Nero (Made Men #1) (23 page)

Chapter Thirty-
Two

I Didn’t Mean to Scare You

Chloe sat under the beautiful white gazebo that sat in the middle of what was possibly a garden
with white lights strung around. She thought the backyard was lovelier than the inside, and that was saying a lot.

There was a light snowfall
, dusting the backyard. She had never seen anything whiter.

The backyard was huge for Kansas City
. She could only imagine what the yard looked like during the spring. She just wished she could see it.

The gazebo had an iron bench, two chairs
, and a small table, all close together. Luckily, they hadn’t accumulated any snow yet because of the roof. She had chosen to sit on the bench since it was in the middle, overlooking the whole backyard.

She felt a sudden
peacefulness here in the backyard.
I would live here if I could.

Technically
, Chloe wanted to live anywhere besides where she did now. That was why she had applied to every college in the country practically. She only had a few months to go and then she would run as far as she could get.

She was happy she
’d decided to sneak out here, doing what she had always done. Chloe had always snuck away if she had to go to a function with her father or if important people had come to hers. Chloe was always there for looks.
For a picture-perfect family.
Little did the city know how much of a fraud it was.

Chloe moved her eyes to the house
, peering into it, seeing them all sitting around the table, laughing and eating pizza.
I don’t belong anywhere.

She
had trouble fitting in. Every time she met a new person, she felt like they only stared at her scars. She had lost all confidence in herself when she had gotten the marks. Before them, she had been outgoing and free. Now, she could barely talk to anyone, merely responding minimally.

The o
nly person I can be myself with is Elle.

Being
around Elle, she felt safe, and the old Chloe was able to come out. However, once someone else came around them, she cowered back. Recently, however, she would peek her head out when she was around Nero, Amo, Vincent, Leo, and just now Maria.
A little.
She didn’t even understand why she was because honestly, people scared her, and she had good reason as to why.

Chloe continued to watch them
.
I don’t think they even know I’m gone.
Her heart had been empty for too long, wanting to find a safe place she could belong.

“Hey
, darlin’,” a deep voice sounded behind her.

Chloe jumped at the sound
. A second later, a man appeared on the other side of the rails. He was terrifyingly beautiful and scared the hell out of her, regardless of how handsome he was. She didn’t think a man that good-looking should ever exist, nor a man that chilling.

Chloe didn’t move a muscle
, completely frozen in place.

He kept walking toward the entrance of the gazebo and went up the
step. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She had no idea how she
hadn’t heard him. She didn’t even know where he had come from.

She watched him lean up
on a pillar, blocking her exit. After every hair had managed to stand up on her body at one look of his eyes, Chloe darted her gaze down to her lap and started fiddling with her hands.

“I’m Nero’s brother
, Lucca. I would shake your hand, but you wouldn’t shake it anyway.”

Chloe quickly glanced back up at him
before looking down again.
How did he know that?

Lucca read her eyes
. “I overheard that you’re apparently germaphobic.”

Chloe glanced back up at him again
.
Apparently?
He was really starting to freak her out now.

Chloe
attempted to decide if she should honestly be afraid and try to run away.
Yes, I should
. However, Lucca was blocking the only exit, and she was not going anywhere near him.

Chloe saw him move
; as a result, she regretfully had to look at him again. She held her breath when he put his hand into his pocket to pull something out. When a pack of cigarettes came out, she let out her breath. She continued to watch him pull a cigarette out and then hold it between his lips as he put the pack back in his pocket. Going into his other pocket, he pulled out a lighter. Chloe thought she was going to have a heart attack if he went into his pocket again.

Lucca flipped his lighter open and lit the end
, making it burn a bright red as he inhaled.

“You don’t mind
, do you?”

Chloe slowly shook her head
. She wished she could look away from him, but she was too afraid. She could tell he was Nero’s brother without a doubt; they both oozed confidence and sex. They looked very similar, as well.

Lucca
had the same skin color, but she couldn’t quite tell if his hair was black or brown. The same went with his eyes; she couldn’t tell if they were blue or green. She would swear they were one color before the string lights picked up the other color, changing her mind all over again. Lucca, however, was a billion times more frightening and a million times more handsome than Nero. She figured it had to do with the age gap, but one thing they were very different about was the way they dressed. Nero only dressed in button-up shirts and slacks while Lucca was wearing a black sweatshirt and dark, loose jeans.

She wasn’t use
d to seeing hair as long as his. It was swept back, yet it touched the back of his neck. He clearly didn’t care if it wasn’t trimmed and neat, just like his unshaven stubble. Everyone she was around always looked immaculate, making his bad-boy appearance more like ‘don’t cross me or I will murder your entire family tree.’
I don’t think it matters what he wears; he would look like that regardless.

“Aren’t you a little cold out here
, darlin’?” His voice also oozed just as much confidence as Nero.

She felt uncomfortable
with him calling her that.
If I tell him my name, he’ll stop
.

“M-
my name is Chloe.”

She watched him smile as he took a puff
, holding the cigarette between his thumb and index finger. He exhaled. “The mayor’s daughter, right?”

Chloe nodded gently
. She knew that practically everyone was aware she was the mayor’s only child.
Right?

“You were in that car wreck a few years back. I remember reading about it in the papers. Is that how you tell everyone you got those scars?” Lucca tapped his
ashes in the snow without moving his eyes from her.

Chloe swallowed and looked back down at her hands
. “That i-is how I got them.”

“No
, it’s not. I know a knife cut when I see one.”

Chloe glimpsed back up at him
.
How did he know?
“I-I d-don’t know what you’re t-talking about.”

Lucca flicked his cigarette in the yard. “Yeah
, you do.”

A chill went down her spine at his words
, causing her to stand, not able to stay around him any longer and not liking where this was headed.

She walked a step forward
, hoping he would move. His muscular frame was blocking the whole entryway. She didn’t want to know how many hours he’d spent in the gym; she could see his muscles through his thick, dark sweatshirt. When he still didn’t move, she gradually moved up more.
Please move, please move.

Chloe was now just a few small steps away
, refusing to go any farther. “C-can you let me through?” Her legs started to shake when he dipped his hand back into his pocket. Her heels made it hard for her to hold herself up.

Lucca pulled out another cigarette and flipped his lighter open
. He slowly lit the end, not moving his eyes from her. He blew the smoke out, making it roll over her body. Instead of putting the lighter back in his pocket, he flicked it again and the silver Zippo shot out a flame. Lucca did one of his tricks, rolling the lighted Zippo in-between each of his fingers.

“I will if you tell me how old you are.”

Wait, what?

Chloe became entranced
, staring at the flame expertly passing through his fingers. She didn’t know how he didn’t let it burn himself.

Chloe
mindlessly answered and asked her own question, captivated by the glow. “Seventeen. You?”

Lucca suddenly flipped the lighter close
d. “Twenty-six.”

Something told her he wasn’t very happy about her answer by the look on his face.

Twenty-six
.
She had no clue why she’d asked how old he was.

After she’d
watched him move slightly to let her pass, she really wished he would give her more room than that.

Chloe slowly walked up and turned her body to the side
, keeping her eyes on him, afraid he would move when she passed through. She held her breath as she carefully started to move by him. Her face came to the middle of his chest, even in heels, and his shoulders came right above her head.

When she
had successfully passed him, somehow with just mere centimeters apart, Chloe started walking as fast as she could, trying not to run back to the house.

Lucca’s voice carried across the yard
. “You can’t run from the truth forever, darlin’.”

Chloe picked her feet up faster
.

Y
es, I can. I’ve been doing it for years.

Chapter Thirty-
Three

The Sound of Defeat

Nero waited
until his crew had walked out the front door before he pulled his sister to the side, asking her to take Elle to her closet to pick out something to wear to school tomorrow. He lucked out right after when Chloe told her to go on, and that she was going to leave now, too.

He watched Elle run out of the living room with his sister
, loving the way she looked wearing his shirt. Nero had managed to win her back, panting and moaning underneath him.
I love the sound of defeat.

However
, he still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that he hadn’t fucked her right there. She was hot and ready, yet still he had denied his body to claim her.
What the fuck is wrong with me?

He didn’t know if fucking her to
o early would taint her and make her think she was like all the other girls he’d fucked, or if fucking her before she learned the truth bothered him. Regardless, Nero had been given a little taste of her, and he was ready for the whole damn strawberry cake.

I really
need to fucking thank Lucca.
Then he remembered her lying there helpless, and he changed his mind. He understood why Lucca had done those things. Lucca had tested the water with the college kid in the diner to see if he rattled Nero. Then he broke them up, because clearly Lucca had been following them and knew he couldn’t get close to her with Nero constantly around her, which all brought them to her being snatched. It was a test because Nero shouldn’t have cared what happened to her. Elle turning up dead would be the best thing for his family, but instead, Nero had fought for her life, showing his cards to Lucca—his brother and his underboss. That could have turned out very badly for Elle and him.
It still could if Lucca tells Dad.

Nero didn’t think his brother would
. He wanted something to gain from the whole thing, and Nero needed to figure out exactly what that was.

Nero watched Chloe put her coat on and
then walked up to her. “Could I talk to you? I need to show you something.”

“Um
, yeah,” Chloe said nervously.

Before he
’d even asked, he knew she wasn’t going to be comfortable with what they were going to talk about.

Nero grabbed a jacket that hung beside Chloe’s
. “Here, walk with me.”

Nero walked towards his backdoor that she
had gone out earlier. He opened the door for her and saw her nerves had kicked in.

“Please
, it’s about Elle.”

Chloe hesitantly walked out the door with him
, and then he pulled the door to a close.

Nero started walking once he was greeted with the winter wonderland
. “My mom spent months landscaping this backyard. When she was finally finished, she spent practically the whole day out here.” Nero stopped to smile. “I still remember her crying when it turned cold and all her flowers would die.”

“It’s beautiful
,” Chloe whispered.

Nero kept walking through the huge yard
, going toward the gazebo. “It is. My mom used to stare at the backdoor, dying to escape.”

Chloe looked up at him
. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”

Nero laughed
. “It’s okay. I’m glad someone could enjoy it again.”

“
I wish I could have seen it in the spring,” Chloe confessed.

As
Nero walked up the step and took a seat on the chair, he watched Chloe take a seat on the middle of the bench. He saw her stare out into the backyard and could see the glint in her eyes.

“Sadly
, it doesn’t look the same anymore. Now that she’s passed away, it’s not kept up the same and most of the flowers don’t return.”

Chloe looked back at him
, the glint now gone. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Nero nodded
, thanking her. It was time to move on to why he needed to talk to her, though.

“You know I like Elle
, right?”

Chloe nodded
. “Yes, I do.”

“Then you know I need to know everyone that has ever touched
her.”

Chloe started wringing her hands
. “W-why can’t you ask Elle?”

Nero shook his head
.
She won’t fucking tell me.
“She won’t tell me.”

“I-I don’t want to tell you
, either.”

Nero took a deep breath
. “I thought you would say that.”

Nero raised his hand and they heard the back door
to the house open. He watched Chloe see them appear. He could tell she contemplated running away. A moment later, however, Amo and Vincent joined them in the gazebo.

Amo and Vincent sat on either side of her while Chloe held her hands tightly and tried to become as small as possible.
Both made sure an inch of room separated their bodies from hers.

Vincent handed Chloe a book.
Chloe swallowed as she took it, flipping to the first page.

Nero watched her flip through the pages
. She had clearly never seen it before, not knowing that Elle had made it. He studied her face carefully as new pictures unfolded.

When
she was on the last page and there were no more to be turned, he spoke. “Now, walk me through the pictures and tell me how she got every mark.”

Chloe’s eyes danced between the
boys. “I-I can’t. You all are n-not going to hurt me.”

Nero pushed his hair back
, uncertain of what to do. He’d thought it would spill out of her when she was surrounded by them. She was calling his bluff, though.
And I don’t want to have to—

“I think she needs some persuading
, brother.” He heard Lucca’s voice from behind the gazebo and watched him walk up to join them.

Nero looked back at Chloe and saw her grip the photo album in her hands.
As Lucca walked up, towering over her, Chloe slowly looked up at him and swallowed. Then Lucca gently placed his hands on the open book and started pulling. Chloe released it, letting it slide right out of her hands.

“Thanks
, darlin’.” Lucca placed the book on the black, small iron table meant for iced tea and beer. Then he picked up the table and dropped it down right in front of her, making her jump from the noise.

Nero watched his brother push his chair close to the table
. Nero stood up, as well, pushing his in closer. He had a feeling the two had already met.
When was that?

He looked over at Amo
, who was squeezing his fists, clearly not happy with Lucca’s appearance. Nero pushed his thoughts aside; he wasn’t here for that. He looked down at the book before them that was still on the last page.

Lucca pulled out a cigarette
. “We’ll go backwards.” He lit the end. “Tell him everything you know.” Then he flipped the lighter closed.

Chloe watched the smoke envelope her face and
then looked down at the book. “I-I-I—”

Nero jumped in
. “Let’s start slow. What did she tell her parents when she came home with bruises, scratches, and broken bones?”

Chloe tried to start
. “A-at f-first—”

Lucca flicked his lighter on
, weaving it through his fingers.

Chloe took a deep breath
, staring into the flame. “At first, she tried her best to hide them by wearing lots of clothes. She told me she would slowly reveal a different mark each day to pretend it happened that day.” Chloe squeezed her hands tightly together. “Then, when they got worse, she lied and told them she’d joined soccer. She got away with it because they hardly left the house since her dad was still recovering. That made it easy for her. They didn’t get caught up in the details, worrying over his accident. Eventually, I think they got used to her getting hurt since she pretended to be so clumsy, so she was able to stop telling her parents she played soccer, and they just believed she was accident-prone.”

Nero squeezed the bridge of his nose
. That was only the beginning.

H
e watched her turn numb, staring blankly into the fire Lucca held in his hands. She went through the pictures, explaining what had happened and who had done it. His body turned numb with hers, his mind taking in all the information, careful not to miss a detail. He had been taken through the first half of senior year, junior year, and sophomore year. When she got to freshman year, she told him about how Sebastian had taken a fucking book to her face and her arm.

Chloe turned the page
, coming to the first picture of her and Chloe together. There weren’t any visible marks; however, that was when Elle’s hair was the shortest and Chloe’s scars the freshest. Chloe didn’t say anything about the picture.

Nero watched Chloe’s face turn from nothing into sadness
. There was something she wasn’t saying.

He
went into his pocket and pulled out a picture from his billfold. “I found this behind that picture.”

Chloe watched Nero toss a picture of Elle on top of the other one. She started shaking her head
. “I d-don’t want—”

Nero leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees
. “Tell me.”

“I c-can
’t do it. You’ll hate me.” Chloe couldn’t stop fidgeting with her hands.

“Maybe she’s had enough
,” Amo told him.

Lucca flipped his lighter shut with a hard snap
. “She’s fine.”

Nero looked at Amo
, unable to hide the way he felt about pushing Chloe too far. He wondered if he should let her stop and just be satisfied with everything she had given him already.

N
o.
“Tell me.” This time, he spoke a little harsher.

Lucca started back
with the flicker of light. He moved it through his hands, starting and stopping the flame with a different finger from each trick he did.

Chloe moved the picture to uncover the one beneath it again
. She returned to her numbness. “Cassandra started talking to me right when school started. She was popular, and I just wanted to fit in. She started saying mean things to people, and I would just sit there and listen to her. I felt bad and wanted to say something, but I didn’t because I was afraid she would start picking on me.”

Chloe took a deep breath
. “One day, we were in the locker room and she gave me a pair of scissors. She said something to Elle about her father, and for the first time, I heard someone talk back to her. Elle started to walk away when Cassandra, Stacy, and Stephanie pinned her to the ground, hitting her head. When Cassandra asked me to hand her the scissors, I didn’t want to, but Cassandra asked me if I wanted to end up like her, so I gave them to her. She was jealous of Elle’s hair, so she cut it all off. That was the first time Elle and I ever met.”

Nero took a breath
. He was disappointed in Chloe, but he understood the pressure of high school. He had known there was a reason why Elle had short hair after so many years of not cutting it, but that didn’t explain the picture of Elle clearly beaten to a pulp.

“What happened to her
, Chloe?”

“C-Cassandra, Stacy, and Stephanie wanted to smoke behind the school with S
ebastian during lunch. W-we met Elle on our way, and Cassandra told him she had talked back to her in the locker room. Sebastian dragged her outside and they all started kicking her and beating her.” Chloe started digging her nails in her hands.

Nero started to get sick
. He noticed Amo and Vincent were having a hard time, as well. He knew that wasn’t all of it, though. There was something she didn’t want to tell.

“Finish the story.”

Chloe dug in a little more. “I-I was scared and just stood there. When they were done, they started to walk away, but Sebastian noticed I hadn’t joined in. He t-t-told me…He told me I better kick her.” Chloe removed her eyes from the flame and looked at the photo. “They had taken a picture of her and gave it to her later as a reminder. When I walked up to her and saw her like that, I couldn’t do it. Elle saw that I wasn’t going to, so she mouthed for me to kick her, and I heard her say it didn’t hurt anymore.” Chloe looked up at Nero. “I kicked her hard enough to make Sebastian happy so they would leave. When I looked at her eyes, she begged me to go with them, so I did. I don’t know why she cared about what they would do to me if I didn’t because I didn’t care about her enough to stand up for her.”

Nero took a long
, deep breath, unable to look at Chloe any longer. He hated what she had done to Elle, but he knew Chloe had already clearly suffered. He figured her suffering was what had brought them together, yet that was a story Chloe wouldn’t be able to tell.

Nero watched Lucca pick the book up and flip through the pages himself.