Page 6 of Lucky
“Again,” I reiterate. “Nothing to do with the Viccis. If I get even a whiff of dissidence in the ranks, I will cut them down at the knees and feed them their own dicks.”
Marco gives me a weary look, shakes his head slightly before he continues. He hates that I won’t listen to him. “You can’t afford to lose any more good men, Jacklyn. They already think this family is weak now that Jack is gone.”
I rise from my desk at the same level in which my anger surges. My knuckles are ice white as I brace the desk and face him, my expression hard as stone. Marco shifts in his seat, his unease palpable. I can feel his concern in the air between us. He doesn’t think I can handle it. That’s the problem. No one thinks I can handle it. But they’re wrong. I’ve handled worse.
“Jack isnotgone,” I hiss. “He’s just on a leave of absence; he’ll be back.”
Marco shoots me a weary glance. As usual, he thinks I’m delusional, hoping on to a hope that’s already long gone.
“If they wish to test the threshold of my patience, bring it,” I hiss. “Anyone who betrays me will get no less than a bullet through his head – courtesy of my own hand. You make sure they all know that.”
“Starting a war within your own ranks is a death sentence, Jackie,” Marco mutters, his voice low, filled with caution. “They want blood.”
“It’s not our war!” I scream, my fist coming down hard on the desk with every word. “Why are you defending them!?”
I turn away before he can see the tremble in my lip. My heels click on the polished marble floors as I walk toward the window. I don’t need to listen to Marco’s warnings. I already know. They’re all just waiting for me to make a mistake. Waiting for me to falter so amore competentcandidate can step in and take control of the family.
“Let them think whatever they want to think,” I mutter, my voice almost a whisper. I can hear the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears, drowning out everything else. “Let them think that just because Jack can’t sit at the table, it means he’s no longer the head of this family. Let them think whatever they want.” I turn sharply, facing Marco with a look that could freeze fire. My gaze locks onto his, and I see the hesitation there, the worry. But I don’t care. “If any of them think they can betray this family,” I continue, my voice low but deadly, “they’re going to learn exactly how far my loyalty to my brother runs.”
Marco nods, but there’s something unspoken between us. A tension that’s always been there, an unacknowledged depth to our relationship. But it doesn’t matter. Not now. It’s not the time for us.
“You know where my loyalties lie,” Marco says, his voice quieter this time. “It’s always been you, Jacklyn.”
I feel the words like a punch to the gut. He’s right. He’s always been loyal, almost to a fault. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t at times tried to control me, to steer me in the direction he feels best for this family. What he seems to forget is that I don’t need to be controlled. I don’t need to say more. Marco understands. He’s always understood me better than anyone else.
I clench my jaw and exhale through my nose as I turn back to the desk, tapping a finger against the polished wood, lost in thought. I can feel Marco’s eyes on me, his unwavering gaze as he watches me, waiting for instructions, waiting for a sign that it’s time to act. He’s always been the one to back me up. But I’m the one who needs to pull the trigger.
“You know, Jacklyn,” Marco begins softly, “you can’t do this alone. You don’t have to carry this burden by yourself.”
I glance at him, my expression unreadable. He wants to help. He wants to protect me. But I’m not some fragile woman whoneeds saving. I’m a Vicci. And I’ll die before I let anyone wrest control of this family from me.
“I’m not alone, Marco,” I reply, my voice low and final. “I have my family. And if anyone thinks they can take what’s ours, they’ll learn the hard way.”
He opens his mouth to say something else, but then stops himself. He knows better than to push me when I’ve made up my mind. He knows that when I’ve set my sights on something, there’s no turning back.
The weight of the family’s survival hangs heavy in the air. The traitor is still out there, and I can feel the pressure building. Jack’s future is uncertain. And the Gattis are waiting for an opening.
But one thing is clear; I will not let my family fall.
And if it means tearing this world apart to protect them, then so be it.
4
JACKLYN
Marco and I get into a fight.
Arguing with Marco seems to be a regular occurrence in my life these days. He’s as stubborn as he is loyal, and the fact that he’s been watching over me since I was a teenager doesn’t help. His protective streak has only gotten worse over the years, and I’m convinced he thinks I’m still that same naive girl he was assigned to shadow when I was fifteen.
But things changed as I got older. Marco’s role shifted from just being my bodyguard to something more complicated, more personal. I caught him looking at me differently when I turned nineteen—his eyes lingering a little too long, his presence suddenly heavier. He’s always been there, always watching, and I’ve grown used to it. Too used to it, maybe. But just because he’s in love with me doesn’t mean I owe him anything.
It doesn’t mean I want him.
Jack used to hint that Marco was the perfect match for me. “He’ll protect you,” Jack said often, as though that was the qualifying factor for a husband. As though safety and protectioncould fill the gaps where passion, love, and freedom are supposed to live.
But I don’t want just safety. I want more. I want everything.
Tonight, I need to breathe. I need to feel the world outside of my house without the endless, suffocating shadow of protection that follows me everywhere. I need to remember what it feels like to exist without fear, even if it’s only for a few hours. And there’s only one place I can do that—Ignite.