Page 66 of The Viper

Adrian lifts his head from his drugs and raises his brows at me. “What the fuck is this, Dominic?” He squares his shoulders ready to leap over the desk and try to fight me. “Did you come here to check up on my wife?” He places his hands face down on the desk, ready for a fight. “She’s my property and I can do whatever the fuck I want with her. What’s she doing? Running back to Rose and crying about shit?”

“What would she be crying about?”

He lifts a finger and points it at me. His face is reddening as he bares his teeth. “She’s fucking mine.” Spit flies from his mouth.

“Calm the fuck down, Adrian.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” He smacks his hand on the desk, the mirror slightly jumps and the white powder escapes the perfect lines he had cut. “You come into my home and start questioning me about my fucking property. Who the fuck do you think you are?” Adrian puffs his chest out attempting to intimidate me.

I give him a few moments. “Are you done being a fucking prick? Because I came here to talk to you about the inventory at the club. I also wanted to tell you to allow your wife to speak to her sister. But I can see the drugs have fucked you in the head and there’s no use in talking to you.”

Adrian brows clamp tightly together. “What about the club? What’s happening?”

“Expenses are still high, and the income isn’t supporting what we’re spending.”

“I told you, I checked it out and everything was fine.”

“I’ll have to look into it. I’ll speak with Ruben.”

“I’ll do it.” He drags his disgruntled gaze over me. “I’m the underboss, you’re just a capo.”

I slam the glass on the table and stand to my feet in one movement. “Whatever the fuck is going on in your head, fix it. What is this? Fucking high school? Get over yourself, Adrian. You’re being a fucking dick.”

Adrian roars with laughter and too forcefully stands to his feet. “You have a problem with me?” He rounds the desk and squares his shoulders.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” He takes a swing at me, but I duck it and manage two jabs to his guts. “The drugs have fucked with your head, man.” I step back and fix my hair.

“You’re fucking dead.” He points his finger at me, his eyes are wide with rage and his jaw is tight with anger.

The door flings open and both Marco and Tony ? Adrian’s right-hand man ? barge in with their guns drawn. Marco looks directly at me, then to Adrian. He sees the lines of coke on the table, the powder on Adrian’s nose, and positions himself closer to me.

“Boss,” Tony says.

“Get this fucker out of my house.” Adrian points to me as he’s pacing back and forth. He grabs the rolled up note, bends and snorts yet another line.

I jerk my head to the side, quietly telling Marco to leave. Tony steps toward me, and I give him a warning look. “Wait outside,” I say to him.

Tony hesitates as he looks to Adrian. Adrian juts his chin toward the door. Once Marco and Tony leave, Adrian glares in my direction. “You come into my home and disrespect me. Do you have any idea what I can do to you?”

“And here I thought we were brothers,” I say as I pour myself another drink and throw it down in one gulp. “What the fuck has gotten into you, Adrian?”

“You disrespect me!” his voice elevates.

“Lay off the fucking drugs.”

Adrian scoffs as he continues pacing. “Just remember this, the only reason you’re alive is because we’re brothers.”

I leave the glass on his desk, and walk over to the door. “We’ve got work to do, so when you’ve come down from your high, call me so we can do it.”

I open the door, exit the room and close it. Tony and Marco are both waiting. We walk out of Adrian’s house without speaking. Once we’re in the car, Marco says, “I just got word there’s a problem with one of the shipments.”

“Which one and what’s the problem?”

“Cocaine shipment coming up from Mexico.”

I know the one he’s talking about. “What’s the issue?”

“It arrived fine, but sixty pounds has gone missing.”

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