Page 31 of Merciless King

“Was he your boyfriend?” Elysse makes a face. She doesn’t think much of boys right now. I’m not thinking very much of the one sitting with us.

“I was head over heels for your mom,” Elio says. “I brought her here, you know. It’s her favorite.”

“Like I said, that was a long time ago.” I shift, discomfort growing. How can I sit here and watch my daughter fall under the spell of the man who broke my heart? The man whose family sent me away all those years ago?

But even more than that, I'm terrified of what Elio's presence in Elysse's life could mean. He's not just my ex-boyfriend. He's the head of a powerful Mafia family. A family with enemies and secrets and a violent way of doing business.

Is it safe for Elysse to even be around him? What if his enemies find out about her, try to use her as leverage against him? The thought makes my blood run cold.

And even if the danger isn't physical, there's the emotional toll to consider. Elysse has already been through so much with Gabriel's abuse and volatility. The last thing she needs is to get attached to someone else who might disappear from her life without warning.

Because that's what Elio does, isn't it? He makes grand promises, sweeps you off your feet, and then vanishes when things get tough, leaving devastation in his wake.

I can't let that happen to Elysse. I won't. She deserves stability, security, a father figure she can depend on. And much as it pains me to admit it, I know that can’t be Elio.

But as I watch them together, heads bent conspiratorially as Elio entertains her with some wild story about losing a meatball, I feel a flicker of doubt. Is it really fair of me to keep Elysse from her father, to deny her a chance to know the man who helped give her life?

I push the thought away. It's not about fairness. It's about protecting my child. And right now, the best way to do that is to keep Elio at a distance.

“Elysse and I are having a private dinner.” I hope he gets the hint and leaves us.

He flashes me that infuriatingly charming grin. “Let me buy.”

I shake my head. “I can ask the manager to show you the way out.”

He flinches, and I don’t blame him. My words are caustic, but I’m feeling desperate to get my bearings again.

“She wouldn’t dare.” He leans over the table toward me. “I own this place.”

My jaw drops. "You… you own it?"

He nods, looking far too pleased with himself. "Bought it a few years back." There’s something in his tone, in his expression that suggests it was more than a business deal, but I don’t want to examine it too closely.

"Well, then," I say coolly, "as the owner, surely, you have more important things to do than sit with us."

To my utter frustration, Elio just laughs. "Sweetheart, there is nowhere else I’d rather be. Let me buy you and Elysse dinner. I promise I’ll be on my best behavior. Deal?"

Before I can tell him exactly where he can shove his deal, Elysse pipes up from beside him. "Can Mr. Elio stay, Mommy? He's funny!"

I close my eyes briefly, feeling a headache building behind my temples. How can I say no now without disappointing Elysse or making a scene?

Slowly, reluctantly, I nod. "Fine. You can stay. But don't think for a second that this changes anything."

Elio's smile is blinding as he signals the waiter. "Of course.”

We order our meals, and Elio arranges for an expensive wine for us. He makes sure there are three cherries in Elysse’s Shirley Temple.

As our food comes, Elio and Elysse talk and laugh with an easy camaraderie. Watching them together is like a knife twisting in my gut. The way she lights up at his jokes, the easy rapport between them—it's everything I would want for my daughter. Everything all of us should have had… in another life.

But this isn't another life. This is now, the life I’ve built in the aftermath of his betrayal. He made his choice eight years ago. I’ll be damned if I’ll give him the opportunity to abandon and break the heart of my daughter.

14

ELIO

Fate is on my side. That’s the only explanation for Piper being here. Okay, so it is her favorite restaurant, and she didn’t know I now owned it, but still. For her to be here on the one night I decide to come in has to be fate.

I can't take my eyes off Piper, except to talk to her daughter, Elysse. What a charming, precocious child. She reminds me of Piper when I first met her, brilliant and bold. I find myself enchanted by this little girl, wanting to make her laugh, to get to know her hopes and dreams. To make them come true.