Page 113 of At The End Of The Day

Vincent da Silva

People screamed and shouted, shuffling around to make room, their stunned expressions bouncing between me and the idiot.

“Anyone else know who that is?”

“No, fuck no,” everyone mumbled, their heads shaking.

“Anyone?” I bellowed, stomping to the edge a second time.

“No!”

“Shut the fuck up and show respect.”

Dash came to stand beside me, his other pistol brandished, as well. Our arms stretched taut, three weapons were now pointed, ready to liquidate.

“First, I’d like to address something some of you may have noticed,” The Boss began. “Janelle is no longer with us.”

People started looking around, acting as if they’d forgotten all about her, and I nearly snorted. She was so damn worthless, only used as a cum dumpster between the brothers.

“Last night, I had Vin and Dash get rid of her.”

They were mumbling and not looking at either of us fully.

“I’m afraid my boys got a big problem where she was concerned. If you’ve had any sexual contact with Janelle in the last six months, you need to get yourself down to the clinic on 3rd Street. She was spreading the clap, kiddos. You’re all screwed right now.”

A couple of the men who were in a committed relationship blanched. “Oh, shit,” one of them muttered.

“What the fuck you mean, ‘oh, shit?’” his wife shouted, banging her fists on his arm. “I’m going to fucking kill you, asshole. You fucked that skank?”

“Silent!” Boss boomed, his voice ricocheting around the large space. “I’ve already spoken to a doctor there that owes me a favor and he’s waiting to see everyone privately and off the books. Get it taken care of. My people will not be disgusting, diseased riddle hoodlums. We are Serpents, people respect us, as they should. Clean it up, boys, and in the future, be more careful.”

“Hey, Judy,” Dash snapped, moving one of the guns in her direction. “Shut the fuck up. Take it home. Now ain’t the time or place.”

Her mouth clamped but silent tears poured down her cheeks, her complexion red, her body shaking. He kept trying to whisper to her and touch her, but she nudged him away each time.

“I think I said take it home,” he repeated, a brow arched.

The two fell quiet but she walked to the other side of the room.

“As we all know, Jackyl is gone. Everything Vin said was, unfortunately, true. Somewhere along the lines, he lost his way and caused a lot of problems I do not want associated with the Serpents. We might be a gang, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have standards or principles. The things he did were unacceptable and Vin and Dash cleaned up his mess.

“So, it is my honor to appoint Vincent da Silva as his replacement. He is more than qualified to fill those shoes. In fact, I believe he will be even better than Jackyl in some ways.”

Pride prickled through my system, my sight lifting to the office window with a small smile. “Thank you, sir.”

“My pleasure, son. I am expecting everyone to accept my choice and abide by his rules, for he speaks for me when I cannot. Is that understood?”

No one said anything, but some heads were bobbing.

“If I find out at any time in the future, whether it be tonight, tomorrow, next year, or ten years from now that you got a problem with Vin or Dash, you will answer to me and I promise you, kiddos, you ain’t seen nothing yet. You think Jackyl was bad? Or Vin and Dash? Wait until you come face to face with me, it’ll be the last one you ever see.”

The gang grew uncomfortable, which was good, because I knew what was about to be discussed next. A major truth bomb was about to be detonated right in the middle of everything.

“Which brings me to my next point. We are slowly winding down 2019 and society, as a whole, has come a long way. You are my family, you are all my sons and daughters, and in my family, we keep open minds about everything. You have to to be in this line of business. Not everything’s so cut and dry.”

My pulse quickened and my muscles tensed as I cast another anxious glimpse at Dash. He was still as cool as before on the outside, his expression hard and unforgiving.

“I’m not gonna beat around the bush on this matter, I’m just going to state it as it is, a fact. Nothing more, nothing less, just a fact as simple as stating someone’s hair color. It doesn’t change people, their actions, their beliefs, or their characters, so there best not be any issues with what I’m about to reveal. Is that understood?” he boomed, echoing a second time.