Chapter 180 Lucas POV

Chapter 180 Lucas POV
Marco signals to me from across the room. I lean down and kiss Lacy, taking in the sight of her in that stunning Grace Kelly gown.

"I'll be right back, tesoro. I'm going to grab your present." I press another kiss to the top of her head before straightening.

As I walk toward my cousin, people smile and nod at me from every direction. It's still hard to walk, but I’m doing it. And tonight, that's enough. It was a privilege to stand beside Lacy on the podium in the middle of the golf course while the sun set behind us. My parents are thrilled everything has gone smoothly so far. Lacy was a vision walking toward me, down the isle, she took my breath away. I cannot wait to take this dress off of her so I can fuck her properly.

But the party isn't over yet.

Alice has been glaring at me all night.

Romeo and Marco snatched Jacob from his hotel when he wandered off to his favorite spot. I knew he'd try to sneak off to the club. Fucking moron.

I follow Marco into the hallway, and we take a sharp turn toward the stairs. Four floors down is the basement.

The soundproof basement.

Pain tears through my body with every step, but I keep moving. Alessandro pushes the door open for me.

There he is.

Jacob is strapped to a metal chair, his face swollen and disfigured from the punches my boys have already laid into him. The second he sees me, his eyes widen in panic.

I move slowly toward the metal table beside him, letting my fingers drift over each tool laid out there while he watches me.

"Come on, Lucas, you don't want to do this," he says, trying to plead with me.

It falls on deaf ears. "You are about to find out why they call me Luca the Lunatic!!!" I threaten.

My hand closes around the machete. I lift it and spin it idly in my palm. The smell of fear floods the room so thick it's almost choking. We all catch it at once, and my cousins start laughing.

Jacob is pissing himself.

It trickles down the legs of the chair and onto the concrete floor. Tony mutters a curse under his breath, already thinking about cleanup.

"Don't worry, Jacob," I say, still spinning the machete. "I'm not going to kill you."

Then I pull back my arm.

Before he has time to flinch, I bring the blade down onto his wrist.

His right hand dangles, barely attached by torn skin.

"Fuck!" I snap, glaring at Tony. "I told you to sharpen this."

Tony refuses to meet my eyes as Jacob's screams rip through the room. Blood splatters across the floor, the chair, my shoes.

I bring the machete down a second time.

His hand drops to the filthy concrete.

Jacob vomits while he keeps pissing himself, his body shaking so hard the chair rattles beneath him.

Amos comes in and cauterizes the wound. The stench of burned flesh fills the room, thick and nauseating. Jacob screams until he"s nearly out of air, still straining his lungs long after his voice starts to break.

I reach over and smack him across the face.

He shuts up.

"If you ever look my way again," I say evenly, pausing just long enough to let it sink in, "I will kill you and your sister. Do you understand me?"

I grab his face and squeeze hard, forcing him to look at me.

He nods frantically.

"Actually, don't even step foot in my state again. Stay in D.C. If one of my guys catches you in New York, you're going to wish I had killed you."

I grab a rag from the table, wipe my hands clean, then straighten my sleeves.

Before I leave, I turn to Tony. "Clean him up and put him on a bus back home."

My father meets me in the hallway. I nod once.

Business handled.

Then I make my way back to my gorgeous mate.

I spot her immediately at our table, smiling as she talks with my mother. Her father sits beside her, and Dustin is there too, actually smiling for once. Being away from Jenna seems to have done him some good. Lacy's mother is here as well, though they're estranged. Jackson Stone does not look thrilled watching Frankie hold Jenna on the dance floor.

I grin as I pass him.

Beta Caden is holding Teresa tenderly while they talk, their conversation looking personal. Dragon, meanwhile, is busy showing off. Motherfucker is always smooth. The way he spins Lilith on the dancefloor like fine art.

I signal my guys to bring over Lacy's ceremony presents.

For now, each pearl necklace sits in its own velvet box. Together, they're arranged inside a trunk that opens out like some oversized fishing case. My mother already gave Lacy pearl earrings—each Luna does that for the next one.

I take my seat beside Lacy.

She narrows her eyes as she looks me over. Her gaze drops to my sleeve.

Damn.

There’s a small spot of blood on it.

I adjust my tux jacket quickly, hiding it before she can say anything. She smiles but doesn’t mention it.

My guys set the trunk down, and excitement flashes across Lacy's face.

"As tradition goes here at Luna Gialia Pack," I tell her, "the Luna receives a pearl necklace. I got you fifty. And for the rest of my life, I'll keep adding to your collection so you’ll always have one to match whatever you’re wearing."

Lacy brushes her lips against mine and whispers, "As long as you promise to give me a "pearl necklace" every night."

A laugh erupts out of me, deep and full.

She is absolutely perfect for me.

I need nothing else in this life—or the next—as long as she's with me.

"My turn!" she says, her voice jumping with excitement.

Jenna and Frankie weave through the dancers and set two cases down on the table. My eyebrows pull together.

"Open them!" Lacy urges.

I pop the lock on the first case, and my jaw nearly hits the floor.

Then I open the second.

Holy fucking shit.

I look up at Jackson Stone and nod at him, stunned. He really does love Lacy like a daughter.

Inside the cases is a set of gold-plated handguns and another set plated in diamonds.

I fucking love them.

I cup Lacy’s face in both hands and cover it with kisses.

"I fucking love them," I tell her again, grinning like an idiot.

And I already know I’m going to enjoy the day I pull one of these out and use it to shoot somebody.