Nero had no idea how to win her back. He’d thought he would find some way during school, but no opportunities had been presented.
Nero followed the bus to the stop Elle got off at. As she departed, a sick feeling in his gut appeared. He had noticed a guy wearing a dark hoodie had kept a few paces behind her.
Nero kept his eyes glued to Elle as he went to park his car, his gut feeling too strong. When he got out of the car, a bus passed in front of him, blocking his view. His instincts started screaming at him to run to Elle, but he had to wait for the bus to move out of the way for him to go. When the bus sped on, he looked for Elle.
Where the fuck did she go?
Nero ran across the street, looking for her or the guy in the hoodie, yet he couldn’t see either of them. Shit.
As he noticed an alleyway just a few steps ahead of where he had seen Elle standing last, he began running as fast as he could, making a sharp left. Nero’s heart stopped along with the world around him.
* * *
Elle was pushed into an alleyway.
Before she could scream, her mouth was covered. Elle kicked and hit at the person, holding her from behind. The boss came for me.
Elle knew she probably wasn’t going to get out of this alive, but she was going to do whatever it took to possibly survive.
Shutting her eyes, she bit at the hand over her mouth, just how she had seen the man who had been murdered do. Fuck, he died.
Elle bit harder when the guy didn’t remove his hand. She felt her body being thrown into a brick wall, and then she heard the sound of her skull hitting the brick. Elle slid down the wall, slowly feeling herself lose consciousness.
“Shit, I didn’t…” she heard a deep voice say as he held her face in his hands.
Elle tried to fight the feeling of darkness, but her lids became too heavy for her to hold. Stay awake! Elle held her eyes open a moment longer to see the face of a man she had seen at the diner. It was the college guy who had dropped the fork. Why would he…?
Elle’s eyes fell closed as her mind slowed down, trying to shut off. She felt a commotion going on beside her and heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Elle attempted to say a name as darkness fell upon her.
Chapter Thirty
The Clock is Ticking
Nero sat in the chair beside his bed, trying to steady his hands. His eyes never moved from Elle as she lay there, unmoving. He kept telling himself she was going to be all right; he just wished he could believe the doctor’s words.
He had called the doctor his family used—legally and illegally—to come to the house as fast as possible. He’d told Nero she would be fine, and that she just suffered from a concussion. Nero wondered how many more times her head could take a hit before serious damage was done. God only knows how many times she’s been hit in the head.
Nero ran his hands through his hair as he got up to stand over her. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. He ran his fingers across her tan skin on her cheek, feeling the softness. She looked peaceful to him, and he would have thought she was actually at peace if she didn’t have a bandage on her head.
Nero had been waiting for Elle to be in his bed, and here she was, in one of his old t-shirts she had been changed in to. The feeling wasn’t what he had hoped, though.
Nero looked at his now-fucked-up hand. He had beaten the guy to a bloody pulp and left him there to live or die. I really don’t give a shit.
The past few days had confused Nero. One thing had happened after another where it concerned Elle, and he knew he had been missing something. Moreover, he had only grown further confused when the douchebag who had hurt Elle looked sorry for what had happened.
Nero took a deep breath as he reluctantly left his bedroom. He headed down the stairs and went through his house, going up to the door he was seeking. Nero turned the handle of the office door and went inside.
“I was wondering when you would finally figure it out. I hope you’re not too mad, brother.”
Nero walked toward the edge of the big desk holding Lucca’s feet.
“Mad that you slashed Chloe’s tires? No. Mad that you paid guys to make me jealous? No. Mad that you hacked my phone and texted Elle so she could catch me with another girl? No.”
Lucca put out his cigarette. “Technically, Sal hacked your phone; I just told him to.”
Nero flexed his jaw. His brother’s nonchalant attitude was getting the best of him. He thought about Elle lying upstairs and that was when he hit his breaking point.
Nero reached out and slammed the back of the leaning chair down as hard as he could, making Lucca fall with it. Nero’s feet were then swept out from under him as Lucca grabbed his ankles, making him join him on the ground.
“Motherfucker, he could have killed her!” Nero moved on top of Lucca, trying to hold him down.
Lucca laughed in his ear as he maneuvered Nero off him. “Yeah, but he didn’t. The moment I saw her, I knew you’d like her. So, I had to see how much you actually cared. I just didn’t know she would have you whipped so quickly.”
Nero elbowed Lucca in the gut to get the upper hand. “Why did you do all this to fucking prove that I liked her?”
Lucca quickly got Nero on his back and tightly held his neck. “Careful, brother. This has to do with the family, and I’m your underboss. We’re not fighting over some girl. This one saw me, Sal, and Dad murder a man. And anyone else who fought me over a job wouldn’t live with both of his hands.”
Nero did know that was the truth. He was breaking a lot of rules right now just because Lucca was his brother. Nero relaxed under Lucca’s hand at the realization, done fighting, and Lucca let go of Nero’s neck as he stood.