Chapter 3 Elena
CHAPTER 3
ELENA
Standing at the parking lot before school, anticipation thrummed through Elena like a jolt of joy. It was the same feeling she got when taking a ride on a roller coaster.
Eighteen. Today was the day.
Any minute now, Viking would pick her up and they would celebrate her birthday. She couldn't believe it had only been three months since they met. The day he’d saved her, though he insisted she would have found a way to save herself. It was one of the things she liked about him; he didn’t have a hero complex, wanting to save the damsel in distress over and over again. Not that she would’ve let him. She could take care of herself. Or, as he said, he would always be there to cover her back.
Over the past few months, her home situation had only grown worse, with her brother turning their house into a distribution center for whatever it was he was selling on the street. One man in particular her brother worked with, gave her the chills, but she had managed to avoid him so far. Though Lorenzo Morelli, the oldest of the Morelli brothers, seemed to be at their house all the time. So much so that she had joked to Ricky to charge him rent. Her brother’s eyes had bulged and he had turned white. Obviously, he feared the man, and even though Elena knew she should probably too, she didn’t. After all, she had her own Black Knight. And soon, they would leave this place together.
“Looks like your guy is late. Typical.”
Her daydream of a better future involving puppies and a small apartment got rudely shattered by Giorgia. As always, her cousin had a snide comment ready.
She was standing next to her, having a smoke, while looking gorgeous in the latest style of jeans and high heels. But that was Giorgia—always dressed to a T while complaining about never having money. Giorgia was willowy tall and very beautiful, and she knew it. Next to her, Elena felt even shorter than her five foot six and—to be totally honest—stocky. Then again, Viking had reassured her he loved her curves and especially her boobs. Not that he had taken the chance to explore her package, but he would tonight, if she had anything to say about it.
“He’ll be here.”
“Will he?” Giorgia’s sour expression seemed to doubt it.
“If he said he would, he will.” Viking never broke a promise.
“Men say a lot of things. But once they've fucked you, they go back to their wives.”
She didn't understand how, at nineteen, her cousin had become so jaded, nor did she really care. There was no way she was letting her spoil her mood.
“Then maybe you’re fucking the wrong kind of men.”
Giorgia smirked and took something from her pocket. “Maybe. But at least I didn’t save my V-card, thinking my first time should be special. Ugh, there’s no such thing as a special man. They’re all the same. Happy birthday, cuz.”
Before she could react, Giorgia pressed something into her hand and ran off toward a black SUV with tinted windows.
When Elena looked into the palm of her hand, she saw a condom. Her cheeks heated and she immediately dropped it into her bag. Was she that obvious? Clearly…
The next minute, Viking’s Harley pipes announced his arrival. Students who saw him ride up the parking lot gawked, stared, and some started whispering. Every now and then, she got a look from them—some envious, some filled with pity. She didn’t care. They didn't know him the way she did. No one knew that behind those ripped jeans and army jacket that covered all those muscles was the sweetest, most protective, guy she had ever met.
People were giving him a wide berth when he parked his bike before her.
“Hi there, Mr. Badass,” she greeted him, and placed a kiss on his lips.
He frowned, and it was only then he seemed to notice the attention they got. “Anyone giving you a hard time?”
She rolled her eyes and sat behind him.
He tilted his head to the side, waiting for her answer.
“Of course not. No one’s bothering me.” Like they would dare, with the way he was eying any man who ever got close to her.
“Good. You still carrying that knife?”
“Always.”
“That's my girl.” He handed her the helmet he got her.
“Could we go by my house first?”
Back home, she rushed up the stairs, in the hopes of getting in and out without having to encounter her brother. The house wasn’t as cramped up with his so-called friends as usual, and Ricky was nowhere in sight.
Appreciate the small things, Lena.
She grabbed her overnight bag from the floor, took one last look into the mirror, and hurried downstairs. Today was the day. She was finally officially no longer a minor and going to celebrate it with Viking. Her brother wasn’t lucid enough to remember her birthday, and no one else cared enough. Not that it mattered. Viking was her everything.
A day after the Todd incident, he’d asked her out, and they had been together ever since. So far, he had been a perfect gentleman, which she found endearing, and…tedious. She knew he wasn’t a gentleman, not really. She was well-aware of his reputation. It was kind of hard to miss when people crossed the street when they spotted him.
Every week, on Monday, he picked her up and dropped her off at school. Not that she needed him to, but because he wanted to. Or so he’d told her. He said it was to start his week good. Of course, she knew that wasn’t his only reason. Her Viking was a bit overprotective. He liked showing others they were together. Though she loved his protective instinct, she did need to have a talk with him. Soon. She wanted to go to college and wasn’t sure how he would react to that. After all, it could mean her going to another state.
She glanced one last time in her bag, smiling when she saw the white lace teddy she had saved for months to get. Tonight, she was going to show him she was his and his alone.
Right when she was about to open the front door, a hand grabbed her wrist.
She frowned when she saw Lorenzo Morelli. “Let go of me.”
Lately, her brother’s dealer was like an ever-present fixture in their home. She suspected him to run his operation from their living room, not that she could prove it, or do anything about it.
“We need to have a talk.”
He pulled her with him to the kitchen and pushed her onto a seat. Then he sat across her as if he owned the place.
Even knowing there would be no help from that corner, her eyes searched for her brother. Other than two people passed out on the couch, the place was empty.
Morelli’s cold eyes roamed over her body, giving her a chill.
She rubbed her wrist that was now red. “What do you want?”
“Viking.”
The word got her on high-alert. “Excuse me?”
“You should stop working for Viking. He’s a nobody, just a small-time hustler. Ricky said you were going to college. Come work for me. I will pay you better than he does.”
Her mouth almost dropped open. He actually believed she was working a side business for Viking? Even worse, he thought he could recruit her to sell his stash on a college campus? He was out of his mind.
“I don’t ‘work’ for him. And I will definitely never work for you.” She had to restrain herself from giving him the finger before she hauled up her bag and went to the door, praying Morelli wouldn’t be stupid enough to follow her. The minute she got outside and saw Viking’s eyes harden, she cursed.
She placed her bag in front of her and sat behind him. It was hard to ignore the stare-off between the men but she did her best. She wasn't going to allow either of them to ruin this day for her.
“Could we please go?”
“I don't like him around you.”
“He’s not around me. He’s around my brother.” When Viking didn’t make an attempt to ride off, she leaned closer. “Forget about him. He means nothing.”
“If he ever so much as lays a hand on you, you’ll tell me.” He gave her a stern look. “You hear me, little lioness?”
She nodded and gave him her best “all’s good in the world” smile. However, a knot formed in her stomach and tightened. An uneasy trepidation, as if preparing her for catastrophe, crept up her spine. She couldn’t shake the feeling their time together was coming to an end, just as it had with her mother. As if fate’s cruel hands were about to snatch her away from him, rip them apart forever. Come hell or high water, she wasn’t going to let anything or anyone tear them apart.
When she saw he wasn’t about to let it go, she put her hand on his cheek. “Yes, I will tell you. Now, can we please go? I have a surprise for you.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’ll like this one.”
Or so she hoped, because if he was going to stop one more time while making out, she might combust.