Nero (Made Men #1)

by Sarah Brianne

  “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 onto 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.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Made Men

  Elle tried to stop her body from shivering as she walked up to Nero’s house. Vincent and Amo had to push her along to even keep her feet moving. When the front door opened and she walked in, Nero appeared in the foyer. Elle turned her face away as if she had been lashed in the face. I was.

  Nero sighed. “Follow me.”

  “Why not just kill me here?” Elle whispered.

  Nero walked up to her and reached out, but Elle jumped back. Don’t touch me.

  Nero ran his hands through his hair. “Elle, no one is going to hurt you; I promise.”

  Elle held up her hands. “Don’t.”

  She had heard his deep voice make the commitment to her, making her body respond, believing he was telling the truth, but Elle knew better now. Her body would have to catch up later.

  This time, Nero slowly reached out and pulled Elle along. He took her to two huge, wooden doors she had never been through before and turned the doorknob. She tried to keep the bile down in her stomach as he pushed open the door until a smoke-filled room greeted her.

  Elle looked past the smoke to see an immaculate man with jet-black hair, wearing a full suit. Oh, shit!

  For some reason, Elle had never thought she would be meeting him. Wait, why is he here?

  Nero pulled her inside and shut the door. “Elle, this is my father—”

  “The boss,” she whispered.

  Dante smiled. “Nero, let me talk to her alone.”

  Elle swallowed as Nero gave her a squeeze before he left.

  Dante exhaled, blowing more smoke into the room. “Sit down, Elle.”

  Elle’s body obeyed his command. When she sat down and looked at his cold, ice-blue eyes, she never understood how she hadn’t seen it before. They all sounded, looked, and acted alike. The only difference was, with age, they all got fucking scarier.

  “There’s no need to be afraid; I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Elle looked back up from her shaking hands. “You’re not?”

  “No. My family has made it clear not to touch you.”

  They have? Elle took a breath in an attempt to relax. It worked. Sorta.

  “Nero gave me this.” Dante handed her a piece of paper.

  Elle took it and saw the piece of paper that had once been on her poster…

  Made Men

  I see four made men standing, I shall not tell.

  The Boss.

  The Terrifying.

  The Scary.

  The Paranoid.

  I see three made men standing, I shall not tell.

  The Boss.

  The Terrifying.

  The Scary.

  I shall not ever tell.

  Dante leaned back in his chair and took a hit. “It’s very good. I’m just curious as to why you think the man I killed was made?”

  Elle curiously looked back at him. “When I was going to work, I passed him and another guy. He looked scared as the other guy told him the big boss gave him a job, and he didn’t have a choice.”

  Elle saw something flicker across his face. He didn’t know.

  “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to question him, so thank you. In return, understand I’m letting you live, regardless of what my sons think. So, I’m hoping this is the only and last poem you write about me.”

  Who? Nero and Leo? Elle tried to clear her throat so her voice wouldn’t sound so terrified when she spoke. “Yes, I swear. I write so I can get things off my chest; that’s the only reason why I wrote it.”

  She watched him actually give a small smile at her response.

  “My wife used to garden; that was how she dealt with things.” He put out his cigar. “Did Nero ever tell you about her death?”

  “He just told me she was murdered outside a grocery store.”

  Dante leaned forward. “Nero had gotten sick, so she had gone to the store to pick up some medicine and soup. I needed all of my good men, which unfortunately hadn’t left her guarded well. What I’m trying to say here is that Nero feels responsible for her death, but we both know it would have happened anywhere. I choose the family over my family, and that is something I have to live with every day.”

  Elle couldn’t imagine how they felt. Her dad’s accident had been hard enough to deal with; she couldn’t imagine if she’d lost him.

  “Elle, you’re
smart enough to know that you and Nero could never work out because, ultimately, Nero is not going to stay faithful to you. I gave him a job, to do whatever it took to find out what you knew. The first day on the job, he brought a girl home and I told him he had to stop fucking around until it was done.”

  Don’t do it, Elle. Despite how badly those words stung and how her heart ached, Elle kept it together. She didn’t want him to see her cry.

  “It won’t matter if he cheats on you or not; Nero finished the job and he is becoming a part of the family officially. It’s something he has wanted ever since he was a kid. You can’t stay faithful to both families. I found that out. You don’t deserve to end up like my dead wife.”

  Elle solemnly nodded. She was in desperate need to get out of here. I seriously have to get out of this house.

  “All right. It was nice to finally meet you, Elle.” Dante held out his hand.

  Elle stood and shook it. I can’t say the same.

  Dante continued to shake her hand. “I’m a man of my word; no harm will come to you.”

  “Thank you.” Elle finally went for the door with the walls closing in on her.

  When she turned the knob, he spoke again. “For your sake, I hope I never have to meet you again.”

  Elle opened the door and went through, unable to stay in there a moment longer. It was everything Elle could do not to run down the hall and out the front door. It was hard for her to even stand up straight.

  She heard a door fly open and then was dragged inside and pushed up against a wall. She looked up and saw Nero.

  “Get off—” She couldn’t even get all the words out before Nero slammed his mouth down on hers. Elle’s lips moved with his.

  No! Elle stopped kissing him and tried to break her mouth free. “Stop it.”

  Nero took her mouth again while his hand tangled in her hair.

  Elle’s tears broke free. “Please,” she managed to get past his tormented kissing.

  Nero pulled his mouth from hers. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t think you saw them. I didn’t want you to find out that way.”

  “Everything has been a lie, Nero.”

  Nero swept her tears off her face. “No, it’s not.”

  Elle looked past her tears and into Nero’s emerald eyes. “So, when we were in the supply closet and I asked you why now, that wasn’t a fucking lie?”

  When Nero didn’t respond, she had her answer.

  “You were forced to be with me, and it was so bad for you, you fucked Stacy the first night.” Elle squeezed her eyes shut. “In the same bed you fucked every other girl and you fucked me. I gave you something I can never get back.” Elle opened her eyes to look Nero in the face so he could witness what he did. “Then you made me fall in love with you, and that’s why I hate you the most.”

  With one fell swoop, Elle’s once-mended heart crumbled into tiny particles, unable to be repaired. Her mind, body, and soul knew Nero was her one true love—the thing inside her she couldn’t ever describe. She knew, however, even though he was her true love, that didn’t make her his.

  Nero grabbed her face in his hands. “Don’t do this. Baby, I—”

  “Let me go. Please, Nero, let me go.” Her eyes created new tears to take the place of the ones he wiped away. Elle’s eyes pleaded to him. Let me go. She saw the war take place behind his eyes before he finally did.

  Nero reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box wrapped in a pink silk ribbon. “I was going to give this to you tonight.” Nero grabbed her hand and placed it in her palm.

  Elle shook her head. “I don’t want it.”

  Nero’s voice turned dark. “Take it.”

  Elle held onto the box just so she could get away from him before she changed her mind.

  As Nero took a step back, she was able to open the door. Elle held the doorknob in her shaky hand, taking one last look at Nero. Then she pulled the door closed.

  Elle finished going down the hall, barely able to hold her own weight. When she got to the foyer, she saw Amo and Vincent nervously waiting.

  Elle tried to quickly wipe away her tears. “Vincent, can you give me a ride?”

  “Sure, sweetheart.” Vincent walked to the front door and opened it for her.

  Elle stopped at the small table beside the door that used to only hold flowers; now, it was filled with pictures in pretty frames of Nero’s whole family. She placed the box Nero had given her on the table and went out the front door.

  * * *

  Dante sat back in his oversized leather chair, frowning. I just saved her fucking life.

  Dante understood why his family had become infatuated with her. Truthfully, he had known they would the moment he watched the tape of her running out from behind the garbage can.

  I did her and Nero both a favor. Dante had learned his lesson years ago not to get involved with women besides fucking. He thought his son wouldn’t love a woman at least for a few more years, but he should have known Nero was a chip off the old block.

  He heard the door knock for a split-second and watched Lucca and Sal enter.

  “The girl said she passed him on the way to work. Heard him and another guy talking about how the boss gave him a job.”

  The guy had come into his hotel, sketchy-looking as fuck. In this business, you just know when someone is up to no good. They were patting him down when he tried to pull out his piece. Thankfully, it had all happened by the alleyway door, and they had been successful in taking care of the problem. We thought.

  Lucca crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “There’s only two families in this city.”

  “Think they are trying to take back control?” Sal asked.

  The Caruso and the Luciano family used to share the city before Dante’s time. Both families had an understanding, but over time, a war had broken out between the two; the Caruso’s had won, taking control of the city and giving the Luciano’s a small piece.

  “Possibly. Let’s keep this between us for now. They don’t think we know anything, so we all need to keep this quiet and look into this ourselves. I don’t need a war on my fucking hands unless they ask for it.”

  Lucca and Sal nodded in agreement.

  Dante pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been hearing whispers of a fucking mole.”

  “What do we know?” Lucca asked.

  “Not much. All I know is they’re doing it right this time. We’re not going to fucking suspect him for a while, years maybe.”

  “All right, we’ll look into it.” Lucca nodded.

  Dante decided to tell them what they had been wondering the moment they walked in the door. “We let the girl live; for now, anyway.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  February

  Elle grabbed a lunch tray, thinking about how badly her eyes hurt. She hadn’t been able to stop crying until she walked through the school doors this morning. No matter how many times people had laughed at her and hit her, nothing had ever hurt worse than this.

  She saw Nero everywhere; she couldn’t escape him. She was going to have to see him every day until she graduated, and that was what was always going to be the most painful. The constant reminder of how fucking stupid I was. Not to mention, it was only the first day since they had broken up. It was the second week of February, and Elle wasn’t set free until the second week of June.

  Elle pulled the lunch money out of her pocket to hand to the lunch lady; she was prepared today. She brought all the money she had saved up for the month since Nero had paid some of her tuition payments. Today, she was going to pay them a month in advance. That way, she wouldn’t feel any pressure swinging back into working every night again.

  Elle reached the lunch lady and handed her the cash. “1089.”

  The lady handed back her cash. “You’re already paid up for the rest of the semester.”

  What did she just say?

  “Excuse me?”

  “You don’t have to bring lunch money anymore. Next.” />
  Elle dropped her mouth and slowly walked away. She quickly shut it when she passed Nero’s new table. It was the same one they had sat at when they had broken up before.

  She quickly took her seat at the table in the corner and so did Chloe.

  Chloe leaned over the table. “When has your lunch account ever been positive?”

  “Never.” Elle pushed the tray away. “I don’t even want to eat it, Chloe.” Not if he paid for it.

  “No, that’s free food. You better eat it.” Chloe sighed. “Elle, are you ever going to tell me what happened?”

  Elle shook her head, staring at her food. She felt too bad to be hungry anyway.

  “Elle, tell me something. They were my friends, too, you know.”

  Elle looked up at Chloe. She had been starting to really like them, and she had actually grown comfortable around them.

  She’s right. “Remember how we caught him at Poison with another girl?”

  Chloe nodded.

  Elle sighed. “Well, this time I caught him in an even bigger lie. He played me the whole time, Chloe. They all did.”

  She was thankful when Chloe decided to leave it at that. Chloe knew when Elle kept a secret, and especially from her, it had to be bad.

  Through lunch, Elle forced herself not to look at their table no matter what. When they went to go throw their trays away, Elle put her hands in her pocket and felt the cash that had been meant for her lunch money. Wait.

  Elle darted out of the lunchroom in a split-second.

  Chloe was hardly able to catch up with her. “Elle, where are you going?”

  “The office.”

  Elle hurriedly made it to the office and threw open the door. She went straight to the front desk.

  “I need to pay my bill.”

  “Okay, what’s your name again?” a woman with a tight, brown bun and glasses asked.

  Really, you can’t remember my name one time after all these years? “Elle Buchanan.” When it came out hasty, she watched the woman stop to glare at her.

  She clicked her mouse a few times, and Elle saw her face become shocked.

  “You have a zero balance.”

  Zero! He didn’t even pay the fucking bill due. No, he paid the whole thing!