Page 52 of Angelo

She blinked rapidly in distress. "Are you fucking serious?"

Then, as though the Devil had timed it Himself, the wooden doors guarding the arched entrance to the church burst into flames.

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In seconds, both doorswere consumed by an impenetrable, red-hot blaze. The roaring fire was soon followed by the screams of those trapped inside. With a pale, shaken face, Elyse watched the horror unfold. Every breath felt like it might be her last.

She winced as Tara Trevisano shrieked,"Non voglio morire con il cadavere di Vincenzo!" I do not want to die with Vincenzo's corpse!

Gaspare De León sniveled in despair,"Saremo bruciati vivi!" We will be burned alive!

Next to her, Elyse heard Valentina mutter,"Puttane inutili." Useless bitches.

The blonde seemed unruffled. Calmer than she should be. Suspicions arose in Elyse. Did her stepsister-in-law have a hand in starting this fire? But, then, why would Valentina lock herself inside with her victims?

Elyse heard muffled voices outside. Alessandro’s men seemed to be shouting at someone, and they didn’t sound happy at all. What the hell was going on?No matter. She needed to focus on getting out of here alive first.

Elyse set her jaw. There was no time to contemplate these anomalies in depth. She was forced to shift her attention once more. Several men were trying to ram their shoulders into the side door. It strained against the force of their onslaught. Each time on impact, the door budged enough to reveal a cracked sliver of freedom, but they couldn’t seem to break through the barrier.

The Svizzi's bodyguard, Franco, cried out,"La porta non è chiusa a chiave! Qualcosa la blocca dall'altro lato!” The door is not locked! Something is blocking it from the other side!

Dismay sank in.Mierda. They needed to find another way out. Elyse's gaze swept around the church. The walls were constructed from stone. Stone didn't burn, of course, which might buy them some time to escape. However, the roofand doors were made of wood, and the entire interior was filled with woven textiles and mahogany and maple furniture. All highly flammable materials. Every second mattered. Every decision from this moment on would either bring them closer to life. Or death.

It didn’t take long for the side door to catch fire, too.

Elyse’s pulse buzzed with adrenaline. Echoes of gunshots could be heard outside of the church. Were they under attack? Her mind became a wreck. There was too much happening all at once for her to process. More yelling ensued. Was that a woman's voice? It was so familiar. Elyse frowned as she tried to pinpoint it. Definitely not Mariposa. It wasn’t Carmen, either. The name was on the tip of her tongue, but it kept dancing beyond her reach. Fuck! Who the hell was—

Elyse caught herself spiraling. Right away, she willed herself to focus, reminding herself that nothing could be done about what theoutsideright now. She needed to escape theinsidefirst.

Her eyes landed on the row of stained glass windows along the far wall. They stood about eight feet above ground level, too tall to scale without a ladder, but the opening was big enough for a man to fit through. These windows looked like their best chance of getting out alive.

Offering a silent apology to God for the sacrilege she was about to commit, Elyse grabbed a heavy bronze chalice and crucifix from a nearby table, scrambled over to the wall of windows, and chucked both of the hefty projectiles, one after another, with all her might at the closest target.

Elyse's aim was spot on, and the stained glass shattered to pieces. The opening revealed a patch of blue. She felt like crying. Never had the sky looked so beautiful. Escape was possible. Jagged shards lined the window frame, their hands, arms, and legs were going to get shredded, but, at least, there was a way out. Death no longer felt imminent.

Elyse turned to Alessandro while gesturing at the broken window. "Help me stack some furniture beneath that opening so we can climb out!"

Her husband immediately jumped on board with her plan. He shouted orders in Italian. Like the king and queen of the underworld, Elyse and Alessandro took full command of the room, and their subjects quickly fell in line. With Aberto, Domenico, and Carlo dead and gone, the bad blood between the De Leóns and Berlusconis disappeared as they worked side by side for mutual survival.

The men hauled over two of the pews to serve as the base. Elyse and Valentina stacked the sturdiest table they could find on top of it.

"Grab those curtains and tapestries for me," Elyse ordered Antonia Svizzi.

Elyse intended to drape the textiles over the serrated window ledge and use them as a protective buffer between their flesh and the leftover glass. Antonia complied right away, nearly tripping over her stilettos to bring Elyse the materials she had requested.

Once everything was set up, Elyse and Alessandro helped Benedetto and the other women climb out first. Samuele Trevisano, Paolo Svizzi, and Gaspare De León jumped out next. Several of their bodyguards leaped out the window. Alessandro tried to force Elyse to go with them. Their work wasn't done, though.

"Don’t forget the priest," she reminded him.

"You go first," Alessandro replied, "my men and I will retrieve him."

"I'm not going anywhere without you," she growled.

She spoke calmly, but her sanity was seconds away from shattering to pieces. The deaths of five men weighed on her conscience. Elyse wanted to believe there could be honor in the gray. Perhaps, this was why she was risking her neck to save everyone. She might very well die because of it. Would such a sacrifice be enough to redeem her soul?

Alessandro barked, "Do not be stubborn."

His words fell deaf on her ears. She insisted, "Let me help!”

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