Nero (Made Men #1)

by Sarah Brianne

  The lunch bell rang and Elle and Chloe headed for the door. When they reached the hallway, Chloe spoke.

  “This is the best day of my life!” For the first time in years, Elle saw Chloe smile at school, not to mention in the hallway.

  “I know. Best freaking day ever. I wonder why Cassandra isn’t here.”

  “Who cares? I never thought one person was the sole reason for high school being such a nightmare for us.” Elle loved seeing Chloe like this.

  “Yeah, me either.” They walked in the cafeteria and looked at their choices. They still picked the line that was less intimidating, not wanting to push their luck. Chicken patty day it is.

  They grabbed their lunches and sat at their usual table, and then Elle leaned over the table and said, “I have to tell you what happened when you left me this morning. By the way, what the hell? Why did you do that?”

  “Because Mr. Evans said he needed to speak with you, not me. I knew it was about you not turning in your essay. He wasn’t going to talk about it in front of me, you know that.” Chloe picked up a fry and tossed it in her mouth. “Oh, and why didn’t you turn in your essay? It was the first assignment of the semester.”

  “I was sick. Listen, I have to tell you something. You’re not going to believe who talked to me and didn’t want me dea—”

  “You were sick? Really, that’s the excuse you’re giving me? I hope you didn’t use that on him.”

  “Uh, yes, I was sick. That’s the truth and he believed me. Why can’t you?”

  “Probably because not once have you not turned in an assignment, and you get sick all the time. You practically stay sick. There isn’t anything that goes around that you don’t catch.”

  Elle stared at Chloe. She was right; she was always getting sick. Her friend wouldn’t take the sick card. However, Elle couldn’t tell her that she had seen a man get whacked last night. She could never tell anyone she had seen what happened. Elle had watched the movies—the less you knew, the better. They couldn’t hurt you for information you didn’t know.

  “Well, this was a different kind of sick.” Elle hoped Chloe would take it. She wanted to move on to something she could tell her.

  Elle looked over at Nero’s table. He wasn’t there.

  Hmm, he’s always right there.

  “Hey, babe, can I sit here?” Elle turned her head and saw Nero standing there, holding a tray.

  Did he just really ask that, and did he just really call me ‘babe’?

  “Are you serious? Sit here?” Elle pointed to the chair beside her.

  “Yes, I was talking directly to you, wasn’t I?” Nero was definitely a smartass.

  Elle looked at Chloe, whose mouth hung open. Elle knew right away she didn’t want anyone around her; Chloe didn’t like new people.

  Besides, the moment ‘babe’ had come out of his mouth, she had solidified her decision. I don’t care if it is a handsome mouth.

  “No, you clearly weren’t because my name isn’t ‘babe’. I bet you don’t even know my name. So, no, you cannot sit here, Nero.” That was the first time she had ever spoken his name, although at least she knew it. Elle was sure he didn’t know hers.

  She could tell Nero was shocked by her answer. He must think he can call a girl ‘babe’ and get what he wants.

  “All right, babe. I’ll eventually be sitting right there. I can wait.” With that, Nero walked off. Elle didn’t even have time to think of a remark back.

  He just said what? As Elle saw him go back to his usual table, she noticed almost everyone was staring at her, mostly the girls.

  Elle glanced back at Chloe, whose mouth was still hanging open. Once she was finally able to swallow the food in her mouth, she let the questioning begin. “Don’t you think I deserved a little warning?”

  “Jesus, Chloe, I tried to tell you twice, but you kept interrupting me. I said you weren’t going to believe who talked to me.”

  “Well, tell me already!” She thought Chloe was going to shake her if she didn’t spill.

  “When you left me, I went in the hall and he bumped into me. I tried to tell him sorry, but he told me to not apologize for something I didn’t do. He actually talked to me and wasn’t mean.” Elle suddenly felt a little bad for talking to him like that, but then she thought better of it. I mean, what if he is trying to pull a prank on me or something?

  “I can’t believe it. Nero is… nice?”

  “No way. He is…” She looked over at him. He was perfect, at least on the outside. However, he had never talked to her a day in her life. She was positive he had slept with half the girls at school; therefore, he didn’t lack for companionship, which only left two options. He either wanted to sleep with Elle or do something horribly mean to her.

  Either way, he isn’t going to fool me. “He wants something, but I’m not going to find out what it is. I know exactly who Nero Caruso is, and ‘nice’ is the last word I would use to describe him.”

  “Yeah, but aren’t you just a little curious?” Chloe raised her right eyebrow. It was missing a patch of hair from her scar. Elle noticed her black hair was swept behind her ear. “I know I am.” She hadn’t seen her this happy in a long time. She hated the fact that Cassandra would be back tomorrow to ruin it. Chloe deserved to be happy.

  “No, I’m not.” Elle didn’t even notice she was lying to herself at that moment.

  When Elle and Chloe finished their lunch and went to Spanish, Elle still couldn’t believe the audacity of Nero.

  ‘All right, babe. I’ll eventually be sitting right there. I can wait.’

  Who in the hell does he think he is? Oh, right, the king of Legacy Prep. Elle didn’t care if he was king of the world, she could feel he had an ulterior motive.

  I mean, why now? Why does he want to talk to me now?

  Before Elle knew it, it was time for the last class of the day. Elle walked Chloe to her class, continuing to keep up her speed in the halls, yet she worried much less today.

  “Stay here and wait for me. We’re not going to try to be bold just because Cassandra isn’t here. Clearly she’s the ringleader, but you know just as much as I do she is not the only one who likes to ruin our lives.” Elle gave Chloe a serious face. She wanted to make sure she got the full picture.

  “I know. I’ll wait right here.” Elle felt satisfied Chloe didn’t want to risk anything, either.

  “All right, catch you later.” Elle started her walk to the other side of the school.

  When she reached her classroom, she sat at the table she had been at yesterday. She was still going to leave as soon as the bell rang. Elle didn’t trust anyone in this school besides Chloe.

  As Elle felt someone sit down beside her, she turned and saw Nero sitting at the table with her.

  “What are you doing?”

  Nero smiled. “I’m sitting. I’ve decided I’m not going to be nice and ask your permission.”

  Elle looked around the room, noticing Cassandra’s bimbos looked pissed. Everyone else’s faces looked completely confused.

  I’m just as confused. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Your status is dropping every second you sit there.” Elle made sure she had her best sarcastic tone on.

  Nero laughed. “You think I give a shit what these people think?”

  Elle looked at him; like, really looked at him. He was much taller than her, but when they were sitting down, she didn’t have to look up to see his face. He had dark skin and was cleanly shaven, but she could tell he could grow a beard like any older man. Something about his eyes intrigued her; it was like they were emeralds.

  “No, clearly you don’t.”

  As soon as Elle went up to the back of the class to pick up her poster, Nero followed right behind her. He found his first and headed back to the table. Elle grabbed her blank poster and headed back as well. She laid the poster on the table and took her seat.

  “How come yours doesn’t have anything on it?”

  “Because I haven’t decided what to
put on it.” Elle actually still hadn’t decided what to do with the darned thing.

  “You do know you’re just supposed to throw shit on it you like, right?”

  “Yes, I know that.” Elle stared at her poster and bit her lip. Who am I?

  “You’re thinking too hard about this. What makes you happy?”

  Elle looked at Nero. She could tell he was confused as to why she didn’t know what to put on her poster. She swore he looked almost concerned.

  What makes me happy? She had never thought of it like that. A lot of things in her life made her upset; however, she knew what always made her happy; it was how she stayed sane.

  Elle opened her satchel, then grabbed some lined paper out and a pen.

  She looked at Nero, and for the first time, she gave him a smile. “Thanks.”

  Nero threw his arm behind her chair. “No problem, babe.”

  And then he ruins it. “Don’t call me that. You should go back.” Elle nodded toward the table he had sat at yesterday. The two girls had been putting daggers into her skin the entire time. “I think they miss you calling them ‘babe’, anyways.”

  “Yeah, you would know. I saw you watching me yesterday.”

  “I don’t kno—”

  Nero grabbed the back of her head and made her look at him. “Don’t lie to me. Not now, not ever.” His deep tone became serious and his eyes demanded an answer.

  Elle could only nod, her mouth starting to turn dry. She wasn’t scared of him. But I probably should be.

  “Good. Now, this is where I’m going to sit whether you have a problem with it or not. I understand if you don’t want me to sit with you at lunch, for now, but don’t tell me to move again.”

  After a second, she retorted, “Fine.” Elle tried to make it seem as if she allowed him to sit there, but she knew she hadn’t won that one by the way he was smiling. Arrogant asshole.

  Shutting out the boy next to her, Elle was finally able to begin filling the paper with her words. She had always loved to write; it helped her escape everything that troubled her, and Elle had a lot of troubles.

  Every now and then, she could sense Nero staring at her. She thought it was a strange feeling to have a boy look at her the way he did. She couldn’t describe the sensation because she had never had it before. No boy had ever looked at her or paid her any attention in high school. Now, within one day, Nero was talking to her and choosing to sit beside her. She didn’t know how to feel about it.

  Her emotions had been all over the place the last couple of days. As a result, Elle kept doing what she was doing—writing.

  “Can I use your pen a second?” Nero held out his hand.

  “Yeah, sure.” She gave him the pen and saw him outline something on his poster, although she couldn’t make anything out.

  “You know, in the supply closet there are much better writing pens. The words will stand out better with a nicer pen.”

  Elle could see Nero might be a while with her pen, so she got up and headed for the closet in the back of the class, which had several shelves; Elle had no idea where the pens would be.

  “Here.” Elle felt Nero’s body lightly at her back as he reached over her and grabbed something out of one of the top bins, bringing a pen down and handing it to her. Elle gave him a half smile and started to walk out of the closet, but something had been bothering her; she needed to know something from him because, right then, it didn’t make any sense why he was talking to her.

  She decided to turn around and ask him, looking right up at his face. “Why now? Not one time have you ever spoken to me, and now you’re acting like we just met or something.”

  “You really want to know?”

  Elle swallowed hard. She probably didn’t; however, she needed to. She nodded and looked down at his chest.

  “All right.” He shut the closet door then took a step toward her.

  “W-what are you d-doing?” With every word she spoke, she took a step back. Nero took one more step toward her until her back hit the door and she was pinned.

  “Yesterday, I saw you staring at me and Cassandra, and later, I caught you again in the parking lot with Stephanie.” He took a step closer, closing the small gap she had placed between them. “Usually, people feel too uncomfortable. They won’t even look in my direction.” As Nero leaned down, Elle thought he was going to kiss her for a second; instead, his mouth came close to her ear. “But you couldn’t pull your eyes away.” His words made her ear warm, causing the rest of her flesh to become heated.

  He grabbed her chin to make her finally look in his eyes. “There is something dying to come out…” His finger traveled down her neck and stopped right above the swell of her breasts. “And I want to be the one who brings it out, Elle.” Hearing her name brought her out of the trance he had put over her.

  He knows my name?

  He moved his hand beside her waist and turned the doorknob, backing up to give her room to come forward so the door could be opened. Elle scooted free, her body no longer warmed by his. She didn’t understand why she instantly regretted moving away, though.

  When he opened the door all the way so she could exit the closet, Elle grew embarrassed with all the stares she was getting. She was sure Cassandra’s sidekicks were thinking of a thousand ways for her to die by the looks on their faces.

  She headed back to her table, but before she could sit, the bell rang. Time to go, thank God.

  Elle picked up her bag and darted out the door, flying out so fast she never saw the look on Nero’s face. He was completely dumbfounded.

  Elle ran down the halls without being aware if she was running to Chloe or away from Nero.

  Definitely to Chloe. Elle thought a second more. Yep, Chloe!

  She reached Chloe’s classroom, anxious to get out of there. “You ready?”

  “Yeah, you okay?” Chloe looked concerned.

  “Uh, yes, why wouldn’t I be? Okay, let’s go!” Elle almost grabbed Chloe’s hand, stopping herself before she made contact. Chloe brought her hand up to her chest and looked down to the floor.

  “I’m sorry, Chlo-”

  “It’s okay. Let’s go.” Chloe walked past Elle and started heading for the doors.

  Elle watched Chloe walk right past her. Shit.

  Every now and again, Elle would forget about Chloe’s past and problems, right until she was about an inch away from touching her, and then the memories would all come back. Elle knew they not only showed up for Elle, but for Chloe, as well.

  They reached the parking lot and Elle thought she had déjà vu. Times two, apparently.

  The two bimbos were leaning against Nero’s car. A sick feeling grew in Elle’s stomach while she walked as fast as she could to Chloe’s car, passing Chloe and reaching her car first. She rested her hand on the door handle, desperate to get in the car.

  She looked up, only seeing Nero’s back as he talked to the girls. The girls’ faces she could see, however, and she really wished she couldn’t.

  When Chloe unlocked the doors, Elle threw herself in, keeping her face straight forward. There was no way she was turning her head. Elle’s sick feeling started to move up ever so slightly from her stomach.

  Chloe turned the car on and started to back up. She turned the wheel and headed out of the parking lot, forcing Elle to look at something she didn’t want to see—a pair of legs in high heels entering Nero’s Cadillac. Elle knew by the shoes the one going home with Nero tonight was Bimbo Number One.

  Elle touched her chest; the feeling had found its mark.

  Chapter Six

  Protect the Family

  Elle had to regretfully go to work that night. If she wanted to stay and protect Chloe, she had to keep working. She figured if she quit working the night of the murder, well, then she might as well call the boss herself and tell him she had witnessed the whole ordeal.

  All night, Elle viewed the diner and carefully looked at everyone’s faces. She needed to be sure one of the three men weren’t in
the diner waiting for her. Subsequently, every time someone walked in, she looked at their faces. She did it over and over and over.

  She took the coffee pot over to one of her tables to fill up the cups of the two men there. Elle had seen them before many times in the diner.

  As she was filling up the blond one’s cup, he asked, “Did you hear about the someone getting shot behind the diner last night?”

  This actually wasn’t the first time she had been asked; it was like the fiftieth time. Apparently, it was a thing for you to go to a place where a possible murder had taken place. Everyone wanted to know what had happened. It reminded Elle of high school. I don’t think I’ll ever get away from it.

  Elle kept to the same story she had told everyone, including the cops. They, of course, had asked her a few questions since she’d closed the diner the night before.

  “Yes, I found out when I got into work today.”

  She saw the man take a sip from his coffee as she went to fill up the other man’s cup.

  The brown-haired one asked her, “I hope you weren’t here last night while it happened?” His face showed he was asking a question, not that he was concerned. Elle started to get small chills on her arms, but she made sure to stay cool.

  “I was working last night, actually. I closed the diner for the night. The cops told me I must have just missed the whole thing.” Elle made sure she said cops. Now they know I didn’t open my mouth.

  The two men looked at each other for a split second, confirming what Elle had feared. They work for the boss.

  He smiled. “You are one lucky girl. That would have been horrible to see something like that at your age.”

  The luckiest. Elle smiled back. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I would have lost my marbles seeing something like that. Do you need anything else?”

  The only reason Elle could keep calm was because they had no idea she had witnessed the whole thing. Clearly, they don’t have a problem with killing; otherwise, I would have been dead already.

  “No, thanks.” They both stood up before one of them threw a couple of bills down on the table. “You be careful out there.”