Nero (Made Men #1) (26 page)

Their breaths matched each other’s
, both heavy and quick. When he’d regained control, he rolled away then took off the condom and threw it in the trashcan beside his bed.

Elle’s breathing finally calmed when Nero moved her to
lie on top of his body. She nestled into his chest, completely exhausted.

Nero started the motion of his fingers going up and down her back
. “Did I hurt you?”

Elle placed a kiss on his chest
. “No, it was perfect.”

“Good
. Next time, I’ll show you how to really fuck.”

Chapter Thirty-
Seven

Time
’s up

Elle sat up in Nero’s bed, smiling as she watched his perfect ass walk to the bathroom. Her eyes went to his opened drawer on his dresser where she could see the box of condoms laying inside. Before Elle turned away from it, she noticed a picture inside, all the way in the back.

She
curiously pulled the pretty picture frame out of the drawer. The picture was of four kids surrounded by a beautiful woman. She noticed a young Nero, Maria, and Leo instantly.
Aww.
The fourth child she knew had to be Lucca. Elle stared at him longer, feeling like she had seen him somewhere, but she couldn’t place where.
Oh, well, he probably came into the diner one night.

Elle went back to the beautiful woman
. She had blonde hair and big, green eyes. She knew it was Nero’s mother. Every time Elle would ask about Nero’s family, she sensed he didn’t want to talk about it; consequently, she’d dropped it, wanting to give him time to talk about it on his own.

Elle heard the bathroom door open, and her eyes went to Nero
, who stood perfectly still in the doorway.

“Nero, she’s beautiful.” Elle watched Nero take a deep breath she swore was a
lmost of relief and walk toward her.
Maybe he didn’t know how to bring it up?

Nero got
on the bed and pulled her toward him. “She was.”

Elle frowned
. “What happened to her?”

Nero thought for a second before he answered
. “She was murdered outside a grocery store when I was in the sixth grade.”

Elle took a breath
. “I’m so sorry.” She knew Nero still didn’t want to talk about it, so she would leave her death at that. “What was her name?”

“Melissa.”

Elle caressed the woman’s face through the frame. “Well, she’s beautiful, and now I know how all of you turned out so good-looking.” Elle laughed and then touched the young kid’s face, who was the only one in the picture not smiling. She couldn’t imagine how scary he was now. “Even him.”

Nero forced a laugh as he took the picture frame and put it on his bedside table where it belonged
. “Yeah. Lucca is… Lucca.”

Elle looked up at him
. “When do I get to meet him and your father?”

Nero shrugged
. “Soon.”

I hope so
. The only one she really didn’t know anything about was his father; not one thing. Elle wanted to at least know something.

“What is your father
’s name?”

“Dante.”

* * *

Elle and Nero hung up their art projects on the classroom wall and took a step back.

“Nero, it’s beautiful.” Elle stared at the big drawing of Kansas City. Elle was in shock Nero could draw so well.
And with a pen!
She had also come to realize how in love Nero was with the city. Elle couldn’t blame him; she was, too.

Nero pulled Elle to his side
. “Not as pretty as yours.”

“Nero
, that’s so cute. I didn’t know you could draw,” Vincent spoke behind them.

Amo laughed
. “Yeah, it’s fucking adorable.”

“Don’t listen to them
,” Chloe chimed in.

Elle leaned up and wrapped her arms around Nero’s neck
. “Don’t listen to them. They’re just jealous.” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

“You’re right
, baby.” Nero turned to look at the posters. “Girls love—” He paused. “Elle, could you and Chloe give us a minute? I need to talk to Amo and Vincent.”

Elle curiously looked up at Nero
. She never understood the boys, even after a month of being with them. “Sure, we’ll wait at the wall of fame.”

Elle let go of Nero and went for the door, but Vincent reached for Elle and gave her a peck on the cheek.
He smiled at her wickedly.

“Happy birthday
, Elle.”

“Yeah
, happy birthday,” Amo agreed.

Elle laughed at Vincent’s death wish
. He always tried to push Nero’s buttons, but they all knew they were just friends.

“Thanks
.”

Elle quickly looked back at Nero before she left
, silently telling him to behave. She could tell something was bothering him, but he gave her a reassuring smile before she went out into the hall.

The art room was close to the gym and the wall of fame
made of glass and sports’ memorabilia throughout the years.

“So
, I’m guessing Nero found out?”

Elle looked over at Chloe’s smirking face
. “Yeah, Josh told him.”

Chloe giggled
. “What are we doing for your birthday this year?”

“The same thing we always do
; get fat off popcorn, cake, and ice cream, and then watch a movie.”

“Good thing I already packed a bag this morning.”

“Are you ever unprepared?” she joked.

I wonder what is taking him so
long.
In truth, hardly any time had passed, but Elle could never wait to get out of this place. Elle’s eyes wandered over to look at the wall, just to give her something to do. The school’s football team filled up practically the whole thing. There were so many pictures of the teams over the years. Her eyes were drawn to a particular picture of a team several years back.

The football player at the end of the line
-up next to the coach was what got her attention. At first glance, she thought he was a coach because of his maturity and size, but his uniform told her otherwise.

Elle’s heart started to race
; she knew him. He had a slightly-younger face of one of the scariest men she had ever seen in her life.
The murder.

Chloe noticed her unmoving stare
. “What is it?” Chloe turned around and followed Elle’s eyes. “Gosh, he was just as scary back then,” Chloe whispered.

Huh?
Elle blinked, looking at Chloe. “What did you say?”

Chloe put her finger over the glass and pointed to the player
. “Lucca, Nero’s brother. He is terrifying. Haven’t you met him?”

Elle started to lose her breath
, her chest beginning to rise and fall at a heavy speed. She wanted to grab Chloe and shake her.

“Chloe
, that’s Nero’s brother? Y-you met him?
When
?”

“U-
uh, after you were attacked, at Nero’s house. I met him in the backyard.” She quickly got out of Elle’s hold. “Elle, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

“Chloe
, we need to get to your car.” Elle grabbed Chloe’s jacket and started running. “
Now
!”

*
* *

Fuck-Fuck-Fuck-Fuck-Fuck-Fuck
.
Fuck
!

Nero stared at Elle’s poster
. She had written a poem on every page in excellent handwriting of all different sizes. Then she had glued them as a mosaic. The whole thing was white paper, filled with black words. It was cool to see which word stuck out at you. Nero had tried to read them, but Elle was embarrassed, saying they weren’t any good. He had caught glimpses and read a few while she was working on them, yet he had never been able to read all of them together until now.

Nero went up to the poster and ripped off a piece
.
She had seen them.

Nero handed the paper over to Amo and
then ran his hands through his hair.

Amo quickly read the paper
. “Shit.”

Vincent snatched it from Amo’s hands
. “Fuck, man. What are you going to do?”

Nero grabbed the paper from Vincent, folded it up
, and put it in his pocket. “I need to meet with my father. I’ll need you guys to stay with Elle. She’s eighteen now, and I don’t trust him not to make the call.”

Nero and Vincent nodded.

“Let’s go.”

When Nero got to the wall
, Elle and Chloe weren’t there, and he started to worry.

“Where the hell are they?”
Elle said she would be right here.

“Uh
, Nero?” Vincent said quietly.

“What?” Nero turned around to look at Vincent and saw him pointing through the glass.
“
Fuck
!”

*
* *

“Chloe
, could you please drive faster?”

“No
, I can’t, not when I don’t know what we’re running from,” Chloe ridiculed.

Elle tried to calm her voice
. “I told you; I can’t tell you.”

“Well then
, I can’t drive faster. I could get a speeding ticket.”

“Your dad is the mayor
, for Christ’s sake; who the fuck cares!”
Shit.

Elle saw Chloe’s face and immediately wanted to take it back. She took a deep breath
. “I’m sorry, Chloe.”

Elle
sank into the seat and just let Chloe drive the way she wanted to.
It doesn’t matter; I’m dead anyway.
Elle tried not to think about Nero, but it wasn’t working in the silent car.
All the fucking lies.

Elle held her chest
. She had fallen in love with Nero only for it all to be one big lie. She couldn’t help thinking about all the times they’d spent together.
Yeah,
like
last night.

A tear rolled down her cheek
. She had given Nero a part of her she could never get back. She thought what they had shared was real, but she didn’t even know who the real Nero was. The saddest part was it had been right in front of her face the whole time; she had simply been too blinded by love to see it.

Chloe passed
Elle’s neighbors’ house, and that was when she saw a dark car in her driveway with Amo and Vincent on the hood.

Elle’s nerves started to return
. She had to get Chloe safely away. She was a goner anyway.

“Chloe
, listen to me. As soon as I get out of the car, I need you to drive off and go straight home. Do not go anywhere.”

“Elle
—”

“This is not a joke
. Do it!” Elle ordered her.

“O-
okay.” Chloe stopped the car for Elle to get out.

Elle took a deep breath before she opened the door and jumped out. “Go
!” She slammed the door.

When she heard Chloe drive off
, Elle contemplated running; however, they had seen that and covered the distance.

Elle held her hands up
. “Chloe doesn’t know anything. I never told her, I swear.”

Vincent took a deep breath
. “Get in the car, Elle.”

Elle looked at the two people she
’d thought were her friends. “Promise me you won’t hurt her.”

Vincent grabbed Elle’s arm and tugged her to the car
. “Come on, sweetheart.”

*
* *

Nero knocked on the door and a second later
, Lucca answered. He came in to his father’s home office and took a seat right in front of him.

Dante leaned back in his chair
. “Time’s up, son.”

Nero pulled the folded piece of paper out of his pocket and threw it on
to his father’s desk. He watched his father read the paper and then lay it down. He could have sworn he was almost frowning.

“She saw us.”

She did
. Nero nodded in agreement.

Dante looked up at his son
. “Congratulations, son. You finished the job.”

“Well
, I couldn’t have done it without Amo and Vincent.”

Dante gave a quick nod
. “We’ll plan for the Omertà.”

Even though Nero
hadn’t spoken his vows, he wasn’t going to let that stop him. “I want to get something straight first. We both know she isn’t going to talk, so you’re not going to kill her.” Nero shrugged. “If you do, then I’ll tell Maria and Leo you slit Elle’s throat. You’ll have no real fucking family left.” Nero’s eyes didn’t waiver after he’d said his peace.

Dante looked over at Lucca
, who was standing in the corner.

Lucca walked over and took the paper off his
father’s desk. “I like her.”

Nero watched his father’s mouth twist up into a smile.

“I think it’s time I met her.”