Diavolo (Devil’s Playground #1)

29. Chapter 29

29

Late that evening, after all of Elyse's guests had left and Alessandro returned to the palazzo, husband and wife lay together in the quiet darkness of their bedroom. It was well after midnight.

"How did your meeting go?" Elyse asked as she snuggled up to Alessandro.

"As well as we could have hoped," he replied as his arm wrapped around her. His fingers tangled into her hair, affectionately combing through the dark, silky strands in a pleasing, soothing manner. "Aberto seems game to take down Domenico and Carlo, but he does not want to touch the Trevisanos."

"Why?"

"They are working together to rig a few seats in the upcoming regional election."

"I see."

Her thoughts raced backward. Alessandro's heated words from their first-ever fight dashed across her mind. We are all ruled by money and power. Corruption was everywhere, and, unfortunately, politics and crime often worked hand in hand to get richer and grow their influence. There is no such thing as a noble cause.

Elyse inquired, "Do these arrangements happen often between the mafia and the government?"

"More often than you think."

"I thought so."

"In many ways, it is a mutually beneficial partnership. We protect their interests, and they protect ours."

"A fucked up symbiosis," she mumbled faintly.

"What?"

Elyse shook her head. "Nothing."

The mafia is not so different from legal but corrupt institutions when all is said and done. Just because something was legal didn't make it good or right. Elyse felt her moral compass spin yet again. From the beginning of time, in every corner of the world, the rich and powerful minority continually profited off the oppressed majority. But criminals were no longer criminals when they were the ones who wrote the laws.

On flip side, laws often failed to protect those who needed the most protection. This was a form of corruption as well. Especially when people chose to be heartless assholes. Back in the States, Elyse had personally seen critically ill, dying patients turned away from life-saving procedures in the ER. This wasn't legal, but it was done on the sly. Simply because some patients were poor and powerless. They couldn't afford the medical bills, therefore, no one cared enough to help them.

A heaviness poured over her. It didn't matter which team she played for at this point. Legal or not. Mafia or not. There were elements of ugliness in everything and everyone—some more than others, of course—but darkness was always lurking beneath the shiny enamel of civilized society.

Elyse's resolve hardened by a fraction. Perhaps, at the end of the day, the only thing that mattered was survival. She'd need to find a way to keep her shine even in darkness. Surely, she could live within the fuckery without succumbing to it? Elyse chose to cling to this belief, this symbolic set of door locks, to help her sleep at night. Sometimes, half-truths and almost-lies were necessary for one's sanity.

"So," remarked Elyse, "the Trevisanos are out of the picture. For now."

"Yes," he confirmed, "for now. We will need to determine where the Svizzis stand before making our next move."

"I'll reach out to Antonia Svizzi. Malina has told me that she's well connected in their clan."

" Grazie ."

Their plan was well underway. There would be no turning back. People were going to die. She was going to become a killer and a criminal. Much in the way the Mancinis had preyed on her and her father, she would now target her husband's enemies. A sudden shock burst through her.

"There will blood on our hands," Elyse whispered, "I know it must be done, but..."

"Better their blood than ours," her husband reminded her.

"Yes," Elyse agreed hesitantly, "better them than us."

There was no more room for right or wrong. Their survival and safety had become the ultimate deciding factor in her choices as of late. Alessandro's voice broke through her web of anxiety, "How did your dinner go with your grandfather and Mariposa?"

"Pretty well, I think." She proceeded to tell Alessandro about her plans to meet Mariposa at the shooting range and her chess date with Benedetto.

Alessandro grumbled, "Whenever I am not with you, bring Monte and Luca. Everywhere. Even to your grandfather's house. Understood?"

Elyse glanced at her husband with a wry expression. "I always do. I can't even go to the restroom anymore without them lurking outside the door."

Alessandro cocked an eyebrow. "That means they are doing their job properly."

Her dark thoughts dissipated as the mood between them brightened slightly. She kissed him and teased, "Are you afraid that I'll try to run from you again?"

He rolled over Elyse, trapping her beneath his body, and gazed down at her intently. "I am always afraid of losing you, but I do not know which would be worse. For you to leave me on your own accord. Or for some fucker to take you from me."

Tenderly, she reached up to cup his face between her palms. "I have no intention of going anywhere. I'm your woman now, and you're my man."

"That is right." His hand found her breast. He gave her rounded curves a possessive squeeze. "You are mine. As I am yours."

Elyse gazed at him as though he was her stars. "Exactly. We belong to each other. So you aren't allowed to die without me. ?Lo entiendes?" Do you understand?

He stared back as though she was his sun and moon. "Death cannot take me. Because you are the reason I must live."

Smiling, Alessandro bent over, brushing a light kiss upon her other nipple. Elyse sighed happily at his touch. She was suddenly very aware of the fact that they were both shirtless and only wearing their underwear. Alessandro rose up to kiss her. Deeply, sweetly. Pleasure spread through Elyse. Love swelled within her heart. Her husband's wicked fingers were now skirting down her belly toward her cunt. She gently nudged his hand aside.

"Let's get some rest," she mumbled against his cheek. "We have a long day tomorrow. Battles don't win themselves, you know."

His wayward hand returned to give her clit a playful pinch through her panties. Her hips jerked. She gasped lightly in response.

"Then," Alessandro cooed, "you owe me."

Unable to resist, she rubbed herself against his crotch. "What do I owe you, sir?"

Alessandro ground his hardening cock against her—as though he hadn't just spent two hours fucking her brains out earlier in the day—and groaned. "Everything."

"Greedy bastard."

"Not my fault," he protested, "you should take pity on me."

"Why would I do that?"

"For marrying the world's most beautiful and desirable woman. I am doomed to lust after my wife until the end of time!"

Her eyes rolled good-naturedly. "Your lines will be the death of me."

Alessandro chuckled darkly. "Believe it or not, I have been a good boy. Just for you. I am all wound up from so much fucking restraint. If only you knew how badly I want to unleash this hell inside me."

Green eyes found his gaze in the darkness of their room. Mischief shone from his eyes. Daring gleamed from hers. She didn't know if Alessandro was referring to the restraint in his grandiose way of speaking, or—

"What would you do? If I asked you to let go of it… all?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What do you think I'm about talking about?"

"A man can only hope."

She smiled and raised her arms, locking both wrists over her head in a show of submission. "I'm game if you're game."

His breath caught. "Do not tease."

"I'm being very serious."

Suddenly, Alessandro's hands closed around Elyse's wrists. He pinned her down, forcefully, as though to illustrate his innermost desires. "You would let me have my way with you?"

"Is that what you want most? To have total control over me?"

" Dio ," he breathed softly, "I am hard just thinking about it."

He wasn't lying. She could feel his hardness throbbing between her thighs. A wildly female sense of self-possession surged in her. Elyse smiled like a siren. "The phrase we agreed on was io sono tua , right?"

I am yours.

Alessandro's pupils nearly doubled in size, turning his eyes to a pure devil-black hue in the shadows. "You remembered."

"I never forget anything."

Alessandro kissed her, laughingly, and muttered, "I suppose I should let you sleep, wife."

She teased, "Make up your mind. What do you want to do with me?"

"I want you to rest."

"Really?"

"You will need your strength in the days to come," he explained in low, smoky tones, "for all the ways I plan to fuck you."

Elyse gasped softly, "That a promise?"

He grinned evilly. "More like a threat."

She chuckled. "Good night, then, sir."

" Dormi bene, cuore mio ." Good night, my heart.

They shuffled into a more comfortable position on the mattress. He draped his arm over her waist and, several minutes later, fell asleep first with a light, telling twitch. Elyse lay awake for a while longer, studying the shadows across the ceiling, as she contemplated the days to come. Games in the bedroom, and games between clans. The discrepancy between these two playing fields felt starkly surreal. Elyse barely recognized who she was now and what her life had become. Yet, as she dozed in her husband's warm, slumbering embrace, Elyse also realized something else in these foreboding, twilight hours.

Morality be damned.

She needed to be ready to give herself fully, entirely, and completely to her husband and their cause. Anything short of her everything would lead to annihilation in a game as dark and dangerous as the one they were playing. Elyse intended to win. Or die trying.

The next day, with only Monte and Luca at her side, Elyse slipped away from the city center in secret. She had instructed Mariposa to exercise the same discretion. The two women met in the middle of seeming nowhere.

It was a clear sun-shining morning at the shooting range. The air felt seasonally cool and comfortable. Nothing but sky, sea, and mountains surrounded them for miles around. There was no one else except Elyse, Mariposa, and their bodyguards.

Gripping her Glock with far more ease than her last visit, Elyse aimed and fired at the target. She almost nicked the outer ring of the black circle.

Mariposa stood beside her with a faint smirk. "You missed, Elyse."

"Thank you," Elyse retorted, "for pointing out the obvious."

Snickering, Mariposa picked up her Ruger and fired off three shots. Every single one of the younger woman's bullets punctured the bullseye.

" That ," Mariposa preened, "is how you shoot a gun."

The girl knew how to handle a weapon.

"What am I doing wrong?" Elyse demanded.

Mariposa arched an eyebrow. "Do you really want to know?"

"Of course."

Mariposa pursed her lips as she cast a critical eye in Elyse's direction. "Trigger control is faulty."

Elyse's brow knitted. "What?"

"Your trigger pull needs to be straight as an arrow."

This still didn't compute for Elyse. "Um..."

Mariposa released a growl of impatience, "Do not exert pressure on the sides of the trigger. Focus the touchpoint as close to the center of your finger pad and the center of the trigger as possible. Then... pull back."

"Ah."

Elyse readjusted her finger on the trigger, taking heed of Mariposa's instructions like an eager pupil.

"Plus, you flinch like a little bambina every time the gun fires. Make a conscious effort to keep your wrists steady."

Elyse grimaced. "The recoil is strong, though. Sometimes it catches me off guard."

Mariposa sighed as though speaking to a slow-witted child, "That is because your mind is weak. Your grip is weak, too."

Elyse felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. Alessandro had been a far more lenient teacher than Mariposa, and, while Elyse found the younger woman's criticisms to be annoying, pricking uncomfortably at her pride, she also appreciated the girl's unapologetically direct, precise explanations. Like a physician diagnosing the cause of disease and prescribing a viable treatment for the patient. It was extremely helpful. Moreso than her husband's encouraging but far less actionable advice.

"Thank you, Mari," Elyse murmured humbly.

Mariposa spent the next half hour relentlessly chipping away at Elyse's problem areas. Her stance. Her grip. Her pull.

With thickened skin and steely resolve, Elyse kept listening, changing, adapting, fine-tuning, and practicing until they ran out of ammunition and her arms and hands and shoulders ached with fatigue. By the end of the hour, though, she managed to hit her first bullseye at a ten-foot distance.

"Dumb luck," Mariposa scoffed, but there was a gleam of approval in her dark eyes.

"No," Elyse replied, "none of this was luck. You're an excellent mentor. I'm a grateful student. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We make a good team ."

Mariposa wrinkled her nose. Elyse no longer wished to beat around the bush. "I need your help."

"I know."

"Name your price."

Mariposa smirked. "Depends on the size of your ask. What do you want from me?"

Elyse began to state her case, "You're friends with Cara. Good friends. Right?"

"I have known Cara for a long time. Yes."

"She hates me," Elyse expressed, "but she seems to tolerate you."

Mariposa laughed and drawled in snippy tones, "If you wanted her to tolerate you as well, you should not have married her beloved Alessandro."

Elyse didn't let Mariposa's jab deter her. She stayed the course. "Do you think you could keep an eye on Cara for me?"

A shrewdness crept over Mariposa's face. "You want me to spy on the Berlusconis?"

"Not only that," Elyse murmured, "you'll need to convince Cara that her brother doesn't have her best interests at heart. Bring her to our side."

Mariposa's eyes grew wide. "You want me to persuade Cara to betray her clan? Sei pazza!" You're crazy!

"Domenico was ready to let Cara die at Carmen's party," Elyse reminded her, "if you care for your friend at all, then do this for me. We can protect her from her brother."

"But what if Domenico finds out? What if we get Cara killed in the process?"

"Domenico already wants to sacrifice Cara. She has nothing to lose."

Mariposa fell quiet for a moment as though she was weighing a list of pros and cons in her head.

"Fine," the younger woman said at last, "I understand what you want from me, but I fail to see what I stand to gain from this scheme?"

"Again, I say, name your price."

Mariposa taunted, "What do you think I want?"

"You don't need money," Elyse observed.

"No."

"I think what you need is— respect. "

Mariposa balked slightly. "What?"

Elyse didn't miss a beat nor did stutter as she continued, "You once mentioned that you are your father's daughter. Not his son."

Mariposa's interest appeared to be piqued. "Go on."

"You resent your father for treating you differently."

A small, bitter smile formed on Mariposa's face. "You are not wrong, I suppose."

"Which means I'm right," Elyse countered, "I know firsthand how difficult it can be to be a woman in a man's world. I was the only female surgeon in my department for most of my career. It's not an easy feeling to be constantly overlooked and undervalued."

Dark eyes met green ones. A sense of female solidarity passed between them. Their shared resentment bonded them. Mariposa grumbled sullenly, "I am a better shot than my brothers. I am smarter, too, but my father does not see it because I have tits instead of balls."

Around this same time, Elyse noticed, from the corner of her eye, that Monte and Luca had pulled out their phones. Judging from the furrow on their faces, they seemed to be discussing something important. It didn't seem to be too urgent, though. Otherwise, they would've said something by now. She decided to follow up with them later and turned her attention back to Mariposa.

Elyse nodded sympathetically at the girl before offering, "I can help you take on a more significant role in your family. Don't you want to take part in your father's business dealings?"

"I do."

"Then prove your worth to both of our clans and complete this task for me. I'll give you all the credit, and I won't hesitate to let your father know about your talents."

Mariposa scowled. "You are being too idealistic. My father is very traditional. Annoyingly old school . He will not listen to you."

"You might be right," Elyse muttered, "but I'm sure he'll listen to Alessandro. I can promise that my husband will speak on your behalf."

"Really?"

"Really."

Mariposa looked hesitant. "I do not know if this will work."

"If your father still refuses to give you what you want, I'll find a post worthy of your talents in the Vitale clan."

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course."

A wary look flickered across Mariposa's face. "You know, Elyse..."

"Yes?"

"When I first heard the rumors of Alessandro's intentions to marry you, a complete outsider, despite your Graviano blood," Mariposa mumbled, "I thought he had gone mad. But, now, I think I understand."

"Understand what?"

"I understand what he sees in you. You are not cruel. Yet, you are no pushover. It is an admirable combination."

Mariposa's compliment felt hard-won. It filled Elyse with satisfaction. She chose to thank the younger woman in Italian," Grazie ."

It had risen from her heart.

" Prego ," Mariposa returned in seemingly sincere tones.

"Does this mean you're willing to help me?"

"Yes."

"You're a good friend, Mari."

Mariposa snorted. "We are not friends. I still do not trust you. I am simply working with you for because it benefits me."

Was this their version of a fucked up symbiosis? Elyse smiled tightly. "Good. I'd prefer it if everyone thought we were at odds. As you know, discretion will be key."

Mariposa nodded in agreement. "In public, I will make sure to bad-mouth you to all my friends."

Elyse shot back, "And I'll do the same."

Mariposa grinned. "How, though? You have no friends here."

This drew an annoyed laugh from Elyse. "Don't be an asshole."

Mariposa giggled evilly. "It is part of my charm."

Suddenly, Luca stepped forward to address Elyse, "I do not mean to interrupt, Signora Vitale , but we need to go. Now. "

This caught Elyse somewhat by surprise. Her meeting with Antonia Svizzi wasn't scheduled until later in the afternoon.

Elyse glanced at Luca warily. "Why?"

Did this sudden change of plans have something to do with Luca and Monte's tense conversation from moments ago?

Vaguely, he insisted, "Just... come. Please. "

Mariposa was watching them with keen interest, but she didn't pry. "Go, Elyse. You and I have said everything we needed to say. For now."

Elyse cast her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly."

Mariposa waved her away with a faint smile, "This will not be our last rendezvous . I am sure of it."

"Thank you again, Mari," Elyse said, "for everything."

She offered one final goodbye to Mariposa and her men. With hurried steps, Elyse followed Monte and Luca back to their car. The moment Elyse slid into the backseat, she asked, "What has happened? Tell me now."

Her heart plummeted into darkness when Luca answered, " Signor Vitale is dead."