Coming Home (Morelli Family 6)

I’ve debated whether or not to say anything about this, but at the end of the day, I think it’s better safe than sorry. I’ve bet on people and lost too many times and the wager on this one is just too high.

My gaze drops to my lap where Mateo’s hand rests on my thigh. I’m afraid to say anything to make this already suspicious man more suspicious, but I’ll never be able to forgive myself if I don’t say anything and it turns out I should have. “While we’re on the subject of security concerns, I have one.”

Mateo appears mildly surprised. It only feeds my anxiety.

“Go on,” he says.

“First I need you to listen and not jump to any conclusions. I’m just being abundantly cautious because… well, sometimes I’m not and it ends up costing me big time, but this is something I don’t want to take a risk on.”

Nodding once in acknowledgement of my terms, Mateo says, “I understand.”

“I think you need to give Meg a loyalty test.”

For someone so closely guarded, his eyebrows rise and his jaw goes slack. He goes to speak, then stops, apparently at a loss for words.

Several seconds of silence pass before I finally explain myself. “She said something to me that was probably completely harmless and just Meg being Meg and talking too much. But she mentioned how she wants to do her own thing now and start making legitimate money removed from you. Then she added—again, probably harmlessly, I’m just getting my Morelli paranoia on—something about how just in case you ever get caught doing your less… legal endeavors, so the kids wouldn’t be penniless while your accounts were all frozen. Now, I don’t think Meg would turn on you, I just think it’s worth checking out. Obviously don’t give her the loyalty test you gave me, but one more suited to this situation. I think a good way would be to either pour some money into her business or make up her coming into money somehow—I’ll leave the details to you, that’s more your thing. Then once she knows she has enough money to stand on her own, send your cop friends who chatted with me to try to get information from her. Just to make sure there are no sour grapes and she’s not secretly plotting your downfall, ‘cause, you know, that would epically piss me off.”

I can feel Adrian’s eyes still on me. I meet Mateo’s gaze straight-on, but neither man speaks.

“And as long as she’s loyal, it shouldn’t matter. If you have a better idea, obviously go with yours. I just want to make sure she hasn’t come up with some revenge plot. I don’t actually know how the break-up went down. I don’t know how her brain works. I don’t want to stir suspicion unjustly; I just want to make sure she wouldn’t try to hurt you.”

I’m not sure what to expect, but a slow smile crosses Mateo’s face. There’s clear approval on his face, but this is the first time I’ve wondered if I was earning that approval for doing something bad.

He doesn’t give me time to wonder. He catches me around the back of the neck and pulls me in for a hard kiss. As his lips work their magic, he seems to suck the anxiety right out of me. By the time he’s done, I’m thoroughly kissed and not a speck of discomfort remains.

“We’ll look into it,” he says simply, his hand lightly caressing my hip. “Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”

While I’m riding the high of surprising them with my vigilance, I lean back, meet his gaze, and tell him, “I’m also not comfortable with you guys snuggling together when you’re ignoring my text messages.”

He frowns lightly—not with disapproval, just confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Before the last doctor’s appointment when things were weird because of the baby. You didn’t come to bed and you weren’t answering your phone. I went looking for you and you and Meg were snuggling. Post sister wives. I’m not sharing anymore, so I don’t think I should have to walk in on stuff like that now.”

“I can’t remember the last time I snuggled with Meg,” he states. “But it surely hasn’t been since you went missing, let alone since we found out you were pregnant. I don’t know what you saw, but you’re mistaken.”

“You were eating ice cream. She called you a Gremlin,” I state. “I’m not sure what that meant—isn’t that a demon or something? Like a… wait, maybe that’s a goblin. I don’t know, it was weird.”

“Oh, my god,” Adrian says, falling back in his wing chair and covering his face. “She doesn’t know what a Gremlin is.”

I frown at Adrian as he grins into his hands and shakes his head, then back at Mateo, who smirks in response.