Page 34 of Victorious: Part I

Simply nodding, I shift my attention back to Loki, gesturing for him to come closer. He does, knowing I need to talk to him as my VP. We step out of the room into the hall, and he grips onto his leather cut, a serious look crossing his face. “All right, tell me. How bad is this payback going to be?”

“I need you to find out everything you can on Javier Rojas, the nephew of Rico Rojas. He’s kickstarted the Cartel back up, and by the looks of it, he has birds working with him.”

Loki stares at me blankly, and I watch as the color drains from his face. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Groaning as I swipe my hand through my hair, I huff. “Ireallywish I were.”

Chapter Ten

HAVEN

The day turns to night, and Livvy’s periods of consciousness grow shorter and further apart. The monitors tell a story of gradual decline that no amount of medical intervention can reverse.

Near dawn, Alpha’s zoning in and out in the chair. Poppy is still cuddled up on the bed beside her mother while I stand back in the room, leaning against the wall. My mind races through all the things that went wrong in that fucking meat packing facility.

As I stare at Livvy’s failing body, my insides churn at how I let this happen.

How I watched a bird that I trained do this to my family.

The emotion rages like an inferno, ready to erupt at any moment.

But I know I have to hold it in—for now anyway.

Alpha needs me.

Poppy needs me.

I don’t know if Nighthawk made it out of there alive after helping us escape, but I know Ihaveto find her. Ineedanswers. The fact she inflicted these wounds on Livvy doesn’t get past me.

There’s no doubt in my mind these injuries, the reason Livvy is dying so slowly, is because Javier told Nighthawk to ensure it was a deliberate, painful death so we’d have to watch.

To torture Alpha.

From my short interaction with Javier, I can already tell his MO is to cause maximum carnage.

This, what’s happening in here right now, will be making Javier’s ego so fucking huge.

And as everyone sleeps soundly, I quietly begin to plot my own version of revenge.

My focus is suddenly drawn to Livvy’s bed as she lets out a small whimper, clearly trying to mask her pain. I push off the wall, stepping closer. Alpha blinks a few times, waking at the same time Poppy yawns and glances at her mom’s pale and clammy-looking face. “Morning, Mama,” Poppy chimes.

Livvy tries to smile, but it comes off more as a grimace. My heart sinks, seeing her in pain that I can’t take away. “Morning, my darling.” Her voice is hoarse but barely there at the same time. Like she’s having trouble even talking.

I glance across at Alpha—it’s easy to see he’s having trouble holding it together.

“How you feeling, Liv?” Alpha asks, concern clear in his tone.

Livvy smiles back at him, trying her hardest to catch her breath. “Could do with… some of your tequila… right about… now,” she jokes.

Finally, I can’t fight back my smile as Alpha shakes his head. He stands, moving to the edge of her bed beside Poppy. “You always said that shit was bad for me.”

Livvy raises her brows dismissively. “What’s it gonna do… kill me?” she jokes.

Alpha huffs, narrowing his eyes on her. “That’s dark, Liv. Especially for you.”

Rolling my eyes, I step up and hip and shoulder him out of the way while simultaneously reaching for the hipflask inside his leather cut. He glares at me, but right now, I don’t care what he thinks.

If Livvy wants a drink, she can have a fucking drink.

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