Nero(101)

She swore she saw a hint of emotion when she’d said her name. Not even when he’d spoken of Nero or his mother had he shown an ounce of emotion, regardless that he had come here for Nero.

“So?”

She could hear the slight change in his voice, as well. I don’t think so.

“So, stay away from her.” Elle could fight anyone off for Chloe, even the boogieman in her fucking bed right now.

Lucca leaned back toward Elle, again right in her face. “Do you know who you’re talking to right now, darlin’? I have killed men and women after torturing them for hours. I am the underboss of the Caruso family, and one day, I will own this city.”

Elle kept her hold, no matter how bad her skin crawled. “I-I don’t care who you are. Leave her alone.” The last thing she needs is a man like him.

Lucca smiled. “I know you’ve protected her, and that you couldn’t leave her to fend for herself at school. Tell me what really happened to her that made you risk your life every day just so no one would touch her.”

I will never tell. This time, Elle moved her face closer to his. “If you hurt her, I will kill you.”

Lucca quickly grabbed her face and rubbed her jaw. “You’re lucky I owe you.” He dropped his hand just as quickly and stood. “Remember, darlin’, you have till tomorrow night.”

Elle watched him disappear into the shadows before her eyes—well, eye. His ice-cold voice ran through her head, ‘I owe you.’ Elle’s body shivered; as a result, she lay back down and pulled the cover up to her head. For what?

* * *

The next day, Elle had a full day. They had moved her out of ICU to a room on the fourth floor where it was much quieter, and the room was a thousand times bigger. They’d said she was looking good. She was eating well, walking well, talking well, and going to the bathroom on her own. She was still sore, but that was to be expected. The doctors told her they wanted her to stay one more night, and then she would be free to go.

Now that she was out of ICU, everyone could finally visit her freely. She had immediately told her father to tell Nero she still didn’t want to see him, and to her surprise, he’d respected her wishes.

Everyone had come to visit her; Chloe, Amo, Vincent, Leo, and even Maria along with her own family. She officially had a stockpile of flowers and cards, and in return, Elle had apologized to the ones she hadn’t talked to in months for disowning them because of Nero. Even though they helped conceal the truth.

When it had started to get dark, she told her family to go on home and she just wanted some rest like the night before. Elle couldn’t rest, though; she simply sat in bed, staring at the blank TV screen.

Elle heard a quick knock on the door and the nurse came in.

“Just making my rounds for the night before I head out. How are you doing?” She walked over to check the readings on the machines.

Elle gave her a half-smile. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“All right, honey. Is there anything I can get you?”

Elle looked out her window, seeing the just-now-darkened sky. She took a deep breath. “Is he still out there?”

The nurse smiled at her. “You mean the one who’s been out there all day, real handsome?” She patted her hand. “He is.”

Elle swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “Can you tell him…?” She trailed off.

The nurse gave a squeeze to her hand. “I’ll get him for you.”

Elle continued to stare out the window as the minutes passed. She could barely hear the door open and the footsteps coming to her bed.

“Elle, will you look at me?”

She couldn’t remember the last time she had heard his voice, the last time he had spoken her name. His voice still sang to her and stilled her soul, even after all that time.

Elle slowly turned her head so he could look at her. She heard his soft gasp then his small, contained growl. Then she did something she had trained herself not to do. For the first time in months, Elle gradually lifted her eyes to look at him. Even though she could only see well out of one eye, she noticed Nero’s changes.

His hair was long, his face scruffy, and dark circles under his eyes conveyed there was no telling the last time he had slept. She had never seen Nero any less than immaculate, yet right now, he looked as if he was wearing the same clothes he had worn when she had gotten here.

Elle suddenly didn’t feel good after seeing what Nero looked like. I did that to him. She now understood why Lucca had come to see her.

She watched Nero sit on the edge of her bed and she scooted over, afraid to touch him.

Nero sighed. “Elle, I’m—”

Elle quickly stopped him, speaking over top of him. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest? I’m being discharged in the morning. We can talk after we’ve both been home and had the chance to clean up.”