Page 106 of Diavolo

Cara scoffed, "I see right through you. You are so fake. It is sickening."

Mariposa took a small step back, eyeing Cara and Elyse like a self-serving gazelle preparing to sprint away from two feuding lionesses. Elyse glared at Cara. "Don't you ever get tired?"

"Of what?"

Of letting your sanity revolve around a man who doesn't want you.But Elyse knew better than to voice her opinion aloud. Instead, she said, "Of being a woman."

"What?"

"I know it often weighs me."

This seemed to give Cara pause. In surprisingly thoughtful tones, she lamented, "You are not wrong. Itistiring to be female. Our time to shine is so limited. I often wish that I was twenty years younger."

Quietly, Elyse voiced, "We don't have to be enemies, Ms. Berlusconi. We're both trying to survive in a man's world. If anything, we should become allies."

Cara smiled tritely. "Your suggestion is not unreasonable. Sadly, I still despise you."

Elyse shrugged. "If you won't listen to reason, we have nothing to talk about."

Cara's jaw clenched. Her eyes burned like hot coals. "How dare you speak to me in this way? Our conversation ends when I say it ends!"

Not wanting to cause a scene, she turned to walk away. "Good evening, Ms. Berlusconi. It was lovely to see you again."

Before Elyse could slip away, however, Cara reached over to grab her wrist, violently yanking her back. Mariposa gasped softly.

"Let me go," Elyse demanded.

"I want to show you something. Come with me."

Elyse studied her with suspicion. "Where do you want to take me?"

"Just come," Cara insisted as she started leading Elyse away from the throngs of guests.

Mariposa attempted to follow them, but Cara barked at her, "You! Stay."

Mariposa halted in place and offered Elyse a worried look. Elyse eyed her back with alarm, but she was curious to see what Cara had planned up her sleeve. As long as they didn't wander too far from the crowd, it was probably fine. Right? While keeping Monte and Luca in her line of sight, Elyse let Cara drag her to a large veranda that was connected to the main ballroom. Shadowy silhouettes of palm trees surrounded them. The lulling sound of ocean water caressing the shore rocked in the background. Glowing strands of string lights dangled overhead across the veranda rafters. It was an oddly romantic setting.

Elyse arched an eyebrow at Cara. "Why did you bring me here?"

The other woman giggled. Each tinkling note of her laughter unnerved Elyse. "Because you have wronged me."

"Then tell me what I can do to make things right."

"Let me take away something that Alessandro cherishes."

"Like what?" Another punch of apprehension shot through Elyse. This didn't bode well for her. She attempted to crane her neck toward the ballroom. Where the fuck were Monte and Luca? Weren't they supposed to keep an eye on her at all times? Elyse tried to wring her arm away from Cara, but the woman's grip was shockingly strong. Vice-like.

Cara murmured in soft, chilling tones, "You. I wish to hurt you as you have hurt me. Once you are gone, he will look at me again. Then we will be even."

Elyse gaped at her. "Please don't do something you'll regret."

Her plea fell on deaf ears. One by one, Cara's long, slender fingers lifted from Elyse's wrist. She reached inside her little indigo-blue velvet purse to pull out a small compact handgun. Cara smiled coldly, straightened out her arm, and aimed the barrel at Elyse's head. Elyse clenched with terror at the sight of the firearm, but she managed to keep her voice steady. "Put the gun down, Ms. Berlusconi."

"Make me."

"I—"

"Tell you what. I am in a generous mood. I will let you decide whether my bullet strikes you." Suddenly, Cara's arm swiveled toward the ballroom. Elyse's horror heightened tenfold when she realized that the bitch had a clear shot of Alessandro. "Or him.Choose, Signora Vitale. Who dies tonight?"