Page 68 of Victorious: Part I

“Well, the gist of it is, I’ve been keeping an eye on some troubling patterns the last few weeks, but now the momentum is shifting. These new transfers with those marks behind their ears, they made a move yesterday.”

Alpha and I glance at each other, understanding the message Garver’s putting down. “Prison riot or targeted attack?” Alpha asks.

“Mess hall turned into a damn war zone when they tried forcing their tattoo on some young inmate. Valerie Drake stepped in, of course. Woman’s got more spine than half my guards. Then shit got ugly,real fucking fast. But that was just the first wave.”

With a sigh, my shoulders slump.

Alpha groans. “The first wave? You’re killing me, Garver.”

Garver lets out a stifled laugh. “I’m killing you?Brother, I haven’t slept in what feels like days, and I feel like theonlyperson in thisentire fucking facilitywho’s telling meanyversion of the truth right now is Valerie fucking Drake.” He lets out an extended exhale, then continues, “I found a whole communication setup hidden in the utility section by her cell block. Radios. Burner parts. Coded fucking messages that I still can’t crack. This is all high-end, professional shit, Landry. Not your typical prison contraband. Whoever’s running this operation has resources and connectionswayabove typical gang mentality or activity.”

Alpha grimaces, rolling his shoulders. “Okay, I hear you. Talk to me, Garver. Man to man.”

He hesitates like he’s trying to figure out if he should tell Alpha the next part or not, and Alpha sighs. “Garver, we can’t help you if you don’t fill us in on everything.”

He groans in frustration. “Fuck it! I don’t know if they have my cell tapped. They probably do, but I have to tell you so you can warn Montana. The kicker, I caught one of my own guards, Reynolds, planting evidence in Valerie’s cell. Made it look like she was organizing a resistance against what I’m now pretty damn sure is Cartel activity inside my walls. The whole thing stinks of a setup… of a way to take her out. Or at least get me to shift her to another facility. One where she doesn’t have me watching her back.”

I let out a small gasp when Alpha slams his fist into the floor, his face turning red in anger. “Youcan’tlet that happen, Garver. Youcan’tlet Valerie out of your fucking sight.Please, brother. I will damn near beg if I have to.”

My heart races fast at the devastation crossing Alpha’s face—the realization of what it would mean to Montana if anything happened to his mother. Sliding my hand up, I caress Alpha’s back as he tries to reign in his emotions.

Garver huffs down the line like he’s hesitating again. I instantly know there’s more bad news coming. “The thing is, last night Valerie and the crew she hangs with somehow caught wind of a major delivery coming in from the Cartel inmates, and they led the charge to sabotage it.”

Groaning, Alpha shakes his head. “Fuck, Val.”

“I don’t even know how they knew, but the inmates hit back hard. Their supply chain was disrupted. And they didn’t like being upstaged, which is why I’m guessing they retaliated with such force and brutality against Valerie and her crew.”

My breathing quickens as I reach out, gripping Alpha’s free hand. Tension races through every muscle, and he hesitates to ask, “Is Val alive?” his voice is low, laced with concern.

Garver clears his throat with a gentle sigh. “Valerie’s in the infirmary now. She has a couple of broken ribs. Possible fracture to her left wrist. Alpha, she suffered multiple stab wounds across her body—”

“Jesus,fuck!” Alpha snaps.

“But, she’ll live. She took a beating, that’s for sure. Though luckily, her stab wounds were mostly superficial. She actually fended them off really fucking well, to be honest. Woman’s a beast.”

Clenching my eyes shut, I can’t help but thank fuck I went inside that prison with Val and showed her defensive techniques. Maybe, just maybe, they might have saved her life on this occasion.

“Anyone else hurt?” Alpha asks, though, at this point, it sounds like he’s ready to give up on this day altogether.

“Two other inmates might not make it. I’ve got my most trusted people guarding them, but honest to God, Landry, I don’t know who I can trust anymore. This infection runs deep, and I don’t know how to clean it out without alerting the rats inside when I figure out who the fuck they are.”

Alpha shifts from the floor and starts pacing the Chapel, trying to come up with a plan to help his friend while also keeping the club’s interests at heart. “You want me to send a couple of guys to you? They can makeshift as new guards. Try to insert themselves in with whoever’s doing you dirty and help clean up the shit in there?”

Garver hums down the line. “It’s a good plan, in theory, but I’ve got officers I’ve worked with for years suddenly requesting transfers to specific posts. Inmates arriving with paperwork that checks out, but something feels wrong. The higher-ups in the system don’t seem to want to send any additional help my way… I don’t know, man. Someone’s pulling strings, and they’ve got reach in the prison system. I have a feeling that sending in guys from the club undercover would ping their radar,especiallyif they did a background check. It’s too risky.”

Snorting out a half-laugh, Alpha dips his head. “Fuck, you’re right. Okay, well, if there’s nothing I can do from my end, youhaveto understand that when I tell Montana what’s going on, he’s gonna want to come and see his mother.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’d want the same in his position. But Landry, I need you to understand I can’t guaranteeanyone’ssafety right now. Not even my own. I’m walking a damn tightrope here.”

Alpha huffs, running his fingers through his hair, almost tugging in frustration. Swiftly, I hop off the floor, rushing to him, and slide my fingers up his back, my nails gently scratching his skin. He slowly glances at me, his frustration instantly easing as he warmly smiles at me. I lean in, gently placing a tender kiss on his shoulder, and he relaxes his posture, dropping his arm around me with a nod.

“Garver, we’ve been friends for a long time. We’ve lived throughliteralwarzones together. I swear to God, brother, if you get yourself killed over fucking prison politics—”

“I hear you. I’m watching my back, but this feels bigger than simple prison politics. The way it’s organized, the timing, it’s building toward something, and Valerie’s landed right in their path. Almost like she’s a puzzle piece to their whole damn thing.”

Swallowing hard, my eyes meet Alpha’s. Both of us know that all of this, everything that happens, leads back to one thing—Javier-motherfucking-Rojas and his goddamn Cartel.

Alpha cranes his neck, his top lip curling in his anger. “Will you make sure to keep your eye on Val and tell me as soon as anything changes?”

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