Page 50 of Angelo

Hard, clear lines had been drawn in the sand.

The poor priest swooned and fainted at this point, toppling to the ground with a limpthud.

Elyse's heart hammered away. Everything was hurtling south so fast. She’d no idea that Gaspare would get trigger-happy right off the bat. They’d been planning to slip away through the side exits, one by one, after the prayers wrapped. Now it was too late to make their escape.

Gripping his weapon in hand, Alessandro growled at Elyse, "Get on the floor."

Fumes continued to waft down from the vents. Whether or not there was a fire, they needed to get out as soon as possible. Elyse dropped down to the ground and hissed a warning at Alessandro, "Look up!"

Her husband cursed under his breath as he spotted the smoke, "Fuck."

Crouching between the pews, terror shot through Elyse's veins like a deadly, winding omen. There were only two fucking exits in the church. Her eyes kept straying toward the side door located a few feet away. She searched for the pair of heavy wooden doors at the main entryway as well. There were no signs of flames, not yet, anyway, but the bizarre, unexplained smoke continued to float overhead in cloudy swirls.

A church of this size could be engulfed in a fiery blaze within minutes. Time wasn't on their side. They needed to evacuate the premises—now, now, now—but Elyse knew better than to make sudden movements in front of the armedmafiosibefore her. Which would be worse? Death by fire or death by gunfire? Panic crawled up her throat. She tried not to scream.

Willing herself to stay calm, Elyse listened with bated breath as Alessandro addressed the room full of criminals, calmly and confidently even while the reaper seemed to be closing in on them,"Mio padre è morto. Ronaldo è morto. Questa è una tragedia sufficiente per oggi. Mettiamo da parte le nostre lamentele per un altro giorno." My father is dead. Ronaldo is dead. That is enough tragedy for today. Let us set aside our grievances for another day.

Domenico sneered and spat,"Gaspare ha ucciso il mio uomo. Non puoi aspettarti che lo lasci andare." Gaspare has killed my man. You cannot expect me to let this go.

"Il tuo uomo ha ucciso il suo uomo per primo,"Alessandro reminded him,"Una morte per una morte. Voi due siete pari." Your man killed his man first. A death for a death. You two are even.

Elyse could tell that her husband was trying to walk the line betweencapoand peacekeeper. If bullets began to fly, their men could probably take on the Berlusconis, Morettis, and Trevisanos. They already outnumbered them within the church, and Alessandro and Benedetto had placed dozens more around the perimeter for backup, but there would be no guarantee for them to emerge from such a battle unscathed. Anyone could get shot in the crossfire. The veneer of their plans had gone awry, Elyse noted, but the bones were still salvageable.

At this very moment, tensions were being stretched tight and thin. One miscalculated move followed by one wrong look could set an irreversible catastrophe in motion. No one seemed interested in lowering their guns. But time was running out. The smoke above was looking more menacing by the second.

Elyse gazed up at the statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooked the altar and Vincenzo's casket. She prayed that no one would let loose a bullet before her husband could get this shitshow under control.

Domenico challenged Alessandro,"Bafangu, chooch! Vincenzo è morto. Non puoi dirmi cosa fare." Fuck yourself, jackass! Vincenzo is dead. You can't tell me what to do.

Alessandro smirked and kept his Beretta fixed on Domenico."Non mi riconosci come il tuo capo?" You do not recognize me as your capo?

"No,"Domenico growled.

"Quindi,"Alessandro drawled,"pensi di essere al di sopra di me. Pensi anche di meritare più rispetto di Carlo Moretti e Samuele Trevisano?" So, you think you are above me. Do you also think that you are more deserving of respect than Carlo Moretti and Samuele Trevisano?

"Merito di essere il capo. Non tu," spat Domenico. I deserve to be capo. Not you.

Elyse watched Carlo and Samuele's faces darken with displeasure. She sensed that her husband was purposely provoking an argument between Domenico and his two allies. Scowling deeply, Carlo and Samuele began to talk quietly amongst themselves.

Was Alessandro's strategy working?

Her husbandcontinued to sow discord between the three men,"Mi conosci da tutta la vita, Domenico. Sai che sono un amante, non un combattente. Anch'io vorrei non dover fare il capo." You have known me my whole life, Domenico. You know I am a lover, not a fighter. I wish I did not have to be capo, either.

Domenico scoffed,"Tutto quello che so è che sei una vergogna per il nome di Vitale." All I know is that you are a disgrace to the Vitale name.

Elyse noticed a sly gleam in her husband's brown and blue-gray eyes as he returned,"Forse hai ragione. Io non assomiglio per niente a mio padre, ma tu sei diverso. A differenza di me, vedo che assomigli molto a tuo padre. Tuo padre, Diego Berlusconi, in passato si è approfittato del padre di Carlo. Ti lodo per aver portato avanti la sua eredità con quello che stai facendo a Carlo." Perhaps, you are right. I am nothing like my father, but you are different. Unlike me, I see you are much like your father. In the past, your father, Diego Berlusconi, took advantage of Carlo's father. I commend you for carrying on his legacy with what you are doing to Carlo.

Carlo snarled,"Di cosa sta parlando, Domenico?" What is he talking about, Domenico?

Domenico's gaze shifted to the side, muttering,"Niente." Nothing.

Alessandro supplied,"Diego ha ingannato la tua famiglia per milioni di dollari e Domenico continua a derubarti." Diego cheated your family out of millions of dollars, and Domenico continues to steal from you.

Right away, Elyse recognized where her husband had retrieved this sensitive information. The old records on Renata's memory card were proving to be useful, after all.

Carlo looked livid."Che cazzo?" What the fuck?

"Guarda i conti di Romano, Carlo,"Alessandro advised,"prima di fare di Domenico il tuo re." Look into the Romano accounts, Carlo, before you make Domenico your king.

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