Epilogue
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
KES
“Oh my God, that is so cute,” Ashley exclaimed, as she held up the little outfits from Renee that were all in camo.
This was such a stark contrast from what he knew, and somehow it was more terrifying.
The sound of gunfire had been firmly replaced with the crackle of a baby monitor.
Instead of sitting in a desert with night vision, watching for enemies, he stared at a screen all night, unable to sleep, in case his son might need him.
Arek nudged Kes’s arm. “That was my idea,” he said, smiling like a fool.
Kes watched in disbelief as Arek took a drag on a straw from a colorful drink box.
“What the hell are you drinking?” Kes asked, rocking Lennon.
Arek looked at the fruity box. “Apple juice, they’re quite good. Want fruit punch?” he asked, holding out the box that was in his other hand.
“Why are you so weird, man?”
Arek just glared as he tongue searched for the straw, like it was a challenge not to look away first. Then he annoyingly drank until there was just a hollow sucking sound left.
“If you don’t stop doing that, I’m going to kill you,” Kes growled.
Lennon chose that moment to fuss and yawn, one impossibly tiny hand reaching for Kes even though his eyes remained closed. Arek held out a finger, and before Kes could stop him, Lennon’s grip closed tight.
“Oh dude, don’t touch his finger, we don’t know where it’s been. Now I’m going to have to sterilize you,” Kes said, shooting Arek a smirk.
“You’re so funny. Ha, ha, ha. Besides, your baby loves me,” Arek said.
“That’s because you have the mental capacity of a one-year-old. They recognize a kindred spirit,” Kes replied, rolling his eyes.
Arek leaned in closer to Lennon. “Don’t you listen to your mean old daddy.
I’m the best uncle in the whole world and I’m going to teach you how to hunt, fish, play baseball, and jump out of a plane.
Oh, and how to take out an enemy target with a sniper rifle from a mile away.
It’s gonna be so cool,” Arek said, cooing exaggeratedly.
“Did you just say you’re planning to teach my infant son to learn how to kill people?” Ashley asked.
Both men looked up to find the room silent, all eyes on them. The couple dozen women that weren’t married to one of their crazy asses looked moments away from fainting.
Arek cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean now. I would wait until he’s at least ten.”
There was a loud gasp, and Arek smiled, letting out a fake laugh as he glanced at Kes for help. There was no way he was jumping in to be Arek’s aid, this was all on him and his perpetual foot-in-mouth-disease.
“I was joking, I mean I’d have to wait until eighteen…right?”
Kes cringed as Ashely gave him the get-Arek-the-hell-out-of-here look.
“Come on, let’s go see what the rest of the guys are doing,” Kes suggested and began walking away, tugging Arek along while Lennon still clung onto Arek’s finger.
“He won’t let go,” Arek said, trying to free himself.
“Yeah, he has a real grip on him. Kind of reminds me of a Venus flytrap,” Kes replied. Lennon’s grip was stronger than any weapon Kes had ever held. The love he felt, the things he’d do to protect his son, his family, was all-consuming
In the room down the hall all the guys were hanging out, while the kids ran around carefree. It was like a zoo of activity.
Trev, Dean, Wolf, and Jeremy stood and walked over. All of their faces lighting up at the sight of Lennon.
“How are you feeling now that you’re a dad?” Trev asked, gripping Kes’s shoulder.
“Honestly, it’s surreal. Never thought I’d be a father. I thought I knew fear, but now…” Kes stopped and looked at the other guys. “This is the scariest shit I’ve ever faced.”
“Well, I fear for the kid that ever decides to bully Lennon,” Jeremy stated. “Shark of a lawyer for his uncle, a psycho for another, an entire MC at his back, another with cartel ties, plus the best tracker in the world to hunt the fucker down.”
Arek smiled and nodded, then stopped. “Wait…why am I the psycho?”
“The fact you know it’s you says it all,” Trev drawled, making them all laugh.
“Whatever,” Arek said, tugging on his finger again to no avail.
“I don’t think any of us pictured our lives turning out like this,” Trev said, looking around the room filled with laughter.
Kids played games, a movie about a princess in a frozen palace ran in the background, and at the center, a group of trained killers stood.
It sounded like the beginning of a terrible dad joke.
“Agreed,” Dean said. “When are you knocking Morry up?” Dean asked Jeremy, who immediately paled.
“She might actually rip my junk off if I even suggested it,” Jeremy replied, making them all laugh again.
“Fair,” Dean chuckled.
“I just want to say this. With all that we’ve been through, the loss, the pain, and everything else in between…
I wouldn’t have it any other way. Even with all that crap, I ended up with the best group of friends, a wife I do not deserve, and now a son.
Maybe in some ways we needed to walk through the fire to appreciate this that much more,” Kes admitted.
“I wouldn’t want any other brothers but you. ”
Kes gazed down at his son, peacefully sleeping. Lennon’s tiny chest rose and fell, while Kes felt his own heart swell with joy.
“I will drink to that,” Wolf said, holding up his beer, when Yasmine suddenly appeared at the door.
“I’d hold off on that, Wolf.” Yasmine smiled. “Maeve’s water just broke.”
They all erupted in a cheer and grabbed his shoulder. “Oh shit,” Wolf uttered, and then slowly smiled.
“Let’s move the party to the hospital,” Arek chanted, and fifteen minutes later, that was exactly what they did.
Kes watched his brothers pile out of the house, loud and laughing, already moving toward the next moment as they always had.
War had taught him how easily men disappeared and how quickly rooms went silent forever.
Standing there now, his son snuggled against his chest and his family intact, he understood this miracle for what it was.
They had survived things that should have broken them. Lost pieces of themselves in deserts, smoke, and blood. And somehow, against every damn odd, they were still here.
This wasn’t the life any of them had imagined back then, but it was the one they had earned.
For the first time since returning from a war that never truly left him, Kes didn’t feel like he was just surviving. He felt like he was finally home.