Page 31 of A Wife’s Duty

B etty had curled up at his feet. Boone looked toward his woman, as Cameron got to work on the roses down her arm.

It was going to take multiple trips to get the design she wanted.

She handled it well. There were only a few gasps and he saw some tears in her eyes, but she didn’t want Cameron to stop.

Over the next few days, Cameron was more than happy to slot Lucia in, so he got the first part of the ink done on the upper arm, which included the main rose itself.

A piece of art takes time. This was the only person he trusted with Lucia.

Once that part was done, Cameron wrapped it and gave them the necessary care instructions, along with some ointment.

Cameron refused payment until the whole tattoo was done.

“Isn’t that ... wrong?” Lucia asked once they were back in the car.

“What?”

“Not taking payment. Aren’t you a little suspicious?”

“If it was anyone other than Cameron, I would be. As it happens, he knows me, and knows I’ll pay. In the early days, he would always take a deposit. Now, he doesn’t have to. He trusts me.”

Lucia shifted back into her seat.

“How does it feel?”

“Good, I think. Tight? I don’t know. It did hurt in places.”

“Ink will do that.”

He glanced over at her and caught her looking at him. The moment their eyes met, she quickly glanced away, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “What?”

“Did any of yours hurt?”

“All of them. Trust me, there were a couple that made me cry like a baby, and Cameron even called me one.”

She turned to look at him. “Are you serious?”

“Yep. Like I said, I cried and Cameron likes to keep it real.”

She shook her head. “I can’t imagine you ever crying.”

“It happens.”

She chuckled. “I fail to believe that.”

They arrived back at the house, and as soon as he put the car into “park,” his cell phone beeped.

“I’ll see you inside,” Lucia said, leaning over and kissing his lips.

He saw her mouth open and then close. She didn’t say anything. He watched her, wondering what was on her mind, what she wanted to tell him. She opened up the back seat, helped Betty down, and both made their way around the back of the house. Betty had been well behaved during the appointment.

His cell phone still continued to buzz. Glancing down at it, he saw there was an incoming call from Enzo Valdez Senior. There was only one Enzo who would be calling him, seeing as the other was detained.

He tapped his fingers against his leg. Valdez was calling him. The call came to an end, and his cell phone went silent. Only, seconds later, Boone was the one calling Valdez. He flicked the little phone sign to green and pressed the cell phone to his ear.

“What do you want?” Valdez asked.

“Well, that is a little rude,” Boone said. “When you answer the call, there is usually a hello, or how are you, followed by demands.”

“I don’t have time to play games. You have Enzo and Bruno. I want to negotiate their release.”

Boone was silent for several seconds. “Valdez, my man, you’re sounding a little tense. What can I do for you?”

“Listen, you little fuck. Do you think you can mess with me? You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

Boone smiled and so Valdez could hear it, he started to chuckle, and that turned into a full-on laugh. All too soon, he stopped.

“I think I’ve made it quite clear that I know who I’m dealing with, but you and your sons don’t seem to realize who you’re dealing with.”

“What do you—”

“You don’t get to do any more talking, you’re boring.

You think you can call me and make demands?

Your sons are going to end up exactly like Leandro.

There is no out for them, as they made their choices.

I warned you when you started to offer peace talks, and your daughter as payment.

I told you to make the right choice, and you laughed at me.

Negotiations are long overdue and out of the question, and I suggest, Valdez, you come up with a plan, because once I take out your sons, and it is only a matter of days, I’m coming for you. ”

There was a sudden explosion in the background.

“Say hello to your wife for me,” Boone said, and then hung up.

Valdez’s wife was dead. Boone hadn’t thought it possible, the level of cruelty that woman possessed, until he saw it with his own eyes.

Lucia didn’t know that Valdez used his wife to torment some of the girls that failed to stay in line.

Valdez beat his wife, but he then allowed his wife to take her anger and frustration out on the girls who had been difficult from the moment they were captured.

Boone had rescued many of the girls that had been stolen.

He talked to them, and they told him of a woman who was cruel, who liked to hurt them, put the fear of the Bonaldi family into them.

She would whip them, use knives on them, hot poker, and she even blinded a girl with her rage.

Mainly because when the older woman had arrived at one of the houses, she’d witnessed Valdez raping her, and her jealousy had caused her to blind the girl. It had been a hard pill to swallow.

So, Leandro and the mother were gone. They were dropping rapidly.

Putting a call through to Ronald, he got an update on the situation. It would appear Bonaldi attempted to take back some of his turf, however, Boone’s men had been in place, and it had bitten Bonaldi in the ass. Some of the men had turned and ratted on Bonaldi.

In attempting to take back the streets, karma had struck. Boone had also blown up one of the boats owned by Bonaldi, as well as three of the warehouses with all of the product inside. The funds for Bonaldi were long gone. The man’s empire was practically on the ground.

All the man had to do was leave well enough alone, only he hadn’t, which was why they were at this place now.

The cop had more than enough to hang Bonaldi, so that man was no longer a threat anymore.

All he had to take care of was the Valdez, as that was now personal.

The other capos were dropping like flies.

Kind of like taking out the queen in a wasp nest. The moment the queen fell, the nest fell, and it was a matter of picking up all the pieces.

Climbing out of the car, he didn’t follow Lucia around to the garden but made his way straight through the house and into the kitchen. He glanced outside the main kitchen window to find Lucia playing with Betty on the front lawn. For several seconds, he didn’t move. All he did was watch.

Lucia had no idea of the true cruelty of her mother, and he hoped she didn’t find out. She didn’t show any love for her family, not that he could blame her. She’d been the odd one out for so long.

Opening the fridge, he saw a couple of steaks, some potatoes, and got to work on fixing them dinner.

He quickly peeled and chopped a couple of potatoes, putting them in a pot to boil.

He really wanted some warm potato salad, with eggs.

That sounded great. He checked the fridge, and knew he was going to have a few large mushrooms to go with the steaks.

His mouth watered at the prospect of enjoying the good food.

Lucia came in as he put the steaks on the grill. It was looking a little grey outside, and as if on cue, it started to rain.

“Wow,” Lucia said. “I came in right on time.”

She walked toward him.

“What are you cooking?”

“Steaks, potato salad, and grilled mushrooms with a cream sauce.”

“Sounds really good.”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “How do you like your steak?”

“Cooked.”

He chuckled. He was a cooked guy himself, no hint of rawness. Keeping it on the grill, it started to smoke, and before he turned it, he sprinkled a little more pepper.

“How did you learn to cook?” she asked.

He turned toward her, and then she held her hands up.

“You don’t have to tell me.”

He laughed. He didn’t have to tell her a damn thing, he knew that.

“I picked it up. My dad taught me.”

“Your dad?”

“Yeah, my dad.”

He expected her to start asking more questions, but she surprised him when she stayed silent.

“I wasn’t allowed to go into the kitchen. My dad always said the staff were paid to do jobs like that,” Lucia said.

“Did you want to learn to cook?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess. I mean, left back at the apartments, and even here, I gravitated toward the cooking channel, and I wanted to replicate all the foods.”

He laughed. “They make it look so easy, don’t they?”

“Yeah, they do, but I’m getting the hang of it.”

He looked toward her. She hadn’t put the sweater on, and the ink didn’t look great beneath the wrapping, but he knew it was going to look amazing.

“What?” Lucia asked.

“Nothing. Did you have fun today?”

“You know what, getting stuck by a little needle like what felt like a thousand times, it wasn’t too bad. It was pretty great.” She glanced down at her arm. “I just hope it is going to look great.”

“It will. I trust Cameron. The guy’s a perfectionist.”

“Yeah, and I don’t think you can get an eraser for the skin, can you?”

“You can. But Cameron wouldn’t be the one to do that.”

Lucia laughed. “I think it is time to feed Betty, don’t you?”

She moved past him, and Boone couldn’t help himself. He pulled her into his arms, then took possession of her lips. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for this woman.

She looked up at him, and there was a smile on her lips. “What was that for?”

“Because I wanted to.”

And then he kissed her again. “Just like I wanted to do that, and that.” And he kissed her again, and again.

Although Betty wasn’t happy, and she barked as if to remind them she was still there.

Lucia laughed and pulled away from him. “I better go and get her food.”

He watched his wife disappear into the pantry.

Damn. He never thought he could feel this way.

Many years ago, his father had warned him that one day he’d find a woman, and the moment he saw her, he would just know that all he wanted to do was spend the rest of his life protecting her, loving her, giving her the world.

That was what he wanted. Lucia deserved all kinds of happiness and he wanted to be the one to give it to her.

She came back, carrying a pouch of dog food. He continued to watch her as she fed Betty. All he wanted was to be with Lucia, to give her a good life. The only way to do that was to right the wrongs of the world she had once belonged to.

Once that was done, everything would be okay.