Page 84 of The Viper

I release a relieved breath. I don’t want to leave Eliza by herself, but if I don’t go to work then we can’t afford to live here or eat. I squeeze Eliza’s hands before leaning over and hugging her close to my body. “We can make this work, Eliza, you don’t ever have to go back to him.” I feel her tremble in my arms. “Please, don’t do anything today. Let’s get through the day and we can see what’ll happen.”

My world has been slowly imploding for a while now. I thought it was hard when Mom and Dad died, but this is something else. Twenty-one-year olds are supposed to have the world at their feet. I feel like everything is closing in and suffocating me.

“I promise I won’t go anywhere today.”

I pull back and give my sister a small kiss on the cheek. Standing, I head into the bathroom to get ready for work.

As I walk toward the café, I see Dominic, Marco and Frank all outside. Dominic is leaning against the car, Marco and Frank are both a few feet away, their hands in their pockets as they keep guard.

Marco sees me first and says something making Dominic turn toward me. The man is serious eye candy, but I’m in no mood to see him today. He pushes off the car and begins to head over to me.

“What do you want, Dominic?” He reaches for my hand and places a fob in it. “What’s this?”

He glances over his shoulder to the other side of the street. “That’s for you.”

I follow his line of sight, and see a shiny new Mercedes parked at the curb. “What is?”

“The car.”

I lift the fob and see the Mercedes symbol. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“I’ve said before that I don’t like the way my brother treated your sister, but neither of you should suffer because of what he did. I don’t like you catching the bus to and from work, nor do I like you travelling by bus to your boss’s house to clean it.”

“You know about that?”

“I know everything.”

I look at the fob, then the car. “I can’t accept this, Dominic.” I extend my hand for him to take the fob. “Besides, I don’t want your charity. I just want your brother to leave my sister alone.”

Dominic glances toward Marco, an unvoiced question passing between them. “Has he contacted you?”

“No, he hasn’t. But Eliza told me this morning that she’s going to go back to him.”

“Why?”

I throw my arms up in frustration. “I don’t know, she’s holding some big secret and refuses to tell me what it is. He’s got something on her, and she’s not telling me. Every time I ask her, she shuts down and refuses to tell me. I don’t even know if this secret has anything to do with me.” If only she’d open up. “Look.” I glance toward the café and point. “I’ve got work to do. But here.” I hold the fob out to him. “I’m not taking this.”

Dominic steps into me, clutches his fingers onto my nape and squeezes. He lowers his face until our mouths meet. Claiming me, he pushes his tongue between my lips and deepens the kiss. When he pulls back, he kisses my forehead. “You’re taking the car so I know you’re safe. There’s no negotiation.”

“You can’t do this.” I try to shove the fob back into his hand, but he doesn’t take it.

“I can do whatever the fuck I want with you, Rosa.” He winks at me before turning to leave.

My inner darkness falls to her knees in anticipation of his toxic possession. “This isn’t healthy,” I say to myself as I head into work. Dominic waits until I’m inside before he gets in the car and they leave.

Once in the café, I walk out the back to find Evelyn. She’s sitting at her desk in the office working on the laptop. “Hi,” I say and wait for her to lift her head.

“Rose, how are you?”

“Um.” I crinkle my brows as I think about her question. “Good, I think.”

She smiles as she sits back in her chair. “You’re not sure if you’re good?”

I look at the fob still wrapped in my fist then back at Evelyn. “Thank you for allowing me to clean your house yesterday. Did I do an okay job?”

“It was great, I’m happy with it.”

I smile proudly. “I know I’m not a professional, and the woman you have probably does a much better job, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you for this,” my damn voice shakes.

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