The Epilogue (Trinity Academy Book 5) Read online

  Copyright © 2020 by M.A. Heard.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical reviews and various other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  The resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Designer: Sybil Wilson, PopKitty Design

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Songlist

  Synopsis

  Chapter 1

  Lake

  Lee

  Chapter 2

  Lake

  Chapter 3

  Mason

  Kingsley

  Chapter 4

  Mason

  Kingsley

  Chapter 5

  Kingsley

  Mason

  Chapter 6

  Mason

  Kingsley

  Chapter 7

  Mason

  Kingsley

  Chapter 8

  Mason

  Kingsley

  Mason

  Chapter 9

  Falcon

  Layla

  Falcon

  Chapter 10

  Falcon

  Trinity Academy

  Enemies To Lovers

  The Next Generation

  Connect with me

  About the author

  Acknowledgments

  Dedication

  To my readers,

  Thank you for loving the world of Trinity Academy.

  Songlist

  Playlist for

  Trinity Academy Series

  Synopsis

  Wealth and power make them untouchable.

  The monarchs of Trinity Academy.

  Falcon Reyes.

  Mason Chargill.

  Lake Cutler.

  The Epilogue to the bestselling Trinity Academy series.

  Note: All books have to be read in order.

  Chapter 1

  Lake

  “Da-fuuck,” Mason exclaims nervously as he and Falcon guides a blindfolded Julian toward the dock. “Guys, this is fucking high.”

  I bite into my bottom lip to keep from laughing as Julian’s face tightens.

  “It will be a rush,” I add, my voice thick with amusement.

  For Julian’s bachelor’s party, we kidnapped him. After we shoved him into the car, Falcon blindfolded Julian and told him we were all going bungee jumping. Our fathers, Carter, and all the guys from Indie Ink will meet us by the lake.

  I’m so damn proud of the prank I came up with. Instead of jumping off a bridge, Julian’s only going to jump off the dock into the water. I even hired an instructor to keep things as close to the real thing as possible.

  “I can’t believe you’re trying to kill me three days before my wedding,” Julian mutters, his voice tight with nerves.

  Reaching the dock, I move forward to shake the instructor’s hand. “Hey, Mark. Good to see you again.”

  Glancing at Julian, Mark grins. “It’s a beautiful day to jump.”

  “Yeah, we're lucky there’s no wind,” Mason adds.

  Everyone takes a moment to greet each other, then Carter says, “Don’t worry, Julian. We’ve jumped before. It’s a rush.”

  “My definition of a rush is landing a new deal, and not throwing my self off of a bridge,” Julian grumbles.

  Mark grins widely, then asks, “Will the groom be jumping first?”

  “Yes,” Falcon answers, leading Julian to the middle of the dock.

  “Great, let’s get him geared up.” Picking up the harness, Mark begins to put it on Julian, who seems to be getting paler by the minute. When he has Julian all strapped in, Mark asks, “Did y’all sign the consent form?”

  I pull a piece of paper from my pocket and make sure it crinkles, so Julian will hear it. “I have it right here.”

  “Thanks.” Mark takes the paper and shoves it in his pocket then proceeds to place a helmet over Julian’s head, then excitedly says, “Okay, let’s do this.”

  Mark pretends to open a gate using a metal clip to make a clanking sound, and instructs Julian, “Take three steps forward.” He helps Julian, who carefully inches closer to the edge of the dock. When Julian’s toes go over the side, Mark exclaims, “Stopstopstop! That’s the edge.”

  Julian freezes and lets out an anxious breath. “Fuck, this is insane.”

  “Let me do one last check of your harness,” Mark says, and he shakes the cord for added effect. “Great, when you’re ready, just lean forward and fall. Don’t jump.”

  “Just lean forward and fall,” Julian grumbles sarcastically. “I can’t believe I’m going through with this.”

  “It will be a great experience,” Rhett calls from where he’s standing to the side so he can record the moment.

  Julian’s features tighten even more as his hands open and close into fists. “I seriously can’t believe I’m doing this.”

  “Are you ready?” Mason asks.

  Julian scoffs, “I’ll never be ready. This is insane.”

  I take a step forward. “On the count of three. One.” Julian shakes his arms out and takes a couple of deep breaths. “Two.” I struggle to hold my laughter back as his breaths speed up. “Three!”

  Julian freezes again. “Fuck. Fuck. Shit.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse that much,” Mr. Reyes comments.

  “Shit, sorry, Dad.”

  Mr. Reyes lets out a deep chuckle. “Under the circumstances, it’s okay to curse.”

  “I’m jumping after you,” Falcon says to encourage Julian.

  “Okay.” Julian shakes out his arms again and bends his knees slightly. “Fuck.” He sucks in a deep breath, and then he falls forward. The splash is loud, and it has all of us laughing. The moment Julian’s head breaks through the water, he shoves the blindfold back. “Fuckers. The whole lot of you.” There’s a huge grin on his face as he swims back to the dock. “I went through all of that for nothing.”

  Falcon holds out his arm to help Julian out, and the moment Julian grabs hold of his hand, he yanks Falcon into the water. “My phone!” is all Falcon gets out before the water engulfs him.

  “Let’s jump,” Mason says as he pulls his phone from his pocket, setting it down on the dock. I do the same and let out a holler as I run and leap into the air with Mason right behind me.

  Carter and the other guys join us as well, but Mr. Reyes, Mr. Chargill, and Dad just watch us, laughing their asses off at our expense.

  Mason swims to the dock and holds his hand out. “Help me out, Dad.”

  Mr. Chargill falls for the same trick he caught Mason with when he yanked him into the pond while we were golfing.

  Once Mr. Chargill is done wiping the water from his face, he shoots Mason a playful glare. “Little shit.”

  The moment he looks at Mr. Reyes and my dad, Mr. Reyes shakes his head. “I’m not helping any of you out.”

  “Chicken,” Falcon calls as he pulls himself out of the water. Mr. Reyes begins to walk away, but Falcon quickly races after him, which has Mr. Reyes yelling, “Touch me, and I’ll disinherit you.”

  “That’s okay. Julian will look after me,” Falcon teases as he grabs hold of Mr. Reyes.

  Tears start streaming down my face, mixing with the droplets of water as I watch Mr. Reyes struggle against Falcon’s hold.

  “Don’t you dare!” Mr. Reyes yells, but Falcon doesn’t stop pulling him closer. Then Mr.
Reyes gives up and says, “Wait, I’ll jump in myself.”

  The second Falcon eases his hold on his father, Mr. Reyes shoves him, sending him plunging back into the water. Laughter explodes from Mr. Reyes as he taunts, “Serves you right.”

  Dad comes to stand next to Mr. Reyes, laughter dancing in his eyes.

  Julian scoops some water up and throws it at his father. “Jump in, Dad.”

  Mr. Chargill looks down at everyone in the water, then shrugs, “What the hell.” Grabbing hold of my father’s arm, Mr. Reyes shoves him forward before following him into the lake.

  The whole group hollers and cheers, and then Mr. Reyes grabs hold of Falcon’s head, shoving him back under the water.

  I only get to watch my friends and family playing around and having fun for a couple of minutes before Dad pounces on me.

  Lee

  I place all the different snacks we got on the table while Layla prepares the drinks. We’ve just finished when the other ladies start to arrive. Miss Sebastian goes to open the front door, and I quickly glance around to make sure we didn’t forget anything.

  The weather is perfect, and I smile widely as all the ladies come outside. For a couple of minutes, everyone greets each other until Della and Jamie walk out onto the veranda.

  “Where’s Kingsley?” I ask Della once all the women have helped themselves to some snacks and a drink.

  “She messaged to say she’ll be here in the next ten minutes.”

  “Oh, good.” My eyes stop on Della, and I admire how gorgeous she looks. You wouldn’t think she’s has three children and one of them is only three months old.

  Della catches me staring at everyone, and with a smile, says, “I live for these gatherings. I get to rest while Carter takes care of the kids.”

  I’m just about to say something back when Kingsley comes out of the house, dragging two huge bags behind her. “Are y’all ready to have some fun!”

  The women all cheer, and Miss Sebastian is the first one to peek into the bags. “Do you have a plumbing problem at the dorms?”

  Kingsley lets out a bark of laughter. “No, the toilet paper and plungers are for the game we’ll be playing.”

  “Now I’m afraid to ask what game,” Miss Sebastian mumbles, her eyes warily on the two bags.

  “It’s going to be fun.” Kingsley walks over to Jamie. “You need to split everyone into teams of two.”

  “Yeah?” Jamie stands up and rubs her hands together while grinning. “Stephanie and Layla.”

  Layla wiggles her eyebrows at her mom as she goes to stand next to her.

  “Emilie and Evie.” Jamie pairs Evie with her stepmother, then she continues to pair my mother-in-law with me, Kingsley with Mrs. Chargill, Mia with Della, and Willow with Leigh.

  “Miss Sebastian, you’re with me,” Jamie finishes, looking pleased with her choices.

  Mom places her arm around my waist while giving Mrs. Chargill and Kingsley a daring look. “Team Cutler is going to kick Team Chargill’s butt.”

  “You wish,” Mrs. Chargill taunts.

  “Listen up,” Kingsley calls out. “One of you will pinch a toilet roll between your knees or thighs, and the other will do the same with a plunger. The stick has to face forward. When the game starts, you have to try and get the stick in the toilet roll hole. The first team with three rolls on their stick wins.”

  My eyes widen, and I feel a blush creep up my neck as I sneak a glance at my mother-in-law.

  She gives me a reassuring look. “You take the plunger, and I’ll take the rolls.”

  Shrugging off the slight embarrassment, I pick up a plunger and pinch it between my knees. Luckily Mom isn’t much taller than me, or we’d have a problem.

  When all the teams are ready, Jamie calls out, “In three… two… one! Go!”

  It’s not even five seconds later, and already the women are starting to laugh while shuffling closer to each other.

  “Quick, Stick it in the hole!” Miss Sebastian yells while she wiggles her body like a worm to try and get the hole lined up with the stick.

  “Keep still so I can get it in,” Jamie squeezes the words out while she’s overcome with laughter.

  “You hold your bedazzled ass still!” Miss Sebastian exclaims excitedly. Miss Sebastian tries to bend her knees while pinching the roll tightly, and it has all of us laughing so hard, no one can get any of the sticks through the holes.

  Kingsley and Mrs. Chargill win, and while they accept their gift bags from Jamie, Mrs. Chargill mumbles, “It worries me that you’re so good at this game.”

  Layla lets out a bark of laughter but snorts as she tries to cover it up.

  “Candice, take it easy on Kingsley. It’s not like you were a saint when you first met Asher,” Mrs. Cutler teases Mrs. Chargill.

  “No need to spill all my secrets,” Mrs. Chargill playfully hushes her friend.

  “Oooh. Spill them all,” Miss Sebastian says, scooting forward on her chair. “Let’s all share a secret.”

  Mia places her drink down on a table and admits, “Logan taught me how to kiss.”

  “We all knew you had the hots for each other long before you got together,” Evie teases Mia.

  Kingsley swallows the piece of cake she was chewing, then says, “I have a secret candy stash because Mason eats everything whenever he comes over.”

  “The one in your closet?” Layla asks.

  “Yep, that one.”

  Layla begins to chuckle. “Mason already found it. I saw him helping himself to a Hershey's bar.”

  “Damn.” Kingsley looks disgruntled by the news. “I’ll have to hide it in your room.”

  “Hell no. Falcon will raid it then.”

  Sitting back with a smile playing around my mouth, I think about how lucky I am to be a part of an amazing group of people.

  Chapter 2

  Lake

  Waking up, I turn onto my side and stare at my wife's sleeping face. We’ve been married for nine months, but it still feels like it all happened yesterday.

  Lee begins to stir, and when her eyes flutter open, and they focus on me, a sleepy smile spreads over her face.

  “Morning.” She stretches before she snuggles closer to me.

  Wrapping an arm around her, I return her greeting, then say, “We need to get everything packed before we go to the wedding.”

  She lets out a groan and sitting up, she replies, “We can start after breakfast, or your growling stomach will wake the whole neighborhood.”

  Grinning, I watch her get up and go to the restroom, then I throw the covers back. I open the curtains and look out over the garden. We moved into our own house a couple of months back. The garden is beginning to look better with all the attention Lee’s been giving it.

  Turning away from the window, I grab a shirt and shrug it on as I walk out of our bedroom. Just as I get to the kitchen, there’s a knock at the front door, and when I open it, I’m met with Mason’s grin.

  “Has Lee started with breakfast yet?” He walks inside and heads straight for the kitchen.

  I shut the door behind him then follow after Mason, who’s already busy preparing coffee.

  “I knew getting houses in the same neighborhood would be a mistake,” I grumble as I steal the cup of coffee from Mason before he can take a sip.

  Not bothered at all, he just pours another cup, then leaning back against the counter, he teases, “You love seeing me first thing in the morning.”

  I finish my coffee then prepare a cup for Lee. “Are you okay with keeping an eye on the house while we’re gone?”

  “Of course. I’ll take turns with Falcon.” Mason moves to the living room and flops down on a couch. Seeing him reach for the remote, I take Lee’s coffee to our room.

  Lee’s putting her hair up in a ponytail as I place the mug on the dressing table. “One of our kids is already here, hoping to get some breakfast out of you.”

  “Falcon?” she asks as she gets up.

  “Nope.” I press a kiss t
o her cheek. “Mason’s first today.” Walking to the ensuite bathroom, I add, “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Take your time.”

  I go through my morning routine, and when I walk back to the kitchen, I spot Falcon sitting next to Mason.

  “Layla and Kingsley need to finish school so they can take care of the two of you,” I comment.

  Falcon pretends to hear nothing, and asks, “What time is your flight tomorrow?”

  “Seven.”

  Falcon nods. “We’ll be here at five.”

  “I’m going to starve for the next three weeks,” Mason grumbles.

  I let out a bark of laughter. “That sounds like a personal problem.”

  Falcon chuckles. “We’ve been spoiled with Lee cooking for us.”

  Once Lee sets the table, we sit down, and I watch as Falcon and Mason pile the food onto their plates.

  Every morning we joke around, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m glad our moving out of the campus didn’t change our friendship.

  When we’re done eating, Mason loads the dishwasher, and we have a last cup of coffee and talk about our upcoming trip before Falcon packs the clean dishes away.

  They’re just about to head out when Mason asks, “Am I the only one who noticed that Lake doesn’t do shit? Lee makes breakfast, and Falcon and I do the dishes.”

  When everyone looks at me, I grin. “I go hunting for all the food you eat.”

  “Is that what you call it?” Falcon chuckles.

  “Hunting, my ass,” Mason grumbles. “You like shopping way too much for it to be a chore.”

  “It’s not my fault I got the better end of the deal,” I joke.

  Mason walks over to Lee and hugs her. “Thanks for breakfast. You make the best omelets.”

  “It’s called buchimgae,” Falcon corrects him before he gives Lee a hug.

  “We’re meeting at Julian’s place at two, right?”