Page 62 of The Viper

I’ll have to lock that away for now – along with the whole wife thing ? and talk to him about that later. “Of course. My apologies.” He could’ve told me that before I offered to shake his hand.

“What happened, Luciana?” Dominic asks as he drags out a chair and offers it to me. I guess this is where I have to do whatever he tells me. I dutifully sit and wait for whatever else I’m supposed to do. He’s thrown me into the deep end. Dominic sits beside me and possessively places his hand on my thigh.

“I don’t know, Dominic. We came in this morning to make the pasta sauce, and found the place like this.” Luciana sweeps her hand over the dining room where chairs and tables have been overturned. “The cash register is gone, and we can’t afford to replace it. They took food from the kitchen, too.” She bursts into tears. “Times have been so difficult.”

“It’s okay, amore, we’ll make it work,” Alonzo whispers to his wife as he rubs her back. My heart is bursting for the both of them. They’re so adorable together.

Dominic turns to Marco and says, “Who do we know that can install a better cash register for them? It needs to be more secure.”

Marco’s mouth twists as he thinks about it. “Bruno should be able to do it.”

“Get him here today.” Marco’s already on the phone. “How did they come in?”

“The bathroom window,” Alonzo says. “They broke it.”

“Get the window replaced, and bar them all up too,” Dominic instructs Marco.

“Dominic, we have no money to pay for these things. Please, don’t worry about it, we’ll figure out another way.”

“You always look after me when I come here, and now it’s my turn to look after you.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This makes it harder for me to put distance between us. Dominic has a level of softness which I’m falling for, not to mention his hard, dominating ways.

“Please, give us some time and we’ll repay you,” Luciana offers.

Dominic links our hands and stands, prompting me to stand with him. “I never want to hear you say that again. This is my gift to you.” He looks around the restaurant. “Do you need anything else?”

Alonzo is furiously shaking his head. “No, no, no. You do too much for us already, Dominic.”

“If you need anything else.” Stop it! Stop being so damn perfect. I hate how he’s showing so much compassion for these two elderly people.

Luciana struggles yet again to stand. When she does, she wraps her chubby arms around his center and hugs him. Dominic’s uncomfortable stance is something I find amusing. “Thank you so much.”

He awkwardly pets her shoulder and attempts to push her away. “It’s my pleasure.” She releases him from her bear hug and steps back. This time her tears are of happiness, not sadness. Alonzo extends his hand to shake Dominic’s who’s more comfortable with this level of appreciation.

We head out of the restaurant and I want to say something about his generosity, but choose not to. Instead, I tone down what I want to say, “That was a really nice thing you did for them.”

“They look after me, so I’ll look after them.” Frank is waiting with the back door open. Once we’re in he says to Marco, “Get hold of their suppliers and take care of their bills for the month.”

Stop it!

“On it.”

We need to have a conversation about the whole wife thing, but that can wait until we’re in a more private setting. The car merges onto the street, and I sit staring out the window.

In these moments of silence, I’m forced to remember the conversation I had with Eliza at the club. I turn to Dominic and ask, “Is Eliza okay today?”

“She’s with my brother,” he replies curtly.

I glance at Marco and Frank before nodding my head once. That’s not a comforting thought, knowing she’s with him. I have to figure out how to get her away. Shit, this means we’re going to have to flee together.

I stiffen in the seat as I attempt to silence my head and my heart. I like Dominic, but his brother is a monster who hurts Eliza. I’m going to have to break off whatever it is Dominic and I have, take Eliza, and leave.

I can’t let myself fall for Dominic.

I remain silent as I attempt to figure out how we’re going to get away from Adrian. “Rosa,” Dominic’s low voice drags me out of my own heavy thoughts. It’s then I notice the car has stopped and Dominic has his hand extended while he waits for me.

Once out of the car, I look around and again see we’re outside an upscale cafe. “What are we doing here?”

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