Bones (Bonetti Brothers #1)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

BONES

Athena sits beside me at Manhattan’s, which is a seafood restaurant that my sister is obsessed with. Our table is right beside a massive saltwater fish tank my wife seems quite drawn to. The restaurant isn’t a fancy one like she probably expected, but it’s still nice. The ceiling has murals painted of the ocean, and the many creatures you find there. It’s like Finding Nemo in real life. The tables are all square, dark wood, and covered with white tablecloths. We sit with wine and menus in front of us, but Athena clearly is in no hurry.

I place my arm around her and speak low into her ear, so nobody overhears me. If I can avoid her embarrassment, I will.

“You don’t need to worry about Penelope judging you because you can’t read. It’s not your fault, and my sister isn’t a bitch. If anything, she’d want to help you.”

Athena turns her head to me. “I know, but I don’t want anyone to know, Luca. It kills me that you know.”

I kiss her briefly on the lips. “Whatever you want. I’m going to find you a tutor tomorrow. I know this bothers you, and we’re going to rectify this.”

She smiles at me and surprises me. “I wish we had a pen and paper. I want to see the word butterfly.”

Holding up my hand, I motion for the waitress, and she comes over.

“Do you have a pen and paper we can use?”

She pulls a pen and paper from her black apron, and sets it on the table before she walks away. I’m not sure if she was inconvenienced but I don’t care .

I spell out the word she wants to see, and just below it, I separate the word for her; writing ‘but-ter-fly’. Of course, I have no idea how to teach someone how to read, but I remember as a kid having to sound things out.

She sits staring at the paper in awe, like the word is magical. It was never meant to be a nickname that stuck. Hell, I never planned to keep her. Now I know she’ll always be my Butterfly, but instead of destroying her, I’ll protect her. With my life, if necessary. Everyone who hurt my wife will die, her mother included. No one is safe. If I find out a million more people hurt her, then I’ll kill a million people. There’s no limit. Nothing will ever be too much.

I sound out the word, and point to the different letters as I sound it out, and she smiles softly. “I think that’s my favorite word.”

Stroking my fingers down her cheek, I ask, “Are you sure it isn’t words like pussy? Or fuck? Harder?”

Her cheeks turn bright red, as she glances around to see if anyone heard me, and then she glares at me. “Luca!”

I chuckle as I kiss her forehead. “And that’s my favorite word.”

“Teach me the food words before she comes back.”

I open the menu and point out the different sections. “These are appetizers. Soups, salads, breads, and things like that.”

Continuing to point, I say, “These are the entrees. The main item of your meal. Penelope’s favorite is the baked salmon. Lobster. Crab Legs. Fish of the Day. Today is Thursday, so it’s Trout. It shows underneath. When you come with my sister, it’ll probably be Sunday, so it’s going to be Pan Roasted Haddock.”

She blinks away unshed tears as she whispers. “This is impossible, Luca. I can’t do this.”

I take her chin in my hand and tilt her head back gently. “You can and you will. Let’s go through it again.”

I spend an hour helping her try to read the words, but I know it’s more about her memorizing it, than learning it. She’ll need to be taught the basics of reading by a professional. Hopefully, I’ve helped enough so she can enjoy her day with my sister, rather than feeling bad about herself. I don’t love that she’s going to be out of the house for an entire day without me, but I have to let her live a life. She has been kept as a prisoner for long enough. I’m hoping that, as she gets to know my sister better, that she’ll open up to her and tell her the truth. It will be good for Athena to have a woman around that she can talk to.

After we order, she visibly relaxes beside me.

She giggles. “I hope I like lobster, because I’ll probably order that when I come again because it’ll be easier.”

“You’ve never had it then?”

She rolls her eyes at me. “No, Luca. Of course I haven’t.”

With anyone else, I’d give them a lecture about eating the bottom feeders of the ocean. They are disgusting. They’ll eat each other, for fuck’s sake. The time will likely come when I do tell her that, but not right now. I don’t want to make things more difficult for her.

After she finishes half a glass of wine, I decide it’s time to dig for information.

“How did you meet William?”

She takes another gulp of wine before she answers, “My father was friends with his mother, and she wanted a friend for her son. He had trouble socializing. Those were my first outings.”

“How old were you?”

Her eyes dart up to the ceiling as if she’ll find the answer there, and then she shrugs. “I’m not sure, but I think fourteen or fifteen.”

“And you told him?”

She nods slightly. “We had gotten close, or I thought we had. I really thought he’d help me. Maybe call the police or something.”

“I’m going to find him.”

Athena’s eyes widen with apparent shock. “You don’t have to. It’s in the past. ”

I chuckle as I run my fingers down her bare arm. “That’s not how it works, Butterfly. They hurt you, they die. It’s simple. No one is safe.”

She looks at me like I’m insane, and bites, “So if someone cuts in front of me in line, you’ll kill them?”

I shrug while I smirk at her. “It’s a possibility.”

I’m not as much of an animal as my wife seems to think I am. I wouldn’t really kill someone for cutting in line, although I might threaten it. I’m not kidding though, if someone hurts her, they’ll pay the price. And William is next on my list. Then her mother.

She takes my hand. “I need you to promise me something.”

I’m an idiot, so I nod in agreement, without asking what she wants. “Anything.”

The fact is, there’s very little I wouldn’t give my wife. Her happiness means everything to me, so I didn’t hesitate even though I should have.

“Leave my mother alone, Luca. I don’t want you to hurt her.”

I swallow hard. “Butterfly, I can’t promise that.”

“You already did.”

“Athena,” I growl, “She left you there. She could have taken you with her, and would have spared you everything you’ve been through.”

Reaching up, she runs her delicate fingers through my hair. She knows this is a weakness for me. Every time she does this, I nearly lose my mind.

“I love you, Luca. And I love that you want to protect me, that you want to somehow right the past, but I need you to not hurt her. Please.”

Closing my eyes, I sigh audibly. “Fine.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you want a relationship with her? Is that why?”

I open my eyes and find her staring at me, but she looks so far away .

“No. I will never forgive her for abandoning me the way she did, but I don’t want her to die. She had reasons for what she did, I’m sure of it. Whatever the case, I forgive her, but forgiving her doesn’t mean having her in my life.”

“For now, baby, I’ll leave her alone, but if she ever tries to hurt you again, I may go back on my word.”

She takes a sip of her wine, and sets the glass back on the table before returning her gaze to mine. “I can live with that. Now, who wanted to see me?”

I look away from her and try to pretend I didn’t hear her, because this isn’t a conversation I want to have with her, but she persists.

“Luca, when I was standing outside your office, I heard you. I don’t know who you were talking about, but I know it involved me.”

“I will tell you everything you need to know.”

Athena folds her arms over her chest as she glares at me with obvious irritation. “If it’s about me, I should know. Please don’t keep secrets from me. That’s not the kind of marriage I want.”

I exhale a deep breath. “You have a brother that is snooping around and asking questions, because he’s pissed his father is dead.”

She gasps. “A brother? I don’t have a brother, Luca.”

“He had a child with another woman before your mother left. He’s two years older than you are.”

“What does he want from me?”

I hate the look of fear on her face, which is why I didn’t want to tell her.

“It doesn’t matter. Reaper is on him. He will take care of it. He will not live long enough to hurt you.”

Instead of the response I expect, she gets up and climbs onto my lap, ignoring the people in the restaurant, and wraps her arms around my neck. “Thank you.”

Winding her hair around my fist, I pull her closer and taste her lips. I lick them before pushing my tongue into her mouth. The waitress brings our food, but we don’t stop, so she sets the colorful plates down and walks away. Athena runs her fingers into the back of my hair and I groan in frustration, because I’m tempted to fuck her right here. She pulls back with a giggle. “Sorry. I was feeling grateful.”

I nod to her chair. “You better sit down and eat, before you’re feeling something entirely different.”

“Animal,” she says quietly.