Page 5 of A Wife’s Duty

He watched her gaze drop down to the table. “Within your world, you have been treated as if you mean nothing.”

Lucia lifted her gaze to his and he saw the tears in her eyes. “My sister is considered the beautiful one. My dad tried to sell me off four years ago. No one wanted me. I’m too ugly and fat. No one wanted me.”

He looked at her. “Did he hurt you?”

“What?”

“Your father. Did he hurt you?”

“I got punished. No different from anyone else that displeases their father or parent.” She shrugged.

“He beat you?” Boone asked.

“He’s my dad and I didn’t turn out the way he wanted. He had beautiful children until I came along.”

Did she not see she was beautiful?

“Do you ... are you ... going to give me back?” Lucia asked.

“Why would I do that?”

“Isn’t that why you didn’t want to consummate the marriage?”

Her face had gone a delightful shade of pink. He loved the look on her. It was stunning. He wanted her to blush a lot more often.

“I didn’t consummate the marriage because I didn’t want to scare you.

You don’t know me, Lucia, and the men in your world might be happy bedding women they don’t know, and hanging up some bloody sheets like a prize.

You’re my wife. You’re my prize, and there is no fucking way I am going to let anyone look at what is mine, or even think about what I was doing to her.

Do you understand? I am not giving you back.

You are mine, and when you are ready to take my dick and fuck, that is when we will consummate this marriage in full. ”

He had taken her by surprise. Her lips fell, and her face was still a pretty shade of red. It was a color he could get used to on her.

“We’re getting off topic. Can I trust you?”

“Yes.”

“So, if your father were to ask you to spy on me, would you tell me?”

She frowned. “I, uh ... yes, I’d tell you. Does my father want you to spy on me?”

“Lucia, your family and none of the Bonaldis like me. They have given you to me as a peace offering, and in doing so, they think they have insulted me, but they haven’t.”

“They haven’t?”

“No, because of the women I could have chosen, you were the only one I wanted.”

He shocked her.

“I am? Why?”

This made him smile.

“Because you’re different.” She wasn’t ready to hear that he thought she was beautiful.

“I am?”

“Your eyes,” Boone said. They went a little wide. He couldn’t help but chuckle. At times, she was just so adorable.

“What about my eyes?”

“You’re kind,” he said. “You don’t see the world in the same way everyone else does.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Trust me, one day, it is going to make a whole lot of sense. I’ve known a lot of people, Lucia.

I’ve met and dealt with a lot of bad people.

Most of the people associated with the Bonaldis are bad people.

They are going to reach out to you and attempt to sabotage me.

They’re going to try and use you against me. ”

“I can’t do that.”

“Lucia, when the time comes, I am going to need you to do exactly as I say.”

“You are?”

“Yes, but until that time, I think we should enjoy each other. What do you think? Get to know one another, and you need to stop worrying that I am going to kill you. I have no desire to kill you.”

She was, after all, an innocent in this.

“Okay.”

“Now, enjoy your salad.”

She nodded her head and picked up her knife and fork. He didn’t touch another bite of his own food until she had started to eat her chicken salad. He saw the pleasure in her eyes, and it was so good to see her enjoying her food.

“Tell me what you like,” he said.

This made her pause. “Huh?”

“Tell me about your interests. What you like. What you dislike. Tell me about you.”

She twirled her fork within her salad. “I have no idea how to answer that.”

It was strange, because it didn’t surprise him.

“I mean, I am so used to being told what to do, and how to do it, I never really thought about what I liked and didn’t. My mom would tell us it was about our husband’s wants. So, working on that theory, I like what you do?” She frowned.

This was going to be fun.

Her father had thought he’d trapped his daughter in a loveless marriage. Boone had seen how much Lucia’s father hated her, and he had no intention of causing her trouble, or hurting her. He had every intention of letting her fly.

“Then I guess we better get started in finding out what you enjoy. I want you to be totally honest with me, with everything, Lucia. I don’t like liars or cheats. Play by the rules, and you and I will get along great.”

“I like rules,” Lucia said. “Also, I like this café. Like, a whole lot.”

There was a slight smile to her lips, and he chuckled.

They finished their food, and even though Nancy and Tyler never wanted him to pay, he did so anyway. There was no way he was going to allow any business to suffer on his watch.

Stepping back out into the sunlight, he took Lucia’s hand, and then she spun toward him. “I like this as well.”

“What?”

“Lame, but walking out in the sunlight, holding your hand. I like this.”

“Good.”

They walked along the street, and he saw a boutique up ahead. For the rest of the afternoon, he took her in clothing stores, antiques places, bookstores, and jewelry stores. He wanted to learn what she liked. He wanted Lucia to flourish within their marriage.

She liked shopping, but at the same time, she didn’t like spending money. He came to realize she liked exploring and watching. She didn’t have to spend money. She also loved ice cream.

By the end of the afternoon, they had made a few purchases, and it was time to go back to his apartment.

Like all of his places, there were no personal items. Nothing to show for the past life he lived, or even for the one he had now.

Nothing. It was the way he liked it. His enemies never stood a chance at using anything against him.

As he entered their home, Lucia was talking animatedly about one of the books they had seen. She was convinced it was a first edition, but he had his doubts.

He didn’t say anything, and his cell phone rang. Pulling it from inside his jacket, he saw it was Ronald calling him.

Lucia had stopped talking.

He answered the call. “Talk,” he said.

“Howard sold the product. He didn’t go to the cops, and three girls are in the hospital. Bonaldis attempted to set you up.”

“Do you have the address?”

“I’ve got it.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

He hung up and Lucia clasped her hands together.

“I enjoyed today,” she said. “Thank you for taking me.”

“I’ve got to deal with this.”

“Okay. That is more important.” She offered him a smile.

He looked at her and it was strange because for the first time, he didn’t want to leave her alone.

“I’ll be back.” He moved toward her, and she didn’t pull away, just tilted her head back, and he pressed a kiss to her lips. “Very soon.”

Boone left, going straight to the elevator and toward the parking lot where his car was. He pulled out and went to the nightclub where Ronald was already waiting. Within seconds, Ronald was in the car, giving him the address he needed.

Making his way across the city, he listened to Ronald’s update. The cops didn’t find any traces of drugs. That had miraculously vanished, but one of the guys he paid to keep him updated on Bonaldi’s shit, had said they were attempting to pin the girls at his nightclub.

There was no way they could do that, as they were only on Bonaldi’s turf. So, Howard had distributed it back at his boss’s. It was kind of poetic.

The address was a run-down dive, known to house addicts and drug pushers. There were also pimps and whores. Parking his car, he saw several men eyeing his vehicle.

He climbed out and looked at Ronald. “Stay with the car.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I got this covered.”

He didn’t say anything else as he made his way inside the building.

It stunk like decay. This was not the first time he’d been in a place like this.

This is where the evil sent their prey to die.

There were women passed out on used mattresses, needles sticking out of their arms, or naked, with men rutting between their thighs.

No one paid any attention to him.

He got to the top of the floor, and there was Howard, counting the money he made.

Boone tutted, Howard looked up, and realizing he wasn’t alone, freaked out.

He instantly threw the cash down and attempted to make a run for it.

He didn’t get far as Boone gabbed a broken piece of furniture and launched it across the room.

It hit the back of Howard’s legs, taking him down with a cry.

Within seconds he was there, and he wrapped his arm around the man’s neck, cutting off his air supply.

“I gave you a choice,” Boone said. “You made the wrong choice and now three women are in the hospital fighting for their lives because you gave them contaminated shit. Did you know it was contaminated?”

“I did what I was told, but I told them to take it in your nightclub. Please let me go. Please. I sent them to you because I knew they would be safe.”

And anger flooded Boone. He cut off the man’s air supply, and he fought. Howard did fight, but he was no match for him.

Three women were fighting for their lives. They shouldn’t have taken the drugs in the first place, and that was a warning to them.

Bonaldi wanted a war, and Boone would give him one.