The more lunch continued on, the more comfortable she began to feel around them. For the most part, Elle and Leo were the ones to talk about how Leo was adjusting to high school. The other boys pretty much had quiet conversations to themselves, giving Chloe space to feel as if they weren’t even there. She could almost block them out … until she felt Amo’s eyes lingering on her longer than she liked, and the more he did it, the more it started to irk her.
As Elle started to get up to take their trays to the trash, Nero stopped her, taking the tray. Then Amo came up to take hers, and she didn’t know what possessed her to hold on tightly, not letting him take it. As a result, when he held on and pulled it slowly to him again, he easily won.
“I-I can throw away my own trash.” Her eyes remained glued to the ground, unable to look at the beast with her outburst.
“Yeah, so what’s your point?” Amo didn’t wait for her reply, moving toward the trashcan. He knew she wasn’t going to say shit back.
That—
“Catch you later, girls,” Leo called out, already heading to his class.
Beast.
Something about Amo was extremely unlikable for her.
“What class are you in?”
“Spanish. Why?” Elle answered Nero’s question.
Amo had already started walking out front before he even replied, “Because we’re gonna walk you to class.”
After he took Elle’s arm to get her to start walking, it wasn’t long before he stopped to look back at her. “What are you doing, Chloe?”
She had almost bumped into Elle’s back from his abrupt stop. “Um, walking?”
“Why the hell are you walking on Elle’s ass?”
Raising her right eyebrow that had a small patch missing from her scar, she didn’t understand the point of his question. “This is how I always walk.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “Jesus Christ. Chloe, walk beside Elle.”
It was only when she noticed Amo and Vincent shaking their heads that she took a step to stand next to Elle. Then, when Elle nodded for her to go, she finally, reluctantly started walking.
The feeling of it was just weird. It was completely awkward for her to walk beside Elle. After growing used to looking at her back and being blocked by her, she felt like everyone was gaping at her as she walked past.
Looking up for a moment, she found out that they were, but for a different reason. They were gaping at the fact that Nero and his crew were actually walking with them.
By the time they reached their classroom, Chloe didn’t waste any time before running in.
She had all but forgotten what it had been like when she used to walk beside Elle, and now that the memory was back, she decided, I didn’t like that, not at all.
Leaning against the wall outside the back of the school with his arms crossed, he started shaking his head. None of this made sense.
“What are we doing here, Nero? Why do you suddenly give a shit about Elle and her friend?”
Nero shrugged, staring at the back of the school door. “Maybe I just want to fuck her.”
“No, man, you don’t try this hard for pussy.”
Nero continued to just stare at the door, not answering him.
Amo looked at Vincent who wasn’t getting what was happening, either. He started to head back to class. “All right, I’m out.”
“Me, too.” Vincent followed.
Nero waited until the door was about to close behind them. “Okay, fine.”
The two came back outside and stood in front of him.
“What I’m about to show you, you didn’t see.” You could tell he was still contemplating showing them as he pulled out his phone and went through it. “I wasn’t even supposed to take a video of it.”
When Nero turned his phone around, Amo and Vincent glued their eyes to it. They thought it was just a picture of an alleyway at first, but then a strawberry blonde in an old timey diner uniform appeared with a trash bag in her hands.
Vincent looked up from the phone. “Is that Elle?”
“Yeah. Keep watching.”
The video kept playing, showing Elle throwing the trash bag into the dumpster. You expected her to go back where she had come from, but instead, she ran to hide behind the dumpster where you could no longer see her.
“Shit,” Amo said when Nero’s father came into focus along with Nero’s brother, Lucca, who was holding a squirming man. A man named Sal scoped out the alleyway, coming close to finding Elle before he disappeared.
They continued watching, knowing exactly what was going to happen.
The man trying to fight for his life looked like he had bitten Lucca’s hand to free his mouth. Right before he could even scream, Nero’s father shot him dead. They watched as a car then pulled up moments later, and the men all got in, escaping from what they thought no one had seen. However, right before the video ended, Elle reappeared, running for her life.
Vincent’s mouth dropped open. “What the fuck? She didn’t go to the cops?”
Nero shook his head.
No fucking way.
“This is bullshit. I don’t believe it. That girl did not see anyone get murdered two days ago. She’s acting too normal for that.”
“That’s why I took the video recording. I knew you wouldn’t believe me. I didn’t fucking believe it when I came to school yesterday, and that was after I saw the video.” He put his phone back in his pocket after he clicked a few buttons. “I just deleted it.”
The cat was already out of the bag, Vincent guessed.
“So what’s the job?”
“She’s still seventeen,” Amo answered, figuring it out. If she were a year older, this conversation wouldn’t be happening. The family would have killed her, no questions asked. “That means you’ve got to find out if she actually saw them and, if she did, whether she’ll keep her mouth shut till she turns eighteen.” After that, she’s as good as dead.
When Nero nodded his head, affirming the job, he seemed conflicted or almost sad.
He likes her …
That was going to be difficult since the man who’d pulled the trigger was not only Nero’s father, but was Dante Caruso, the boss of the Caruso mafia family. Then, to make it better, the man who had muzzled him was his brother, Lucca Caruso, the fucking underboss.
Amo went back to leaning against the wall. “If we help, then we get in, too.”
“I’ll make sure of it,” Nero said, going back to staring at the door.
“I’m in,” Vincent agreed.
When Sebastian appeared, looking high and mighty, Amo smiled. “This will be fun.”
Nero was the one to move, and just how Sebastian had tried to lunge for Elle in the cafeteria, Nero lunged for Sebastian; except, he was successful in grabbing his collar to choke the shit out of him.
“I thought you were going to give me some fucking weed and apologize!” Sebastian choked out.
“Yes, and your dumbass believed it.” Nero squeezed his neck harder until choking sounds started coming out of Sebastian’s mouth. “I better not catch you trying to lay your fucking hands on her again.”
Letting him go only for a second, Nero punched him so hard in the face he dropped to the ground, passing out cold.
Amo boomed with laughter that Sebastian could only take one shot to the face. He was pretty sure he had passed out more from fear than the actual hit.
Vincent frowned. “What the fuck, Nero? You took all the fun.”
“Not all of it.” Nero kicked Sebastian’s helpless body before he swept his hair back into place.
Planting his own kick, Vincent kicked him in the ribs, giving him another bruise to wake up to.
Finally, Amo moved from leaning against the wall and went up to the still unconscious Sebastian. Even kicking him with only half his strength, it was still going to be the most painful one yet. Once his shoe made contact with Sebastian’s balls, Sebastian woke up, screaming for just a second before he passed out again.
Twenty-Six
He’s Clearly a Psychopath
Chloe wasn’t expecting them to be outside when their class ended. The look on Nero’s face wasn’t happy.
“What did I tell you?”
“You told me, but I decided not to listen.”
Elle flashed a smile then went to take Chloe to her next class. Quickly, it evaporated when he grabbed her hand.
“Do you honestly think I should let you walk Chloe to class and then let you walk all the way by yourself to Art? I’m sure Sebastian is dying to get his hands on you … alone. But how about when they get smart and realize you don’t give a shit what they do to you, and they go for Chloe? Cassandra is only suspended, but she will be back, Elle. And until then, Sebastian will do her dirty work, and so will Stephanie and Stacy.”
“Yeah, you would know about Cassandra and Stephanie; you all are so close. Oh, wait, I forgot, Stacy, too.”
“That is a separate conversation we can talk about later. Right now, I’m asking you, do you want to get Chloe hurt? Because you know I’m right.”
It didn’t matter if they were going to make her walk beside Elle, whether she liked them or not, or anything else. For years, her best friend had been her bodyguard because Chloe was weak, and now, though they scared the piss out of her, to be honest, she had to make Elle do it. Elle deserved better, and if they only did it for a day, then that was one day she wasn’t going to get beaten up.
“He’s right, Elle.”
Sighing, Elle finally agreed. “Fine, let’s go.”
Nero kept Elle from walking. “We’re going to do things my way now. Amo is in Health class with Chloe, so he is going to take her to class and bring her back to you in Art. Got it?”
Slowly, she started regretting her comment.
Elle shook her head. “No freaking way.”
“This isn’t a discussion anymore, Elle. Chloe, is he in your class?”
Looking at the floor, she wished she could lie. “Um, yes.”
“Good. Now, Amo will take you to and from class for now. Only for the last class of the day, and he will sit beside you in class. Are you okay with that?”
No, I’m not.
Elle looked at her. “No, she’s not.”
When she looked back at her, Chloe could see they were both scared deep down of what could happen if they didn’t take their help.
Chloe had to look away from her to say the word, “Y-Yeah.”
“All right. Go on, Chloe. You’ll be safe with Amo.” It sounded like a genuine promise in Nero’s voice.
“Come on, Chloe.” Amo immediately started to walk away.
It took a lot for her to follow him, leaving Elle behind. On the outside, she hoped she looked strong to her. On the inside, she wasn’t. Only the thought of her and Elle surviving this semester got her to move her feet.
Since Amo seemed to like walking out in front, she kept at his back, keeping a little bit more distance than she usually did with Elle. It certainly felt awkward. He was just so … huge. She could actually look at his back and wasn’t able to even see what was on the other side.
Everyone seemed to move out of his way as he walked down the middle, not once moving an inch to the sides. She was only able to see anyone when they passed, and they certainly kept their distance from him.
Taking just a step closer to his back, she thought she might be able to get used to it. He certainly had a build for a bodyguard, and no one even noticed she was behind him since she was as short as most of the freshmen.
Reaching the classroom, Amo opened the door. She expected him to go in first, but he didn’t. He waited for her to go in. Seeing how close she would have to get to him in order to pass, she waited for him to go in, instead.
“Go,” he said harshly, clearly making no attempt for him to go in first.
I almost forgot he was a beast. Chloe passed him carefully, stomping into the classroom.
Amo let the door close behind him as he shook his head at her.
The whispering swirled in the classroom when they entered together, bringing her almost to a halt. It wasn’t until Amo was about to run into her if she didn’t move that she headed to her seat in the back.
Letting her long, black hair veil her face, she tried not to listen to the gossip of what had happened during lunch.
The tables in the Health class were set up a lot like the Science classroom with several tables that only held two people. Chloe’s table at the very back actually only held one chair, but that was because no one really ever sat there, and the room was a chair short.
Finally reaching her chair, she began wringing her hands, the attention on her giving her anxiety. However, she was thankful to put distance between them. She didn’t expect him to actually sit next to her like Nero had said. Plus, there’s no chair bes—
A very loud and very obnoxious sound filled the room as Amo grabbed his empty chair at his old table and dragged it behind him, letting the legs scrape the floor.
Please stop. Please stop. Her embarrassment only continued until he placed the chair beside her at the table.
Smiling proudly, he took his seat. “You thought I wasn’t going to actually sit beside you, didn’t you?”
Chloe’s answer was scooting her chair over to the very edge, though it didn’t give her much more room because he practically took up the whole table.
By his smirk disappearing, she could tell he didn’t like her answer very much.
It didn’t dawn on her until class started how close she was to him. The only person she had ever sat beside was Elle, and now she was sitting beside the biggest guy in school.
Feeling the closeness between them, she went back to twisting her hands under the table, trying her best to concentrate on the lesson or anything that wasn’t him. Amo made that rather hard. He seemed to like that she found him uncomfortable. Every now and then, he would remind her of his presence by adjusting in his chair, moving his arms just close enough for her hairs to rise on the back of her neck.
She didn’t think the final school bell was ever going to ring. This was the slowest class of her life. Watching the clock slowly tick by, she practically jumped up a moment before the bell even rang.
Screw this. Chloe decided to take her chances with running to Elle rather than spending another second with him.
“I wouldn’t do that.” Amo’s voice stopped her before she could even make a run for it. “Sebastian’s locker is right outside that door, but if you prefer to take your chances with him, then be my guest.”
Swallowing hard, she contemplated her options before she decided to stick with the lesser of the two evils.
Taking his sweet time, he waited until most of the class had left before he even got out of his seat to leave.
Falling in line behind him, she was finally able to glare at the unbelievable jerk’s back, keeping her distance at first. It wasn’t until they past Sebastian’s death stare that she picked up speed to walk as close as she could to his back. Wait … Is something wrong with his face?
“Walk beside me,” Amo growled over his shoulder when her feet hit the back of his heels.
Preferring to stay behind him, she decided to put more space between them, instead.
Amo stopped abruptly, wanting her to run into him to teach her a lesson. It only made him angrier when she didn’t.
“Why won’t you walk beside me like I asked?”
Chloe felt like a scared little deer in headlights, not knowing how to respond to his anger.
“I know you can talk, Chloe.” Crossing his arms over his chest made him look even more intimidating. “Now answer me.”
I-I—
She couldn’t. She could only stand there, frozen, while she looked at the ground, hoping this would end.
Another low growl escaped his throat before he gave up in defeat, walking to the Art class without a response from her.
&nb
sp; Continuing to follow him was hard, and the only reason she did was because of the look of death Sebastian had given her moments ago. Something had looked definitely wrong with his face …
Reaching the Art room, Chloe jumped out from behind him to see Elle, Nero, and Vincent.
“Nero, we need to talk. Chloe will not get off my ass. I told her”—Amo stopped midsentence to glare her down—“to walk beside me, but she refuses to even say a word to me.”
That was it. She couldn’t take him anymore. He clearly liked using his size to boss people around. She had called it years ago, saying nice Amo would turn into a jerky Amo once his puberty went to his head.
“T-that’s how I walk!”
Elle laughed at her outburst.
“Oh, now you can talk because Elle’s around. I blame you!” Amo directed his finger at Elle.
She stopped laughing. “Me? What did I do?”
“You taught her to walk like that.”
Stepping up to him, Elle got in his face. “No, I didn’t teach her shit. She learned to walk behind me when everyone started bullying us.”
“We never bullied you.”
“No, but you all sure as hell didn’t stop it. Come on, Chloe; we’re leaving.”
Nero stopped her. “All right, calm down. You’re right. We’re just as guilty. All three of us are sorry, and we are trying to make it up from now on. But you and Chloe need to help us out here. Chloe, listen to Amo and try to talk to him every now and then.”
No thank—
“And …” Amo added.
“And get off Amo’s ass. Walk beside him from now on. It’s safer there, anyway. Someone could grab you from behind him if they wanted.”
Swallowing, she thought back and realized Sebastian could have easily done that. Chloe nodded her head.
“Yeah, like she’ll have much room to walk beside the beast.” Elle stuck her tongue out at him.
Nero raised his hand when Amo looked prepared to smart back off to her. However, he walked off, heading to the school parking lot.
Her instinct was to still walk behind Elle, but Nero made her move.
Chloe (Made Men #3) Page 9