Page 85 of A Wife's Duty

“Hello, Sweetheart,” he said.

She offered him a smile. “Hey, Frank.”

“You’re not looking too happy.”

“I’m fine.”

There was silence and Lucia poured herself a drink. “Do you want a coffee?”

“Sure thing.”

She poured him a glass, and Betty had gone to lay down. Lucia had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before the pups arrived. She was behaving strangely. Each time she watched, it was like she was getting settled in for a nest or something.

“How were Amy and the boys?” Lucia asked.

“They’re good. They all send their love.”

She nodded and then took a sip of her hot coffee. It burned on the way down her throat, but she didn’t show it. All she could think about was Boone.

“So, Boone told me I’ve got to take you to see Cameron. Badass, getting a piece of ink,” Frank said.

“Yeah.”

She couldn’t be happy right now. All she could think about was Boone—what he was doing, where he was, whether he was safe. Her family had taken everything from him, and now it was time for Boone to settle the score.

“You’re not very talkative today, are you?”

“Sorry,” Lucia said. “It’s been a long week.”

“I get it,” Frank said. “A lot of bad shit is about to go down.”

“What are the chances of Boone ... not making it?” Lucia asked. She didn’t want to cry.

“Look, I don’t want to bore you with facts and percentages—”

“Please, just keep it real.” Frank had never treated her like she was stupid. It was one of the many things she liked about him.

Frank sighed. “There are always risks with this kind of stuff, but Boone is not a fool, and he knows exactly what he is doing, you know?”

He didn’t give her anything. Lucia nodded.

“I’m ready to go when you are.”

She didn’t feel like getting dressed up, and with how she felt, getting poked by thousands of needles sounded like a lot of fun right about now.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

She walked to Betty, picked her up, and carried her out to Frank’s car. Boone had already left Betty’s car harness, and Lucia picked it up and gritted her teeth. He’d left it.

Lucia tried to count in her head, and tried not to think about what that meant. Boone was going to be in danger, and all she could do was attempt to live life as if he wasn’t.

Climbing into the back seat, she didn’t want to sit upfront. Betty moved in close to her, and Lucia stroked her head, then moved down her body.

“I’ve got you, honey. He will be back,” she said. “He will.”

Frank took her to Cameron’s, and he worked on her ink. He asked her many times if she was okay, and Lucia agreed. The pain of the ink didn’t stop her from thinking about Boone, though.

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