Page 53 of Angelo

"No,cuore mio," he argued, anger and fear sparking in his eyes, "it is too dangerous!You must go now."

“I’m not going anywhere,” Elyse growled, "We stay together no matter what."

Alessandro grumbled and grimaced, but he didn't force her to leave his side.

Together, they dragged the priest's body to the window. Flames at both entrances were spreading into the church. The fire was licking at their heels. Smoke blackened and thickened the air. Elyse coughed and choked on her breaths, but she persisted with their task.

With Alessandro's help, their bodyguard hoisted the priest over his shoulder and dropped him over the window's edge. Samuele and Paolo caught the priest from the other side. The bodyguard exited through the window.

Alessandro and Elyse were the last ones out.

Two of Alessandro's men had been standing in place, catching everyone who jumped from the ledge. It was an eight-foot drop. Even with their assistance,Benedetto still suffered a broken arm and ankle during the drop, Elyse sprained her wrist, Tara cut up her hands on some broken glass, and others experienced injuries as well, but no one else died. They all made it out alive.

As Elyse's senses slowly recovered from her state of shock and panic, the church burned brighter than ever. The roof was completely engulfed in flames. Billows of blackened smoke filled the skies. The sight was humbling and magnificent and terrifying all at once. Men had died. She’d almost died as well.

Green eyes danced around as she took in the damage. More dead bodies lay on the ground. It looked as though Alessandro's men had their hands full out here. Unquestionably, an exchange of gunfire had taken place. Who’d attacked them?

Her mind took another dreadful turn. They were too far away from the neighboring villages for gunshots to be heard. However, the smoke could likely be seen from miles all around. What if a local had alerted authorities about the fire? How would they explain the carnage once the police and fire brigade showed up?

With a dazed expression, Elyse's gaze continued to drift around the premises. One car was blocking the main entrance to the church. It was on fire. Another car was barricading the side door. It was also on fire.

She glanced away. To Elyse's surprise, she saw one of her grandfather's men holding a woman captive in his arms. The barrel of his gun was digging into her temple. Elyse's face grew pale as she recognized the redhead.

Cara Berlusconi.

A range of scenarios ran through Elyse's head. Had Cara crashed the funeral on her own accord? Or had she been sent by Domenico to ambush them?

She felt a stab of suspicion against Benedetto and his men. Her grandfather's man, Leo, was detaining Cara as one would expect from an ally, but Elyse also couldn't help noticing that one of the dead bodies on the ground was their man, Aldo. Elyse had met him on the first day she arrived at the palazzo. Aldo had yet to turn thirty. Too young to die. His death felt so fucking wrong. Had Aldo been shot by a friend or foe? Could her grandfather and his men be trusted?

"What happened out here," she addressed Leo, "when we were inside?"

Elyse intended to compare his answers with their men’s responses later. If a discrepancy was found, she’d know that someone was lying.

Without removing the barrel of his gun from Cara's head, Leo responded curtly, "This coked-out bitch led a dozen of her brother's men to ambush us."

His insult made Cara smirk like the Cheshire cat. The older woman said nothing to confirm or deny Leo's claim. Her pupils were large, round, and so very, very black. The woman looked high as a kite.

Benedetto said something to Alessandro. Her husband and her grandfather seemed to be conspiring over something important. Elyse couldn't hear them. A minute later, Alessandro called over one of their other men, Rocco. Her husband's features tightened with a scowl as Rocco muttered something into his ear. As Alessandro and Rocco conversed quietly to themselves, Leo proceeded to give Elyse a rundown of everything that’d taken place outside the church, "They came armed and ready to kill..."

According to her grandfather's burliest bodyguard, shortly after Vincenzo's service kicked off, Cara and her entourage arrived in two separate cars. They blocked off the entrances right away with their vehicles and set the two doors and the two cars on fire while engaging everyone in a fatal shootout.

"All of Berlusconi's men died alongside Aldo."

Such sad, senseless deaths. Her gaze swept over the corpses once more before pressing him, "Anything else I should know?"

"I have told you everything I remember and everything I saw,Signora Vitale."

Leo's story covered everything except for one detail. Who’d set fire to the roof before Cara arrived? Elyse's list of suspects felt too long at this point. Benedetto, Valentina, and Gaspare were definite contenders. For all she knew, however, the guilty party might be dead by now. Aberto, Domenico, or Carlo could've done it as well.

Elyse fretted over the identity of the culprit. She might never find the asshole. Dead bodies couldn't speak, and the living loved to lie.

From the corner of her eye, Elyse noticed that her grandfather had picked up his phone to make a call. It was hard to concentrate. Her attention was being yanked in three different directions. She struggled to focus on her conversation with Leo. She wanted to know what Alessandro and Rocco were discussing. She also wished to know who the hell was on the phone with her grandfather.

When Benedetto finally ended his call, Elyse demanded, "Who were you talking to?"

The old fox pretended not to understand her. Without missing a beat, Alessandro stepped in to translate for them, keen to keep up their charade.

Her grandfather smiled and replied,"Stavo parlando con la polizia." I was talking to the police.

---