Sebastian went to his knees. “P-P-Please d-don—”
Nero swung the bat, crashing it against his arm. He didn’t fucking care how much he begged. He didn’t give a shit when Elle begged.
Nero took his time, slamming the bat against Sebastian’s body and keeping in mind every place he had ever touched Elle. The sound of sobbing combined with the sounds of bones breaking calmed his soul.
Nero leaned down and grabbed an almost-unconscious Sebastian’s face. He made sure he had broken every inch of his body but left his face untouched.
“I made you a fucking promise that you would be unrecognizable, and I keep my promises.”
Nero pushed back the mass of hair from his face. As he stood, he looked over at Lucca, leaning against the car, smoking a cigarette.
“Do I finally get a turn?”
Nero walked over to him. “What are you going to do with him when you’re done?”
Lucca flicked his cigarette toward Sebastian’s body. “I thought I’d give him a ride to the hospital.”
Nero strode back to his car, satisfied at giving him over to Lucca. Nero had just created a work of art, but Lucca, he made masterpieces.
Nero got in the car and pulled out his phone. Now that he had gotten even with everyone who’d ever hurt Elle, he could finally claim the prize he now felt deserving of.
Nero drove out onto the dirt road, smiling into the flicker of light off in the distance.
* * *
Elle watched Maria hold up a dress.
Maria shook her head. “Nope, I don’t like it.”
Elle laughed. “Are you planning on going somewhere?”
Nero had called and asked if she would spend the night with Maria, saying she looked like she needed some girl time. Elle, of course, had agreed and told her parents she was staying over at Chloe’s since her dad wouldn’t appreciate that she was going to stay at Nero’s house. Since it was a school night, too, she told them they had another project due—after all, it had worked well the first time.
Maria held up another one. “What do you think?”
Elle squished up her nose. “It’s awfully pink…”
Maria put it back. “You’re right.”
Elle shook her head, laughing. She watched Maria flip through some more before she stopped.
Maria sighed and mumbled something under her breath, then she went to the very back of her closet and pulled out a white dress.
Elle’s mouth dropped. “You own that?” The dress was plain white yet made from expensive-looking fabric. The thing that shocked Elle was it was extremely short and tight-looking.
Maria walked up to her. “Try it on.”
Elle shook her head no. There’s no way I could fit into that.
“Come on, Elle. I just want to see what it looks like on you. Please?” Maria gave Elle puppy eyes.
Ugh. “Fine, I’ll attempt to fit in it.” Elle snatched the dress from her.
Maria laughed and walked out of the closet to shut the door. “Oh, you can’t wear your bra and panties with that dress.”
What? I thought I was just trying it on. Elle threw off her clothes and, to appease Maria, she stripped all the way down. Elle stuck her legs in the dress and shimmied it up then put her arms through the straps.
She smoothed the dress down, noticing it wasn’t too short. Short enough. However, on Maria, it would have been lucky to cover her ass. Elle wondered how in the world she’d managed to keep the dress hidden from her brothers.
“Okay, come in.”
Maria opened the door a second later. “Oh, my God. It’s perfect!”
Maria ran over and took Elle’s hand then dragged her over to her vanity and sat her down.
Elle saw the glint in her eyes. Oh, Lord.
“What are you doing now?”
“Elle, I have been dying to dress a girl up. Just let me have my fun.”
Elle looked at Maria’s puppy-dog eyes again. There was no way she could say no, and as a result, Elle decided to be a life-size Barbie for Maria to play with.
She sat in the chair for what seemed like hours while Maria curled her hair and did her makeup. When that was finished, Maria made her put on some white, strappy heels. Elle then stood up so Maria could see her creation.
Maria clapped her hands, giggling. “He is going to love me for this.”
“What?” Who’s he?
Maria took Elle’s hand and pushed her in front of the mirror for the first time—she had been careful not to let Elle see—so she could appreciate the final product.
Elle gasped at her reflection. Her hair was curled in almost-messy waves, giving her hair a lift. Her makeup was perfectly done with a bold, winged eye and pink lip gloss. Maria couldn’t resist. The dress was it, though.
Seeing it now for the first time, the scoop neck revealed the tops of her breasts, held up nicely with the thick straps. Elle understood now why she couldn’t wear anything underneath; the dress was a second skin. Although the material wasn’t see-through, you could see the outlines to anything underneath it. Elle had never looked or felt this beautiful in her whole life.