Page 93 of Angelo

Rising on her tiptoes, she gave him a peck on the nose. “I do.”

“And you will continue to adore me no matter what I confess?”

She kissed him again. “I will.”

Brown and blue-gray eyes sharpened shrewdly. “But would you still want me if I end up pissing you off?”

“I won’t care. Your past doesn’t matter as long as it stays in the past.”

He grinned down at her sheepishly. "Thank God I married such anangelo.”

With a playful gleam in her eyes, Elyse scrunched her nose up at him. “You’re a blessed man, husband. Never forget it.”

Lowering his head, Alessandro laughed under his breath. His mouth captured hers as they proceeded to kiss, over and over again, as though she was a blessing that he could never get enough of.

The music died down a while later, and crowds dispersed from the dance floor. Guests started lining up on either side of the courtyard. Rice was handed out. A smiling Valentina and sulking Gaspare were showered in a confetti of riceas they disappeared into a sleek white limousine and drove off into the night.

Alessandro's eyes followed the limousine until it was completely out of sight. Murmuring, he asked, "Do you think she will deliver on Gaspare?"

After the stunt the blonde had pulled on her in the dressing room, Elyse didn't doubt Valentina's ability to wrap Gaspare around her little finger. She had no choice but to nod. "I think so."

"No turning back now," Alessandro muttered.

"The only way through," Elyse agreed in a whisper, "is forward."

18

Two days after thewedding, husband and wife were in bed together. They conversed while the music box listened. Every word that slipped out was intentional. Substantial enough to be of interest. Vague enough to protect their interests. They were strategizing once again. Her on on her laptop. Him on his phone.

"Who are you texting?" she asked.

"Marcello," he answered. "What about you? What are you working on?"

"Blackmail."

"Almost done?"

"Just about." With dark hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, Elyse was staring at her screen, scrolling and muttering, “Who knew dead men could still be useful?”

Renata’s memory card might be full of outdated data, but the damning evidence she gathered during her lifetime hadn’t been in vain.

Alessandro set down his phone and glanced over, shuffling closer to press a kiss on her bare shoulder. “With enough imagination, anything can become a weapon.Even the dead.”

By diving into the their roles in the supply chain, analyzing offshore accounts, and locating the specific seaports they used for containerized shipments, Elyse and Alessandro essentially found the cheat codes to the operational ins and outs of Vincenzo’s partnership with the Beltrán cartel.

Younger men had since replaced the old guard, but, even now, not much else changed. Business still functioned in a similar way. Such knowledge became a powerful tool. It'd lead her husband, Elyse realized, down the path to retribution.

“If all goes well,” she murmured, “you’ll have the power the dismantle yourfather's empire from the inside out.”

“I cannot wait to burn it to the ground.”

Their eyes met. Green lingered on brown and blue-gray. They hadn't been with each other all day. Ever since their plans kicked into high gear, husband and wife had been seeing each other less and less. Alessandro’s schedule ascapowas hectic as hell, and Elyse was just as busy, hustling behind the scenes. It had become increasingly difficult to find time to touch base with each other.

Two days ago, they managed to shower together for fifteen minutes.

Yesterday, they met in one of the guestrooms for less than twenty.

Whenever Elyse and Alessandro found a rare moment together, though, like this one, they bounced ideas off each other. She’d identify potential pitfalls in their plans. He’d come up with solutions. Elyse would help set the pieces in place. Alessandro would execute the final blow. Together, they worked to shatter the bones of the Vitale empire, fragment by fragment, and rebuild from the wreckage.

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