Page 10 of Victorious, Part 2 (The LA Defiance MC #6)

HAVEN

Two days at the clubhouse with Nighthawk, and I’m still not entirely sure if I want to hug her or throw her off the roof.

It could go either way at this point.

But she has been helpful, I’ll give her that.

Setting up in one of the spare rooms as if she belongs here, working with Loki on his surveillance systems, even helping Navy organize the bar inventory because, apparently, assassins have fantastic organizational skills.

Who knew?

But there’s still this tension between us that has nothing to do with the fact that she killed Livvy.

It’s more complicated than that.

We are two birds who chose different paths, and now we’re trying to figure out how to fly in the same direction.

I’m perched on the sofa in the main area, laptop balanced on my knees, going through intelligence reports when she slides into the seat across from me.

Her dark red hair is pulled back in a practical ponytail, and she’s wearing one of the club T-shirts Navy found for her.

It should look wrong, a deadly assassin in casual wear, but somehow it fits.

“You know, Blue Jay,” she says, and I bristle slightly at the use of my codename.

Old habits die hard, I guess.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said the other day. About trusting each other.”

I look up from my screen, meeting her green eyes. There’s something different there today. Less guarded. “And?”

“And I think we need to stop dancing around each other like we’re still in The Nest.” She leans forward, elbows on her knees. “We’re not birds anymore. We’re… what exactly?”

“Sisters in chaos?” I suggest dryly, which earns me a genuine laugh.

“I like that better than ‘former deadly weapons turned suburban housewives.’ ”

“Speak for yourself. I’m nowhere near suburban.” I gesture around the clubhouse. “This is about as far from a white picket fence as you can get.”

“True.” She pauses, studying my face. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Do you miss it? The simplicity of it all? Someone tells you who to kill, you kill them, mission complete. No morally gray areas, no wondering if you’re making the right choice.”

It’s a question I’ve asked myself more times than I care to admit.

“Sometimes,” I admit. “But then I remember what that simplicity cost us. What it cost them.” I nod toward the Chapel stairs, where I hear the muffled voices of the brothers.

“We were weapons, Nighthawk. Not people. Here, I get to be both.”

“Cassandra,” she says quietly.

“What?” I furrow my brows in question.

“My name. It’s Cassandra. I’ve been practicing saying it. Cas-san-dra,” she says succinctly with a grin, and for a moment, she looks almost shy. “Weird, right? Twenty years old and just learning my own name.” She puffs out a breath, shaking her head.

“Not weird. Brave.” I close the laptop and give her my full attention. “How does it feel?”

“Like wearing someone else’s clothes. But… I think I could get used to it.”

Before I can respond, Loki’s voice booms from his den. “Haven, Nighthawk. Get your asses in here, now !”

We exchange glances and immediately spring into action. Whatever playful moment we were having evaporates as we rush towards his lair. When we burst through the door, Loki is hunched over his monitors, his face grim.

“What is it?” I demand.

“Remember those camera feeds I’ve been monitoring? The ones showing inside the prison?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, pulling up multiple screens. “Look at this shit.”

The monitors display grainy black and white footage from inside the California Institute for Women. But what I’m seeing doesn’t make sense. Groups of women huddled in corners, guards moving with military precision, and something else.

“Are those markings on the walls?” Nighthawk steps closer, her voice sharp with recognition.

Loki nods. “Started showing up two days ago. At first, I thought it was just graffiti, but look at the pattern.”

My blood runs cold as the image focuses. Carved into the concrete walls are symbols I recognize all too well.

Bird symbols.

Nest symbols.

But there’s something else mixed in, newer markings that make my skin crawl.

“Jesus Christ,” I whisper, pointing at the screen. “That one. Upper left corner.”

Nighthawk follows my gaze and goes rigid. “Blue Jay, that’s—”

“A Hummingbird mark. Poppy’s mark.” My heart starts racing. “But she’s never been to that prison. She’s never even seen the inside of a cell.”

“Unless…” Nighthawk says slowly, “… they’re using our symbols to mark territories.”

“Or targets.” My words are barely audible as they leave my lips.

Loki pulls up another feed, this one showing a different section of the prison.

More markings.

More symbols.

A Blue Jay.

A Nighthawk.

Clear as day.

And then I see something that makes my stomach drop.

“There,” I point at a figure moving through the corridor. “That guard. The way she moves…”

“That’s not a guard,” Nighthawk breathes. “That’s a fucking bird.”

“How can you tell?” Loki asks.

“The way she checks corners, keeps her back to walls, never lingers in open spaces. Plus, look at her posture.” Nighthawk points to the screen. “She carries herself as if she’s constantly ready for combat, and she’s light on her feet. Ready to take flight. Guards don’t move like that.”

Loki’s fingers fly over his keyboard, pulling up more footage. “If you’re right, then we’ve got bigger problems. Because I count at least six guards moving with those same patterns.”

“Six birds working as guards?” I shake my head. “That’s not random. That’s coordinated.”

“That’s an operation,” Nighthawk corrects grimly. “And if they’re using our symbols…” She turns to face me. “Haven, I think I know what’s happening. But you’re not gonna like it.”

“Try me.”

She takes a deep breath. “What if they’re not just running the prison? What if they’re farming it?”

“Farming it for what?”

“New birds. Think about it. You’ve got a contained population of women, many with violent backgrounds or trauma that makes them malleable.

You’ve got controlled access and minimal outside oversight.

You separate the ones who show potential, mark them with symbols to track progress, and slowly indoctrinate them. ”

My mind races through the implications. “The markings aren’t territorial. They’re… they’re like grades. Or levels.”

“Exactly. And if Javier’s rebuilt this much of the program…” She gestures at the screens. “Then the underground facilities I told you about? They’re not just for smuggling. They’re training grounds or something worse.”

Loki curses under his breath. “How deep do you think these tunnels go?”

“Deep enough to hide an entire operation,” Nighthawk states. “When I was working with Javier, he mentioned facilities beneath government buildings. I thought he was just being paranoid about security, but what if he was planning this from the beginning?”

I’m already moving toward the door. “We need to tell Alpha. Now !”

“Haven, wait.” Nighthawk catches my arm. “There’s something else. Something I haven’t told you.”

I stop, turning back to face her. “What?”

“Three years ago, before Javier sent me on the mission… before Livvy. He had me working on infrastructure projects. I’m talking warehouses for guns and drugs.

High-rise financial buildings for money laundering.

Shipping yards for drug distribution. Coastal weapons facilities to ship weapons in and out.

I thought we were just creating safe houses and supply routes until I started digging after Livvy.

I didn’t realize…” She looks genuinely distressed.

“I didn’t know he was planning to turn them into massive Cartel operations.

All of this, plus the prison bird system. ”

“How many facilities, Nighthawk?” My voice is deadly calm.

“At least a dozen. Maybe more. Spanning multiple states.”

“Fuck.” I run my hands through my hair. “This isn’t just about taking over a prison. This is about creating a network. A whole goddamn empire.”

“Built on the bones of the system we escaped,” she whispers.

Loki finally speaks up. “So, what you’re telling me is that while we’ve been playing defense, trying to protect ourselves and our families, Javier’s been playing a completely different game?”

“He’s been playing the long game,” I confirm. “Using our own methods against us.”

“There’s more,” Nighthawk says quietly. “The senator you mentioned, Cormac Wilson? He’s not just in Javier’s pocket.

According to the communications I intercepted before I left, he’s planning to introduce legislation that would privatize more prisons.

Guess who’s going to be bidding on those contracts? ”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Loki groans.

“Shell companies, legitimate front businesses, all leading back to the Cartel. If Wilson gets his way, Javier won’t just control a few facilities. He’ll have legal authority over dozens of them, if not all.”

I stare at the screens showing the prison footage, my mind trying to process the scope of what we’re dealing with.

“So let me get this straight. Javier’s using the prison as a testing ground for a new bird training program, building an underground network that spans multiple states, has dozens, if not more, facilities of illegal operations under his control across the country, and he’s got a senator ready to hand him legal control? ”

“That’s the gist of it.”

“And his end game?”

Nighthawk meets my eyes. “Complete control. Not just of the criminal underworld, but of the system itself. Imagine if the people in charge of law enforcement, corrections, and even legislation all answered to the Cartel. Not through corruption or bribery, but through actual systematic control.”

“A goddamn shadow government,” Loki breathes out.

“With an army of unhinged birds at his disposal,” I add grimly.

The weight of it all settles over us like a suffocating blanket. We’re not just dealing with a revenge-motivated Cartel leader. We’re dealing with someone who’s trying to rebuild society in his own image.

“We have to stop this,” I say finally.

“Agreed. But how?” Loki asks. “This is bigger than anything we’ve faced before.”

“The same way we always do,” I reply, already moving toward the door. “Together. And probably with way too many explosives and torture. There’s going to be so much fucking torture when I am through with this cunt.”

“Haven,” Nighthawk calls after me as I storm for the door in my rage. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. About not telling you sooner, about my part in building this nightmare.”

I pause at the doorway, looking back at her. “You’re here now. That’s what matters. But, Nighthawk? No more secrets. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it with everything on the table.”

“Cassandra,” she corrects with a small smile. “And agreed. No more secrets.”

“Good. Now let’s go ruin Alpha’s day with this shitpile of information.”

The three of us head toward the main area to find Alpha, and I can’t help but think about how much has changed.

A few days ago, Nighthawk was the enemy, the woman who killed Livvy, and who worked for our greatest threat.

Now, she’s, well, she’s becoming something else.

Maybe not family yet, but definitely an ally.

And given what we’re up against, we’re going to need all the allies we can get.

The clubhouse feels different as we walk through it.

Maybe it’s the knowledge of what’s really happening out there, or maybe it’s the way the brothers look up when they see us coming.

Either way, I know that whatever plans we make next, whatever risks we take, this place, these people, are worth fighting for, even if it means going to war against a shadow government built on the bones of our past.

Especially if it means that.

I find Alpha near the bar, talking quietly with Montana and Maverick, and the conversation stops abruptly when they see our faces.

“Judging by your expressions,” Alpha says slowly. “I’m guessing this isn’t about Loki needing help with his gaming setup.”

“Not unless his games involve underground military facilities and government conspiracy,” I mock.

Alpha’s jaw tightens. “Right… Chapel?”

Loki and I both nod, causing a low grunt from Alpha as he stands, sending a whistle through the room. “Chapel. Now ,” he demands, gaining everyone’s attention.

As the call goes out for church, I catch Nighthawk, aka Cassandra’s eye. She nods once, a silent understanding passing between us.

Time to see if our sisterhood in chaos is strong enough to survive what’s coming next.