Chloe (Made Men, #3)(42)

The sleepy daze wore off, directing her eyes to her blank white wall, bringing the memory of last night alive …



Pop. Pop.

The quietest gunshot greeted her ears, trailed by a door squeaking open.

Stay still, little girl …

Mind going blank, she had no recollection of how she had ended up in the bathtub.

Elle’s crying voice seemed so far away as she got in the tub beside her. “Nero, someone’s h-here. I think they have a gun.”

Or it’ll just hurt worse…

The sound of the door breaking in was the last sound she thought she was ever going to hear.

I’ve come for you …

Crack.

The sound of broken bones greeted her ears as a baseball bat slammed down onto a limp body.

Snap.

Another flash of the bat making contact with the man’s leg, the man who lay practically lifeless on the floor.

He raised the bat once more, pausing only to look her in the eyes. An evil pair of blue-green eyes stared back at her, making her blood run cold. She watched his hands grip the neck of the bat with a force so intense she was positive it was going to shatter before the bat was brought down for its final time.

Crunch.

As she watched the man inhale the air around him, he looked crazed, his appearance disheveled. Then he slicked his overgrown hair back in place, and you could see the slight smile come to his lips.

“Chloe,” Amo’s voice quietly appeared, trying to bring her back. His jacket was carefully draped over her shoulders after he managed to talk her out of the bathroom. “Let’s get you home.”

Coming closer to the evil, blue-green eyes, she gripped the jacket for dear life.

Violence calmed the man before her. He lived off torture, feeding himself by causing pain to others. He had wanted her to see him, see what he was capable of, see who he truly was.

Lucca was his name, but he was no man.

He was the boogieman.

She had only witnessed that in one other being in her life: the devil.





Thirty-Four





When I Leave





After that day, it brought back too many memories, and she then found herself in the same haunting place after she had been kidnapped in freshman year. Since then, she only ever hung out with Elle and Amo. And throughout the summer, she had found herself decreasing the amount she spent with them… More… And more…

It’s going to make it easier on them… for when I leave.





Thirty-Five





When You’re Sitting In California, and I’m Missing You





“Chloe, please! Just one dance!” Elle yelled at her over the blasting music.

Chloe violently shook her head as she sat uncomfortably at the high top table with the loud-ass music in her ears. She wondered how in the world she had let Elle talk her into coming to Poison on her birthday.

“You promised me you would go out for your birthday!”

Oh, yeah, I did. She guilt me into it.

Vincent’s girlfriend, Lake—yes, the world is still on its axis—screamed over the music. “Come on, Chloe, you ditched us practically all summer!”

That wasn’t completely true; she just didn’t hang out with them all at once anymore, especially at Nero and Vincent’s new apartments downtown. The last time she had hung out with them there, a gunman had almost killed them.

“Go dance. I’ll be fine!” Chloe yelled at them. This place wasn’t for a girl like her.

She watched her friends roll their eyes before they grabbed their boyfriends up and took them to the dancefloor.

Watching Elle with Nero, she finally found a sort of peace within a part of her. She had hated herself so much for so long over how she had treated Elle. Chloe would never forgive herself for it, but the one thing she had done right was that she had always rooted for Nero. After all these years of Elle being a hero, it was time she found someone to be her armor.

Elle never needed a hero. Elle would never quit being one, either. But what she did need was help. Every great hero needed some type of shield to protect them. Nero was her perfect match, and that was one thing Chloe had seen from day one.

She’s going to be happier without me.

Whereas Elle was the hero saving her day in and day out, Chloe was the weak, little victim who only brought pain to her. Chloe was still broken beyond repair, and as long as she stayed here, Elle would continue to try to fix her.

For once in her life, she needed to be the hero for Elle so she could live a life free of Chloe. And for once, she needed to be the hero for herself and leave her family and this city behind with all its bad memories so she could find peace.

Amo came up behind her, setting a bottle of water down in front of her. “You’ll regret it, you know.”

“Regret what?” She smiled at him, pretending to be happy.

Amo scooted in as close to her as he could without touching her so she could hear him. “When you’re sitting in California, missing Elle, you’ll regret that you didn’t go dance with her once.”

Looking back at her best friend, she saw that Elle looked so free.

“She looks happy right now. I’ll always remember watching her dance, and that’s good enough for me.”