Beast, Part Two (The Church #5)

D. Katz

chapter Nineteen

Beast

“ I’m serious, Beast. I painted this,” Alicia says with a chuckle.

We’re standing in the dining room looking at the image of the artwork on her phone that she painted.

I shake my head at the picture. “It looks like a severed foot,” I tell her.

She tosses her head back and laughs. “It’s actually the horizon.”

I turn and look at her before going back to the image on the phone. I turn her screen sideways, trying to find the horizon in her artwork.

“No. It’s a foot.”

She giggles before taking her phone from me and sliding it into her pocket.

“It’s safe to say I am not an artist,” she jokes. “But I love artwork. It was all around me when I was a kid. Did your parents have a lot of artwork in the house?”

I rub the back of my head. “No,” I say hoping she leaves it there.

She stares at me expectantly. She has a way of looking at you waiting for you to say more without her ever asking for it.

Sighing, I answer. “I wasn’t raised by my father and my mother didn’t believe in art. She had a few pictures of Jesus on her walls but that was it.”

Alicia nods. “My grandmother was a religious nut. She could recite the bible front and back. It made it hard for me to talk to her. She believed that God and the Devil were behind everything. Was your mom the same?”

Mother was absolutely like that. She believed everything was either of God or the Devil. Unfortunately for me, everything I did seemed to stem from the devil. My entire existence was evil. The things that I couldn’t control like hunger, fear, sadness, anger, she believed were some kind of spirit in me.

“Yes,” I simply say in response to Alicia’s question.

“Would she—” before she can say anything else, Summer walks into the dining room.

She stops at the door. Since the day after the date night fiasco seven days ago, she has refused to speak to me. It doesn’t stop my breath from stalling the moment I see her. It doesn’t make me crave her any less. That night with her has replayed through my mind so much I can describe in detail every moan, every face, and every sound her pussy made as I drove into her.

I crave her more now than I did those five years we were apart. But every time I think I can have her back, the demon in my head reminds me why I should stay away.

“Cut out her heart and watch it slowly stop beating,” the demon growls. I shake him out of my head.

Summer looks between Alicia and me. We are sitting side by side, leaning into one another. It’s how we were able to share her phone.

Before I can say anything to her, Summer spins on her heels so fast she nearly runs Maksim over. She doesn’t stop to speak to him, she just scurries away.

“Little sister, are you alright?” he asks, but she never answers. When Maksim turns back to us, he shakes his head. He walks into the room and takes the open seat on the opposite end of the table.

Moments later, the rest of the gang joins us.

“Alright, have you ladies had any luck with Dominique Katz?”

“He’s a slippery man,” Kyra says. “It isn’t hard to find him, but finding a way to get you guys close to him is the problem. His security is very tight.”

“I told you, Dominique is not an easy man to get to,” Maksim says leaning up in his seat.

“Maybe we can make an appointment?” Zel suggest. “I mean, that’s one way to get face to face with him.”

Priest goes to reply, but his cellphone goes off in his pocket. He pulls it out and answers it then places it on the table.

“This is Priest,” he says out loud.

“Hello Nathaniel. I’ve heard you were looking for me.”

Priest looks to Maksim, his brows bunched together.

“Who is this?”

A deep chuckle comes through the phone. “This is Dominique Katz. I figured I’d save you and your boys the trouble of planning a visit. How about you come to my office today at noon?”

Not once did we expect Dominique to reach out to us. We knew that word would spread after we met with O’Cleary and Franklin and they both withdrew their names. We still didn’t think it would be this easy to meet Dominique.

“Alright,” Priest says. “We will be there.”

“Good,” Dominique replies. “Oh, and tell Maksim to come with you. I’d love to catch up with him.” Silence greets us on the other end of the phone suggesting he’s hung up.

The entire room glances around at each other.

“That was too easy, right?” Hawk asks. “Do you think it’s a setup?”

“No,” Maksim answers. “Dom doesn’t play games. If he called to set up a meeting, he wants the meeting. But why?”

“Didn’t you say Dominique and Corbyn weren’t friends?” I ask Maksim.

He nods.

“There was a reason Corbyn was searching Pope’s house for that records’ keeper’s information. He didn’t want us to find it. Maybe Dominique is why.”

Maksim leans forward in his chair. “You could be on to something, brother. Dominique has a lot of power in the Royal Crown. He’s someone you would definitely want on your side.”

“Then let’s meet him,” Priest says. “Maksim, Beast, Zel and Many you four are with me. Hawk and Twin, I want you to stay with the women. Twin, check and see if you can break into his camera system. Even though Maksim doesn’t think he’s a threat, I’d still feel comfortable having your eyes on us.”

“I got you,” Lucien answers.

We all climb to our feet. If we were going into downtown Manhattan to meet Dominique at noon, we needed to head out. The others clear out the room quickly.

“Be safe,” Alicia says to me.

I tip my head at her before walking out of the dining room. On the way to the front door, I spot Summer. Her head is down while Maksim is saying something to her. I can’t see her face or hear what they are saying. As if she can feel my gaze on her, she looks up and our eyes connect. Her face is flushed, and her eyes are red. She’s been crying. She looks away from me, saying something to Maksim, she then walks away.

Maksim looks back at me and shakes his head. He doesn’t speak to me as we head to the garage to grab the borrowed Suburban.

We make the ride to Dominique’s office building in good time. It’s not hard to believe with Priest behind the wheel. I doubt he ever drives the speed limit. We find a parking spot a block away and feed the meter for an hour.

“Twin, do you have eyes inside the building?” Priest asks through the earpiece.

“All is clear. He has two guards outside his office door but that’s it.”

We make it to the building, but Priest stops us at the door.

“Is Fem watching the camera?”

“I’m right here,” Albany answers.

“Good. I want you to keep your eyes on Dominique. Tell me if I can trust him or not. Everyone else stay vigilant,” he warns. “I don’t trust these people. When we get in let me do the talking.”

No one was going to argue with that. We all entered the building. The guard at the door took our names and quickly advised us to take the elevator up.

We followed his directions after Lucien told us there was nothing waiting on us on the other side. So far, Dominique has kept his word about this being a casual visit. However, I agreed with Priest. I didn’t trust these people.

When we stepped on the top floor where Dominique’s office was, we followed the directions the front doorman gave us. There was no need to knock on his door. Standing outside the office to greet us was Dominique Katz.

He was tall but not as tall as me. He stood eye level to Zel which makes him 6 foot 2. He was not much older than us. Maybe late thirties or early forties. He was a bit of a pretty boy. His dark brown hair was wavy and long. Not as long as mine or Hawk’s but it fell to his neck. He had a chin strap beard with a goatee. His dark blue eyes were intelligent but shrewd. He smiles when he sees us, but it still doesn’t put me at ease.

“Nathaniel Otella,” he says walking up to Priest with his hand out. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Priest shakes his hand. “You speak as if you know me.”

Dominique chuckles. “Oh, I do. Nice to meet you, Hiroshi, Gabriel, Maksim, and Milo.” He says to all of us.

“Is Killian, Lucien, and Seth not joining us?” his gaze narrows in confusion.

“I don’t know about this guy,” Lucien says through the earpiece. “How does he know all of us?”

Good question. Priest asks the same thing out loud.

“Come inside,” Dominique says holding out his hand toward the office door. “I will explain everything.”

“After you,” Priest says.

Dominique chuckles but leads the way into his office. The inside is like most billionaire offices, large, stunning views, and dark furniture. Dominique leads us to the seating area on the left side of the room. Priest sits in one of the wingback chairs. Dominique sits on the other one beside him. Many takes a seat on the couch. I stand with my back against the wall where I can see everyone and everything. Zel is behind Priest’s chair. Maksim is near the door. The one guard that entered the room with us is standing opposite of Maksim on the other side of the door.

“I’ve been dying to meet you since I was a young boy and heard all about you,” Dominique says.

“And how did you hear about me?”

“My father. He was close friends with Robert Shelton.”

By now we all knew who Robert was. Priest’s ally in the Church. The man that got him in.

“How close of a friend?” Priest asks.

“Not as close as you’re thinking,” Dominique laughs. “They went to law school together. Robert talked about you and your skills often. He boasted about you as if you were his own child. For a while, I thought you were.”

“If you knew him so well, why sign the order?” I ask.

“Good question, Beast,” Hawk says through the earpiece.

Dominique stands up and walks over to the wet bar in his office. He pours brown liquor from a glass decanter into two whiskey glasses.

“Would you believe me if I told you, I signed the order so that we could do exactly what we’re doing right now,” he says bringing the glasses back over.

He sets one on the table in front of Priest and then takes the other back to his seat. He leans back in the chair placing his right ankle over his left knee.

“He’s telling the truth,” Albany says, “At least half of the truth.”

“But that’s not the only reason, right?” Priest picks up the whiskey and takes a sip as he sits back in his seat.

Dominique watches him with a grin on his face. He chuckles as he leans forward and puts his glass down.

“Everything Robert said about you is true,” he says gleefully. “You are correct, that isn’t the only reason I wanted to meet you. Let’s get down to business. I have no issue withdrawing my name. I’d planned to do it in the first place. However, I will be honest and tell you it will not solve your problem.”

“How so?” Priest asks.

“Corbyn already has three other members ready to sign a new order. The moment I withdraw my name, another order will go into action.”

“Fuck,” I hiss.

“I should’ve known Corbyn had something like this in place,” Maksim says shaking his head.

“Your father is a smart man, Maksim. But I think we can outsmart him.” Dominique smirks. It’s easy to tell that he dislikes Corbyn. He grimaces every time he mentions his name. I’m still not sure if we can fully trust him yet.

“And how do we do that?” I ask.

Dominique’s gaze lands on me and stays for an extended time. He doesn’t speak or react, he just stares.

Finally, he turns back to Priest. “As long as my name stays on that order, the other one can’t go through. That gives you time.”

“Time for what?” Many asks.

“To kill Corbyn.” The grin that spreads over Dominique’s face is slow and malevolent. The boardroom suit and tie facade fall away, and we see the real diabolical man.

“That was your plan the entire time.” Priest states what we’ve all come to realize. “It’s why you signed the order.”

Dominique chuckles. “Yes. I have plans. And those plans consist of Elliot Corbyn being out of the way. He has run his course. I am not the only member of the committee that feels this way.”

“Then why doesn’t the committee kill him?” Maksim asks, pushing away from the wall. “You all have the means. Why put Priest and his boys through this bullshit just to kill Corbyn?”

Maksim is right. If they wanted him dead, they could have done it and left us out.

“Politics,” Dominique shrugs. “Mostly.”

“He’s lying,” Albany says in the earpiece. “There is something he’s not telling you.”

Before Priest can ask anything else, Dominique speaks again. “Look, I’m not your enemy. Corbyn wants you all dead. He’s not going to stop signing those excommunication orders until he gets what he wants. The next three may not be as willing to agree as myself and Franklin.”

“You convinced Franklin to sign the order?” I ask thinking back to what Franklin Smith said. He admitted he had no plans to sign the order until someone convinced him.

“Yes,” Dominique replies. “I knew we needed to buy time. In all honesty, you are doing us a favor, but you’re saving yourselves as well. You were always going to have to kill Corbyn,” he says the last part directly to Priest. “You took something from him. Something he wanted.” Dominique’s gaze flashes to me before going back to Priest. “Corbyn is a jealous and prideful man. He will not give up.”

We all knew at some point we had to go after Corbyn. We thought if we could clear our names, we could possibly have the resources of the Church in our corner. However, it seems as if we won’t have that luxury.

“When we kill Corbyn,” Priest says. “You will withdraw your name and get the excommunication order lifted?”

“The moment Corbyn takes his last breath, I will make the phone call and withdraw my name before his body temp drops. You have my word.”

We all remain quiet, waiting to see what Albany will say.

“He’s telling the truth,” she says reading Dominique.

Priest stands and tugs at his suit jacket. Many stands too.

“You have a deal.”

Dominique smiles, getting to his feet. We all start to make our way over to the door.

“Uh, Priest, may I speak with you alone for a moment?”

“No,” I say.

Priest holds up a hand toward me. He eyes Dominique. “Give us a minute, boys.”

I hesitate to leave. I still didn’t trust these Royal Crown people totally.

“We got eyes on him, Gabriel,” Lucien says in my earpiece.

Nodding, I follow the others out of the room. I turn to look at Priest once more before walking out. He dips his chin briefly, signaling he’s alright. The guard that was in the room with us steps out behind me and shuts the door.

“For this conversation,” Dominique says. “You’re going to need to turn that earpiece off.”

Seconds later, we can no longer hear what Priest hears.

“What’s going on?” I ask Lucien.

“They are just talking. I can’t hear them, but Priest doesn’t seem pressed.”

“What do you think about this Maksim?” Zel asks walking over to us so that we can speak without being overheard by the guards.

Maksim places one hand over his chest and rubs his chin with the other. “I’ve always known that Dominique hated Corbyn. I should’ve known when his name appeared on that order it was something like this.”

“Can we trust him?” I ask. I didn’t care who did or didn’t like Corbyn. I was going to kill him anyway. This just expedited it for me.

“Dominique has always been a man of his word. He does exactly what he says.”

“Good,” Zel says. “Because if he fucks us over, I’ll kill him myself.”

Not long after, Priest walks out of the office. He doesn’t say what they spoke about. He just said that Dominique can be trusted.

Later that night, I walk out of the gym after a long workout. Lately, I spend hours down here at night until I’m sure the rest of the house is down for the night. I shower, and then camp outside of Summer’s door.

However, tonight, when I step out of the gym, I’m greeted by Maksim. He leans against the opposite wall, his arms folded over his chest.

“We need to talk.”

I narrow my gaze at him. “About what?”

“Summer.”

I freeze, my body going rigid.

“You should cut off his tongue and stuff it down his throat,” the demon says. “He wants her for himself.”

After the last talk I had with my brother about Summer, I didn’t expect to have another one. He assured me he had nothing but brotherly love for her.

“Your concern with Summer is starting to rub me wrong.”

“And you questioning my intentions is doing the same,” he replies.

We stare at each other for a long moment. I have to fight the voice in my head to not kill my brother and leave his corpse at Summer’s door.

“What do you want, Maksim?”

“Are you sleeping with Alicia?”

All the earlier anger fades away. Confusion has my brows nearly touching. “What? No.”

He watches me for a moment before dropping his arms down by his side. “Then maybe you want to make that clear to the mother of your child.” He turns and walks away without anything else to say.

Does Summer truly think I want anyone else but her? Has she questioned this? I forgo a shower and walk up the stairs taking them two at a time. This time when I get to her door, I don’t pretend as if the locked barrier deters me. Over the door sill is the generic bedroom door key. Priest has one over all the doors. I use the key to unlock the door and step into the room.

It’s dark and quiet. Underneath the mound of covers is a slumbering Summer. Walking over to the bed, I look down at her. The only light is the moonlight streaming through the blinds from the two windows. I stare down at her sleeping form. Her silk bonnet covers her braids. Her mouth is parted slightly. The dusting of freckles that scatter over her nose draws my attention.

She is the most beautiful being I have ever seen. How could she ever think I wanted anyone other than her.

“She doubts you because you failed her. Slit her throat so she can no longer question you,” the demon cackles in my head.

As quickly as I entered, I back out of the room. Placing space between us. If Summer has to believe I am interested in Alicia in order to keep her distance from me, then that is what I will allow her to believe. I will do anything to keep her safe, even if I am the one she needs to stay safe from.