Page 63 of Bones

“How old were you?”

Her eyes dart up to the ceiling as if she’ll find the answer there, and then she shrugs. “I’m not sure, but I think fourteen or fifteen.”

“And you told him?”

She nods slightly. “We had gotten close, or I thought we had. I really thought he’d help me. Maybe call the police or something.”

“I’m going to find him.”

Athena’s eyes widen with apparent shock. “You don’t have to. It’s in the past.”

I chuckle as I run my fingers down her bare arm. “That’s not how it works, Butterfly. They hurt you, they die. It’s simple. No one is safe.”

She looks at me like I’m insane, and bites, “So if someone cuts in front of me in line, you’ll kill them?”

I shrug while I smirk at her. “It’s a possibility.”

I’m not as much of an animal as my wife seems to think I am. I wouldn’t really kill someone for cutting in line, although I might threaten it. I’m not kidding though, if someone hurts her, they’ll pay the price. And William is next on my list. Then her mother.

She takes my hand. “I need you to promise me something.”

I’m an idiot, so I nod in agreement, without asking what she wants. “Anything.”

The fact is, there’s very little I wouldn’t give my wife. Her happiness means everything to me, so I didn’t hesitate even though I should have.

“Leave my mother alone, Luca. I don’t want you to hurt her.”

I swallow hard. “Butterfly, I can’t promise that.”

“You already did.”

“Athena,” I growl, “She left you there. She could have taken you with her, and would have spared you everything you’ve been through.”

Reaching up, she runs her delicate fingers through my hair. She knows this is a weakness for me. Every time she does this, I nearly lose my mind.

“I love you, Luca. And I love that you want to protect me, that you want to somehow right the past, but I need you to not hurt her. Please.”

Closing my eyes, I sigh audibly. “Fine.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you want a relationship with her? Is that why?”

I open my eyes and find her staring at me, but she looks so far away.

“No. I will never forgive her for abandoning me the way she did, but I don’t want her to die. She had reasons for what she did, I’m sure of it. Whatever the case, I forgive her, but forgiving her doesn’t mean having her in my life.”

“For now, baby, I’ll leave her alone, but if she ever tries to hurt you again, I may go back on my word.”

She takes a sip of her wine, and sets the glass back on the table before returning her gaze to mine. “I can live with that. Now, who wanted to see me?”

I look away from her and try to pretend I didn’t hear her, because this isn’t a conversation I want to have with her, but she persists.

“Luca, when I was standing outside your office, I heard you. I don’t know who you were talking about, but I know it involved me.”

“I will tell you everything you need to know.”

Athena folds her arms over her chest as she glares at me with obvious irritation. “If it’s about me, I should know. Please don’t keep secrets from me. That’s not the kind of marriage I want.”

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