“Nero’s right. He’ll love it,” his sister agreed.
It was everything she could do to hold herself together at the moment. She steadied her voice, the guilt inside of her only ratchetting up higher, but by the eager look in his emerald eyes, she could only hope this whole thing didn’t backfire. “All right.”
Nero rubbed his hands together with a gorgeous sly smile on his face, making himself look like the OG that he was. “Let’s do this.”
The strawberry blonde was practically ready to swoon.
Damn. Your first true love really was the finest.
* * *
When Angel opened the door to his apartment, one of his brows drew up.
“This should be enough for what you got Katarina yesterday.” Drago handed him a stack full of cash.
Shaking his head, Angel didn’t want to take the money. “I don’t—”
“Take it,” he demanded harshly. “I want you to know that Katarina will be taken care of. She is my responsibility now, and...” His harsh tone seemed to dissipate into a sincere one. “I want not only you but all her brothers to know that.”
Angel stared at him for a moment, seeing that he meant every word before he finally took the money. Showing that he respected what he had to say, it was a truce.
Turning away, Drago couldn’t believe that he had actually just done that.
Okay, fuck. He liked the little witch when she was nice and… a smartass. You know why? ’Cause she was his little witch now. Even if he didn’t want a wife. But like Lucca had said, he’d chosen her, and boy was it turning out that he had chosen her for a reason.
“You’re about fifty short,” Angel yelled at him as he walked down the hallway.
He didn’t even turn around when he yelled back at him, “Well, then you shouldn’t have let her get that fucking mountain of a cat tree.”
Thirty-Two
The Monster That Lay Just Beneath the Surface
To say her surprise got blown out of proportion would be an understatement. Nero had gone to an upscale furniture store, practically buying everything on the floor, and somehow came out with a ten-percent discount. Then he brought in every Caruso he could get his hands on to help unload it and get it in the apartment. While the furniture moved in, Elle, Adalyn, and Lake helped her put all their clothes in the walk-in closet, with Maria giving them directions of how to properly do so.
By the time Nero got everything staged, it looked magazine ready.
“Whoa.” She felt butterflies rise her stomach, nervous for when Drago would get home. It looked amazing but also so amazing that she was wondering if she should have had him involved. “Thank you all so much.”
“I think it’s so sweet you did this,” Elle told her. “Usually, the men surprise us, but it’s so awesome a girl could finally do it.”
“About time,” Maria mumbled under her breath.
“Yes, it’s so much sweeter.” Adalyn was smiling ear to ear.
Vincent seemed to get offended. “Why is it sweeter when she does it than when I did it?”
“Thank God, you’re pretty.” The words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Lake laughed while she took her boyfriend’s hand. “Let’s go before you embarrass yourself more.”
The pretty boy smiled at Kat while his girlfriend and sister had to drag him to the door to leave, seeming to completely miss the insult part of her statement. “She said I was pretty.”
Maria rolled her eyes, following them out. “Yeah, but she also thinks you’re a dumbass.”
“Good luck.” Elle gave her a wink.
“Nero—” She looked at the green eyes not knowing where to start or what to even think of him anymore. When they had gone furniture shopping, there was no way in hell she was going to spend Drago’s money like that on the day he gave her the card, but Nero had assured her not to worry and that it was a wedding gift from the Carusos. “Thank you for everything. I don’t know how to repay you.”
“We’re family,” Nero said in an instant, putting it so simply. “You don’t have to.”
It was the fucking nicest thing anyone had ever said to her, and if Elle weren’t so Goddamn sweet and perfect, she’d almost think Elle was the lucky one.
With everyone besides Amo gone now, it somehow all worked out perfectly as Drago hadn’t returned home yet even though it was well into the night. There was only one last thing she needed to go and get.
“I’m going to go to Chloe’s. Do you need to come with me?” she asked, opening the door, unsure if Amo needed to watch her with her just going down the hall.
He seemed to get nervous for a second before he answered, “No. I can watch you from here.”
“Okay.” She found it a bit odd when he just stood outside the apartment door and watched her walk to Chloe’s apartment. Knocking on the door, she shouldn’t have been surprised when Lucca answered, but it was always a shock when her eyes landed on that frightening man.