Page 7 of A Wife’s Duty

She didn’t know what to do with the information he had just given her.

Bonaldi was going to be brought to his knees.

That didn’t seem possible to her. He’d been ruling the Italian mafia, including her father, for as long as she could remember.

She didn’t believe it was possible for Bonaldi to be brought down.

She didn’t know if she should warn Boone.

“Get dressed. You’re coming with me.”

“Wait ... I am?”

“Yes.”

This was exciting and terrifying at the same time.

“Boone, you can’t bring Bonaldi down.” The very idea of it sounded ridiculous.

She had been aware of other organizations attempting to remove him from power.

The Bonaldis had so many men in high places in their pocket.

She didn’t want anything to happen to her husband.

He reached out and placed a hand on top of hers. “Have a little faith.”

****

T esting Lucia was all part of his plan.

Boone didn’t know for sure if he could trust her completely.

He also knew she had been part of the Bonaldis ever since she was born.

She has known no other way of life. However, the simple fact that she was also willing to tell him about conversations she overheard said a lot.

Now, all he needed to do was set a few little tests to see if she would succumb to what she knew. If she did, he’d be disappointed, as there would be no future for the two of them.

Bonaldi was going down, whether they liked it or not.

The only reason he had married Lucia was because he had noticed her.

He’d seen her. She didn’t know what he did, but he had a way of finding out everything he needed on anyone.

He had contacts in many places. There had been footage captured of Lucia’s treatment.

From the moment he saw her father take a belt to her in the backyard, Boone knew he was going to change her life. All he had to do was make it happen.

Now, he had set his sights on a bigger piece of the pie.

He didn’t want the Bonaldis for himself. He wanted to bring them down once and for all. Over the years he had seen the destruction they created. For a long time, he tried to ignore it, but now, they would be brought down.

After finishing his meal, he let Lucia go and get changed, and he finished cleaning up the dishes. Once that was done, he pulled out his cell phone and checked his emails. There was nothing of any concern, and afterward he gave instructions to his men on what they were doing today.

He had eyes on every deal and port the Bonaldis had going down. There were not many people in this world he trusted, but he did trust those who were close to him.

With everything in place, he pocketed his cell phone and looked toward Lucia. She had dressed very conservatively, a dress with a short-sleeved cardigan to cover her arms. The clothes she wore were sent by her father, and he didn’t like them.

“Come on,” he said, reaching for her hand.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re going out.” And without another word, he marched her out of the apartment and down toward the elevator.

His men knew when to follow him. They joined him, with two men standing on the elevator with them, and he imagined the others were taking the stairs.

Boone didn’t wait for them, and once they were out in the main parking lot, he helped Lucia into his car first before rounding toward his own seat, and then he climbed in, buckled in, and turned over the ignition.

Pushing his foot to the gas, he rushed out of the underground parking facility and made his way toward the city center.

Lucia didn’t say a word. He chanced a glance toward her. Her hands were placed on her thighs, and she stared out the window.

“Are you curious about where we’re going?”

“It’s none of my business. We’re going wherever you want to go.”

Said like the good little wife.

“Do you want to please me?” he asked.

He felt her gaze on him.

“Uh ... yes.”

She sounded so nervous. It was cute. She didn’t even realize she had nothing to be afraid of.

At least not yet. He understood her nervousness when it came to him, taking down a man she had feared.

Boone didn’t fear Bonaldi. The truth was, he had never known fear.

Not since he was a child, but that had been fleeting.

Bonaldi was not even the first criminal he’d brought down. The Italian mafia wasn’t even the first he messed with. He’d taken on the cartels, the Bratvas, petty street criminals, drug lords, and plenty of other people in between.

He didn’t like bullies. He didn’t like men or women who used their power and wealth to get what they wanted.

Over the years, he had shut down a lot of bad and dark shit, and he’d done it for fun.

This with Bonaldi was just another piece of shit that was going to come to an end, along with everyone associated with him.

He had already sent in some evidence to a news anchor known for exposing political parties and members.

One local mayor was caught raping a young girl.

A young girl that was supplied by Bonaldi.

The young girl’s body was found washed up in the sewer.

Strangled. The evidence he’d obtained was not going away.

By the end of the day, the mayor who was helping to look the other way as Bonaldi exported underage girls was about to be exposed.

This was how he started. Slowly.

He would have already been close to destroying this piece of shit, along with Valdez, if it hadn’t been for that footage he’d seen of Lucia. She changed everything. She made him alter his plans. He knew he had to get her to safety.

“Then ask me,” he said.

“Ask you what?”

“Ask me where you’re going.”

He glanced over to her and saw her lick her lips. “Do I really need to do that?” she asked.

“Yes, you do. If you want to please me, your husband, then I need you to ask me that.”

She was nervous and he didn’t want her to be, not around him.

He waited, giving her time. In her world, he was aware she had to be silent.

She didn’t have a voice. She was taught to follow instructions, to be submissive.

He intended to strip that away, build her up, for her to become the woman he knew her to be.

Her hands clenched her thighs, and it made him want to kill Valdez. His time was coming.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Her voice was so soft, that it was nearly impossible to catch, but he heard her question, and he couldn’t help but be proud.

“We’re going shopping.” He could have teased her a little, but with Lucia he had to use baby steps.

It had taken her a few days to walk around the apartment where he left her. His men had informed him that one of the days, she had sat, not even daring to put the television on. He wouldn’t allow that. He wanted Lucia to fly.

Arriving at one of the boutiques he knew was popular among women, he parked his car and climbed out. He rounded the vehicle and opened the door, waiting for Lucia. She climbed out, and he noticed her covering her thighs as she did so.

Taking her hand, they walked into the boutique. The moment he did so, he looked for the saleswoman, and spotted her already heading toward them.

“Hi, I’m Louise, is there anything I can help you with today?” Louise asked. She had her hair pulled back into a tightly coiled bun. She wore a suit which included a pencil skirt, crisp white shirt, and matching jacket. Small heels on her feet, and her smile actually seemed genuine.

“My wife is in need of a new wardrobe. Whatever she wants, she can have.” He let Lucia’s hand go.

His wife looked at him with fear in her eyes.

“Go and find something you like.”

With that, he turned his back and started to look through the store. Not only was Lucia going to get what she wanted, there might be one or two items he would like to see.

He kept glancing over at Louise and his wife. Lucia was very stiff. She wasn’t relaxed.

He gave her time. Clicking his fingers to one of the other staff, he pointed at a few items he wanted her to try. Sending them to her, he watched Lucia’s eyes widen when they were interrupted. She nodded her head, and he smiled. She would get used to it soon enough.

For a little more fun, he made his way toward the lingerie department and looked through several different sets, imagining his wife in them. Lucia was going to look stunning, and once again, the assistant that had been following him took the lingerie to his wife.

After he was done having fun, he made his way toward the changing room, settled down onto the sofa, and waited.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket but he ignored it. Checking the time, he knew the news would be now active, and the footage leaked. It was going to start.

Louise appeared. “Would you like to see some of the choices your wife has made?”

“Yes.”

And much to his surprise, the first outfit Lucia stepped out in was a pair of jeans and a shirt. The jeans hugged her body, emphasizing her shapely ass. The shirt cupped her tits and flared out. She looked so pretty. Her face was a beautiful shade of red.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

Her gaze went wide and she nodded her head.

“Then get it.”

Again, she looked ready to faint.

“Show me more,” he said, leaning back and waiting.

Lucia had picked up many different pairs of jeans, pants, and trousers, including lounge pants as well, which he found so cute. There were a couple of dresses, some of them more revealing than the ones she was used to wearing, and ones he couldn’t wait to see her in as well.

Her choices were stunning and he couldn’t wait to see her in everything. He also couldn’t wait to take Lucia to see her parents, dressed exactly how she wanted. There would come time for that. For now, he had to let a few cards fall into place, before he started to play with Valdez.

Lucia didn’t show him the lingerie he had chosen, but there would also come time for that. Only if she was willing. He was not going to force his wife to have sex with him. This was about freeing her—breaking the chains that confined her.

With the last item finished, Lucia came out to him, and he stood. Looking toward Louise, he smiled. “Please have everything delivered to this address by the end of the afternoon.”

He handed Louise a card. It was for the address of his current apartment. She gave him a big smile and said he would have nothing to worry about. He didn’t doubt it for a second.

Taking Lucia’s hand, he walked out of the store, into the warm sunshine.

“I want an ice cream. What about you?”

“Huh?” Lucia asked.

“Ice cream? You want one?” he asked, and then glanced across the road to the park, along with the ice cream truck. “Come on.”

He hadn’t let go of her hand, and he pulled her along. There was a line for the ice cream, and he stood waiting. As he stood in line, he couldn’t help but think back to a couple of years ago, on another line he’d been standing in.

He’d stood behind a father and son. The son didn’t quite know what he wanted, and the father was losing it on his cell phone.

Some kind of deal had gone bad. The son grabbed his father’s pants pocket, and gave it a little pull.

In response, the father growled at his son and literally hit him around the back of the head. The boy started to cry.

When the father went to hit him again, Boone grabbed his hand, twisted it, and looked into the man’s face.

Reaching across his body, he grabbed the cell phone and crushed it in his hand.

“Your son is asking you a question about ice cream. He is allergic to certain types of lactose, and he was being very patient with you. Now, I suggest you pay attention to your son.”

“How dare you?”

“I dare because you have your priorities incorrect. Now, help your son, or you and I can end this right now, and I wonder how good you will be answering your cell phone with two broken hands.”

He spoke calmly, without any flicker of emotion. He also stood close to the man, and no one knew what they were talking about. To onlookers, it would appear two men were just having a private conversation

Boone pulled out of the memory.

The boy had gotten a vegan ice cream, and the man had left.

Afterward, Boone had provided the mother with the means of putting her husband away.

He’d been laundering money through her father’s company and had multiple mistresses on the side.

He didn’t like when men exploited their power. It was irritating to him.

“What would you like?” he asked.