Once Burned (Morelli Family 3)

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 done. 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.