Page 111 of At The End Of The Day

“All right, everyone,” he shouted, waving a palm in the air. “I’m pretty sure we all know what we’re doing here tonight.”

A sudden quietness fell across the fifty or sixty people watching us, the unspoken name of our fallen leader lingering in the air. Feet shuffled on the cement floor, a couple of people coughed, but no one spoke. It was eerie.

An arm curling around my ribs, I grimaced and hissed through my teeth as I squatted at the table to hook my phone up to the projector. It was weird how during normal activity, the pain was still bothersome, but the moment me and Dash got turned on, my body could shut that off.

A few murmurs rolled through the crowd at my visible show of pain, so I shot them a glare, finding some pointing and whispering. As I was rising back to my full height, someone asked a question that had me pausing midway, my heart ceasing.

“We gonna know what happened in Georgia?”

My mouth running dry, I cast Dash a worried glance. He was visibly uncomfortable, rubbing his nape and tapping the cane on the floor. Sucking my teeth, I finished rising and cleared my throat.

“Uh, well? What, um, do you wanna know?”

“What happened,” someone else snapped bitterly.

Though there was to be no backlash for killing Jackyl because The Boss had ordered it, that didn’t mean Jackyl didn’t have a few very loyal members who might go rogue if they didn’t like our answer. In fact, it was one reason Boss ordered me and Dash to lay low until told otherwise, he wanted us locked away while emotions mellowed out.

Filling my lungs, I tugged at the black and white bandana tied around my head, my cheeks puffing out with the exhale. “Well, uh. Ahem. Y’all ain’t all gonna like what you hear.”

“Say it anyhow,” Tinkerbell chimed, drawing my attention.

For a moment, my sight skimmed over her, taking in her physique. Around five foot eight, she had the perfect, slightly plus sized, hourglass figure. Tiny waist, wide hips, large breasts, small poof to her stomach, thick thighs, and short, bleached blonde hair, she was gorgeous and the envy of a lot of other sisters in the gang. Her dark blue eyes glaring, she crossed her arms and leaned to one leg.

For years, she’d pursued me relentlessly. I had always brushed her off as gently as possible, but the last year, she’d gotten rather aggressive, leading to me exploding and saying things I wished I hadn’t, wounding her ego. Tonight, she was finally going to understand why I’d rejected her all this time.

“Ahem.”

I cast Dash another look, more for support. He gave a stiff nod, his profile to the group so no one could see him wink.

Pulling another deep breath, I squared off my shoulders and faced the gang I was to now lead. I had to be strong and dominant if the Serpents were going to continue to thrive under my rule. That meant no bullshitting or pussyfooting around uncomfortable facts. Jackyl wouldn’t give a shit about their reaction, he would just set the record straight and if someone had a problem, it was their problem, and they would have two options. Deal with it or he would.

Huffing, I decided to tap into that mind frame. Standing here stalling was only making me look weak and timid. We did the right thing, we did what was necessary to survive. Six lives were spared for one, I’d do it again.

“Well, first of all, Jackyl wasn’t exactly what we all thought he was.”

“He was a good man!” someone barked.

Refusing to back down or cringe, I met his animosity. “Yeah, I thought so, too. No one in this goddamn room followed that man more than I did. If you think you were more loyal to him than me, you’re a fool and I dare you, right fucking now, to come up here and challenge me.”

He bowed his chin, another murmur rolling through the crowd.

“That’s what the fuck I thought, now shut the fuck up and listen, if you wanna know what happened.” I paused to glance at the office, feeling a little apprehensive about laying out facts of the chief’s son. Facing the gang, I rolled forward. “Jackyl Bianchi was a predator.”

Some gasped, a few chuckled, and others gawked. Bullshit was heard more than once.

“Ay!” Dash bellowed, banging his cane on the floor. “Shut the fuck up. You asked for this. This wasn’t why we was here tonight, but you wanted to know, so quiet! Show some goddamn respect,” he ordered, extending an arm to point at me. “Whether you like it or not, Jackyl is gone and Vin is next in line.”

Someone made a snide remark and before I knew what was happening, he had whipped out his pistol and aimed it at him. His features twisted in rage, sweat beading his brow, he seethed, “Say it again. Not under your breath like a pussy, either. Say it loud and proud for all to hear your last goddamn words.”

The man gulped, his eyelids rounded. Faintly shaking his head, he bowed down and stepped behind someone else to shield him.

“Anyone else got something to say about Vin?” he asked, slowly waving the barrel side to side.

“Let’s start this from a different angle. Who here thinks Tiny is legit and honorable? Raise your hand.”

Literally every single person did, though their expressions conveyed confusion.

“So, if she told you something, you’d believe her, right?”