Beast, Part Two (The Church #5)

H.E.A

epilogue

Beast

I t’s been five months since we killed Corbyn and found Summer and Gabe at my mother’s house. Since that time, the family has grown. Seth and Lucien are now the parents of a four-month-old baby boy they named Anthony Calogero Gramble. They also made their relationship with Malia official when they got married three months ago.

Dominique kept his word. He made the call and withdrew his signature on the order. We still have not heard anything from the Church. Although the attacks on us have died down tremendously, they have not made an official announcement about the order. They also still have yet to assign a new Pope.

“How do I look, Hulk?” Gabe asks, looking up at me with a smile on his face.

I look down at my son in his little tuxedo that is the exact replica of mine. “You look good, son.”

“Yeah, Preacher,” Lucien says. “You look like the best ring bearer I’ve ever seen.”

Gabe’s chest pokes out. Nothing makes him prouder than being called his nickname. After everything was settled, I decided to continue Gabe’s lessons. I’ll never let him sign his life over to the Church like we did, but I will train him to be just as good as a member of the Church.

“Charlie put that down,” Many says.

We took our promise to Albany to heart. There isn’t a day that one of us doesn’t have Charlie with us. We are all still at the ghost house. At this point, we’re staying just because it helps with the healing.

Priest’s absence is still felt. We’ve had to rely on each other to get past it.

I grab little Charlie and lift him up. The kid has been all over the place since he learned to walk. He’s one-year-old now and I know Priest would be so proud of him.

Charlie giggles as I toss him in the air and catch him. I plant him back on his feet in front of Gabe.

“Take your uncle to Ms. Reese so he can get a snack before the wedding.”

Today, I was marrying the woman of my dreams. I made a promise to Summer that I planned to keep. Today, we were making that promise in front of our family.

Gabe grabs Charlie’s hand. “Come on, Charlie. Maybe we can get granny Reese to get us a cookie.”

I watch him lead Charlie out of the room.

“How are you feeling, Beast?” Hawk asks. He’s sitting on the bed, his back against the headboard as little Nathaniel sleeps on his chest.

I turn back to the mirror, looking at my reflection. I tug at my tie.

“Nervous,” I admit. My weekly meetings with Alicia have taught me to not only recognize my emotions but also get comfortable with speaking about them out loud.

“You’re nervous because this is wrong,” Mother’s voice says in my head. “You don’t deserve to marry the whore.”

The voices in my head are still there. Alicia explained that the voices may never go away. I’ve had them for years. She has taught me how to understand them.

“She chose to marry me,” I answer to her voice. “Which means I deserve her.”

“Don’t be nervous,” Lucien explains. “Marriage is beautiful.”

Zel laughs. “You’ve been married three months and now you’re the marriage expert.”

Lucien waves Zel away. “I can’t wait until you find your other half. I hope she takes you through the ringer.”

Although we all laugh, Zel does not. He cuts his gaze away. I wonder does the look have anything to do with his weekend disappearances? We have yet to find out where he’s going.

Maksim claps me on the back. “There is no need for you to be nervous. Plus, it doesn’t matter. Nervous or not, I’m getting your ass down that aisle. It is my job as best man.”

The others in the room scoff. Since I announced that Maksim would be my best man, he has not let my other brothers live it down. It was not an easy decision. I in fact was more inclined to have Seth as my best man. But he is the one that pointed out how happy it would make Maksim. He said he didn’t need me to prove to the others he was my favorite. I think they all knew that if Priest was alive, he would be the one standing beside me.

“I swear, when I renew my vows to Brooklyn, I’m making your ass an usher.”

I laugh at Hawk’s annoyance.

“We should be heading out,” Zel looks down at his watch and announces.

I turn away from the mirror once more. My heart beating rapidly in my chest. I’ve been dying to see Summer in her dress.

“Let’s go get you married,” Lucien says, getting to his feet.

Hawk slowly climbs from the bed cradling his son.

“You good?” I ask him.

“Oh yeah,” he says. “The lights are bright enough.”

He makes his way to the door. We all follow him out of the room and toward the stairs leading up to the main living area. Suddenly, all of our phones chime alerting us of a text. I pull mine out of my pocket and read the message.

“What the hell?”

“What is it?” Hawk asks.

“By decree of the newly instated Pope, it is declared that Hiroshi Zel Tanaka, Killian Hawk Walker, Luciano Seth Twin Gramble, Milo Many Beckett, and Gabriel Beast Taylor, have been cleared. The excommunication order is null and void. Furthermore, Killian Hawk Walker and Luciano Seth Twin Gramble are no longer employed by the Church. Their contracts have been fulfilled and canceled,” Zel reads the text out loud.

“When did the Church start canceling contracts?” Many asks in his deep voice.

Never. The answer is never had they ruled a contract fulfilled. Even when Hawk was released, his contract wasn’t canceled. It was just fulfilled by Albany which is why he got called back in when she was supposedly killed.

“Wait,” Hawk says. “That means we’re free?”

“Sounds like it,” I say.

“Hulk! Mama! Everybody! Come quick,” Gabe shouts through the intercom system of the house.

Summer

“Best friend, you look amazing,” Trina says as she secures the last hairpin in my halo braid.

Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I smile. My make up is light and natural. Gabriel made only one request about this wedding and that was that he would be able to see my freckles. Trina did my makeup and hair. My edges are laid, and my thick course hair is braided around my head.

The diamond drop earrings look perfect with my A-line deep V sleeveless dress. I felt absolutely beautiful in this gown.

“You look stunning, Summer,” Malia says, placing little Anthony in his bassinet. Although I love all the women I have met during our stay at the ghost house, I have to admit that Malia and Brooklyn have become like sisters to me.

Especially since there will be no reconciliation between Raina and I. A month after Gabriel rescued me from Colleen’s, he took me to my mother’s house to have a word with Raina. Fem went with us. Mother admitted she had no idea what Raina had done. She told us that Corbyn had first tried to convince her to get me to come home, but mama wouldn’t do it. He then approached Raina.

She had no problems setting me up. Gabriel wanted to kill her, but I talked him out of it. MJ needed his mother. However, I did have other plans. Because I was pregnant, Fem did the honors for me. She beat the dog shit out of Raina. Brooklyn volunteered, but she was still recovering from the birth of the twins. Trina is mad I didn’t record it so she could watch. Although I appreciate what Fem did, once I drop this baby, I’m getting my lick back.

“Thankfully, you’re pregnant, Summer. If not, your tits wouldn’t have been enough for that dress,” Ari says, taking a seat on the foot of the bed. Her baby boy, Itadori Zelis Beckett is strapped to her chest.

They named their first child after an anime character. We were all a little confused by that, but we just call him little Zel and keep it moving.

“Thank you, Ariane,” I say, glancing at Malia, who shakes her head.

No matter how random Ari is, we love her to death.

“Yes, my poor goddaughter is working overtime,” Trina says, placing a hand over my belly.

I was so excited to find out I was having a girl. However, no one was as happy as Gabriel. He turns into a complete sap anytime my stomach moves. She’s going to have him wrapped around her finger. The only person slightly happier than Gabriel is Maksim. You would think this was his child.

“Alright,” Fem says walking over to me. “Time for the veil.” She adjusted the clip of the veil into my hair and then fans the tulle out over my shoulders. She steps back and smiles.

Fem and I have a unique relationship. Although she is only a year older than me, she feels more like a motherly figure.

“Aren’t you glad I didn’t kill you five years ago?” she whispers in my ear with a grin.

“Very,” I chuckle.

“Alright,” Brooklyn says, walking into the room. “KJ is down for his nap. Mom is watching him. I am free to be of assistance.” She stops and stares at me through the mirror. “You look so beautiful.”

Immediately, tears form in her eyes.

“Oh no,” Trina says, grabbing a tissue for me. “You’re going to start a chain reaction.”

Emory walks into the room in her flower girl dress and everyone coos at how cute she is.

“We should be going,” I say. “We don’t want to keep the guests waiting.”

“Girl, you got three people in that audience,” Trina chuckles. “They can wait.”

She wasn’t lying. I didn’t have any real family. Even though my mother didn’t rat me out to Corbyn, I still chose to distance myself from her. The only friend I have outside of Trina is Shay. Thankfully, she and her husband showed up. James is the third person sitting outside and not in the wedding.

“We should be going.” Malia gets to her feet and grabs Anthony out of the bassinet.

Emory signs something to her. I only catch a few of the signs. I’m learning sign language now.

“You sure can hold him,” Malia says, handing Emory her brother.

Albany holds out a hand and helps Ari off the bed. We all head for the door when suddenly Gabe’s voice comes over the intercom.

“Hulk! Mama! Everybody! Come quick.” As fast as I can, I rush out of the room. We all head into the living room where we pull up short.

I can’t believe my eyes.

With a huge smile on his face, Gabe says, “Look, Papa Priest is back.”

Pope

I would have never guessed what Dominique wanted to speak to me about that day in his office.

“You’re going to need to take that earpiece out for this part.”

Although I still didn’t trust him, I wanted to hear him out. I pulled the device out of my ear and clicked it off.

He took a seat back in the chair he was sitting on and held out a hand for me to do the same.

I retook my seat across from him.

“You were right. There is something else I want from you.” He leans back in his chair.

“And what is that?”

“I want you to run the Church.”

If my eyes could have popped out of my head, they would have. I did not see that coming.

“I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting that. There are protocols—”

“Fuck those protocols.” He waved me off. “Right now, Corbyn has nearly 60 percent control over the Church.”

“And you want that control?”

“No. I want you to have it.”

I’m completely fucking lost. There is no motive here. Why would he want me to control the Church.

“I’m struggling to follow this, Dominique. What do you get out of all this?”

He grins. “I become partners with one of the most powerful men in the world. You see, unlike Corbyn, I have always admired the Church. But I won’t lie as if it doesn’t have its flaws. For instance, the no outside connections thing is stupid.”

“I agree,” I admit.

“Good, then we’re on the same accord. You will run the Church. I will make sure you have total and full control over the organization. I will even supply you with the means to find legitimate cash flow. But I want it gutted. Take it down to its studs and rebuild it. I believe you are the only man that can do that.”

“I’m hearing you. And I’m for a change in the Church. But I’m no dummy. No one does anything like that without wanting something in return.”

Dominique shrugs. “I want what anyone in my world would want. Complete access.” He held up a hand to stop me. “Don’t worry, no women and children bullshit.” He spins the ring on his finger subconsciously. It looks like one of those old class rings. In the center of the red stone is a capital R with a thorny crown.

“In my circle, I meet some of the most dangerous people in the world. People that would watch the world burn just for money and respect. I am offering a partnership. I give you the true scums of the earth and you run the Church.”

There is no mystery that the Royal Crown has access to people that I’ll never have. And I know what money and power can cause people to do. However, what he’s asking won’t be easy.

“How would this work? Trying to take down the Church is like trying to take down the Royal Crown.”

“You can do it, but Nathaniel Otella has to die.”

“What?”

“In order for this to work, you have to become someone else. That means leaving everything behind, if only for a short while. We will give you a name and put you in front of the Royal Crown. But no one can know. Not even those you trust.”

“How long?” I ask. How long am I supposed to leave behind everyone I love?

Dominique shrugs. “I don’t know. Could be months, could be up to a year or more. It depends on you and how persuasive you are.”

I’m silent as I think this over. Now is not the time to disappear. My boys need me. My son needs me, and leaving Fem would damn near kill me.

“I’m going to give you time to think it over,” Dominique says, getting to his feet. “But know this. You need to make a choice, Nathaniel. A hard one. How important is running the Church to you?”

When I left that office, I was pretty sure I was going to turn the role down. But I thought of changes I could make not only for my boys, but my grandkids, and future kids that would come into the organization. The morning I got up to hold that meeting before we went after Corbyn, I had already made my decision.

“What the fuck, Priest?” Zel shouts.

“You were dead,” Gabriel says. “We buried you.”

“We fucking mourned you,” Lucien adds.

The room is in an uproar, and although I know my sons are hurting and deserve my attention, my sight stays on Fem. The tears streaming down her face with the anger in her eyes tell me I have a lot of explaining to do.

“How about,” Summer says, interrupting everyone. “Trina, you take all the kids outside and let the guests know there will be a slight delay.”

Trina rounds up the kids. She takes little Nathaniel from Hawk. Gabe takes Charlie’s hand and leads him out of the room. Emory carries her brother out. Only one left is little Zel still strapped to Ari’s chest. I wait until the kids are all gone before I speak.

“Where do I start?”

“Why?” Fem asked. “Why would you do that to us?”

Sighing, I quickly fill them in on mine and Dominique’s conversation.

“So you had to fake your death? You couldn’t just disappear?” Zel fumes. “We were lost without you.” He pounds his fist in his open palm.

“I didn’t fake my death,” I explain. “Not fully. In that operating room, I died. Twice actually. But doc is a very talented man, and Dominique’s a very powerful one. By the time we went to that fundraiser to attack Corbyn, I had already notified Dominique of my decision. He made the call to Doc the moment I was shot. He knew it was the best time to make me disappear. When I woke up, you had already buried the silicon body replica.”

“It looked just like you,” Fem argues.

“It should’ve. Dominique got some of the best in the industry to create it. It had to look as if I was truly dead.”

“If that’s the case, what have you been doing all this time?” Hawk asks.

“It took a while for me to recover. The bullet almost paralyzed me. Thanks to Beast’s fast reaction and my reflexes, we dodged a huge setback. While I was healing, Dominique hit the ground running. He always knew you guys would handle Corbyn. He recreated an image for me and talked me up to the right people. It also helped that I had a few allies on my side.”

I can never thank Mason, Vito, Kaz, and Nico enough. They came through for me in the best way.

“By the time I was ready to step in, most of the work was done. They quickly moved me up to Pope and I now fully run the Church.”

“You’re the reason Hawk and I have been released?”

“Yes.”

That was one of the first changes I made in the Church. No one is tied down for life. That one change had twenty percent of our members resign. They left with the understanding that if they ended up on our radar, we would not see them as family. We would kill them.

The other change I made was to the no outside commitment law. Every member of the Church is now capable of having their own family.

The changes to the recruitment process was one of the toughest changes to get passed. We no longer recruit. The Church Home for Misplaced Kids was now being built. We weren’t taking kids from their families and making them killers. Now, we trained kids that had no home. We provided them with a family and a bond of brother and sisterhood.

“So, you got what you wanted?” Fem asks wiping the tears from her eyes.

Reaching behind me, I grab the onyx cane with the crystal end. Slowly, I place my weight on the stick and rise from the chair. I didn’t come out of all that unscathed. It took me nearly two months to walk again. And I still cannot fully manage without a cane.

I hold my arm out at my side. “Not everything I wanted. If I’d had my choice, I wouldn’t be needing this fucking stick. But to set my boys free so that they could enjoy the lives they wanted, to create an organization where young kids can find a home and a purpose without selling their souls for it, and to live my life with the woman I love more than anything in this world without having to look over my got damn shoulder every second, I’ll take this stick in a heartbeat.”

Beast is the first one to break the ranks and approach me. He wraps his arms around me and hugs me tight.

“I’m glad to have you back,” he says as his voice cracks.

Lucien is next to join our hug. Many, Hawk, and Zel come shortly after. I’m surrounded by all my boys. Every decision I made was for them. I’d give them the world if I could.

They step away from me, giving me space. I wait for the one person I needed to forgive me. Fem watches me, tears still in her eyes.

“Are you still mine, Fem? Even though I’m an old crippled man?”

She looks away and wipes her eyes. “I should kill you,” she says. She turns back to me.

I don’t speak. Time seems to slow at a snail’s pace as I wait for her to tell me where we stand.

Finally, she let out a deep breath. “So, what’s my new last name?”

I smile as I hold out a hand to her. “Monroe. You are Mrs. Charles Monroe.”

She rushes into my outstretched arms and buries her face in my chest. I have missed this woman more than anything in the world.

“Ugh,” Brooklyn says, cutting into our moment. “I can’t believe I named my son after you.” She wipes her eyes, causing everyone to chuckle.

“Now,” I say. “We have a wedding to attend.” I turn to Summer with a smile. “I would be honored if you allowed me to walk you down the aisle to my son.”

She grins. “Absolutely.”

The night ends peacefully. Summer and Gabriel said ‘I do’ in my backyard. Everyone danced and laughed and enjoyed the evening. And when the sun had fully set, we put the kids to bed, and we all fucked like rabbits.

The End