Nero held out his fist. “What’s up, little man? How was the bus ride today?”
Josh bumped his fist. “Great, thanks for taking me to the bus stop today.”
Nero smiled. “Anytime.”
Elle smiled to herself as she watched Josh run off into his bedroom. When she could no longer see her little brother, Elle turned to her parents.
Well, here goes nothing. “Mom, Dad, this is my friend, Nero.”
Elle’s mom came over and hugged him. “Elle has never brought a friend home besides Chloe, and such a handsome one at that.”
Elle was slightly embarrassed by her mother, but she had to agree; Nero looked sexy as hell.
From where she had bitten him, he had a nasty hickey on his neck—thankfully, Nero had found a tie in his car. He had buttoned his shirt all the way up and put on the black tie, covering his hickey as long as he didn’t turn his neck too far to the side. She hated covering up such a beautiful masterpiece, but looking at Nero all dressed up made him look even more scary, yet sexy at the same time.
Nero kissed her mother’s cheek. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Buchanan.”
Elle’s mom noticed her head, moving toward her to examine it. “Oh, sweetie, did you walk into a wall again?”
Elle quickly laughed. “Yeah.”
Nero looked at her for a moment then walked over to her father sitting in his wheelchair and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, too, sir.”
Elle thought time stood still while waiting for her father to shake his hand. “Nero…?”
“Caruso.”
“Good to meet you, too, Nero. Sit down,” her father said, turning his wheelchair toward the couch.
Nero took a seat on the couch and Elle sat down beside him. Her mother sat in the armchair facing the couch, as well.
Elle could tell her mom was dying to talk to Nero. She had always asked Elle to bring over some friends and wondered how she was doing in school. Elle thought she probably should have warned Nero by the look on her mother’s face.
“So, Nero, you go to Legacy Prep with Elle?” her mother asked.
“Yeah, I’m a senior there, as well.”
Elle’s mom smiled wider. “So, tell me, is Elle the most popular girl in school? She tells me about—”
Elle started laughing. “Now, Mom.”
“Elle, let your mom finish.” Nero started smiling and wrapped his arm behind Elle on the couch. “Elle tells you what again?”
I have made a huge mistake.
Elle’s mother’s smile returned. “She tells me about all her wonderful friends and how much she loves Legacy Prep. After her father’s accident, we weren’t sure if she was going to be able to stay, but Elle begged us to keep letting her go there. She said she just loves it there so much.”
Elle glanced down at the floor. Oh, God, this is worse than I could have imagined.
“Yeah, well, she is the most popular girl in school. Everyone just loves her. I had a hard time getting her to talk to me.”
Her mother started laughing.
Elle managed to laugh with her mom while she looked over at Nero. He was enjoying this too much.
“So, are you going to stay for dinner, Nero?” Elle’s mother asked.
“No, I work tonight, Mom. Nero is going to give me a ride.”
“Oh, okay, sweetie. Yes, my Elle of course gets straight As. That pays for some of her tuition. She works at Magical Cupcakes to pay the rest.” Her mother was beaming.
Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.
Nero’s face jerked up. “Where?”
“You know, Magical Cupcakes. It opened a few years ago in the suburbs. That’s where Elle works, of course.”
Elle looked over at Nero, silently pleading. “Yeah, Nero, I told you that’s where I work. Remember?”
Nero stared back at her for a few seconds then he turned back to her mother. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot.”
“Honey, why don’t you and Elle go make some snacks. I’m sure they are hungry after school.” Elle’s dad hadn’t pulled his eyes away from Nero.
“Right. Come on, sweetie. Let the boys talk.” Her mom stood up, smiling from ear to ear, and started walking to the kitchen.
Elle looked over at Nero, hoping he understood not to talk too much. Oh, and good luck.
Elle stood and followed behind her mother. She was thankful Nero hadn’t been fazed by the obvious lies she had been telling her parents over the years.
Going into the kitchen, her mother pulled out some deli meat while Elle went to grab the bread, knowing her mom was going to make sandwiches.
“He is so nice and handsome, sweetie. I like him.”
Elle laughed at her mother. She couldn’t be happier that Elle had invited him over. Her mother had begged her for years to bring friends to the house. Yes, Chloe would come over, but her mother always wanted to meet the other kids she said she was friends with.
“Yeah, the nicest.”
* * *
Nero watched as Elle stood to leave the room. He had to be honest; he had been dying to meet Elle’s parents. He wanted to meet the bastards who let Elle continue to go to school where she was bullied. But, damn if her mother wasn’t the nicest woman on Earth. She was just too kind and dumb, believing every lie Elle had spun. Her mom was clearly the completely oblivious type, one of the people who thought there was no such thing as violence.
Then her father was in a wheelchair. What the fuck? At first, Nero was willing to forgive him like he was with her mother, but looking at his glaring eyes now, he didn’t give a shit if the man could no longer walk or not. Nero was starting to get a pretty good idea how bad Elle might have been hurt in the past, and the man staring back at him should have been well fucking aware something wasn’t right at school for her.
Nero stared back at him. He had been raised by much scarier men than him. Elle’s dad was a little bunny rabbit compared to his father. Does he actually think he can scare me?
Her dad kept his eyes pinned to Nero. “I’m guessing Elle didn’t tell you I was in a wheelchair, did she?”
Nero didn’t move his eyes. “No, she didn’t.”
“Figured. There’s a lot that girl doesn’t tell.”
Well, why don’t you fucking make her? “Yeah, I’m gathering that.”
“Your last name’s Caruso. It sounds familiar to me. Would I know your parents?” Elle’s father asked.
No way in Hell. “I don’t think so. My mother passed away when I was younger, and my dad pretty much keeps to himself now.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” His passive tone showed he wasn’t really. “What does your father do?”
Nero had been waiting for that question the moment he’d said his last name. “He owns a casino hotel downtown.”
“Really? I doubt he can keep to himself owning a casino hotel.”
Nero shrugged. “He has great managers.”
“I bet he does. Do you plan to work for your father or are you going to college?”
Nero had a feeling Mr. Buchanan knew his answer. “I’m going to work for my father.”
Nero watched Elle’s father smile and ease up. “Elle is going off to college. She hasn’t decided yet, but she can pick anywhere she wants to go pretty much.”
Nero smiled back. “That’s good. Elle should go to college.”
Nero could tell Mr. Buchanan hadn’t been prepared for his answer. Then his smile returned. “Hmm, for some reason Elle didn’t apply to the university here.”
I fucking wonder why? “Well, there’s still half a year left to apply. You never know, something could change her mind.”
Nero saw his face grow pissed, about to say something, when he heard Elle and her mother enter the living room. Nero kept his smile, glad his message had been clear to Elle’s father.
He looked at Elle’s mother as she held out a glass of water. She looked like the older version of Elle, the only difference being she had laugh lines and was slightly plump, making Nero happy Elle woul
d age well.
Nero took the glass of water. “Thank you, Mrs. Buchanan.”
Elle’s mom smiled and took her seat. “You’re welcome. I hope water is okay.”
“It’s great, thanks.”
He looked over at Elle when she didn’t sit down. She was holding a plate of sandwiches and her own glass of water.
“Come on, Nero. Let’s eat in my room.”
Nero couldn’t wait to get Elle alone and talk to her about all the lies she had told her parents. No wonder she can’t help but lie to me—she’s living two fucking different lives.
Elle’s eyes rolled. “With the door open.”
He looked over at Elle’s father’s face, which was fuming.
Nero stood up, smiling. Elle isn’t going anywhere.
* * *
Elle handed over the plate of sandwiches to Nero so she could open her bedroom door. Opening it, she walked in with Nero right behind her then closed the door. Crap. She re-opened the door, leaving it halfway open.
She turned around and saw Nero standing there with his hands full. “You can sit on my bed.”
“You sure about that?” Nero asked sarcastically.
Elle pushed the door a little more closed. “Yep.”
She walked to her bed and sat at the top with her back propped on her pillows, up against her headboard. Nero walked over to the other side and did the same. She watched him as he got comfortable and set the plate between them.
Nero took a big drink of his water and held out his hand. “Remote.”
Elle looked around her room for her remote control. She had an old box TV that faced her bed. She grabbed it off her nightstand from under some old magazines. She was thankful her room wasn’t too messy. Although, she had a bunch of knickknacks and random stuff in her room from over the years since she always had a terrible time throwing stuff away.
Elle handed Nero the remote, curious as to why he demanded it the second he sat down.
Nero clicked on the TV, and a few seconds later, a picture came in focus. Elle shut her eyes and started rubbing her head when she realized what channel it was on. This just gets better and better.
Nero looked over at Elle. “Really, Elle? The Disney Channel?”
“The Little Mermaid came on last night.” Elle couldn’t ever pass up a classic; it didn’t matter if she even owned the DVD.
Nero shook his head and changed the channel to an old sitcom. He turned the TV up loud and 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 turned 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 chuck
led 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.
Nero (Made Men #1) Page 15
