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.