Page 12 of Victorious: Part 3

We’re not out yet, and Clover sits in the middle of the fucking room, laughing her head off, bouncing in place, completely oblivious to the danger around her. There are bullets flying past her, and it’s like she is having the best fucking time of her damn life.

But I’ll get her out.

I swear to God, I will.

“This is so exciting,” she calls out, her voice rising above the gunfire. “It’s like an action movie. Oh my God, are you going to dive through the air in slow motion? That would be so hot!”

Shell casings rain down across the floor. Gunpowder thickens the air until it burns in my throat. Every few seconds, another Cartel soldier goes down. Sin moving through the room with brutal efficiency, Ghost picking them off from above with terrifying sniper accuracy, Nitro clearing the edges of the room like he’s done this a hundred times, and Koa moving in with his blades to take out any stragglers.

A bullet slams into the wall inches from my head, causing the concrete to explode in a shower of dust. I twist to return fire, heart in my throat, but through it all, I still hear her. “That was so close. Phoenix, you’re a beast. I swear I’m getting wet just watching this.”

“Clover!” I shout over the noise, slamming a fresh mag into my rifle. “Baby, I need you to shut up.”

“But,I love you,” she shouts right back, unfazed. “You look so hot when you’re violent. You’re like… sexyJohn Wick, only sexier!”

I grit my teeth and keep firing. Another Cartel soldier drops, and then another, until the last man standing, their leader, is backing toward the window with a pistol clenched in his fist andthe barrel aimed right at Clover’s temple.

Panic washes over his features. Blood drips down his arm from a grazing shot, his confidence clearly unraveling. “Back the fuck off!” he snarls, eyes wild. “I’ll put a bullet in her skull. I swear to God—”

I freeze, weapon locked on him, every muscle in my body screaming for action.

But I can’t risk a shot.

Not with Clover that close.

“Ghost has the shot,” Sin says quietly at my side. “He’s already lined up. Just say the word.”

I don’t hesitate and simply nod.

A split second later, the window behind the Cartel leader explodes inward as the bullet punches through his skull, snapping his head forward violently. Blood splashes over Clover’s face as his body crumples to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut, his gun skittering across the concrete floor.

The silence that follows is deafening, thick with smoke and the stink of blood and gunpowder.

“Oh. My. God!” Clover breathes, eyes wide with amazement. “That was the most badass thing I’veeverseen. Was that Ghost? Ghost is my favorite now. Can we keep him? Can he be our pet like Dracula? Baby,pleeease.”

I snort out a laugh as I drop to my knees in front of her, my hands moving faster than my brain as I cut through the zip ties. The second her arms are free, I wrap my leather jacket around her, pulling her into me, knowing I’ll never let her go again.

“Are you okay?” I ask, hands trembling as I check her over. “Did they do anything else? Anything I need to know about?”

“I’m perfect,” she purrs, slinging her arms around my neck. “I missed you. Like, so much. It felt like forever… forever ever, forever ever.I’m sorry, Ms. Jackson, ooh—”

“Okay, OutKast, let’s quit with the “Ms. Jackson” karaokenumber. You were drugged, baby,” I murmur, brushing her hair from her face. “You’re high as hell.”

“Now,thatmakes sense,” she says with a dreamy smile. “Because I feel horny. And emotional. And weirdly spiritual. Oh, and musical…I’m like a bird, I’ll only fly awaaa—”

Sin’s voice cuts through another impromptu performance. “We need to move. This won’t be the last of them.”

I scoop her into my arms, her body limp but warm against mine. She lets out a contented sigh and curls into me like I’m her favorite pillow.

“Can you walk?” I ask gently, adjusting the jacket around her.

“I can doyou,” she slurs. “But probably not stairs.”

I hold her tighter and start moving toward the stairs, stepping over bodies and shell casings as the rest of the team fans out around us. Sin stays close, scanning for signs of another wave, while Mace, Koa, and Nitro clear the path ahead. Ghost’s voice crackles faintly through the comms, confirming the rooftop is still secure, but even that doesn’t quiet the storm still rolling inside me.

Clover’s fingers toy lazily with the chain around my neck, her body warm against mine, head tucked under my jaw like it’s the safest place in the world. She brushes a kiss to my collarbone, featherlight, then trails her lips up the side of my throat until I feel her breath against my ear.

“You’re my hero,” she whispers.