Page 87 of The Viper

“Dominic, I’ll be...”

My phone rings and I take it out of my suit pocket. Rose’s number flashes on the screen. “It’s Rose,” I explain to Ruben.

“Take it.” He returns to the window, and with his back to me he looks out at the empty club.

“Rosa,” I say.

“He’s trying to get into the room!” she frantically cries into the phone.

I’m up and on my feet within a second. “Adrian?” Ruben spins around to look at me.

“Yes. He’s bashing on the door. He’s trying to break it in.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.” Ruben and I run out of the office with Marco following.

“He’s over at the motel,” Ruben yells to Dante as we run down the steps toward the car.

“Dominic, I don’t know what to do. What do we do?” I can hear Eliza crying in the background and then a gun shot. Rosa yelps then says in a small voice, “Shh, it’s okay, Eliza, I won’t let him take you.”

“He’s shooting at the door,” I relay to Ruben and Marco. Ruben and I pile into the car and Frank takes off up the street with a screech of the tires. “What’s the bathroom door like?”

“He’s nearly in.”

“Push everything you can up against the door, Rosa.” My heart is racing and my hand is clenched around the phone. If he lays a hand on either one of those girls, I’ll fucking kill him myself. My ears are pounding with mounting pressure.

“I’ve got everything I can move up against it.”

“How long?” I yell at Frank and Marco.

“Two minutes,” Frank responds.

“In two minutes they could be dead.” Rosa gasps and weakly murmurs something. “Do you have a lighter?”

“A what?” she frantically asks.

“A lighter? Do you have one?” Where the fuck are my men? Why aren’t they there?

“Um...” the tremble in her voice is telling me she can’t think straight. “What?”

“A lighter? Do you have one? Search the bathroom, your things. Look for one.”

“I have one,” she says. “I bought a candle, and, um...” Rosa is babbling, she’s going into shock.

“Do you have an aerosol can of some type? Hairspray, deodorant? Anything?” I’ll slit his fucking throat if he does anything to my girl or Eliza.

“Ahh!” she screams.

“Where’s my fucking bitch?” Adrian’s voice echoes through the phone. “Open the door, Rose, and I won’t take you too.”

“Hurry up!” I yell at Frank.

Ruben is on the phone shouting orders to his men.

“My little bitch can’t hide forever. Come out, come out and play.”

“Adrian, we need to go,” I hear Tony say.

“Not without my sluts.”

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