Page 28 of Bones

I cry out, “Please daddy, I’ll be good.”

He drags me by my hair, and throws me inside the metal that’s so cold and scary.

This time it’s not his voice that brings me back to the here and now. It’s the loud sound from the gun. I glance around, trying to figure out what happened, when the man on his knees falls to the ground and the other one shouts, “She fucking shot him!”

“Oh my God. Oh my God.”

The firearm falls to the floor as I back up against the wall, and the fear swallows me whole. I hear Luca in the background, but he sounds far away.

“Pick up the gun. Get Eduardo medical attention, and don’t fucking touch my wife.”

Jimmy walks over and picks the gun up, and tucks it into the back of his pants, then he squats in front of me and gives me a terrifying glare. “You may be the boss’s wife, but I promise you if he dies, you will not be safe.”

Gritting his teeth, he continues while spit flies from his mouth, “You can cry for Luca as much as you want, but I’ll kill you myself, Princess. Don’t worry, you can call me daddy while I’m fucking you first. I hear that’s kind of your thing.”

He calls for help on his radio for his friend as he walks away from me, chuckling like a psychopath.

I cover my face as my lips tremble like I’m cold. I’m not. My eyes dart from him to the other guy as my pulse races. Suddenly, I can’t catch my breath. Clenching my fists, I sit in my spot while the men get him out of here, and probably to a hospital. I can’t stop thinking about what he said about me calling him daddy. That can’t be a coincidence.

BONES

A five-hour flight from Las Vegas to New York has never felt longer than this one did. I don’t honestly know what she was thinking. There was no part of me that thought she’d actually shoot anyone, but I was concerned she might hurt herself. Jimmy was told, in no uncertain terms, that he is to not touch her, and normally he follows orders. However, it’s not lost on me that my wife shot someone that means a great deal to him. If it had been anyone other than Athena, I myself would seek vengeance. I’m more than a little anxious as I growl at my driver to drive faster. I torture myself with watching the recording from earlier, of Athena holding a gun on Eduardo. I pause the screen and stare at her beautiful face. Tears streak her cheeks and she appears withdrawn. Lost. I’m an asshole, generally speaking, but seeing her like this fucking hurts. I press play again and watch her shaky hands around the gun. So frightened. And then she cries out that if they don’t kill her, she will shoot him. She wanted them to kill her. And that’s the worst part of it. Did I drive her to this? Or was it something from her past?

I pull up the current video to check on her. Physically, she appears to be fine. Emotionally is an entirely different case. She sits huddled against the wall, as her eyes dart back and forth constantly, like she’s looking for a threat to appear.

Finally, he pulls up to my property and parks at the back. Wasting no time, I race inside and down the stairs to the basement, finding my wife in the same spot, even though she has plenty of length on her chains. I’m not prepared for the emotions that all but attack me, when I gaze at her while we’re both in the same room. The effect is more powerful than looking at my damn phone screen. I move to her and unlock the wrist restraints, and then the ones on her ankles. Her lashes flutter as she raises her gaze to mine. “Luca,” she whispers, and I still can’t figure out why I like hearing that so much from her, but I do. I’ll never get enough of it.

I take her face in my hands as I kneel in front of her. “Butterfly. Beautiful Butterfly.”

Slamming my lips to hers, I kiss her aggressively while she cries into my mouth, causing me to groan into hers. Athena lifts her hands and runs her fingers through my hair, and Jesus Christ, my wife makes me weak as hell, which is not something I can afford.

I ease one hand under her ass and the other around her back, and lift, as I rise and go up the stairs. She gazes at me in question. “Where are we going?”

Athena likely thinks I’m going to fuck her, and I want to more than I want to take my next breath, but right now there are more important things to deal with.

“For you to eat. You’ve been so bad, Butterfly. When I am not here, you are expected to take care of your basic needs. Every meal you were given, you refused.”

“How?” She gasps. “They told you?”

I shake my head as I reach the kitchen. “Have you not learned yet? Cameras. They are everywhere.”

Setting her on a chair at the table, I get her a plate of food, placing it in front of her, and I narrow my gaze at her. “Eat.”

“I can’t,” she whispers so softly it’s barely audible.

“Butterfly, I swear to you if you don’t eat, you will regret it.”

She sticks her fork into the steak, takes a bite and sets her fork down. “There, I ate,” she says after she swallows her food.

“Athena,” I warn.

I have no fucking clue why she isn’t eating, but it won’t be tolerated.

“I need to know, Luca. Did I kill him?”

Shaking my head, I say, “No. It’s only a flesh wound. Eduardo will be just fine.”

Placing her hand over her heart, she breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I never meant to fire the gun.”

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