Page 54 of The Viper

“Of course, Mr. Sacco.”

“Go.” She heads up stairs and I turn to Marco before I begin toward the dungeon.

“She’ll be okay, Dominic. You got to her in time.”

My jaw sends a painful reminder that it’s been clenched and tight since I saw that fucker spike my woman’s drink. I don’t reply to Marco as we make our way down to the basement. I can hear the rattle of the chains as I approach the furthest room under the house. “Do you know who I am?” the guy screams at me and rattles the chains again.

I turn to Marco who lifts a brow and shakes his head. “You’re no one,” I reply as I stand five feet from him.

“I’m gonna fucking end you!” he spits and tries the chains again as if they’ve magically become weaker.

I unbutton my shirt cuffs, and roll them up slowly as I walk back and forth in front of the guy. His wide eyes follow me, but he doesn’t speak another word as I prepare myself to work. Once my sleeves are rolled up I stand in front of him with my hands on my hips. “Do you know who I am?” I ask in a low voice, barely above a whisper.

He looks around the room, searching for some kind of visual cues. “Who the fuck are you?”

I release a humorless chuckle. “Do you know who the woman is that you drugged?”

“I didn’t drug anyone.”

“You spiked her drink.”

“No, I didn’t,” he argues and rattles the chains.

“Yes, you did. I saw you. Do you know who she is?” He shakes his head. “Her name is Rosa Hopkins.”

“Dude, I don’t know who she is. Why should I care, I didn’t do anything wrong.”

I run my hand through my hair and breathe a deep, frustrated breath. “You come into my club and try to drug my girlfriend and now you deny it?”

“Shit,” he groans.

I lift my chin to look at him and cock a brow. “You put your hands on my woman.”

“I didn’t know she was yours,” he says knowing the wrath I’m about to bring. I take the few steps until I’m in front of him and in rapid succession smash my fists into his stomach and face. His guttural groans are an aphrodisiac to me. “I’m sorry,” he begs.

“You touched a member of the Sacco Family.”

“I’m sorry,” he yells.

As I pound into his face, the sound of cracking bones spur me on to continue. “Dominic,” Marco calls, pulling me out of my rhythm.

I wipe my forearm at the sweat beading across my hairline as I turn to look at Marco. “What?” He gestures with his eyes toward the cabinet in the corner. If Marco didn’t stop me, I would’ve just smashed this guy until he was dead, but I want him to suffer. My knuckles are burning with a piercing pain, but I push that aside and stroll over to the cabinet. “How many women have you taken from my clubs?” I open the top drawer and search the implements, before opening the second drawer and smirking when I find the various pliers.

“No. This is the first time I ever did anything like that.”

I reach for the pliers I want and a pair of metal snips. When I lift them, I close my eyes for a moment. “Seriously, man?” Marco grumbles from behind me. We both know the guy’s words are lies and only spoken so we spare his life.

The more he speaks, the louder is the pounding in my ears. “You went after the wrong woman,” I say as I strut back to face him, holding the pliers and the snips. He balls his hands into fists and continues to struggle against the chains. “Marco.”

Marco pushes off the wall he was leaning against, walks over to the nameless man and grabs his hand, extending his fingers. “I’m sorry,” he fruitlessly begs.

“Pinky?” Marco asks as he prepares the guy’s hand. But the guy is struggling, attempting to keep his hand in a tight fist. Marco easily extends his pinky. I place the pliers at the base and clamp down ruthlessly. The pliers crush the bones in the finger, tearing the skin and nearly severing it.

“Next,” I say.

The guy’s screams echo deep inside the dungeon, but I know they can’t be heard outside here. “Please,” he begs as a long line of bloody drool falls out of his busted-up mouth.

Marco already has his thumb out, which I clamp the tip with the pliers and squeeze down near the base with the metal snips. “You touched something that belongs to me,” I say as I take his thumb off. He screams in pain.

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