Page 11 of Victorious: Part 3

I move before I can even think, shoving open the door with my shoulder, the crack of it splitting the air like thunder. My gun is raised high, I’m locked in and focused…

Until I seeher.

Clover.

My wife.

She sits in the middle of the room, zip-tied to a chair. Her legs are bare. Her body is battered, bruised, and blood-stained, but it’s her.

Alive.

But not by much.

Her head is tilted, eyes glazed but still burning with that fire.

And then she sees me.

Her face lights up, a manic grin stretching across her face like she’s seen a goddamn hero in the middle of a war zone. “Phoenix,” she squeals, her voice too loud, too fast. She struggles against the restraints, the chair creaking under the movement. “You look so good right now. I told them you’d come save me. This is just like in the movies.”

That smile, so wide, so fucking off, it grips my heart, shattering it.

This isnotmy Clover.

Not yet.

But she’s still breathing, and that’s all that matters.

Across the room, a soldier stands tall, grinning like he’s the king of the goddamn world. His faded prison ink tells me everything I need to know about him—he’s used to this.

The violence.

The pain.

The control.

“Well, well,” he sneers, his voice laced with cruelty. “The husband shows up. Right on time.”

My finger tightens on the trigger. “Let. Her. Go.”

He laughs, low and ugly. “Why would I do that? She’s been so much fun. Your girl has a mouth on her. We were just getting to know each other.”

I can’t see straight anymore. I can’t hear straight. My world narrows to that fucking scar on his face, and the rage inside me boils over. “You touch her again, and I’ll put a hole through your skull.”

He widens that sickening grin. “She told us all about you. About how good you fuck her. About how she loves it when you choke her a little. So I used my rope and choked her a little… she laughed the whole time.”

Clover, still floating on whatever high they’ve given her, giggles. “I did say that. It’s true.Veeerytrue, and I did laugh, though he didn’t turn me on like you do while you choke me, baby.”

I don’t wait.

I don’t even blink.

Bringing my hand up, I pull the trigger, shooting him, a clean shot to the chest, dropping him in an instant. My relief is brief because the room isn’t clear.

Not by a long shot.

More soldiers flood in as Sin’s voice cracks through the chaos. “Down!”

Bullets shred the air around me, sending debris flying as Idive behind a stack of crates. The air is thick with gunfire, explosions in the distance, and the overwhelming scent of burning metal.