Page 98 of At The End Of The Day

Coughing, I pulled at my nape and shifted my weight to one leg. “It’s the only place I knew was safe.”

“Safe? Where’s Dash?”

“He ain’t here.”

A brow arched. “Where is he?”

“Uh, ahem.” I rubbed my palms on my sides and inched closer to the edge of the porch. “H-He’s at my place. He woke up not feeling too good.”

That brow arched a little higher. “Having a relapse? I heard he was healing rather quickly.”

“No, he is. He’s fine. He just…don’t feel good. Nothing to do with…” Shame had me averting my gaze, my arms recrossing. “What happened in Georgia.”

“Hm.”

Nervous once more, I tossed a thumb over my shoulder at the opened front door. “He’s moving out, actually. Uh, ahem. M-Moving…into my place,” I added with a sideways glance.

His expression changed to mild surprise. “Can you please get to the point? Why did you call me here?”

“Because I thought it would be suspicious if a gangbanger knocked on your front door. The cops coming to us is different.”

One side of his features scrunched, his head tipping that way. “True. What do you want, Vin?”

I coughed and rubbed my sweaty palms together. “Something’s changed and I need to make sure it ain’t gonna affect things when I…” I gulped, staring at him to gage his reaction. “Take over Jackyl’s position.”

Something glinted in his dark eyes, but I couldn’t tell what, he was too good at masking his emotions…what little he had. A muscle in his jaw flexing, he coughed and looked off to the side, pulling a deep breath that had his arms and chest puffing out. “What would that be, da Silva?”

“I’m gay,” I blurted, squaring off my shoulders.

His sight flitted to me out the corner of his eye. “We’ve had this discussion before, I know. Are you gayer than you were before? What’s the big deal?”

“Well, when we discussed this last time, you suggested I keep it on the down low for now.”

He groaned and rubbed at his face, moving his hands to his sides. “Yeah, yeah, I did. And?”

“And it ain’t so easy to keep that secret these days.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” I licked my lips, gulped a deep breath, and just went for it. “Because me and Dash is a thing now and Janelle busted us.”

His eyelids rounded, then closed with a drawn out, “Shit,” while he covered his face.

“So, I need to know if we’re gonna be protected or do we gotta take off?”

“No, no,” he grumbled, pumping his fist. “No, I’ll take care of this. I told you years ago, I don’t got a problem with it—”

“Jackyl did.”

He stared at me with another slow inhale, his lips taut. “Yeah, well, my son definitely had some faults.” He rolled his eyes and bowed his chin, pinching the bridge of his nose. “A lot more than any of us thought.”

I cringed at the grief in his tone. The chief of police, also being the head of the Serpents, was as secret as him being Jackyl’s biological father. Dash wasn’t even aware of that bit of information. Violetta had always accused the police department of being ignorant and lazy because they’d never fully pursued our activities, but she had no idea it was because their boss was also ours, and he was clearing the path to keep us safe.

“What do I do, Boss?”

His head tilted with a sideways glare, he was tugging at his ear. “Take care of her if she causes problems.”

“What about the others? I gotta protect mine, sir. He ain’t healed enough yet to take on any attacks from the brothers or sisters who got issues with gay people.”