Page 19 of A Wife's Duty

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.

Chapter Four

In all of her twenty-two years, Lucia had never gone out for ice cream. Standing at that truck, at her age, she had looked at the varieties on offer, and it was impossible to choose.

She settled for a mint ice cream cone. It looked and sounded the most delicious, as she loved chocolate and mint together. Not that she got it often. Her father constantly had her on some kind of food ban. It was rare for her to even get chocolate.

Licking her ice cream, they walked into the park gates. Again, this was new for her as well. Going out shopping, getting ice cream, taking a walk—these were things she had never done. She couldn’t recall any of the women talking about doing this. They had a duty. And yet, the sun felt amazing on her skin.

“Here, let me take this,” Boone said, taking her cardigan off her arms.

She moved her ice cream from one hand to the other as he eased the sweater down her arms, until she was no longer in it. Her arms were exposed, and again, this was a new feeling for her. He surprised her when he threw her cardigan in the trash can.

“Why did you do that?”

The moment the question fell from her lips, she wanted to slap a hand right over her mouth. It was not her place to ask questions.

“It was an ugly cardigan and you don’t need it.” He took her hand, and they walked through the park.

Lucia remembered her ice cream and started to lick it before it melted onto her hand. It tasted so good. Each lick made her mouth water for more.

She looked toward Boone. Who was this man? She tried to think of all the conversations she had overheard people talking about Boone. Most of it was speculation. Not once did anyone have anything concrete on him.

Her father feared him and he had to be powerful enough to force a marriage between them. Only, their marriage was fake, wasn’t it? They didn’t have sex and he had every intention of bringing down the Bonaldis. Did she care if he did that and ... succeeded?

The very thought of the Bonaldis being annihilated was unheard of back home. She shouldn’t even be thinking about it. She couldn’t help herself. She wasn’t back home. She was Boone’s wife, and he was going to bring down the Bonaldis, once and for all. The more she thought about it, the more real it seemed. Was it even possible? No one had ever succeeded but then, an outsider had never been able to marry a capo’s daughter. Regardless of whether her father liked her or not, this was still a big deal. Was it bigger than she realized?

She licked her ice cream. Today had been crazy. Waking up to Boone making her breakfast, then being asked those questions. Telling him what she could remember overhearing. His declaration, going shopping, eating ice cream, and now walking in the park.

She couldn’t help but look around her. For so long she had kept her head down, not daring to look at the crowd for fear of what she might find. There were people, families, couples, men and women, just walking, enjoying the day in the sunshine. There were so many families, fathers, sons, daughters, husbands and wives, children. They all looked so happy. She had seen them a time or two and known that would never be for her, no matter how much she wished it.

“What’s the matter?” Boone asked.

“Nothing.”

“Talk to me.”

She glanced over toward him, and she didn’t quite know how he did it. How did he know what she was thinking or feeling, or did he even know at all?

“I’m just ... everyone seems so happy.”

“And you’re not?”

“I didn’t say that. It’s just, do they even realize how lucky they are?” she asked. She felt her cheeks start to heat.

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