Chapter 5 Marked
Lucy barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Lucas’s face across that diner table—shadowed, intense, far too perceptive.
She felt the heat in his voice when he said you matter now.
She felt the danger in those words.
By morning, she was pacing her apartment with a cold cup of coffee in her hand and a knot of dread twisting in her stomach.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
She was supposed to stay invisible.
Untouchable.
Forgettable.
Now a mafia boss knew her name, her face, her purpose.
And worse—
Part of her didn’t want him to forget her.
The thought made her flinch.
Her phone buzzed with a message from Elena, her only friend at work.
You coming in? Big meeting at 10. Get here.
Don’t make me lie to your boss again.
Lucy grabbed her bag and left before she could talk herself out of moving. She needed normalcy—spreadsheets, emails, endless meetings. Something to drown out the memory of Lucas’s voice saying:
Let me protect you.
No.
She worked alone.
She always had.
Meanwhile… across the city
Marco Verri paced the length of his warehouse office, rage boiling so hot it made his hands shake.
“How the hell did she get away?” he snarled, slamming a fist onto the desk.
Two of his men knelt in front of him, bruised from their encounter in the alley. They kept their eyes down, terrified to meet his.
“She—she wasn’t normal,” one stammered.
“She fought like—like—”
“Like what?” Marco spat.
“Like she’d done it before.”
Marco’s nostrils flared.
“Describe her.”
“She was young… maybe mid-twenties. Hooded. Fast. Had a weapon—baton—”
Marco’s jaw tensed.
“Did you get her face?”
“Barely,” the man said. “Dark hair. Sharp eyes.”
Marco sank into his chair, tapping his fingers against the armrest. His mind was a storm—scattered, dangerous.
A girl had interfered.
A girl had beaten his men.
A girl had taken his target.
“Find her,” Marco said coldly. “I want a name, a face, and an address.”
His men scrambled to their feet and rushed out.
The moment the door closed, Marco smirked.
“A vigilante,” he muttered. “Interesting.”
He reached for his phone and dialed a number.
When the line picked up, Marco said, “I have a problem. And it involves the DeLuca family.”
A pause.
A voice on the other end responded.
Marco grinned.
“Oh yes,” he purred. “It’s time to start a war.”
Back at the office
Lucy tried to focus.
She really did.
But during the morning meeting, she found her gaze drifting to the glass walls of the conference room—half expecting to see Lucas DeLuca standing outside like some dark omen.
She needed to get him out of her head.
“Lucy?” her boss barked. “You with us?”
She blinked. “Yes. Sorry. Just tired.”
“Stay alert. This meeting is important.”
She nodded, forcing herself back into the rhythm of professionalism. If she pretended hard enough, maybe she could trick her brain into normalty.
But when she left for lunch, a prickling sensation crawled over her skin.
Someone was watching her.
Lucy’s steps slowed.
Then a hand clamped on her arm.
Her heart shot into her throat—until she turned and saw Matteo, Lucas’s right-hand man.
He looked out of place in his suit amid the business district crowd.
“You need to come with me,” he said quietly.
Lucy yanked her arm back. “Not a chance.”
“Lucy.” Matteo lowered his voice. “It’s important.”
“And I should trust you because…?”
He exhaled sharply. “Because the men who tried to take Emily? Someone’s looking for you now.”
Lucy’s pulse froze.
“Who?”
“Marco Verri.”
Lucy’s blood turned to ice.
Matteo continued, “Lucas needs to talk to you. It’s not optional anymore.”
She laughed bitterly. “Everything with him feels ‘not optional.’”
“Please,” Matteo said, surprising her. “Just hear him out.”
Lucy stared at him, jaw tight.
Marco knew a girl had interfered.
He was hunting her.
If she stayed alone—if she stayed in the open—she’d be dead by nightfall.
And she hated that the safest place for her might be near the very man she was trying to avoid.
“Fine,” she said. “Five minutes. That’s all.”
Matteo nodded and led her toward a black SUV parked at the curb.
But the moment he opened the back door—
Lucas was already inside, waiting for her.
His eyes locked onto hers instantly.
Relief flashed there—quick, raw, unguarded—but masked almost immediately by something darker.
Possessive fear.
“Get in,” he said quietly.
“Now.”
Lucy hesitated.
Lucas’s jaw tightened.
“Marco knows about you,” he said. “And he’s coming.”
Her heart slammed.
Lucas held out his hand, palm up, steady.
“Trust me, Lucy. Just this once.”
She stared at him, torn between instinct and survival.
Then—slowly—she slid into the SUV.
Lucas closed the door behind her.
And in that moment, she knew her life had just shifted.
Dangerously.
Irreversibly.
Into his world.