Page 28 of A Wife's Duty

“Your brother.”

“Which one?”

“Leandro.”

She pursed her lips, and her brows furrowed as she looked past his shoulder. “That makes sense, I guess. He was always dabbling with explosives. Nearly blew the house up once when he was a kid. Dad did not like that. He got a beating then, first time ever. Not long after, he got him a shed he could dabble in. Actually, he got two. One to dabble in, the other to practice.”

Lucia went a little pale.

“I know about the nanny,” Boone said.

“You do?”

“Yeah. He locked her in the garden shed, set the trap, and got it to explode.”

Lucia nodded. “Yeah. It was ... yeah.”

He saw the sadness in her eyes. “What is it?”

“She was my nanny. She was the only one who seemed to know I was alive. I’m the youngest of my father’s children. Leandro used to laugh and tell me I was the last one out, so in a killing spree, I’d be the first one to go.”

“What?”

“Yeah, people would attempt to kill me first.” She shrugged.

“You don’t need to listen to that bullshit. It wouldn’t work that way.”

“I guess not now, seeing as I’m married to you, and they’re going to spend a lot of time and effort to get to you. You’ve got all those guards.”

He looked at Lucia. That little shit. This made him hate him just a little more. Prior to hearing Lucia, he was going to leave Leandro to have his supposed fun, however, that had just changed his plans completely. He wasn’t happy, in fact, he was very much pissed off.

“What’s wrong?” Lucia asked.

“Nothing at all. Nothing for you to worry about.”

Nancy interrupted them. “What can I get you two?” she asked with a kiss to each of their cheeks.

Lucia was taken aback, but Boone had gotten used to it.

“Your best cheeseburgers, with all the trimmings,” Boone said. Then he turned to Lucia. “Unless you want something different?”

Lucia’s face went a beautiful shade of red. She glanced down at the menu, flicked it backward and forward, and then shook her head. “No, no, a burger is more than okay for me. I’m happy with a burger.”

Nancy offered them both a smile and then left them alone.

“Could you teach me?” Lucia asked.

“What?”

“How to defend myself?”

“Is that what you would like to learn?”

Lucia pressed her lips together, glancing around the café, and then nodded her head. “Yes, yes, I don’t think I have much of a choice, do I?”

“You have a choice. I have men who are willing to do whatever it takes to keep you safe. If you don’t want to learn, trust in my men.”

“I do trust in your men, but what if ... something bad happens? What if they’re defending you, and I want to be able to defend you too?”

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