Page 17 of Victorious: Part I

Furrowing my brows as I stare at him in confusion, still wriggling at my restraints behind my back, I shrug at him. “You’re welcome?” I reply, more as a question than a statement.

Javier turns to me, slowly sliding his finger into his mouth and sucking on it. The sight is repulsive as he lets out a small moan of pleasure. “Mmm, finger licking good. Wouldn’t you say, Nighthawk?” he chimes like he is so proud of himself.

She doesn’t respond—just continues cleaning her weapons like she’s bored with this entire conversation. But Javier moves back over, kneeling in front of me. His smirk grows wider. “Those chicken boxes came in veryhandy.Your instincts taught you that I would send destruction to the clubhouse. Try to fracture them with explosives or manpower.” Javier simply shakes his head. “Oh, no, no, no,mi amore. You have me all wrong.”

Inhaling sharply, I tilt my head, trying to play his game. “Do I? You’re telling me your end game isn’t to wipe Defiance off the face of the California Coastline?”

He shrugs, pursing his lips, his eyes narrowing so thin that the darkness seeping from him suddenly sends a chill through my bones. “I mean, thatwouldbe nice, but before I do, I want to watch Alpha fall to his knees. I want to see him suffer a pain so unimaginable, his entire world will collapse around him.”

His smirk intensifies as he shakes his head. “I won’t have to wipe Defiance off the map, Haven. They will tear themselves apart. We have seeds being sewn throughout the club. Once they unravel and blossom, brothers will turn on each other. Grief will turn to anarchy…” His finger comes out, gently running down my face, but I nudge him away in contempt. He chuckles, shifting his weight to stand, and begins his trademark pacing. “Then, well,mi amore, then, I will dance on the ashes of their demise.”

My eyes shift to Livvy, lying on the metal table, blood still dripping from her, soft moans leaving her lips every now and then, letting me know she is still with me. Turning back to Javier, I roll my shoulders, finding my inner strength. “You talk a big game… so what’s your big reveal? What did you send the club?”

Javier waggles his brow at me. “Ahh, there it is. I knew you couldn’t resist. The thing is, we do our research here. We knew about the whole dynamic between you, Alpha, and his ex-wife, Livvy here. How you doing, Liv?” he calls out, then kicks the leg of the table, clearly sending a jolt across the cold metal. Livvy lets out a loud moan, her body writhing while Javier chuckles at her clear discomfort.

Clenching my fingers tight, my knuckles tense, wanting nothing more than to take this motherfucker out.His time will come.I just have to wait for the right opportunity to present itself.

He clears his throat and continues, “As I was saying, we knew taking you would affect Alpha. Taking Poppy, eh, we’ve been there, done that. But taking you and his ex-wife. Well, that… thatisa gold mine. Watching him figure out his emotions on which one of you to save… the woman he’s going to marry or the mother of his child? I mean, who knows which way this will go? It’s exciting, though, right?”

For a moment, just a brief moment, anxiety rolls through me. Because deep down, I know if this does go to shit, who heneedsto choose—and it’snotme.

Poppyneedsher mother.

I may have trained her, I may be like another mother to Poppy, but the fact is, I can neverbeher mother.

I can neverreplaceher mother.

If it comes down to a choice, and Alpha is the one who has to make it—I will make it for him.

Simple as that.

My thoughts are broken by Javier's sinister cackling, yet again, as he begins circling me. I follow his movements, my pulse quickening again. “Am I mistaken, or do I sense a little fear in your eyes, Blue Jay?’’ he mocks.

Snorting out a laugh, I curl my lip at him. “That’s not fear, it’s just some E. coli I picked up from the unsanitary conditions of this place. Youreallyshould get some sodium hypochlorite in here, or at a minimum, some disinfectant.”

He doesn’t hesitate this time, storming up to me, his face turning redder with each step. His nostrils flare like a raging bull as he yanks the blade from Nighthawk’s hand as he passes her. My breath hitches as I try to lift onto my feet to make a run for it, but I slip on Livvy’s blood as he reaches me. The bastard shoves me to the floor so hard my hands behind my back ache like hell as I land on them, instantly feeling one of my thumbs dislocate, and I can’t help but let out a small moan. His evil eyes meet mine before he brings the blade up, plunging it into my right shoulder.

“Ahh,” I grit my teeth, trying like hell to fight the pain searing through me as he sits back on his heels, breathing harshly, swiping his bloodied hand through his sweat-filled hair as he flops it back into place.

He continues to stare at me like he is enraged, yet trying to calm down at the same time. “Don’t. Push. Me to do things like that. Do youunderstandme?” he scorns calmly and succinctly.

I don’t say anything in return. I simply nod my head.

He exhales, licks his lips, then slides off me, moves to stand, wipes his blade, and then walks over to Nighthawk, handing it back to her casually.

Her eyes meet mine briefly, her expression emotionless before she looks away. Blood oozes down my shoulder, the pain radiating through my muscles as I use my strength to sit back up. But as I move, I feel my thumb slowly slipping from the restraints behind me. Keeping my breathing steady, and even with my shoulder aching like a damn motherfucker, I slowly begin sliding my hand out of the restraint, making sure to keep my movements minimal, so Javier won’t notice.

He clears his throat, turning back to me, his eyes wide. I stop moving instantly, hoping he hasn’t caught a glimpse of my attempts, but he continues his ranting, “As I was saying, before I was sorudelyinterrupted, we were watching the dynamics between your happy little family. And yes, making Alpha choose between the two of you is the ultimate goal. But fucking with him mentally beforehand, that’s just a bonus.”

When he finishes talking, my hand is released from the restraint, but I stay exactly where I am. I need all the information I can get before I make any moves. “So let me start to put the pieces of your endless fucking rambling together. You want to mess with Alpha’s head. That’s more than clear. You want him to have to choose between me and Livvy, and you’ve sent something to the clubhouse that’s going to trigger these events?”

“The thing is, Haven, when you arrived, it changed the plan. We were going to do this whole thing, send a video with the two of you, and make him have to choose, blah blah. It seemed like a great idea at the time. But, then, you came in, all cocky, with your copious amounts of chicken, and while you were munching away on that crispy delicacy, thatbeautifuldiamond on your left ring finger glistened like a beacon against the light. Bringing with it the idea of a whole new spectacular way to drive Alpha into madness. As I said, everything that happened here was because ofyou. Your divine intervention is how this all came about. I cannot thank you enough for what is about to transpire.Youare the architect. My muse, if you will.”

Snorting out a laugh, I scowl at him. “You’re fucking insane if you think I wanted any part of this insanity.”

He chuckles, motioning to Livvy, who is still writhing on the metal table. “You can’t tell me that a part of you,even just a small part,wouldn’t find it easier if the ex-wife of the man you’re about to marry wasn’t around anymore?”

I find my inner strength moving to my feet this time, but still keeping my hands behind my back. My face scrunches with my disdain for this piece of shit. “I don’t know whythe fuckyou’re trying to bate me, Javier, but Livvy may be the ex-wife of the man I amundeniablyin love with, but that doesn’t make her my enemy, nor my competition. That woman, the one on the table that you have been torturing, is the mother of a child who I love with all my fucking heart. Who I treat as if she is my own fucking daughter. That woman is a nurse at the hospital, and she cares for more people and has saved more lives than you have taken. That woman is my best fucking f-friend.” My voice breaks, tears threatening as my eyes meet with Nighthawk’s briefly.

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