Page 16 of The Viper

I sit back in my chair and cross my arms in front of my chest. Tilting my head to the side, I watch as terror creeps through him. My silence would be sending him insane. Marco leans against my book shelf and waits for my instruction.

“I’ll pay ya, I promise,” Dean repeats in a near scream.

“I have a problem, Dean.” I push up out of my chair and head over to pour myself a scotch.

“I promise. You won’t have no trouble with me.”

“My problem is that this is the second time you’ve been late with a payment. The first time I gave you an extension, but now...what do you think I should do?” I lift the scotch and twirl it around in the glass before downing it with one movement.

“Just give me until the end of the week. I promise, you won’t need to ask again.”

“No?” I pour myself a second scotch. “How rude of me, would you care for a drink?”

Dean looks to Marco, then back to me. His breathing is rapid and shallow. “Yeah, yeah, okay.” I pour a drink for Dean, and turn to give it to him. He reaches out to take it, and as he does, I put him in a headlock, and smash the glass across his temple. “Fuck,” he yells. With the shard of glass still in my hand I hold it against his ear, and slice the fucking thing off. “Fuck!” he screams in pain.

I release him from the headlock, and step backward. Dean is holding the side of his head while whimpering. “You’re lucky it’s a fucking ear. You have one week to pay everything you owe us.”

“That’s a hundred thousand dollars!” he protests.

“A hundred thousand in a week, or I’ll let Marco take his time with you. It won’t be quick.” I flick my hand at Marco, essentially giving the instructions to get rid of Dean.

Marco strides over to Dean, easily lifts him by the scruff of his shirt and shoves him out of my office. I’m left looking at the blood in my office and on my hands. “Fuck.” I head into my private bathroom and wash the blood from my hands. I look down at my suit and notice the drops of blood splashed on it. “Fuck,” I grumble again. He ruined my perfectly good suit, and now I have to burn the fucker. I unbutton the shirt and shrug out of it, leaving it on the floor. I toe off my shoes, then unzip my pants and let them slide to the pile accumulating. I walk over to my closet and take one of the other suits off the hanger and pair it with a crisp white shirt.

When I walk back into my office, I flip the phone on my desk over and message Frank to come to the office. I sit again and open my laptop to look at the finances of the Sacco Family. “You wanted to see me?” Frank asks when he walks in. He assesses my office and snickers. “Someone lost an ear.” He looks at the mess.

Dean’s fucking lucky I didn’t take him to the basement. “Clean it up, Frank.”

“Yes, sir.” Frank leaves the office and when he returns he’s wearing gloves and has a plastic bag with him. Frank is not only my cleaner, but also takes care of whatever I need. He’s a good cleaner, and has a way of disposing of the bodies. Or in this case, parts of the body. As he makes easy work of removing all traces of Dean from my office, I continue looking at the numbers and accounts.

I scrub my hand across my eyes to relieve the pressure behind them. The moment I do, I’m hit with an image of Rose sitting across from me at the restaurant last night. Marco has returned and is sitting in my office, scrolling through his phone. “What?” Marco asks when he catches me staring at nothing.

“What?”

“You’re staring which means you’re thinking. What is it?”

“Nothing.” I look back to the numbers. “The girl’s apartment, I want that door replaced.” Marco appears amused. “Do you have something to say?”

“I haven’t ever heard you say anything about any woman, much less one you haven’t fucked.”

“She’s my sister-in-law’s sister. I have to make sure she’s safe.”

He wipes his thumb across his lower lip and nods once. “Uh-huh.”

“Spit it out.”

“Me?” He points to himself and shakes his head again. “I’m not saying anything. If you want me to replace her door, I’ll get it done today.” He pushes off the chair and walks toward the door. “Are we talking keep you out strength, or just keep everyone else out?” I tilt my head to the side and lift my brows. “I see. I’ll get it done today. I guess you want the key?”

“Make it a thumbprint keypad.” That’ll give me access any time I want.

“On it.” Marco exits my office, leaving me to my thoughts. I push any images of Rose Hopkins away and return my attention to the numbers.

Marco’s number flashes up on my screen. “Is it done?”

“The girl wants to talk to you.”

I know she’s not going to like what I’m doing, but too bad. “Put her on.”

“Mr. Sacco,” I hear Marco say as he hands the phone over to my Rosa.

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