Last Words (Morelli Family 7)

He watches me for several seconds without saying anything. “You know what happened to the woman who betrayed Matt in a similar fashion?”

My eyebrows rise. “Similar to my betrayal? I didn’t know such a woman existed.”

Rafe nods. “Adrian’s mom. She helped Belle escape Matt’s clutches. Her motivations were obviously much kinder than yours. She was trying to save her friend, not get her kidnapped. Regardless, her actions were interpreted the same way—as treachery against the king. Do you know how he reacted?”

My interest in this story sinks, along with my stomach.

That seems to be about the response he expected. He nods faintly. “Killed her and her husband. Set her son on fire. You know the rest of the story, I assume.”

I wasn’t exactly hungry to begin with, but now my appetite is completely gone. I start wrapping up the rest of my cookie for later when I’ll be able to enjoy it.

Rafe stands, straightening his suit. He takes a few steps closer and stops outside my cell, looking in at me. “I don’t approve of what you did, for the record.”

“I can’t begin to express how shocked I am,” I murmur.

“I’m not sure you can be trusted, and I don’t work with people I can’t trust. But this isn’t my call, so….” He seems resigned, despite his words. I frown. He’s completely lost me. Now he’s holding his hand out expectantly.

“What…? You want the rest of the cookie?”

“No, I want the phone. It needs to be charged.”

My heart stops beating in my chest. My jaw falls open. I can’t move. For once, I can’t even speak.

“Now,” he adds, since I’m not reacting quickly enough.

I finally close my eyes, my mind racing, trying to decide in a split second how to respond to this curveball. “What phone?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Meg; I don’t have the patience for it. The phone Colette gave you. Give it to me so I can charge it. Or I can just tell Dante you’re not interested,” he offers, shrugging. “Your call.”

My heart kicks back to life and pounds a furious beat in my chest. I understand whatever this is, it’s life or death. If Mateo noticed Colette disappear with me inside the bathroom and sent Rafe on a fishing expedition, giving him my only lifeline is suicide. It’s admission to further collusion, further disloyalty—it won’t matter to Mateo that it’s my only option. That’s the point. He’s the decider. He’s the judge and jury—and even if it means my death, I’m expected to respect his authority and accept the sentence he hands down. I had it right when I called him King Henry, I just didn’t think I was Anne Boleyn. That was supposed to be Mia. This didn’t go according to plan at all.

But if this isn’t a test, if Mateo doesn’t know… if Dante and Rafe really are conspiring against him and throwing me a life raft, I need to grab it.

I don’t want to drown.

There’s no time to think it through. Whatever patience is customary of Rafe in my experience with him thus far, it’s gone now. He’s a split second away from dropping his hand and walking away, I can feel it.

So, I do the only thing I can.

Despite the fear in my gut and the dread in my heart, I grab the cell phone Colette gave me out of its hiding space and hand it to Rafe.

His brown eyes meet mine and hold for a moment, but I can’t read them. I wish I could. I need to know if I just grabbed a rope out of here or signed my own death certificate.

He betrays nothing. Not a single hint, not a sliver of real feeling crosses that handsome face. It sets my already ravaged nerves on edge.

Rafe slips the phone into his jacket pocket, still holding my now-shaky gaze.

Finally, he gives me a curt nod and takes a step back.

“Enjoy the rest of your cookie.”

With that, he walks away. My heart pounds and I can hardly breathe. I rub my chest, trying to ease the anxiety out of it. I already regret what I just did. I had hoped for an instant answer. I had hoped I would be able to tell which side he was on by his response, but the goddamn Morelli men and their unshakable fucking poker faces…

I don’t know.

I don’t know what happens now.

Leaning heavily against the cool cinderblock wall at my back, I do the only thing I can do, now—I wait.

Chapter Eight

Mia

Finding people in this house is a whole production.

Rafe, Adrian, and I got home too close to dinnertime, so I didn’t have time to talk to Mateo or take Lily the present I got her beforehand. With Meg locked away in the dungeon, I’ve been trying to spend more time making myself available to Lily, in case she wants to talk. It’s easier to come bearing an excuse to stop by, though, and since she loves books (and reads them quickly) they’re a foolproof present. Then I just casually swing by her room to drop it off, and oh, hey, maybe she feels like talking since I’m here anyway.