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I didn’t know how this whole thing would go, if it would go without a hitch… if I’d come out alive. There used to be a time when I didn’t care about my own life or well-being, a time when I hated myself and wanted nothing more than to die.
But that time had passed, and now I wanted to live. I wanted to live and follow my heart, and right now five men each had claimed a piece of it. Did I think things would be easy after all was said and done? No. No, they probably wouldn’t be easy. But I was going to try.
We told Zander the plan. He thought it was crazy, and that’s because it kind of was, but it was the only plan we had. The only one that would make a big enough mess that there’d be no way Miguel could talk his way out of it. The Palmers would see just how traitorous he was. He’d turn on the Black Hand, and the Hand would have its vengeance.
Through me, of course. Like hell would I let anyone else have a shot at Miguel.
Miguel was mine. I would see him burn in hell for the things he’d done, and I would only stop after I’d finished dancing on his ashes.
Chapter Seventeen – Ezekiel
I had to lock the church down to visit Giselle. It was a surprise visit, one I did not warn her of. The wedding that would be the culmination of all of her plans would take place in three days. Three days’ time. We all had our part to play, but if I was honest with myself, I simply needed to see her.
Never before had being trapped in my church, alone, for so long felt like a life sentence. I used to think I was just fine being alone, shepherding a flock of lost people looking for salvation, but Giselle had shown me how wrong I was.
She’d asked me if I’d give up the cloth, and I would. The past few days, leaving it all behind had been on the forefront of my mind, right beside Giselle herself. I did not know if she truly wanted me to leave, or if it had been merely a test of my devotion to her. As far as I was concerned now, Giselle was my salvation, my god, my faith. I needed nothing else.
And that was why I decided to pay her a surprise visit. Knowing Giselle, she was most likely stressing out over the upcoming nuptials, and she was driving herself mad in that house. Granted, she had plenty of company should she so desire, but even that knowledge did nothing to lessen my need for her.
Being apart from her was like having a part of me torn out. The separation simply wasn’t natural.
It occurred to me, halfway there, that perhaps I should have called her to make sure she was home and… unoccupied by anyone else, but even if she wasn’t there or was locked in her bedroom with someone else, I could wait.
I would wait for Giselle for an eternity if I had to, and I would be glad to do it. She’d come to Cypress a lost lamb, betrayed by the man she assumed was her father, but now she was so much more than a lost lamb. She had taken her place at the helm of it all, found herself right where she should’ve always been.
I was in good spirits when I pulled into the driveway of the house, and before getting out, I reached for the small box I’d brought with me. Sitting on the passenger’s seat, it was a beautiful box of white with a red ribbon tied around it, however the inside was well-insulated—and it was well-insulated for a reason.
The box in hand, I walked up to the front door. One Serpent sat, having a smoke, and when he saw me walk up, he sneered but didn’t say a word. He probably knew I’d killed some of his brothers, but he was forbidden from reacting. They all were.
If you brought a gun into my church, you paid the consequences, simple as that. And if you brought a gun into my church while looking for Giselle, those consequences would be even more dire.
I pushed inside the house and found Damian and Giselle lounging together in the living room, watching some reality TV show about dating. I didn’t ever watch TV, so I had no idea what it was.
“She’s gonna get the rose, ain’t she?” Damian asked. “She’s the villain. How does he not see that?” His legs were up, his feet resting on the coffee table, and one of his arms was around Giselle’s shoulders. They were close. I could not be envious, simply because of the fact that Damian had kept her safe when no one else would’ve been able to.
“Men are blind when they’re thinking with their dicks,” Giselle huffed, though she turned around and smiled when she saw me. The man beside her was still fixated on whatever program they were watching. “Ezekiel. I didn’t know you were coming.” She pulled herself away from Damian, standing and moving around the couch toward me.
Nodding once, I said, “I wanted to surprise you.”
The program must’ve switched to a commercial; whatever show it was, it looked like they were watching it on some streaming service, not cable. Damian had turned on the couch, his dark eyes twinkling as he smirked and said, “Color us surprised then, priest.”
Giselle’s soft smile dissipated somewhat as she spotted the box I held onto. “What’s that?”
“Yeah, what is it? Bring us a present?” Damian asked.
“It’s for you,” I told Giselle, handing it to her. “I thought you might be stressed over everything, and I wanted to do something for you.”
As she took the box, she mentally weighed it. “What is it?” When I said nothing, she shook it, like she thought she’d be able to tell what the contents were by doing so. Unsurprisingly, she couldn’t.
I followed Giselle to the couch, where she reclaimed her spot beside Damian. An open cushion to her left was where I sat, and I folded my hands on my lap, patiently waiting for her to undo the ribbon and see the contents.
It… well, it was not a present she would get from anybody. It was a present that only I could give, for more than one reason.
As she tugged at the ribbon, Damian leaned his head back to look at me from around Giselle’s head. “Whatever it is, no way it’s better than the gun I got her.” The man sounded so confident.
I, however, knew the contents of my present, and I was more than confident it was better than a gun.
Anything was better than a gun though, so that didn’t say much.
