Nero (Made Men #1)(36)

Once they were seated, Elle was caught off-guard when Nero pulled her in for a kiss on the cheek. She still wasn’t used to him, and she definitely wasn’t used to it when she was around Chloe.

Elle was glad when Leo sat again at the empty seat next to Chloe. She could tell Chloe eased a bit when he did. Elle looked around and saw that all the boys had bought an extra piece of pizza. That’s why they never have any left.

Elle smiled when she picked up her pepperoni pizza and saw Chloe doing the same. For once, she actually liked what she had gotten for lunch.

“When was the last time you ate pizza at school?”

Nero couldn’t just let me enjoy it, could he? She was really starting to hate the whole honesty thing. “Since middle school.”

“I had it freshman year.” Elle looked over at Chloe. That didn’t help, Chloe.

While the guys were becoming agitated by her answers, she didn’t understand why they would ask these questions when they knew they wouldn’t like the outcome.

She figured Leo sensed everyone was on edge since he tried to change the conversation. However, the thing he asked was possibly the worst thing he could, making it only worse.

“Chloe, how did you get those scars?” She knew Leo was young and didn’t know how she got them but figured everyone else had already heard about it.

She waited for the guys to say shut up, because this really would be the right time to do it, but they didn’t. They clearly wanted to hear it, too.

Elle looked at Chloe, who was staring at her plate. She really hated that Leo had asked that.

Elle decided to get the story over with. “She was in a car accident.”

“Oh, dang. When?” Leo became intrigued.

Elle put down her pizza. “When we were freshmen.”

“That suck—”

Elle grabbed her head. She heard a buzzing noise and started blinking, trying to focus on what had just happened. She had seen something fly out of the corner of her eye a moment ago, and whatever it had been had really started to sting her head. As the buzzing started to cease, all Elle could hear was laughter.

Elle felt Nero and the rest of the guys stand up, then she heard Nero’s voice. “Who the fuck just did that?”

While the room became eerily silent, Elle grew scared. The guys were already pissed off; she didn’t want them to get hurt because of her.

Elle managed to get the word “don’t” out while she pulled her hand from her head, trying to grab Nero’s. That was when she saw the blood on her hand.

Nero immediately noticed it, as well, distracting him from his questioning.

“Shit, Nero. She needs to get out of here,” Vincent spoke.

Elle still felt Nero fuming as he tried to get her to stand.

“Yeah, let’s get them out of here, and we can deal with the fucker outside of school,” she heard Amo quietly speak.

Nero helped Elle up, grabbing her around her waist as she stood. “It’s going to be okay, baby,” he murmured.

Elle tried to nod her head, relieved he hadn’t started a fight. Vincent had come around to help walk her out of the cafeteria and Elle let them lead her out. When they reached the door and exited, Nero bent down and picked her up, holding her in his arms.

She tried to search for Chloe, afraid she might have been too shocked to come. “Chloe.”

“Shh, Amo’s got her.”

Elle calmed down and relaxed into his arms. She fought the feeling to close her eyes, no matter how much she wanted to, as her head rested on his chest.

As Nero passed the victory wall that was filled with sports memorabilia and encased in glass, she wondered where he was taking her. She heard a metal door open and a ceiling that felt like a thousand feet high greeted her. She didn’t understand why he was taking her in the gym.

He walked to the other end and she had a feeling of where he was taking her. She didn’t exactly have the greatest memories of that place, either.

“Vince, bring me the first aid kit.”





Chapter Eighteen

I Will Enjoy Watching You Scream

Nero sat Elle down on one of the benches. She knew he was taking her in the locker room.

She heard the door open again and saw Vincent set a white box down on the bench beside her before leaving without saying a word. She had a feeling he might have been just as pissed as Nero.

Nero went to the sink and wet a bunch of paper towels. He then walked back over and handed her one to wash her hand before he lowered himself in front of her, going to his haunches. Elle could only stare up at Nero as he pressed the towels to her head. His face was calm while his emerald eyes looked like they were on fire. She had gotten used to the calm exterior while his eyes showed his true feelings. He is so beautiful.

“I don’t think you’ll need stitches,” Nero said, opening the first aid kit.

Elle tried to lighten the mood with a laugh. “Well, that’s a first.” She regretted it the moment the words left her mouth.

“Elle, this isn’t funny.” Nero stopped what he was doing to look at her. “I can’t let them do this to you anymore. It’s hard enough to hear that you pick what to eat based on who the fuck scares you less.”

“I know, Nero, but please.” She took his hand and touched his battered knuckles. “You promised me you would try.”