Page 297 of Mafia Kings: Valentino

And even if I could, this was a mafia wedding. They were going to check every possible hiding spot for assassins.

You IDIOT!

It would serve me right to get killed in a church I’d desecrated.

I looked around wildly.

Think, Cat, THINK –

And then I saw the answer to my prayers:

A place tosayprayers.

I hustled back to the table full of candles and found a tiny box of matches.

I fumbled it open. My hand was trembling as I struck a match and lit a candle.

I heard the squeak of floorboards far behind me –

Then a man yelled, “Hey you – turn around!Slowly!”

I looked over my shoulder –

And screamed.

A tall man in a black suit and tie stood 50 feet away with a pistol aimed at me.

When I freaked out, he must have realized I wasn’t a danger, because he lowered the gun.

“What are you doing here?!” he yelled at me.

“What amIdoing here?!” I yelled back. “What areyoudoing in here with agun?!”

Of course, I knewexactlywhat he was doing:

Making sure the church was safe for a mafia wedding.

He put his pistol in a holster under his jacket and walked up to me. “You can’t be in here.”

“I’m saying prayers for my mother whodied last week!”I wailed at him. “And you come into a house of God with agun,telling meIcan’t be here?!”

“Keep it down,” he said gruffly.

A much shorter man appeared as a silhouette in the doorway.

He hadhisgun out, too –

Which made me scream again.

“What the fuck?!” the short guy shouted.

“It’s just some woman saying prayers,” the tall man answered.

“Well, get her the fuck out!”

“What are you doing in here with guns – andcursing?!”I yelled.

You hypocrite,I thought.

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