and had a severe head injury. When I came back from the coma, I had nightmares. I would live the accident over and over again. My mother was there for me and we both learned how to cope. She would rub my chest and it was her to
uch along with a little song she used to hum that helped me get over the terrors my dream would give me. Last night when I heard you caught up in the nightmare, I used what she did to try to reach you. It worked.”

  Lucifer frowned. He hadn’t remembered anything from last night. He wasn’t sure if it was she or the amount of Jack he’d drank that worked but he wasn’t going to count anything out yet. “How did you know what to do when Jinx freaked out?”

  “I’ve worked with other vets. While they went through their PT, I learned to listen to what they were telling me. Most of it was their own horror stories but some of them just needed to talk about it. They didn’t need anything but just someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn’t judge them or make them feel like they were brushing what they went through under the rug. Most of them told me the little tricks they used to keep the boogey man away. Breathing helped for most of them. It focused their bodies and brought them away from the panic they were feeling.”

  “And you used that to help my brother?”

  Jessie shrugged. “I just remembered what those other guys told me. I didn’t know if it would work or not.”

  “Well, it did. Usually, when he gets that way we know enough to just let him be. He usually goes off on his own for a few days and when he comes back, he’s ok.” He ran his hands down his face and sighed. He still had trouble believing this slip of a woman could calm the beast inside him or his men. Apparently, she could. “I suppose we’d better get up and check out if the journals are right about the bodies being here.”

  Jessie groaned and turned her face into the pillow. “I’m not sure I want to know. If there are bodies buried here, Michael is going to know his secret is out and he’ll come after me.”

  Lucifer sat up on the side of the bed. Turning to look over his shoulder he assured her, “He’ll have to come through me to get near you and that’s just ain’t gonna happen. You belong to me now and I don’t give up on what belongs to me.”