Page 138 of At The End Of The Day

“Of course,” he chuckled.

“And you’re really gonna…going to keep my parents off me?”

“Your parents like to pretend like they’re a lot more important to the family business than they are, but, in reality, they are at the bottom of the chain. I fund their lifestyle and one call to my bank to cut off their allowance will straighten them up in no time. You don’t worry about them, Dario. And if they give you troubles again, you let me know and they’ll be the ones finding out just who is dispensable around here.”

I slumped into the chair, a snort hitching the back of my nose. “Wow.”

“Don’t sound so surprised,” he laughed. “You do what’s best for you and acorn. I’ve got your back elsewhere. Family, right?”

“Right. Oh, and.” I sat up again, another thought occurring to me at his statement. “Speaking of family. Tyler Warren, like I said, will be my brother-in-law soon. Well, he kind of got up in Pop’s face, threatening to expose him as mafia, and everything, if he came near me again. Even pretended to call someone to upload the security video of him attacking me to news stations.”

“Hm.”

“He was just trying to protect me, Maximus.”

“Mm hm.”

“Is…is he safe, too?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, yeah. So, he knows about us, huh?”

“He’s trustworthy, honest. I never would have divulged that information to anyone I thought was less than loyal. He was in that house that night, too, Max. He was willing to die to protect all of us, not just Tiny.”

He heaved a sigh into the phone. “I trust you, Dario. If you say he’s good, he’s good in my book, too. Your folks will officially be put on notice that they are to completely cut all ties to anything or anyone in Alabama. You, your found family, and your gang are off limits to them.”

A long, exaggerated sigh pushed through my lips and I sagged forward, my elbow banging to the top of the desk once more. “Thank you, Max. Jesus fuck…thank you.”

He snickered. “Don’t you worry about it. Just remember to send me an invite. And for fuck’s sake, try acknowledging me once in a while, how about it? It was fucking killing me to stay no contact when I found out what you went through in Georgia. Which! By the way,” he shouted. “Never would have happened had you just come to me to begin with.”

“Yeah, well, I had to handle things a certain way to keep peace with the Serpents. But I promise to keep in touch this time. I honestly thought I didn’t have any other choice but to break ties.”

“You can cut them off, christ, who would blame you with those two insufferable imbeciles? The rest of us haven’t ever given you reason to walk away, though, so don’t turn your back on us. You never know when you’re going to need family.”

I smiled, all the trepidation fading. “All right, Max. I promise.”

“Great. Talk to you soon, Dario. I’ll be looking for that wedding invitation. Have a good day.”

“Bye.”

I hung up and set the phone on the desk, tapping my fingers on the screen. Huffing, I gazed at the window and cursed, jumping back at Mary practically pressing her face against the glass.

“Fuck off!” I shouted, bounding to my feet. Going to it, my head bopped side to side. “Oh, I’m a scary looking nasty ghost. Ooh, so scary. You’re a lying, cheating whore, Mary. You got what you deserved.”

Her head tipped, her milky eyes staring straight into mine. Her wet, tangled hair stuck to the sides of her face, water oozing from a gash on her cheek that exposed her teeth inside.

“Oh, look at me,” I mocked once more. “I’m so scary, look, I’m a ghost. Well, you know what I can do?” I raised my hands and clapped loudly. “Can you do that? No, you can’t, bitch.”

Her head tipped to the other side, her mouth opening a little to let murky water gush forward.

I grimaced and stuck my tongue out. “You’re fucking gross. If you’re gonna haunt, at least look normal. And put your goddamn hands back on. Go fucking find them instead of haunting around here. Grody.”

Turning my back to her, I strode out of the office to rejoin my family having a great time in the kitchen. All was safe, no one was coming for me and Vincent, and we had the blessings of Maximus Giordana to get married. Everything was happening way too easily.

Chapter 54

Vincent da Silva

Tuesday 10.29.2019