Her eyebrows rise in astonishment. “You and Mateo, outplayed? By who, The Riddler?”
I can’t bite back a grin. “Solid Batman reference.”
Smiling, she says, “You told me you liked him a long time ago. I may have studied up on the subject.”
“Such a good student,” I say lightly.
“How are you being outplayed?” she asks.
I shake my head. “It just seems like they’re tapping into every single one of Mateo’s weaknesses. The first couple of times could’ve been incidental, but it’s starting to feel strategic.”
“Is he the one who wants to kill Mateo, or the one who wanted to keep peace?”
“He was the one who wanted peace. Probably not anymore.”
Elise pats my hand, nestling into my side. “Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it all out.”
“Your unwavering faith in us is appreciated,” I tell her, lightly.
“Just trust your instincts,” she advises. “If they’ve got Mateo off his game, and he’s throwing you off yours… just stop. Regroup. Do your thing your way, because you’re good at it. He knows you’re good at it, so just cut him out if you need to.”
The shit of it is, I would do that, if not for this shit Matt kicked up. “It’s complicated right now. Mateo is having a bout of suspicion. If I do that, he could take it the wrong way.” I roll my eyes, thinking we really couldn’t be in less ideal circumstances than these.
Elise sits up, turning her attention back to me and scowling. “He’s doubting you?”
I haven’t told her about what Matt said to me yet. I guess I haven’t really wanted to, for a lot of reasons. I know Mateo’s cameras are around. I also don’t know how Elise would react to that prospect—part of me thinks she would like if it turned out I had Morelli blood.
I don’t want to keep secrets between us either, though. Especially secrets that could potentially become an issue, like this one.
“Mateo’s dad… you know he’s a shit-starter,” I say, to review.
“I know he’s a demon who should die and burn in hell for the rest of eternity,” she responds with a nod.
“Okay. Well… yeah. And also a shit-starter. He said something to me before he died, and—”
“Wait, he died?” she asks, lighting up. Then she smacks me on the arm, eyes wide. “Why wouldn’t you tell me that? That makes me so happy.”
I blink at her, despite smiling a little. “That’s slightly disturbing.”
Elise rolls her eyes in disgust. “He hurt you. He deserved to die.”
“Well, yeah. Turns out he might also—No, that’s wrong…” I sigh, closing my eyes for a minute, trying to clear my head. “He told me I was his son. But it’s not true. I’m sure it’s not true. But he said it, and I told Mateo, because I didn’t want there to be issues, but that created an issue, so maybe I shouldn’t have.”
She frowns, looking a bit surprised. “Matt Morelli said he was your dad?”
“It’s not true. But yeah.”
“How do you know it isn’t true?” she asks.
I hesitate. “Well, I mean, I don’t know it’s untrue. But I assume it is. And even if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter to me. But it matters to Mateo.”
“Why?” she asks, still frowning. “Mateo loves you. Wouldn’t he like if you were brothers?”
There was a time both of us probably would’ve liked that—before we would’ve understood the ramifications. “I’m older than he is.”
At first, she doesn’t get it. Why would that matter? Then it hits her, and I watch her face transform with understanding, my stomach twisting anxiously in response. It’s hitting her that this could all be mine… and that would also make all of it hers.
“The eldest son heads the Morelli family,” she finally says.
“Yep.”
“Oh.” Something like fear flits across her face then, and she glances over at me. “But he wouldn’t hurt you…”
“I wouldn’t want it, even if it turned out that scumbag was my father, but… you know Mateo.” As soon as it’s out, I remember who I’m talking to and I roll my eyes. “No, you don’t. Never mind. Anyway, because he’s an ambitious asshole, he’s having a hard time accepting that I’m not. So this isn’t the best time to start making my own calls without permission.”
“That’s annoying,” she says, a bit off-handedly. I can tell she’s still processing this new information, and I’m wishing I would’ve taken her to a bathroom to have this conversation. The last thing I need is her saying the wrong thing. Even if Mateo could accept that I’m not ambitious enough to try to take his seat at the table, if Elise said anything even remotely encouraging, he would double down. I gave up five years of my life for this girl after knowing her for a week; it’s not a stretch to imagine I might try to take down someone I openly dislike (most of the time) if I thought it would make her happy to reign over his kingdom.