Once Burned (Morelli Family, #3)

by Sam Mariano

  The little redhead—Ilya, her name’s Ilya—comes out of the kitchen and puts down the bread baskets. Mia watches her, confused. Meg frowns, glancing at Mateo, but he doesn’t even look up.

  “Um… who’s that?” Meg finally asks.

  “Who?” Mateo asks, straightening a crooked fork at his place setting.

  “The beautiful redhead with the piercing blue eyes?” she asks, smiling cheerfully.

  Mateo smirks at her description, still not looking up. “New maid.”

  “Oh, good,” she says, nodding and reaching for her empty wine glass. Then she sighs, and grabs the water instead.

  He reaches across the table for her hand, giving it a reassuring thumb-rub.

  “No, it’s good,” Meg says, picking up steam. “We need to hook her up with Joey.”

  I glance at Vince—the darkening of his features comes as no surprise, but the way Mia goes pale does. She stares at the table, then steals a glance at Mateo. He’s still paying attention to Meg, so he doesn’t see it.

  Vince looks over at Mia and she must notice out of her peripherals because she returns his look… but there’s ice in her eyes when they meet his.

  Vince looks away.

  So does Mia.

  I glance around the table, but no one else seems to have noticed.

  Mateo releases Meg’s hand and glances at Joey’s empty seat at the table. He looks across at me, but thankfully the new maid comes back out and saves anyone from having to respond.

  Meg’s friendlier to the new maid this time, smiling and thanking her with that look she used to give Mia, like she has a new friend in her sights. I wonder if Meg actually likes any of these girls, or she’s just cunning enough to know she needs to keep the pretty ones close so they won’t want to tempt Mateo.

  Although, considering Mia is sitting at the dinner table on a week night when they only have to come on Sundays, I’m not sure how foolproof that plan is. I felt confident he’d let Mia go when he let her go live with Vince, when she didn’t come around as much, but something’s shifted. Meg changed something between Mia and Mateo, something she didn’t mean to change, and I don’t know how that’s going to ultimately pan out.

  I resist the urge to get lost in that whole mess for the moment, bringing my attention back to the table, to Elise seated beside me.

  “How was your day?” I ask her.

  She smiles, but casts the maid a less fond look than Meg. “It was good. I helped Maria out a little.”

  “You shouldn’t have to now; Maria has help again,” I tell her.

  She rolls her eyes, like I’m a real dolt. “Yeah, I know. Thanks,” she says, dryly.

  I shake my head, but can’t help smiling a little. “Only you would be annoyed that you don’t get to be a maid anymore.”

  “She’s too nervous,” Elise states, grabbing a piece of bread. “She’s not gonna last.”

  “She’s had a long day,” I tell her. “I’m not even sure she will stay, but… I needed to put her somewhere until we figure it out.”

  Dinner is long tonight—I’m not sure why. Everyone at the table seems a little off, all for our own individual reasons. Vince wants to leave as soon as it’s over, but Mateo invites us to the study for the drinks we didn’t have beforehand.

  I’m just about to tell Elise she can go with the girls, but Mateo adds, “The girls can come, too. I have something to share with everyone, anyway.”

  Mia and Meg exchange questioning glances and we all head for Mateo’s study.

  Usually Mia sits on Vince’s lap when she’s in the study, but tonight she sticks close to Meg. Initially Meg heads toward Mateo, but when she sees Mia’s her shadow, she goes over and sits on the sofa by the wall. Mia sits beside her, and Vince sits in an arm chair facing her, sulking.

  He couldn’t have possibly told her, right? That would be insane. Even he pointed out that she didn’t know because she would’ve told Mateo, so what purpose could it possibly serve to clue her in after I’ve already bailed his ass out?

  The possibility of that makes me decidedly uncomfortable. If Mia tells Mateo, and Mateo finds out I knew, I’m going to be in deep shit.

  Maybe I should talk to Vince.

  Of course I can’t in this damn house, because Mateo can watch the footage later.

  I probably should’ve killed Vince. I have too much invested and too much on the line to leave a loose cannon rolling around, and I’m not completely convinced Mateo isn’t going to snap Mia back up anyway. I wish he’d have just told me that when I asked him before I met Vince and Joey at the warehouse.

  Too late now, I suppose. I’ve already assured Mateo that Vince wasn’t in on it, so I can’t exactly change the story now.

  Now that I have Elise and I’m making a commitment to Mateo—aligning my life with his for the duration—I really need to stop taking these kinds of risks. I need this op to go well tomorrow; I need to get Castellanos out of the way and work on settling things back down again. There are too many loose ends, too many wild cards, too many variables. We used to operate with more security—Mateo’s ship has never had these kinds of holes before, and that was what made us strong.

  Until fucking Mia.

  It would be almost hilarious if that one damn girl was the downfall of the great Mateo Morelli.

  Well, he’d still be his own downfall, I guess, she’d just be the catalyst.

  Hopefully the storm is winding down. I’ve told Vince what he needed to hear, and he’s faced consequences. Maybe he’ll settle down, and I can repurpose him.

  Maybe he should marry Mia.

  I don’t know if that would solve my problems or make them all worse later, but I like the idea. Maybe then he’d accept that she’s really his—hell, maybe she would—and I could put him to use, instead of always having to keep one wary eye on the damn kid.

  Something’s gotta give. I made the call to spare him and now I need to figure out a way to iron out the subsequent wrinkles, because this constant state of overbearing stress isn’t something I want in my daily routine. Not to mention I don’t want Mateo’s empire to fall (most days), and strife from within is a sure way to open us up that that danger.

  Not that Mia seems like she’s in the mood to marry him tonight. She won’t even sit with him. I’ll run the idea by Mateo, see what he thinks. She’ll probably marry Vince if Mateo tells her to.

  Mateo perches at the edge of his desk, like he usually does, but his carriage is less casually commanding tonight, more imperial. His expression holds none of his usual lightness, and his arms are crossed in a foreboding manner as he surveys his subjects. We aren’t friends right now, we aren’t family—we’re his subjects, and it’s a deliberate deportment.

  “I don’t like to bring unpleasantness to the dinner table,” Mateo begins. “In fact, regardless of what many of you think,” he says as his gaze swings to Vince, lingering there before moving over the rest of us, “I don’t enjoy having to be the bad guy at all. The problem is, when I’m a nice guy, when I ease up, when I try to enjoy peace for a while, people start fucking up.” He spreads his hands in a sort of “what are you gonna do?” gesture. “You may have noticed Joey missing from dinner tonight.” His gaze moves to Vince again, and I dart a glance his way, just to see what Mateo’s seeing.

  Vince’s expression is closed off, pokerfaced.

  “Joey’s gone,” Mateo states, impassively, as if the death of his own brother means nothing to him. “Joey betrayed me,” he adds, his gaze moving over the ladies—Mia and Meg. His gaze sweeps back toward Vince, but he lands on Alec to be fair. “Now, unfortunately, there are a number of people in this room who have been less than loyal to me at one point or another, but unlike Joey, you’re still here.” He pauses just long enough, before concluding firmly, “That ends now. I want the most loyal group, not the largest. I won’t punish anyone for past wrongs, you know that’s not my style, but from here on out, if you think to betray me, you better damn well succeed. If you don’t, you are don
e. I’m giving no more warnings, no more pardons, no more staying the executioner. No more mercy. I don’t care if it hurts me as much as it hurts you. Everyone in this room knows what I expect. You betray me, you’re gone—just like Joey. This applies to every. Last. One. Of. You.” To emphasize his point, he meets each of our gazes as he makes that announcement. “I have varying levels of affection for each one of you,” he states. “That doesn’t matter. I’ve had to kill people I loved before. I’m sure I will again. Hopefully it won’t be any of you,” he adds, his lips finally curving up, but not with any legitimate humor. “It’s in your hands now.”

  I glance to Mia, and see Meg has taken her hand. Mia is watching Mateo, her expression pensive.

  Elise, Alec, and Mia are the only people in the room who haven’t betrayed Mateo. Meg, Vince and I should all be dead.

  The mood in the room is understandably solemn. No one speaks, though I’m sweating at the possibility that Vince did tell Mia, because if he did, and she’s on the fence about telling Mateo, this little speech might make the difference.

  Clasping his hands together to signal the end of his speech, he adds, “If anyone has anything to get off their chest, do it tonight. Tomorrow is too late.”

  I glance at Mia, expecting her to have the most volatile response to that, but she keeps her gaze on Mateo—and she manages to keep it calm.

  Huh. Maybe she doesn’t know. She’s usually more transparent than that.

  Or maybe she does, and she’s going to tell him.

  Now that Mateo’s done reminding us all of our places, it’s time for drinks. Elise automatically heads to the liquor cart, and I follow to help. Mateo gets his first, naturally, but when she pours a second, I take it over and offer it to Vince.

  Vince’s stormy brown eyes meet mine, giving birth to dread inside me. I need him to get his shit together. I need him to let it go.

  “I’m good,” he says coldly.

  “Never known you to turn down a drink before,” I remark evenly.

  He holds my gaze, cool anger in his eyes, but he doesn’t touch the glass.

  Suddenly it’s plucked out of my hands and I glance up to see Mia, forcing a smile and taking a seat on the edge of Vince’s chair. “Don’t mind him, he’s a grump today.”

  Vince’s features register surprise as she hands him the glass, and of course he takes it from her.

  “We doing this now?” Vince asks placidly, looking up at her.

  She tries to smile at him, but I see her eyes narrow with aggravation. I realize she doesn’t want to sit with him, doesn’t want to pretend everything’s okay between them, but she is anyway.

  So she’s not going to tell Mateo.

  Vince realizes the same thing, and an unpleasant, Ben-like smile graces his lips and nearly makes me cringe. Then he moves his arm around Mia and tugs her onto his lap.

  Her jaw locks, but she keeps an aggressively mild smile on her lips and doesn’t say a word.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I take Elise to bed after drinks.

  I’m not ready for sleep and I still need to talk to Mateo tonight, but when Elise gets handsy, I can’t really turn that down.

  She falls asleep in my old bed afterward, and I lie there for a few minutes watching her, thinking about what a lucky bastard I am. Thinking about all the nights I spent alone in this bed, wondering if she’d even want me.

  I haven’t had a ton of lucky breaks in life, but I’m glad I got this one.

  When I head back to Mateo’s study, it’s just in time to see Mia leaving. She’s not in her dress from earlier, but in… pajamas? She doesn’t see me as she heads to the kitchen.

  Frowning, I step inside. His head pops up and I can tell initially he thought Mia was coming back in, because his expression dims when he sees it’s only me.

  “Mia spending the night?”

  Mateo nods, abandoning his desk for the pair of chairs we usually sit in when it’s just us and he doesn’t have to command the room. “First night back in the old room, huh? How’s that?”

  “Better company this time,” I say lightly. I’m still on Mia sleeping here, though. “Does Meg know she’s here?”

  Mateo nods, not even looking aggravated as he finishes his drink. “It’s Meg she’s spending the night with.”

  “In your bed?” I question, remembering all too clearly the last time I saw Mia in his bed.

  Mateo smirks. “I promise to keep my hands to myself, Mom.”

  “I have a feeling Vince wouldn’t appreciate this.”

  “I have the same feeling,” he agrees, meeting my gaze. I don’t like the probing look he gives me, but if he’s wondering about Vince’s involvement with Joey again, he doesn’t say anything this time.

  “Listen, there’s some stuff around this whole Joey thing that… I’d rather not tell you. What I’d like is for you to just give me the reins on this one, let me handle it, and don’t ask for all the details.”

  He doesn’t immediately say no, but he is understandably hesitant. “Why?”

  “Because it wouldn’t benefit you and I’m taking care of it, so it doesn’t matter. At worst, some of it might be hurtful. At best, it’s just damned annoying. I want to use my own discretion, handle it as I see fit, and it’ll all be over and we can move on with our lives.”

  “Who is it you think would hurt me?” he asks, because he’s Mateo, and he has to know.

  I sigh, wishing for some alcohol myself. I don’t feel like getting it though. “Your father.”

  Judging by his expression, he didn’t expect me to say that. “Oh. No one else?”

  I shake my head.

  I don’t know if he thought I meant the girls or Vince, but he seems relieved to know I only meant Matt. “Sure. Deal with him as you see fit.”

  “I already did. I just meant… the information surrounding it.”

  “You already…?”

  “Matt’s dead,” I say without preamble.

  Mateo’s eyebrows rise in mild surprise, but then he nods. There’s no emotion on his face, no sadness, no grief. “I suppose that explains why you reassigned the redhead.”

  “Please don’t fuck her,” I request.

  He laughs a little, looking down at the glass in his hands. “I’m not going to fuck the redhead. Why does everyone think I’m going to cheat on Meg? I never cheated on Beth, and that bitch ripped my heart out.”

  “Because of the way you look at Mia, probably,” I say, since it’s the truth.

  “Mm,” he murmurs, nodding, his smile falling. “I do like Mia.”

  I shift in my seat, not expecting him to admit that. “And Meg?”

  “I love Meg,” he replies, glancing from the glass to me. “But I trust Mia more than I trust Meg. It’s not even close.”

  “Well… Mia’s been loyal to you. That makes sense. I would remind you Meg took a bullet for you though, so…”

  “No, I know. I don’t mean I distrust Meg, it’s just… I don’t have to hide anything from Mia. If Meg knew everything…” He trails off, shaking his head, his gaze drifting back to his glass. “I don’t know. Mia has surprised me. I never expected Mia to be what she is. She seems so breakable—so soft and malleable and kind, but there’s something powerful in her. Not aggressive power, but power in her gentleness, in what she can withstand. That girl would stand in the center of hurricane and throw affection at it to try to tame it.”

  “I think her love definitely tends toward the unconditional,” I agree.

  “Yeah. Meg has a few conditions.”

  “Mia is very loving,” I acknowledge. “But so is Meg, where you’re concerned. With only one exception I know of, she accepts everything about you. And Mia already covered your ass on that base, so I don’t think you have to worry about it.”

  “I’m not trying to compare them,” he says. “They’re not competing. I care about them both. I just… I don’t know.” He sighs, glancing back up at me. “Anyway, you didn’t come here to talk about them.”
r />   “We can, if you want to,” I offer. It’s not like we haven’t had messier discussions in our time.

  But he shakes his head. “I’m good.” Glancing down at his glass with a faint smirk, he adds, “I am a little eager to go to bed now, so if we could hurry this along.”

  “Well, before we completely switch topics, I had an idea to run by you. Might clear up a few problems for all of us.”

  “What’s that?” he asks.

  I wasn’t sure he’d go for this when I walked the long stretch of house to this study, but I have even less confidence in it now. I’m hoping he does. I’m hoping he wants to behave, that he’ll welcome a way to simplify his messy feelings. He has Meg, so what reason could he actually have to say no?

  But that doesn’t mean he won’t. Mateo is usually rational, but not always where women are concerned.

  “Hear me out,” I begin.

  Now he’s amused. “Oh, that’s a great start.”

  “What if Vince and Mia got married?”

  For a moment, he stares at me. I can’t read him—he really only looks like he’s processing my suggestion, then he says, “No.”

  “Why?”

  Mateo shrugs, playing off the importance of the matter. “I don’t believe Mia wants to marry Vince. I’m not going to make her.”

  “It would force a commitment,” I point out. “I think Mia would fare better if—”

  Cutting me off, Mateo says, “The answer is no. Next order of business.”

  Well, that went about as well as I expected. Hopefully this next thing goes better.

  I’ve gone back and forth with whether or not to tell him about Matt, but I haven’t made up my mind. On a whim, because I just don’t want to open myself up to any bullshit down the road, I make my decision. Sighing, I lean forward and meet Mateo’s gaze. “Before he died, Matt told me I was his son.”