“When you’re sitting in California, and I’m missing you, I’ll regret that I didn’t get to dance with you once.”
She now turned her eyes to Lucca, the memory of when they first met flashing …
“Hey, darlin’,” a deep voice sounded behind her.
Chloe jumped at the sound. A second later, a man appeared on the other side of the rails. He was terrifyingly beautiful and scared the hell out of her, regardless of how handsome he was. She didn’t think a man that good-looking should even exist, or a man that chilling.
Chloe didn’t move a muscle, completely frozen in place.
He kept walking toward the entrance of the gazebo and went up the step. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She had no idea how she hadn’t heard him. She didn’t even know where he had come from.
She watched him lean up on a pillar, blocking her exit. After every hair had managed to stand up on her body at one look of his eyes, Chloe darted her gaze down to her lap and started fiddling with her hands.
“I’m Nero’s brother, Lucca. I would shake your hand, but you wouldn’t shake it, anyway.”
Chloe quickly glanced back up at him before looking down again. How did he know that?
Lucca read her eyes. “I overheard that you’re apparently germaphobic.”
Chloe glanced back up at him again. Apparently? He was really starting to freak her out now.
Chloe attempted to decide if she should honestly be afraid and try to run away. Yes, I should. However, Lucca was blocking the only exit, and she was not going anywhere near him.
Chloe saw him move; as a result, she regretfully had to look at him again. She held her breath when he put his hand into his pocket to pull something out. When a pack of cigarettes came out, she let out her breath. She continued to watch him pull a cigarette out and then hold it between his lips as he put the pack back in his pocket. Going into his other pocket, he pulled out a lighter. Chloe thought she was going to have a heart attack if he went into his pocket again.
Lucca flipped his lighter open and lit the end, making it burn a bright red as he inhaled.
“You don’t mind, do you?”
Chloe slowly shook her head. She wished she could look away from him, but she was too afraid. She could tell he was Nero’s brother without a doubt; they both oozed confidence and sex. They looked very similar, as well.
Lucca had the same skin color, but she couldn’t quite tell if his hair was black or brown. The same went with his eyes; she couldn’t tell if they were blue or green. She would swear they were one color before the string lights picked up the other color, changing her mind all over again. Lucca, however, was a billion times more frightening and a million times more handsome than Nero. She figured it had to do with the age gap, but one thing they were very different about was the way they dressed. Nero only dressed in button-up shirts and slacks, while Lucca was wearing a black sweatshirt and dark, loose jeans.
She wasn’t used to seeing hair as long as his. It was swept back, yet it touched the back of his neck. He clearly didn’t care if it wasn’t trimmed and neat, just like his unshaven stubble. Everyone she was around always looked immaculate, making his bad-boy appearance more like ‘don’t cross me, or I will murder your entire family tree.’ I don’t think it matters what he wears; he would look like that, regardless.
“Aren’t you a little cold out here, darlin’?” His voice also oozed just as much confidence as Nero.
She felt uncomfortable with him calling her that. If I tell him my name, he’ll stop.
“M-my name is Chloe.”
She watched him smile as he took a puff, holding the cigarette between his thumb and index finger. He exhaled. “The mayor’s daughter, right?”
Chloe nodded gently. She knew that practically everyone was aware she was the mayor’s only child. Right?
“You were in that car wreck a few years back. I remember reading about it in the papers. Is that how you tell everyone you got those scars?” Lucca tapped his ashes in the snow without moving his eyes from her.
Chloe swallowed and looked back down at her hands. “That i-is how I got them.”
“No, it’s not. I know a knife cut when I see one.”
Chloe glimpsed back up at him. How did he know? “I-I d-don’t know what you’re t-talking about.”
Lucca flicked his cigarette in the yard. “Yeah, you do.”
A chill went down her spine at his words, causing her to stand, not able to stay around him any longer and not liking where this was headed.
She walked a step forward, hoping he would move. His muscular frame was blocking the whole entryway. She didn’t want to know how many hours he’d spent in the gym; she could see his muscles through his thick, dark sweatshirt. When he still didn’t move, she gradually moved up more. Please move, please move.
Chloe was now just a few small steps away, refusing to go any farther. “C-can you let me through?” Her legs started to shake when he dipped his hand back into his pocket. Her heels made it hard for her to hold herself up.
Lucca pulled out another cigarette and flipped his lighter open. He slowly lit the end, not moving his eyes from her. He blew the smoke out, making it roll over her body. Instead of putting the lighter back in his pocket, he flicked it again, and the silver Zippo shot out a flame. Lucca did one of his tricks, rolling the lighted Zippo in-between each of his fingers.
“I will if you tell me how old you are.”
Wait … what?
Chloe became entranced, staring at the flame expertly passing through his fingers. She didn’t know how he didn’t let it burn himself.
Chloe mindlessly answered and asked her own question, captivated by the glow. “Seventeen. You?”
Lucca suddenly flipped the lighter closed. “Twenty-six.”
Something told her he wasn’t very happy about her answer by the look on his face.
Twenty-six. She had no clue why she’d asked how old he was.
After she’d watched him move slightly to let her pass, she really wished he would give her more room than that.
Chloe slowly walked up and turned her body to the side, keeping her eyes on him, afraid he would move when she passed through. She held her breath as she carefully started to move by him. Her face came to the middle of his chest, even in heels, and his shoulders came right above her head.
When she had successfully passed him, somehow with just mere centimeters apart, Chloe started walking as fast as she could, trying not to run back to the house.
Lucca’s voice carried across the yard. “You can’t run from the truth forever, darlin’.”
Chloe picked her feet up faster.
Yes, I can. I’ve been doing it for years …
She picked up her feet, going toward the man with the blue-green eyes who commanded her body …
Crack.
The sound of broken bones greeted her ears as a baseball bat slammed down into a limp body.
Snap.
Another flash of the bat making contact with the man’s leg, the man who lay practically lifeless on the floor.
He raised the bat once more, pausing only to look her in the eyes. An evil pair of blue-green eyes stared back at her, making her blood run cold. She watched him grip the neck of the bat with a force so intense she was positive it was going to shatter before the bat was brought down for its final time.
Crunch.
As she watched the man inhale the air around him, he looked crazed, his appearance disheveled. Then he slicked his overgrown hair back in place, and you could see the slight smile come to his lips.
Turning her eyes back to Amo, she saw him screaming, horror gripping his face to get to her, to save her …
“I’m the nice one.”
Glancing at him for a moment, she began to think she might have been too harsh on him. This clearly was a touchy subject for him.
“I guess you will have to prove it.” She smiled at him.
He smiled back. “I can do that�
�”
There was always a moment in time one faced in life when a choice must be made, and this was her moment.
Time unfroze. She kicked her feet up off the ground, running into the arms of the man she had chosen to protect her. His arms circled around her as she took a shuddering breath. They were the first arms to hold her in years.
Holding her close, Amo whispered into her ear, “I’ve got you.”
Thirty-Eight
I Can’t Be Fixed. Not by You, Not by Anyone. I’m Just Broken
Chloe squeezed her hands together on her lap, silently staring ahead as Amo drove her home.
Lucca’s face was going to haunt her for the rest of her life. The look he had given her as Amo carried her out of the mall was one she would never forget. It wasn’t going to haunt her because it scared her; it was going to haunt her because the look in his eyes had shattered her. He didn’t even meet her eyes when he ordered Amo to immediately take her home.
“Is the air conditioning too cold?”
Lucca’s face disappeared from her mind at Amo’s question.
“N-no.”
What had her shivering was not only Lucca’s face, but also sitting in the car with Amo. His dark gaze kept coming to her face as if he wanted to say something.
She was so tense it was a relief when he finally pulled into her driveway. Chloe brought her hand to the door handle, prepared to jump out of the car.
“Wait.” She froze at his word. “Stay and go to college here … with Elle and Lake.” Amo shifted in his seat to face her fully. “I could take some classes. Who is going to walk you to class when Elle or I aren’t there?”
Chloe kept her gaze down, looking at him through her lashes. “I’ll have to get used to being on my own.”
“But if you stayed here, you wouldn’t have to.”
What had happened at the mall hadn’t changed anything for her. It had only solidified that she had to keep running.
“Elle won’t have to watch out for me anymore. She can finally enjoy school at college with me not getting in her way. I want that for her.”
“What about you? What about me?” He tried to keep his voice even.
“I’ll adjust. It will be good for me. You have Nero and Vincent and your job at the casino hotel to keep you so busy you won’t even remember me.”
“I’ll remember you …” Amo whispered.
Her heart started to hurt for him. She could feel her resolve begin to slip away. If she didn’t get out of this car, she was afraid he might change her mind.
“That you walked me to class for a few months? That my best friend is your friend’s girlfriend?”
Amo pounded his hand on the steering wheel. “You’re not like any other girl I know, Chloe.” Calming his breathing, he whispered the words, “I love you.”
Chloe’s heart beat against her chest. That was exactly what she had been afraid of.
Jumping out of the car, she ran toward her front door. He can’t. He can’t love me.
“Fucking wait!” Amo ran to her with pleading eyes.
Kill it. You have to kill what’s between us so you won’t kill him …
“We’re friends, Amo. If I stay … I can’t. I will never be what you want. You need a girl like Elle or Lake. Even a girl like Cassandra would be better than me. You love being with your friends, and I like being alone. That’s why I’m leaving,” she lied for Amo’s sake. He deserved a normal girl, not someone who was afraid of her own shadow.
“No one likes to be alone,” he told her softly.
Chloe wished she could brush away normal tears, not the ghost tears that wanted to fall down her cheeks.
“I’m not normal; I’m a freak.” Taking a harsh breath, she hated herself for the words she was about to say. “You said so yourself.”
Amo paled.
“Fucking freak!” was said, followed by laughter filling the space with continuous echoes of the word “freak.”
She had watched him mouth the word freshman year as she entered the lunchroom for the first time with her new scars.
He looked away from her. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“What was I suppose say?” Chloe put her hands on the front door. “Bye, Amo.”
Tears filled his eyes. “I didn’t mean it …”
I know you didn’t.
“It’s okay, Amo. We’re even. I called you a beast.” She opened the door, going inside. Then she reached out to close the door. “I can’t be fixed. Not by you, not by anyone. I’m just broken.” Shutting the door and closing out his glossy dark gaze somehow broke her even more than she already was.
Chloe wiped the scar on her cheek, feeling moisture. A single real tear had finally fallen.
I’m so sorry, Amo …
Chloe quickly shoved her suitcases into the trunk of her car, wanting to be long gone before her parents got back from a dinner after his City Council meeting. The last suitcase, which she had actually taken from her mom’s closet since she hadn’t been able to retrieve the one she had bought, was finally shoved in.
After Amo had left, Chloe had decided she needed to leave … now. She was afraid to see how she felt in the morning, and she didn’t want to give Amo a chance to meet her at the airport before her flight took off. Therefore, she had called and gotten her flight changed to leave in three hours.
She had written two notes. One was for Lana, which she had left in the cleaning closet, telling her that she loved her and not to worry about her and also how she was sorry she didn’t say good-bye to her face. The second note was for her parents, telling them that she had decided to leave early and that the key to her car would be placed in the hidden key box above her tire.
It was sad that the one she had said I love you to wasn’t the one you would think.
Getting in the car, Chloe took one last look at the house that had never been a home, but had been her prison. As she drove away, she could feel the chains slowly start to break as she left her prison and then her city behind. Breaking free was a paramount feeling she would always remember.
Chloe rolled down the window, letting the warm summer air whip across her face. Taking a deep breath in, she felt the last chain break.
I’ve finally reached freedom.
It was going to be close, but she would make the plane. Most of her time was spent trying to find the correct parking area.
Chloe parked her car in the desolate-looking parking garage. Pulling out her suitcases and backpacks, she locked her doors then went to her rear wheel. Her fingers fumbled as they searched for the hidden key box that was stuck to the underside of the car.
Bending down farther to look for it, her fingers finally grasped the box.
“Got i—”
A hard body wrapped around her, along with a cloth covering her mouth and nose. The hand behind the cloth stifled any screams or protests she could have made, and the strong body kept her in place.
Stay still, little girl.
There was no fight to be had. Her vision went blurry as it all started to fade away.
Or it’ll just hurt worse.
She had known it was too good to be true. Her soul belonged to the devil …
Thirty-Nine
The Story Behind the Scar, The Story of Sadness, Grief, and Torture
Seven Months Earlier
Pulling his classic black Cadillac onto the side of the street, he positioned himself perfectly to watch the house. Then he looked at the clock and saw he had timed it perfectly. School’s out.
He flipped his lighter off and on, off and on, waiting for her return. Lucca had never been good at sitting still, nor was he a very patient man when he was tired. The night before had been a long one, and his body still felt it this afternoon. Regardless, he had enjoyed every second of it.
Last night, he had lain Mr. Johnson to rest and held up his promise of fucking the blonde until she regretted it. Both things had satiated his dark side … for now, anyway.
Lucca flipped his
lighter closed as a stuck-up BMW pulled into the driveway. He had never trusted a German car. The only thing good about it was its black paint color.
A strawberry blonde exited the car. Elle Buchanan. He couldn’t help the sneer he pasted on his face. His little brother was in big fucking trouble.
Watching her walk to the front door, he believed the girl only got prettier the more you looked at her.
It’s going to be a shame when I have to strangle the life out of her.
One thing was for sure, the girl was going to die, and nothing was going to save her. It was unfortunate she had been there when the trigger had been pulled, but some girls were just born unlucky, this one in particular. She was only going to make it another month to her eighteenth birthday.
The stuck-up looking car reversed, drawing back his attention. He wondered who would drop off a girl in this neighborhood. Truthfully, he was a little shocked this was the address, considering the girl had come from a prep school.
Looking at the clock again, he noticed there was a bit of time before Elle went to work. His gut told him to follow the car. Anyone she hung out with could possibly be collateral damage if her fucking mouth blabbed too much.
Lucca started his car, deciding to follow the BMW. He kept a good distance back, following it in a direction he hadn’t been expecting. This part of town was mostly owned by the city, along with some expensive restaurants and shops.
Watching the car pull into one of the most expensive shops in town, he parked on the street and pulled out his cell phone to text the license plate number to a friend. He waited in anticipation, the curiosity slowly eating away at him, only growing worse when the car door opened.
Immediately, he knew it was a woman when tall, black boots and black jeans hit the ground. The next thing he noticed was her long, silky hair. It was the blackest hair he had ever seen.
Chloe (Made Men #3) Page 15