Page 114 of Victorious: Part 3

I snort out a laugh, smiling at him. “You’ve got more chance of Clover backing out than you do me, Mav, and she’s not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere. I’m sorry to tell you, brother, but I am actually your brother-in-law. For better or worse. Whether you like it or not. You just gotta suck it up.”

Clover fights back her smile as hushed chuckles around the clubroom make Maverick straighten his shoulders. He stares right at me, a fierceness in his gaze, then he nods.

Once.

Clean and precise.

“That is all I needed to hear.” A slow smile crosses his face as he turns to Clover. “Then, by the power vested in me by the internet and this ridiculous costume, I now pronounce you husband and wife.Again.” Maverick’s Elvis accent drops away as he adds, “This doesn’t mean I want to come into your room toyou having no panties on all the time, okay?”

Everyone’s brows furrow, confused by the joke, but Clover doubles over laughing.

She throws her arms around Maverick, pulling him into a fierce hug. “Thank you,” she whispers. “This meanseverythingto me.”

Maverick’s expression softens as he hugs her back. When they separate, he extends his hand to me. I grip it firmly, and he pulls me in for a bro hug.

“Take care of her,” Maverick says quietly.

“Always,” I promise.

As the club erupts in cheers and congratulations, I pull Clover into my arms and kiss her deeply. She tastes like happiness and forever and everything I never knew I needed. But everything I will always want.

“I love you, Mrs. Evans,” I murmur against her lips.

“I love you, too, Mr. Evans,” she whispers back. “Now and always.”

The disco ball keeps spinning above us, casting light and shadow across the faces of our family, our chosen family, the people who would die for each other without question. We’ve been through hell and come out the other side stronger.

And now, with Clover’s hand in mine and her real wedding ring sparkling on her finger, I know we’re ready for whatever comes next.

And I know there’s still so much to come.

Chapter Twenty-One

CLOVER

Four Days Later

The morning sun streams through the courthouse windows, casting long golden rectangles across the polished marble floor. I adjust the collar of my dress and watch Montana pace near the heavy oak doors. His hands keep flexing at his sides, opening and closing like he’s trying to work out tension that’s been building for months. Rhyan steps in beside him, wrapping her arms around him for support.

“She’s going to be fine,” I tell him, though my own stomach is doing somersaults. “The lawyer said this was just a formality at this point.”

Montana stops pacing and looks at me, his eyes bright with something I haven’t seen in him since before this whole nightmare started.

Hope.

“Twenty years, Clo. Down from life without parole. That’s what her attorney is aiming for. My mom’s gonna be home when I’m forty-two instead of…” he trails off, shaking his head like he still can’t quite believe it.

Rhyan smiles, cuddling into him further, a tear sliding down her cheek. “Can you imagine? Us actually having a family dinner with your mom at the clubhouse. We’ll probably have kids by then. She’ll be a grandmother. My God, if the lawyer can pull this off!”

Montana shakes his head, pulling away from Rhyan, shaking out his entire body like the tension rolling through him is just too much. “I can’t think about that now, Dragonfly. I can’t hope. Because if it doesn’t get through—”

Rhyan moves back to him, pulling him to her, not allowing him to pull away. “Stop. Allow yourself to hope, babe. You and Valerie deserve this.”

Montana’s eyes meet Rhyan’s, and he softens his tense posture and leans in, gently kissing her.

Phoenix appears at my side, sliding his arm around my waist in that protective way that’s become as natural as breathing. The gesture sends warmth through my chest, the kind that makes me forget, just for a moment, that we’re standing in a courthouse waiting to hear about reduced prison sentences and not at some normal family gathering, especially with the media circus that’s waiting for us outside.

It’s the reason the entire club didn’t come in support today. Alpha still doesn’t want the club tied back to all the Cartel shit, so he sent Phoenix and me to be with Montana at the hearing today, considering all the media hype around his mother’s case.