Nero (Made Men #1) (17 page)

Nero shook his head and changed the channel to an old sitcom. He turned the TV up loud an
d grabbed a sandwich. “Magical Cupcakes, huh?”

That’s why he wanted the remote
.
Elle realized she wasn’t going to be able to watch one of her favorite reruns; as a result, she picked up a sandwich herself and turned toward Nero.

“Yeah
, didn’t you know I worked there?” Elle said in her own sarcastic tone.

“Yeah
, that uniform hanging on the back of your door is almost identical to the pink t-shirts and jeans they wear.” Nero took another bite of his sandwich. It was almost gone by the huge bites he was taking. “Is there fucking anything you haven’t lied to your parents about?”

“Uh
, yes.”
Yes
!

“Like the fact you have a friend other
than Chloe, and that you love school so much?”

“I’m telling her what she likes to hear
. What she wants to hear, Nero.” Elle wanted her mom to be happy, and making up stories kept her mom happy.

Nero got out
of bed, finishing his sandwich, and started looking around her room, snooping. He clearly found exactly what he was looking for and grabbed the big book off a shelf filled with movies, books, stuffed animals, and everything else you could think of. He came back and sat down on the bed, flipping it open carefully and studying each picture.

She had started filling the book up when she was a young girl
, putting in pictures of her at various places and doing different things.

She
’d had a good childhood. Her parents had been great, school had been great, and everything had, indeed, been great. Right until her father had gotten a big promotion at the factory and wanted the best for Elle. They had pulled her from public school and enrolled her in Prep School for her freshman year.

Her parents had wanted
this for her badly, and Elle had always been able to make friends, therefore she hadn’t wanted to let her parents down. It was just unfortunate that her father’s accident had occurred right after her freshman year had begun.

Elle swallowed when the next page Nero turn
ed to would end up being far different than the ones he had seen before. He turned the page and Elle noticed his face change. There was about a year difference between this page and the last. The first thing you would notice was her hair was short. Then you’d see she had lost some weight.

The thing Elle noticed the most was Chloe in the picture
. She hadn’t looked at the photo album in a while, just realizing exactly how brutal Chloe’s scars looked in the beginning. Her mother would constantly snap pictures of her and Chloe, whether they were watching a movie or doing a school project.

“Funny how your hair was one length your whole life, but the first picture I see with Chloe was one where your hair is chopped off.”

Elle could only stare at Nero. There was nothing she could say. Nero wasn’t dumb, and she wasn’t going to lie to him, so it was better not to say a word.

She watched him keep flipping the pages right after he stared at the picture for an
eternity. She knew he was studying it, looking at every inch of the photo before he would move on. She was just thankful that some injuries over the years were hidden under her clothes.

Elle was glad to see Nero finally close the book in his hands. He
then stared at the closed book for a while before he finally lifted his head to look at her.

This time
, when Nero looked at her, Elle knew it was different. It was almost as if he was looking at her in a whole new light. She stared back into his green eyes, waiting for what he was going to do next.

“Is there even a fucking point in asking you?” She knew Nero was trying to stay calm.

Elle said nothing; instead, she slowly took the book out of his hands and got up to return it to the bookshelf where it belonged. After she had, she took her place again on her bed. She watched the TV screen, letting the show unfold.

After
Nero hadn’t moved for a while, she knew he was trying to calm himself down, being in her parents’ house. However, there was nothing Elle could tell him to make him feel better; not the truth, anyway.

Elle felt
Nero’s hand reach out for her arm and turned to look at him. He started pulling her toward him, so she scooted over. She could at least give him that. He wrapped his arm around her and Elle laid her head on him.

“You do know I’m going to find out
,” Nero said with confidence, certain it was a sure thing.

“I know you will
.” Elle did know, too. When a guy like Nero wanted something, he wasn’t going to stop until he had it.

They watched shows
until it was time for Elle to get up and get ready for work. She had felt Nero slowly start to calm down and ease into the bed and her as the time passed. Elle would laugh at the funny parts and she saw Nero even smile at one.
A little smile counts.

“I
gotta go get ready.” Elle was waiting for Nero to move his arm to let her go. He didn’t of course, making Elle laugh. “Nero, I need to get dressed.”

After she said that
, he quickly moved his arm. Elle looked at him weird.
Okay,
now
you move your arm?

Elle got up out of bed
, grabbed her uniform off the door then went out to the bathroom to get changed, dressing quickly and throwing her hair up in a messy bun.

She returned
to her room and saw Nero sitting at the end of her bed. When she came in, she stopped at the look on his face. His eyes went over every inch of her body before a smile touched his lips. His hand came up and waved her to come closer.

Elle didn’t want to walk toward him,
yet her feet started walking anyway. She didn’t know how Nero did that to her. She stopped in front of him.

“You look pretty hot in that uniform.” Nero’s face looked pleased.

Elle chuckled and reached for Nero’s tie, straightening it. “Not as hot as you do in this tie.”

“Oh
, so you’re actually attracted to me? I didn’t know.”

“Well
, duh. How could I not be?” Nero was every girl’s dream.

“Probably because you wouldn’t let me have my way with you in the car
, and on top of that, you introduced me to your parents as your
friend
.” Nero made sure he sounded extra sarcastic with the word ‘friend’.

Elle tried hard not to laugh, miserably
failing. After the giggle fit, Nero looked as if his ego needed some stroking.

“Nero
, do you know how handsome you are?”

“Nope, but you can tell me.”

Elle knew Nero was perfectly aware of exactly how handsome he was, but regardless, she would tell him. “You are the handsomest guy I have ever seen, and I am very attracted to you. But I have a feeling you know that.”

Nero grabbed her around her waist
. “So, I’m just a friend?”

Elle looked into his eyes
. “I don’t know, are you?”

“No
, baby, I’m not.”

Chapter Twenty-
Three

An Itch That Needs to be
Scratched

Leaning back in his oversized chair, he told the person waiting behind the door, “Come in.”

He watched as the doorknob turned and his oldest son walked in.
Boss Caruso took in his son’s appearance.
For fuck’s sake.

“Please tell me why you think it
’s okay to wear that?”

In their line of business
, your wardrobe was limited. Everything was Italian-made and business attire.
You wear an expensive suit, shoes, and a watch. End of fucking story.
They were judged and respected by what they wore, and that was how they kept control of the city. However, his son had his own attire of dark jeans and a black t-shirt.

“Nice to see you
, too, boss,” he said as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

“You know I don’t like that fucking smell in here.”

Not saying a word, he flipped his lighter open and lit the end of the stick, inhaling the smoke for a long hit and then blowing the smoke out and filling the whole room. Lucca never had to reply, his actions saying his own words for him. He walked to his father’s desk and took a seat, pulling an ashtray toward him.

Boss Caruso
continued to watch his son, waiting to see if he was ever going to say what he needed to say and leave him be. He had been here at the Casino Hotel and had to deal with people all day. As a result, he really wanted to leave so he could go to his home office and smoke his cigar and drink in peace, but his son looked like something had been weighing on his mind.

When he
had waited long enough for his son to talk, he gave up. “I’m guessing this is about the girl.”

Lucca flicked his ashes in the tray
. “Nero met the parents today.”

He finally under
stood his son’s displeasure. “That means one of two things.”

“Yeah
, he has her. She likes him enough to meet the family, but then Nero could actually start liking her. It’s tough to sign a girl’s death certificate when you’ve met her family.”

He stared at his son
, taking everything in. “So, is he playing her or does he love her?”

Lucca took a long puff before he answered
. “I guess I’m going to have to find out.”

He nodded to his son while Lucca put out his cigarette. “Next time I see you
, you better be in a fucking suit for once.”

He watched as Lucca got up to leave and headed for the door
then turned the doorknob and went through, but before he could shut it, Boss Caruso had some final words.

“You do know
the family
comes before
family
, even if it’s your own brother.”

He expected his son to not say anything
; however, Lucca gave him his own final words. “Yeah, you taught me that with Mom, remember?”

The slamming of the door echoed in his head.
He got up and walked over to his bar then picked up and held the crystal glass in his hand right before it shattered. For him, it was something he would never forget.
He poured a new drink and his bloody hand picked up the sparkling glass filled with whiskey.
This will help.

*
* *

Nero
stood on his bedroom balcony, looking out. He had dropped Elle off and was now waiting on Stacy and Stephanie to get there.
I have an itch that needs to be scratched.

He figured no one was going to be home tonight
, thus he’d texted the girls to come right up. He didn’t wait that long before he heard his bedroom door open and high heels walking across his floor. Turning around, he smiled at the two slutty-looking girls walking to meet him on his balcony.
A big fucking itch.

When they reached him
, they stood on either side of him, hugging and pressing their bodies against his.

“Nero
, I missed you,” Stephanie said.

“Well
, I missed you more,” Stacy said over her.

Nero laughed
. “How about, whoever makes me come the fastest missed me the most?”

The two girls laughed in agreement and grabbed for Nero’s clothes. They were
only able to un-tuck his shirt and undo one button before they heard the bedroom door open.

“Nero
, you didn’t tell us we were going to have a party!” The girls were practically jumping in joy when they saw Vincent and Amo walk in and join them on the balcony.

Stacy grabbed Vincent while Stephanie grabbed Amo.

“Do we finally get to fuck you?” Stephanie asked, wrapping her arms around Amo.

Amo responded by backing her up against the concrete railing and Vincent
mimicked him by doing the same thing to Stacy. Nero walked to the balcony door and slid it closed, closing them all off from the bedroom.

Amo and Vincent
took a handful of their hair, each yanking it down until they screamed in pain.

Nero walked toward
them, standing in-between their now-crying screams. He let the sound soak in his ears, finding it peaceful. Nero then held up his hand, making Amo and Vincent stop.

He
grabbed both girls, pulling them to his side as he wrapped his arms around their shoulders. Their crying was much softer now, and Nero could feel them trembling.

He took a deep breath
, soaking it in for just a moment longer. “I know you two whores love to talk, right?” He heard Stacy cry a little louder. “Well, I need one of you to tell me everything you or anyone else has done to Elle.”

“W-
what? W-we don’t know a-anything.” Nero looked at Stephanie as she talked then looked over at Stacy and saw she agreed.

Ultimately
, Nero knew these girls were followers; they weren’t the ones to really instigate Elle’s torture
—
the hurt kind of torture, anyway.
They clearly never did give a shit, though.

“How about you just give me
the name of the worst one. Then I’ll leave you two alone so you can get back to sucking dick.” Nero wanted the true source, the one who, without a doubt, had hurt Elle and put her in all those casts and covered her in bruises and scars. That way, he could make the person sing about every little thing that had happened to Elle, and the little piece of conscience he had left wouldn’t get in the way. Because Elle was going to eventually find out if he hurt anyone, and he didn’t want that to be someone who hadn’t done that much damage to her.

Nero looked back and forth between the crying girls, their dark
, skanky makeup running down their faces. When they clearly weren’t going to talk, Nero nodded for several seconds before he grabbed his own pile of fake hair in both hands. He shoved their torso over the railing, letting their faces meet the two-story drop. The cries that now filled the air were ones he really enjoyed.
Yeah, but all good things must come to an end.

“Give me a fucking name
!” He shoved their heads farther down, making their feet slightly come off the ground.

The screams were torturous before Stacy tried to get a word out of her mouth. She tried again
, finally gaining enough strength. “Ch-Chloe!”

Amo stepped closer
. “What the fuck did she just say?”

Nero pulled the girls up
, tossing Stephanie to the side. He held Stacy in place in front of him. “What did you say?”

Through sobbing
, she managed to get out, “T-talk to Chloe.”

Nero let Stacy go
.

“Vincent
, make them aware of what happens when they talk.”

He ran his hands through his hair
, trying to get it to smooth down. He heard the balcony door open and the cries start to disappear. He and Amo stood there, looking out into the distance. They waited for Vincent to return before anything was said.

“What the fuck did she mean by that
?” Vincent asked, returning.

Nero waited to
hear what Amo would say first.

“
Chloe would know who all has hurt Elle. Maybe she’s saying to ask Chloe who has hurt them.”

Nero thought about Amo’s words, but something didn’t feel right to him. He didn’t understand how the pieces fit yet
, however. They were all there, but it was a matter of putting it together.

He pictured the photo book of Elle’s
, remembering how badly he had wanted to shake her and make her tell him everything. How badly he had wanted to paralyze the rest of her father’s body after seeing Elle’s nose broken and a cast over her arm.
All the fucking black eyes.
Nero knew that was just what was visible to him. There could have been several under her clothing, not to mention all the times it healed before a picture had been taken.

He
decided enough was enough. The next person he questioned, he was going to get some real fucking answers.
No matter what.

Nero looked at Amo to make sure he knew how far he would go if need be
. “Well, then, we talk to Chloe.”