Page 41 of Victorious: Part I

Flaring my nostrils, I reach out gently, griping her shoulder for support. “Sometimes we have to fight witheverythingwe have before we fall apart. I know that all too well with what happened to my mother and me.”

Haven sighs somberly. “Yeah, I guess you do.”

Navy steps up to the side of Haven, handing her two mugs of steaming coffee with a warm smile. “Here you go, hon.”

“A true, heaven-sent queen,” Haven chimes as Navy weakly smiles. Haven takes the mugs then raises her chin toward Loki and me. “I’ll catch you guys later.”

I give her a brief wave, but Loki clears his throat. “Actually, Haven, while the pres is taking care of Poppy, can we pick your brain on something?” he asks.

She spins back to face us, curiosity etched in her features. “Of course, what’s up?”

Loki glances toward his den, and Haven slumps her shoulders. “Oh, geez, I’m glad I have two cups of coffee for this. Okay, let’s go,” she states, taking off leading the way.

The three of us head for Loki’s den. He opens it, and we enter the neon green-hued room. Haven takes a seat on the long work desk, Loki moves to his usual office chair, and I take a position, resting my back against the wall. With the click of the door enclosing us inside, Haven takes a long sip of one of her coffees, then places both mugs on the desk beside her. “Okay, I’m assuming you’re coming to me because this is club business and right now, you’re letting Alpha take a beat?”

Loki tilts his head, raising his brows in confirmation.

“All right, are we talking about an imminent threat here? Has Javier sent a message through? Do we not have time to come up with a plan for a counter offense? Talk to me, Goose.”

I can’t help but smirk at theTop Gunreference as Loki spins to face me, letting me take the lead.

Stepping off the wall, I begin to pace the tech den. “Before all this happened, while the club was celebrating the win over the Governor, I went to the prison to visit with my mom. Just to fill her in on everything.”

Haven sits back on the desk, getting more comfortable. “Aww, I miss Val and our time together as the dream team inside those cells. How is she?”

Scrunching my brows, I rub the back of my neck, and Haven instantly senses my apprehension. She sits taller, a seriousness embracing her now. “Montana, what’s happened since I ended my cover as Tammy-Lynn in prison with your mother?”

Shaking my head, I continue to pace. “You know how we uncovered the fact that Atlas had a crew running in there?”

Haven shrugs. “Yeah? But I made sure to keep Valerie well away from all that shit.”

Throwing my hands in the air in frustration, I huff. “Well, it didn’t fucking work!”

Haven turns to Loki, her breath shallow as she shakes her head, her expression turning to complete fear. “Val’s okay,right?”

Loki scrubs at his bearded chin with a grimace. “I wasn’t there, but from what Montanahastold me, shit’s not good. Even the guards were warning him that new inmates are about to come in, and it’s gonna get hectic,soon.”

Haven clenches her eyes, her fingers moving to her temple to rub the tension from them. “I need more information, Montana. What else can you give me?”

With my heart racing and visions of my mother suffering in that fucking prison racing through my mind, the only other thing I remember from that frantic conversation springs to mind. “She told me the women in the gang are all sporting the same tattoo. An initiation kind of thing.”

Haven stands abruptly from the desk, her breathing coming quicker now. “When Atlas was running the girls in the prison, he said it was for a drug ring, right?”

I nod in acknowledgment. “Yeah, it tied back to the Governor.”

Haven is quiet for a moment, the cogs clearly turning through her mind. “Loki, are you able to tap into the prison security feed?”

He snorts out a laugh, spinning in his chair, and begins typing. “Really?Do you even know me at all?”

Jerking my head back, I widen my eyes. “Are you fucking joking? Thiswhole time,you’ve had access to cameras in the prison, and younevertold me?” I snap as he continues to type away, letting out a long breath as the cameras start appearing on his large screen.

One.

By.

One.

“Alpha doesn’t even know. It’s not something I should be doing. It’s beyond illegal, could put the club in serious jeopardy if I don’t cover my tracks properly, so yeah, I never told you, Montana. Because I know you, you’ll want to be in here every few hours checking on your mother. And the more I access this, the more chance there is of me fucking up and doing something wrong.”

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