Page 27 of Lucky
I collapse against a crate, blood dripping from a gash on my temple. A sigh of relief escapes me; I was so close to death that I almost have to pinch myself to believe I’m still here. Around me, the warehouse is eerily quiet, the stench of blood and gunpowder heavy in the air.
Vito limps over, his face pale. “They got most of it,” he says grimly.
“And the Cavallos?”
“Gone,” he replies. “They’ll never deal with us again after this.”
I nod, my hands trembling as I holster my gun. Daniel’s actions have done more damage than any rival family ever could. Jack needs to know. This wasn’t just an attack on the deal—this was an attack on the Vicci family itself. Daniel Russo literally just screwed us well into the next century.
And if Daniels’s bold enough to stage an uprising against the Vicci family, he won’t stop until Jack’s empire burns.
I may have misjudgedEmilio Cavallo. He wouldn’t stick around to save us during the ambush, but he does the next best thing. He calls a cousin of his who’s on his payroll, who also happens to be a police officer. So in fact, he did save us in a way by sending his cousin in with his siren wailing.
But I can’t say the man’s not flipping mad. One of his own men was shot, and he’s out for blood. Namely, Daniel Russo’s, but he’s also not happy that the leak about the deal came from our side; there’ll be a price to pay for that. We’ve copped the loss of the arms that were stolen, the same arms that were meant to fight off the Gattis, and Cavallo now refuses to work with us. We’re down the stash of weapons and several million in crypto, and I really don’t know how much more of a beating the Vicci family can take.
To my surprise, Jacklyn takes the news standing. Not just standing—unyielding, as though the words I’ve just spoken to her are no more than a stiff breeze battering against a stone wall. Her chin tilts upward, her gaze fixed and unflinching, the amber fire in her eyes burning brighter than ever. She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t falter. Instead, she speaks, her voice steady and sharp as tempered steel.
"If they want to tear me to pieces," she says, her tone carrying a mixture of defiance and unshakable determination, "I’ll hand them the knife."
The words hang in the air between us, heavy with intent. It’s not just bravado—there’s something in her resolve, a strength I hadn’t expected, not after everything she’s been through. Just days ago, she was a storm of grief and desperation, unraveling as she watched Jack board that plane. She’d clung to him like he was her anchor, her only steadying force in a world that threatened to rip her apart.
But something shifted after that. Maybe it was Jack’s absence that forced her to find her own footing. Maybe it was the realization that no one was coming to save her. Whatever it was, within two hours of that plane disappearing into the clouds, Jacklyn Vicci was no longer the shattered woman I’d seen at the hangar.
Now, as she stands before me, taking in the grim reality of the situation—the whispers of betrayal, the escalating threats, the cracks forming in the Vicci family’s foundations—it’s clear that the woman who cried over sending her brother away is gone, and in her place stands a formidable woman willing to sacrifice herself to save her family.
“You understand what this means,” I say carefully, testing her resolve. “They’re not just coming for you, Jacklyn. They’ll use everything they can against you. Friends, allies, even innocents if it means breaking you.”
Her lips press into a thin line, but she doesn’t waver. “Then I won’t give them the satisfaction of surrender.”
Her composure is unnerving, even for me. I’ve seen men crumble under less pressure. But there’s something about Jacklyn now, something fierce and unrelenting, like she’s found a deeper part of herself. She doesn’t just accept the fight ahead—she welcomes it.
“I’m not Jack,” she says suddenly, her voice soft but edged with steel. “I won’t be loved, Marco. Not the way he was. I know that. I know what they’ll say about me, what they’ll try to do. But I’m not here to be loved. I’m here to run an empire. They don’t respect me now, so I’ll just work doubly hard to earn it.”
The words are a punch to the gut. Not because they’re surprising, but because they’re true. Jacklyn Vicci isn’t Jack Vicci. She’ll never be the larger-than-life figure that people adored and feared in equal measure until bullets ripped through him, rendering him helpless. But she doesn’t have to be.
She turns her back to me, walking toward the window. Outside, the city stretches endlessly, its glittering lights hiding the shadows beneath.
“When Jack gets back,” she says, her voice quieter now, “I want him to find this family intact. I want him to findmeintact. And if I have to burn a few bridges while I’m at it, then so be it.”
Her words hang in the room, leaving no doubt in my mind; Jacklyn Vicci isn’t preparing for war. She’sreadyfor it.
14
LUCKY
Jayson Caluna is the kind of asset you want in your corner when the chips are down. A cousin to Javier Merchado, the head of the Maltese family, Jayson proved his worth when Brando needed him to. Back then, Brando was fighting battles on two fronts—his past clawing at him and the return of Frank Falcone. It was Jayson who helped tip the scales in our favor. And while I can’t speak for the state of Falcone’s soul, I doubt it’s resting easily after the bloody curtain call Mia gave him.
Jayson didn’t just survive his time with Falcone—he turned it into an audition. Merchado might’ve “loaned” him out to Falcone, but Jayson played the long game. While Falcone was fool enough to trust him, Jayson stayed loyal to the Gatti name, proving that in a world of shifting alliances, he was the kind of man you could count on when the walls started closing in.
Now, he’s on our payroll, and his worth goes far beyond his connections—though those are impressive enough to warrant their own chapter. Jayson knows everyone, has a knack for reading the room, and can extract secrets without breaking a sweat. But it’s his unshakable loyalty and sharp moral compass that truly set him apart in a world that thrives on betrayal.
I’ve sent him to dig into the Viccis, to gather every scrap of intel he can unearth. If there’s one rule that keeps us alive, it’s that you don’t go to war blind. And with Jacklyn Vicci shrouded in mystery, I need Jayson to map out the terrain before we take a single step forward. If anyone can crack the Vicci family’s armor, it’s him.
“Back so soon?” I ask him, as I lean back in my chair.
Jayson frowns, as though questioning himself over what he’s about to share with me.
“A Vicci deal just went sideways.” My heart drops. Another thing I admire about Jayson; he doesn’t mince words. He gets straight to the point.