Page 22 of Victorious: Part 3

Nighthawk’s hands clench by her sides, her knuckles white with tension.

“And the information Javier had on Marshall?” Alpha asks.

“Footage… a lot of footage of him with underage girls.” Her voice is steady, but there’s a haunted quality to it. “I hate the fact that I’m related to such a vulgar man.”

“That’s how we took him down, with that footage and the information that he sold you,” Loki states.

Nighthawk slumps her shoulders. “Bea’s such a good woman. She’s part of this family, and I’m the reason she got hurt. I’m the reason her app was compromised, and her clients were endangered. Now that I know you guys more, and I know I was being used by Javier, I feel just awful about it, Loki.”

“You were a victim too,” he says firmly, drawing her attention. “A weapon someone else was using.”

“But I should have—”

“You should have what? Overcome years of conditioning and programming?” Haven interrupts. “Nighthawk, you were two years old when they took you. Thisisn’tyour fault.”

“She’s right, Cassandra,” Loki calls Nighthawk by her real name. “Don’t let the past define you. You’re here, you’re helping us now. Letthatdefine you. Bea will be fine. We’re all good.”

Cassandra weakly smiles, nodding her head as we all turn back to the table to figure this shit out.

“So, what’s the plan?” Clover asks, leaning into Phoenix’s side.

“We had it mapped out, but this new information means we need to add some new contingencies,” Alpha admits. “But first, we need to get everyone up to speed and make sure we’re not missing any other pieces of this intricate fucking complicated puzzle. We’re going to war in…” he glances at his watch, “… fifty-seven hours give or take, and we need to ensure we’re not walking into a fucking ambush. Javier’s been one-upping us every step of the way. It’s time we show him why we’re called Defiance.”

We all slam our fists on the Chapel table in agreement.

With Chase’s part in this meeting done, he and Lyric leave for the evening, but the meeting continues late into the night planning, contingencies, and grim discussions about what we’re up against. But through it all, I keep thinking about the bigger picture.

War is imminent.

The kind of war that will test everything we’ve built, everything we believe in, everything we’re willing to sacrifice for each other.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, my nineteen-year-old sister is married to one of my brothers, and they will be trying to figure out how to build a life while the world explodes around us.

As the meeting winds down, we all make our way downstairs, Phoenix and Clover take off together, and I let them.

I’m not ready forthat conversationjust yet.

I need more time to figure out what the hell to say.

There’s so much going on right now, and trying to let go of Clover through all of this was not on my Bingo card. Making my way outside to try and get some much-needed fresh air, I spot Montana sitting aimlessly on a bench seat, staring up at the stars.

My chest squeezes tight for him, knowing that he’s being hit at every angle at the moment too. His mother is in prison, and we can’t reach her to see if she is okay. He just found out that Atlas played us all along, and the Cartel is pulling strings in the prison in a way that we can’t even imagine, let alone fathom.

Valerie could be in real trouble.

And I hate that Montana must feel utterly useless right now.

Walking over to him, I drop on the seat beside him, and for a long while we sit in silence together staring up at the clear night sky.

If there wasn’t so much shit hanging over our heads, it would be beautiful.

But eventually, I break the quiet. “You okay?” I ask.

He snorts out a mock laugh. “Define okay,” he replies without looking at me. “I just found out that everything I thought I knew about Atlas, about my mother’s situation, about this whole fucking war we’re in…” He sighs heavily. “Goddammit! It’s all been orchestrated by someone who’s been playing us like pieces on a fucking chessboard.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot.”

He finally turns to look at me. “And your sister’s married before you and Sadie got married.”