Page 78 of Victorious: Part 3

… numb.

A harsh tugging pulls on my arm, but I ignore it, still staring at my mother’s blown-apart head.

It’s kind of poetic in a way.

“Phoenix.”

I vaguely hear something, but my ears are still ringing. The yanking on my arm becomes firmer as I continue to stare, when suddenly a harsh slap rips into my cheek, sending the chaos and noise, all the screaming, the smells, all of it, slamming back into my senses as my eyes focus on Maverick’s concerned face. “You with me?”

Coughing a couple of times, I use my forearm to swipe the blood from my face. “I’m with you.”

“Good,” Maverick says quietly, lowering his smoking pistol. “I’m sorry. I know she was your mother, but—”

“You had to,” I hear myself say, my voice eerily calm. “I knowyou had to. She was crazy… Sadie, Jesus…” I can’t finish the sentence, but I don’t need to.

“Shewascrazy,” Maverick confirms grimly. “I couldn’t let her get to Sadie. I won’t apologize for protecting my Old Lady and our family.”

Our family.

That’s what he said.

Nothisfamily—our family.

Because that’s what we are now.

Maverick and Sadie, Clover and I, even Alpha and Haven.

We’re family by choice, by loyalty, by the bonds we’ve forged through blood and fire.

Not like this woman who gave birth to Sadie and me but abandoned the love she taught us to believe in.

“Phoenix.” Alpha’s voice echoes down the radio. “Mav. You guys, okay?”

Finding my strength that somehow my mother stole from me, I radio back. “Yeah, Pres. We found them. The breeding cells. There are about twenty women down here, maybe more.”

“Some of them are pregnant,” Maverick adds, pressing a hand to his chest where blood seeps through his cut. “Some look like they just gave birth. And some…” he pauses before continuing, “Pres, we need all hands on deck down here,” he states.

“Got it,” Alpha states. “Every brother converge on the lower decks for extraction.”

I glance up at Maverick with a weak smile. “Thank you. Sorry I dropped the ball.”

He clips my shoulder with his hand. “Actually, for once, I’m gonna let this slide. That shit was tough, kid. You did okay… considering. Now let’s start getting these women ready to extract.”

Dipping my head, I roll my shoulders. “You got it!”

Maverick and I work together, moving the women who arepregnant first toward the exit, then making our way back for more. We hear boots on the stairs and both raise our guns as Ink appears, looking pale but mobile. We smirk, lowering our weapons. Rip grins despite the blood on his face, and Alpha strides in holding up a clearly injured Montana, who is supporting a limping Valerie.

Now there’s a mother who would do anything for her son.

Maverick raises his brow as they stride in. “The fuck happened?”

Alpha rolls his eyes. “Montana decided to be a hero, went after Valerie when the guards took her, and they held a knife to her throat. So he lunged at them, and they shot him. They nicked Valerie’s neck, but she’ll be fine. I had to come in and save the day… it was a whole spectacle.”

I smirk as Valerie peers up at her son with the biggest loving smile crossing her face. “Worth it. Even just to be here holding you for a while. I haven’t been able to hug you like this in seven long years,” she whispers while Montana leans in, embracing her.

My chest squeezes before I turn away from them to keep moving the women.

Maverick steps up beside me. “You good?”