Page 3 of A Wife's Duty

This made him turn toward her.

She looked into his dark brown eyes. So many women had said this man had come from the Devil himself. She had no idea why. Yes, his eyes were a dark brown, that they almost appeared black, but that wasn’t something to hold against him.

“Do you have a problem with honesty?” he asked.

“No, not at all. I mean, I prefer honesty.” She couldn’t quite look away. Should she trust him? Should she even attempt to be honest with him? “I was looking at you and wondering why ... everyone feared you. My family and the whole mafia family.”

He chuckled. “Do I not look scary to you?”

“Uh, I guess.”

Another chuckle.

“Your family is used to people who are difficult finally backing down. They attempt to threaten, harm, or even kill someone close to you. With me, that is difficult because I have no one. There is no family for them to hurt. No best friend. No one. They can kill my men, but where one falls, a hundred are willing to join me, and that is because for too long your family, and all the Italian mafia, have fucked any loyalty out of everyone. They take and take and take, and people have nothing left to give. They turn to me, because I give them a chance. Also, I’m not afraid to die.”

“You’re not?”

“No, death is inevitable. I’m going to die one day. There is no reason to fear it. It’s coming for all of us, including your family.”

It was a morbid thought, but also a very strange one.

****

The Valdez family may have thought they had given him the dud, the ugly sister, but to Boone, he didn’t think so. There was more to Lucia than met the eye. He’d seen Isabella, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed siren who was used to men adoring her. She was entitled and expected a certain way of life.

Now, Lucia had intrigued him from the start. She didn’t know he had been watching her. Most people thought it was hard to spy on the Italian mafia, but it wasn’t. They had gotten sloppy with their protection detail, and when it came to Lucia, no one seemed to care about her. She was the forgotten sister, the one no one gave a fuck about.

Boone had known if he squeezed the fuck out of the mafia family, they would eventually snap and offer him a consolation prize. Something that would bring peace seeing as he was making them suffer, losing them thousands of dollars a day. They were all about the money and power. They were a couple of old sick fucks that didn’t know their head from their ass. They were used to people being afraid and complying. He’d seen what they were doing, who they were exploiting, and he’d brought a stop to it.

The truth was, he wanted to be left alone, but for some reason, no matter where he went, trouble followed him. There came a point ten years ago, when he finally decided to face that trouble, accept it, then he started to fight. No one was prepared for him. He began to build up, to learn, to take, and then he watched people run. He watched them wish they had never woken the beast, because now that he was awake and in charge, everyone was going to pay.

Lucia was different. She didn’t command attention. She stayed to her little corner, and he noticed that she tried to avoid her father. At events, she was placed as far away from her own family’s table as possible. He had looked into the reason why, assuming her mother had an affair, but there was none of that. Lucia was his real daughter. She just didn’t look like her sister, and according to the men within the mafia, she was fat and ugly.

Glancing toward her in the red dress he had known would look amazing on her, Lucia was not ugly. Sure, she was not what most would instantly describe as beautiful. She had kind eyes. They were green, but kind. There was not an evil bone in her body. Her mouth was plump, and he was not going to deny it, he had wanted to kiss her many times, but held himself back. Succumbing to Lucia was not part of his plan.

Then, there was her body. She was not slender. Lucia had curves. Full ripe tits, heavy thighs, thick hips, and a body made for loving. She was fucking stunning, if truth be told. Not that he told anyone, but it was like she had stepped out of his fucking wet dreams.

On top of that, she was supposed to be a virgin. He didn’t give a fuck about any of that. Women could have as much freedom as men. To fuck who they wanted, have fun, explore. Boone never had a virgin, nor did he ever want one. However, his wife of three weeks was still a virgin.

He liked to keep her family waiting. They thought he was just going to submit to them. They were in for a shock. He couldn’t stand her family, nor any of the Italian mafia.

Boone had seen what some of the men do to the women—the mistresses they had used up and spat out. Some of them bruised, heavily drugged, with a couple of kids they could no longer afford. He’d seen it happen many times. Capos, who had mistresses spread across each city. They wanted their wives to look pure, to do their duty. Their mistresses were to do everything else, to be at their mercy. To fuck when they wanted, to be beaten at will.

Boone hated them.

He’d seen a lot of women become nothing but a shell once they were used up. Mistresses had an expiration date.

“Are you afraid to die, Lucia?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He nodded. “Do you think I am capable of killing you?”

“Yes.”

“That is true. I have killed women who have betrayed me, who have lied, and gotten others killed.”

He saw her shake just a little, but he noticed her hands clenched, and she somehow got herself together. This was another side of Lucia no one else ever seemed to see.

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