Chapter 41
Vincent da Silva
Riddled with anxiety, I stood on the porch of Dash’s house, my stance wide, arms crossed, while watching the chief of police’s SUV slowly rock along the bumpy drive. My teeth gritted so hard my jaw was aching, I exhaled through my nose, bouncing a knee. I was not ready for this shit.
The vehicle stopped, the engine cut off, and the older man climbed out.
His expression hard, he snatched off the sunglasses, folded them, and hook them over the pocket of his uniform.
My vision tracing over him, I shook my head at his large, massive frame.
Even at sixty, he had a full head of thick, black hair, his complexion naturally tanned, his eyes nearly black.
Wide nostrils at the end of a long nose, his lips were full, a cleft in his chin.
Old enough to be my father with the strength of someone younger than me, he was a fucking beast of a man who had everyone in this town quaking in fear when he was in a foul mood.
Looked like today was a bad day. Son of a bitch.
The silence was almost deafening, if not for the birds chirping in the trees. Coming closer, he stopped just before the steps and matched my stance, the thick veins in his massive arms sticking out. Tipping his head back, he peered down the length of his nose with intense disapproval.
“Chief Murphey,” I grumbled with a small nod.
“Mr. da Silva.” He shook his head. “What the hell do you want? Why did you ask me to come here?”
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.”
His lips twisted around his teeth, his tongue clicking. “Yeah, I’ll take care of that, son. Don’t you worry about it. Just.” He gazed at me sternly, his palm held out. “Try to keep things silent until I address it, okay?”
I nodded, a sense of relief flooding. I really wasn’t looking forward to fleeing to Italy, for that meant I would surely never see my sister or her kids again. I would, though. To keep my new family safe, I would go anywhere in the world and never look back.
“Yes, sir.”
His arms folding again, his focus raked along my frame. “You okay? How you healing?”
My head bobbing, I cleared my throat yet again. “Healing pretty good.”
“And your sister and that famous guy? Taylor Warren?”
“Tyler. Yeah, they’re good. He ain’t never gonna walk right again, but he’ll survive.”
“Shit.” He lowered his face to cover it, his thumb and fingers spreading to massage his temples.
“I swear to god, Vin, I had no idea what he was doing.” Looking at me again, he spread that hand out to the side, his shoulders curling to his ears.
“I mean, when he first came to me about being with Tiny, I told him then I felt a certain kinda way about it because of her age, but I swear, I had no idea it started when she was still in high school.”
My muscles tensing up once more, I nodded. “Yes, sir, I know. No one knew.”
We fell quiet for a moment, just staring at one another. Averting his gaze, he coughed and flipped a wrist. “I’ll take care of this. Get everyone gathered at the clubhouse this Friday for a meeting. Be ready to be outed, Vinny, because it’s coming.”
A mixture of relief, excitement, and fear crunched my stomach, but I did my best to conceal it. Giving one nod, I shoved my hands to my pockets. “Yes, sir.”
He pivoted and started walking back to his SUV. Opening the door, he turned to me once more and glared. “Y’all healed up enough to liquidate?”
Caught off guard, my brows furrowed and my chin tucked toward my chest. “Uh, yes, sir.”
“Good. Go ahead and get rid of Janelle. I’m sick of her shit, anyhow. And make sure your boys get checked. I think she’s diseased.”
My eyelids rounded and then I cursed, enraged at the notion. “Yes, sir.”
“After Friday, it’s back to work, Vin. You and Dash had enough time to heal. Get busy. Got a shipment coming in from Savannah next week and I don’t trust no one but you now that my boy’s gone.”
The corner of my mouth wanted to curl with a smile at the compliment, but it was laced with sorrow at the mention of Jackyl. “Yes, sir.”
He got back in his vehicle, replaced the sunglasses, started the engine, and made a u-turn.
When the trees surrounding the house swallowed the shiny black SUV, I exhaled fully and slumped forward a bit, the rush of relief so severe, my knees nearly buckled.
Ross Murphey was going soft because normally I would have had my ass handed to me for daring to call for a meeting.
I could only assume he was still grieving over the loss of his first-born son.
Though everyone thought Jackson Bianchi was his real father, the only two people left alive who knew the truth was myself and the chief of police, and neither of us would ever say a word.
Turning, I went back inside to get the last couple boxes and head home. My boyfriend was sick and needed some TLC.
Literally tripping over my feet, my palm slapped to the wall to catch my balance, my heart slamming into my ribs, hard.
Snatching the breath from my lungs, my jaw was gaping, emotions overwhelming my system and breaking me out in goosebumps.
Boyfriend. I had a boyfriend? I had a boyfriend!
Holy fucking shit, I had a boyfriend, and everyone was about to find out. I wasn’t going to be hidden.
Everyone including the Serpents. Soon afterward, other gangs in the area. I cursed and pinched the bridge of my nose, strolling further into the house. We had a few days before the blowout happened on Friday, we may as well enjoy the peace before the shit hit the fan.