Page 63 of At The End Of The Day

His eyelids lifting, he looked at her then me. Sadness weighted my chest and I looked away, still not okay with everything that went down. I doubted I ever would. My best friend, my brother-in-law, was dead.

“Yeah,” he muttered while pinching the bridge of his nose.

“And Tiny?”

I flinched and shifted my weight to my other foot. Piera finally noticed the bandages on my chest and began picking at it curiously.

“She’s gone. As we speak, she’s moving to Tennessee with her boyfriend.”

Scratching behind her ear, a pinkness rose to her cheeks, her sight bouncing back and forth between us. “Is that okay? I mean…” She huffed, averting my gaze. “You know, she’s a sister, and all—”

“It’s safe,” I snarled, infuriated at her insinuation. “And for you to suggest it ain’t is fucked up, Janelle. Who the fuck do you think you are? Jackyl’s dead, but since I’m the one who is gonna take his place, since she’s my sister, she still outranks your ass.”

She blanched and pouted, her throat constricting. Her light brown eyes misting, she began to shake. “I didn’t mean nothing, I swear.”

“Get the fuck outta here,” I barked, jutting my chin.

She looked at Dash and whimpered.

“What the fuck did I say, bitch? Huh?”

Dash snorted when she continued to ogle him. Shrugging his arms out, he stated, “He’s gonna be the next boss, girl. You best listen.”

“But, I—”

Getting just as irate, he shot up to a sitting position and grunted against the pain. “You really think I’m gonna defend you right now? Tiny’s been around for a decade, you been here two years. I trust her more than you any goddamn day of the week. She was raped, Janelle! She was drugged, brainwashed, and raped, and now that she’s free and trying to start over, you wanna start something?”

“No, I swear!” she whined, shaking her head vigorously.

I stepped forward, propping Piera on my uninjured side when her weight became too unbearable against the wound from the bullet. Petting her back, my voice lowered with a warning. “If I hear one goddamn rumor about her loyalty to the Serpents, I’m coming for you.”

She gasped and paled further, the whites showing around her irises. “I swear, I didn’t mean nothing,” she whined, a couple tears shedding.

“Get. The fuck. Out.”

Sniveling, she spun on her heels and ran from the room, the front door slamming in her hasty retreat.

“I don’t like her, Daddy,” Piera stated flippantly, gazing at him as though she were disappointed at his choice while shaking her head.

We both snickered, the mood lifting.

“You don’t?” I asked, brushing her bangs aside.

“Mm mm.” She shook her head again, the pigtails brushing over her little shoulders.

“Why not?”

“Look what she did,” she snapped, pointing to her hair. “And she put me in a dress.” Her little eyes squinting and her button nose wrinkling, she whispered, “So I put pepper in her soup last night.”

“You did what?” Dash snorted, making all kinds of facial expressions from the agony.

“When she wasn’t looking, I poured a whole buncha pepper in her soup. She threw up.”

Though I laughed, Dash was seriously struggling. I carefully set the little girl on the floor and went to his side, supporting his weight until he was resting into the pillows again. Grunting a few times, I could tell he was still uncomfortable, so I cupped the back of his head, fluffed the pillow, and tenderly laid him back down. When my eyes met his, I froze and my heart turned over.

He was staring at me like he had that night just before he bent me over the desk and shoved that magnificent cock inside my ass. Breathing quicker, my heartbeat grew more intense, my focus lingering at his mouth.

“Is Daddy okay?”