Page 141 of At The End Of The Day

Her lips pursed, unshed tears misting her light blue eyes. Sniffling, she coughed and tilted her head, fidgeting with the silk, black knot. “We were happy once, right? I mean, it wasn’t all manipulated, was it? There was genuine love at one point?”

Sorrow consuming my feelings, I searched her face, deciding to lie to help her feel better. According to Tyler, she wasn’t handling things too well, especially after finding out about Jackyl and Mary’s affair. What harm would come from letting her live in denial where her marriage was concerned? Tyler was right, unless or until she was willing to get professional therapy to help untwist everything that bastard did to her mind, the best thing was to, in a way, coddle her delusions for now. Eventually, she would want support we couldn’t give. Until then, whatever helped her move on was best for her mental health.

“Yeah, yeah, there was love there, sis.”

She nodded and sniffled, batting back the tears. Coughing, she stepped back and folded her arms, leaning to one leg. Her sight roaming over me several times, her smile spread wide, her stare glowing with pride. “You look very handsome, Vinny.”

I looked at my reflection and cursed, dumbfounded at how I looked in a tuxedo. “Wow.”

“Wow is right,” she giggled, coming to stand beside me. Her cheek on my shoulder, she stared at us, twining our fingers together. “When we were kids, how did you see our future?”

Giving a firm squeeze, I chose my words carefully. “I thought I’d be in jail and you’d be my lawyer.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes, stepping away to playfully slap my bicep. “No, shit.”

“I sure as hell never thought you’d be a Serpent, not the way you always griped about me being in a gang.”

A shoulder rolling, she moved closer to the mirror, bending over the dresser to check her makeup. Swiping her pinky along the bottom lashes, she stood upright to readjust the necklace Tyler gave her for Christmas. Her palms smoothing down the front of her navy dress, she turned one way then the other, checking herself out.

“Well, in my little girl eyes, the Serpents took you away from me. I was jealous.”

Gently running my fingers through her dark curls, I tucked some behind her ear. “Ain’t nothing ever taking me from you, sis.”

She twisted her waist to look up at me with a rueful smile. “I see that now. I’ve no regrets, Vinny. I’m proud to be a Serpent. Sure, sometimes I think about what could have been, but Ty-Ty always reels me in, reminding I wouldn’t have my babies had things turned out differently.”

One corner of my mouth curled, actual love filling my chest for that son of a bitch. “He’s a good guy, Letta. You done good.”

Her nose wrinkling, she spun around, her knee length skirts flaring about her legs. “He’s wonderful.”

“He really is.” I took her hand and lifted, rubbing my thumb over the two carat diamond engagement ring. “I’m really glad he’s gonna be family soon. I was wrong about him.”

“You most certainly were, but I forgive you,” she giggled, twirling around a second time to prance to the bed. She dug in the matching purse and pulled out a tiny box wrapped in silver paper, a shiny red bow on top. “Here’s a belated Christmas gift.”

My brows furrowing, I chuckled and took it. “What is this?”

“Just open it.”

I lifted the top and frowned at two, brand new keys. “What? I don’t get it.”

Her hands clasped in front, her hips swayed side to side, a brilliant grin glowing her features. “House keys. Ty-Ty bought the property Dash found. He signed the papers last week.”

Joy shot through like lightning, stealing my breath. My focus snatching to hers, I gawked. “No, shit? Why didn’t you say nothing?”

“Well, there were some issues. Someone else bid a little higher, so, we actually thought we’d lost it. When the owners realized ‘Tyler motherfuckin’ Warren,’” she mocked, bobbing her head side to side, speaking in a gruff, country drawl. “Was the low bidder, they backed out of the original contract, saying they’d changed their minds. Then, because of legal jargon, they had to wait a couple weeks before offering it to Ty-Ty.”

A chuckle pushed through my nostrils. “Kinda nice having a man with power like that, huh?”

Her brows wiggled. “You’ve no idea. We get recognized everywhere we go. And all those people who criticized us in high school are suddenly falling at our feet, pulling up all kinds of memories of how close we were back then.” Once more, she rolled her eyes and groaned, holding her hand out to ogle the ring. “If they had just treated us like that then, so many things would be different and…”

Her voice trailed off, her complexion turning gray, her irises going blank. I flinched, knowing where her mind was going. In a dark, ominous tone, she whispered, “It’s rather pathetic how they’re trying to twist things around now that he’s home and famous.”

“Is he gonna stay famous?”

Her attention flitted to me over her fingertips. “You mean, is he continuing with his career? Yes,” she sighed, strolling to the window to look outside. Her tone now bitter, she grumbled, “All his fans think he’s a fucking saint for rescuing a poor, traumatized gang banger from the streets. He should be knighted,” she added, lifting her chin while scowling.

“Hey, hey. We all know the truth, what does it matter?”

Pouting, she cast a glance over her shoulder. “You’re right,” she sighed, twirling to face me fully. The smile returning, her palms together, she clasped her fingers, the index extending to point to the box. “So, there you go. Keys to our new house here in Mobile. One for you and one for your future husband.”