Page 77 of A Wife's Duty

“You didn’t?”

“You’re ... the Bonaldis, no one has been successful in taking them down, Boone. What you’re doing might get you killed?”

He cupped her face, and she had no choice but to look up at him. She didn’t look away, even for a second. She loved his brown eyes. She loved everything about him.

“Do you still want that ink?” he asked.

“What?”

“You didn’t know if you wanted a tattoo. Have you made up your mind?”

Where were his thoughts at a moment like this? She was trying to warn him and all he could think about was ink? It made no sense to her.

“Boone—”

“Do you still want to get some ink?” he asked, completely cutting her off.

Trying to warn him was pointless. Staring into his eyes, she saw he had already made up his mind. There was no changing it, and she didn’t want to ruin the short time they had together. Tattoos were important to him.

“Yes, I would still like to get that ink.”

If she got the ink, that would mean he was going to stick around, wouldn’t it?

“I made arrangements for us to go somewhere today. I know a guy who is more than happy to slot you in, and more importantly, I trust him.”

There were so many questions she wanted to ask. Her curiosity about where he was when she woke up, what he’d been doing, had he completed his mission? Had he made Bonaldi and her father pay for their sins? Yet, not a single word left her lips.

“You trust him?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She nodded. “Then, yeah, I’d love to. What about Betty?”

“She can come along. I’ll keep her company.”

Again, she had no idea what to say, so she merely nodded her head, which seemed to be her thing to do.

It didn’t take Lucia long to be ready for him, changing into a pair of jeans and a large sweater. She did have on a crop top underneath for modesty. With Betty secured in the back of the car, Lucia took the passenger seat, and they were driving out of the main driveway, onto the road. She kept looking toward him, wondering if there was any discernable sign of what he’d been up to. Nothing gave it away.

She pressed her lips together and continued to look straight ahead. That seemed to be her best bet, although she couldn’t help but glance toward him.

“Ask me,” Boone said.

“What?”

“I can see that something is on your mind, Lucia. Don’t beat around the bush, just ask me.”

Just ask. No one just asked the man in their world what was going on. She recalled all the times her mother even dared to question her father, even if it wasn’t a question, she would get slapped or beaten. A woman’s place was to do as they were told, and nothing else.

Was that what Boone wanted? Hell, no. She couldn’t constantly assume that Boone was like her father. He was nothing like him. She was sitting in his car, on her way to get a tattoo, with short hair, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. She no longer dressed like a woman her father would appreciate.

“What did you do while you were gone?” Lucia asked.

There was no attack, no pain, and she looked toward Boone. He still stared straight ahead.

“Do you really want to know?” he asked.

He held his hand up as she opened her mouth. “I’m not saying you can’t handle it, Lucia. What I’m saying is, are you ready to hear the truth? Do you even want to? You don’t have to.”

---