Page 96 of Diavolo

Alessandro shrugged. "I sent her on a vacation."

"To Hawaii or something?"

"Salemi."

"Where's that?"

"A town located on the slopes ofMonte delle Rose Mazzaro.It is near the southwestern part of the island."

Elyse gulped. "Is that why Mrs. Vitale missed our wedding?"

Alessandro sidestepped her question and went on a tangent, "You do not need to address her asSignora Vitaleanymore. My stepmother's name is Carmen. You are the onlySignora Vitaleof consequence now."

This sent an uneasy trickle down Elyse's spine. It seemed she had officially replaced her predecessor. She prayed her fate wouldn't follow in Carmen's footsteps in the months ahead. Elyse had no interest in taking a vacation to Salemi for whatever reason. "How long will Carmen be gone?"

Alessandro scowled. "As it takes to repair our relationship with the Berlusconi clan. Carmen is lucky that Cara did not die at her party."

Her eyebrows snapped together. Sharply, Elyse asserted, "Are you telling me that you put Carmen under house arrest?"

"My stepmother brought it upon herself," Alessandro muttered darkly, "for what she did to Cara."

Elyse dared to ask, "Is her exile considered a normal consequence for those who act out?"

He rolled his eyes. "This is hardly a punishment. My stepmother is being sent away for her safety. I will bring Carmen back when Cara no longer wants her head on a spike."

Elyse took note of this fact. Enemies of her enemies had the potential to become her friends.

"Do not worry, though. My stepmother is comfortable enough. Valentina made a point to see to all of her mother's incessant demands."

Her mood darkened at the mention of Alessandro's blonde, blue-eyed stepsister. Clearly, Valentina exerted enough influence over their clan to openly cater to her mother despite Carmen's grave offense against a close ally. For a split second, Elyse wondered if Valentina possessed enough influence to go head to head with Alessandro. "Should we be worried about Valentina?"

"Not yet," came her husband's unsettling reply, "but Valentina has the potential to do us grave harm. If given the opportunity. She is like a serpent in the grass."

Elyse chewed on her lower lip. "I'm worried about her. She seems intimidating."

Alessandro shot her a pointed look. "What about you? Are you notintimidatingas well?"

"I mean," Elyse grumbled, "I'm no Valentina. I wasn't born into this life. She knows everything about your world and everyone in it. I know nothing."

"But you are a quick study. You will learn our ways soon enough."

"I hope so."

"More importantly, you possess qualities that Valentina lacks."

She asked wryly, "What might those be?"

"Restraint. Discipline. Foresight."

Surprisingly, these traitsdidseem to describe her quite well. It also felt important to note that, while Valentina might have lacked the skillsshepossessed, in turn, Elyse probably lacked the skills that Valentina possessed. They appeared to be perfect foils of each other. Alessandro pressed on, "On the other hand, Valentina is very much my replica in many ways. We are both risk-takers. She tends to be aggressive to a fault."

"So Valentina is basically you in a blonde wig?Great. I don't understand how that's supposed to make me feel better."

Alessandro grinned. "But that is the beauty of it. You excel in what I lack, and I excel in what you lack. You and I form a flawless machine. I will draw blood on the battlefield. As our sword. You will hold down the fortress. As our shield. Neither Valentina nor our enemies have such perfect partners to complement their weaknesses. Together, we will be invincible."

"It seems you've given this a lot of thought."

"I have told you before," Alessandro replied with a smirk, "you fit all the criteria of what I was looking for in a woman. There will never be another who is more desirable... to me... than you."

---