Page 71 of Victorious: Part I

“I just got a call from the Warden. Valerie’s in the infirmary after being attacked.”

Loki widens his eyes. “Shit. She all right?”

Alpha clears his throat. “Garver thinks she’ll be fine. The bigger issue is that his prison is under siege. He’s trying to get it under control, but he doesn’t know how many people are in on the conspiracy. Seems like guards are a part of it. The inmates have some kind of system going on in there. This has Javier written all over it.”

Loki’s jaw wracks from side to side. “Montana know about his mother yet?”

Alpha clicks his tongue to the roof of his mouth. “Warden needs a couple of hours to figure some shit out before we tell him.”

“In the meantime, I was wondering if you’d made any progress on Nighthawk? A way to get in contact, maybe?” I ask.

Loki scrubs the back of his neck like he’s uncomfortable with this, but he spins to face his computer and starts typing. “Cassandra Marshall. Staying in a motel not too far from here. But sheisusing an alias. I only found her through facial recognition, and I had to do it by taking pictures of her when she was a child that her father published online. Then I used my programs to age her up to what she could possibly look like now and ran a facial recognition match on that image. Luckily, I had a hit, then followed it to the motel she’s staying at. You guys might actually remember it?”

The image flashes up on the screen, and a soft smile lights my lips when I see it’s the motel next to Gears—the pub where Alpha and I first met.

The motel we slept together in.

The night before I found out he was my next target.

The night before my entire life changed.

Glancing over my shoulder, there’s a slight smirk crossing his lips too.

We’ve come so far. Been through so much since then, and now here we are, right back at the place where it all started, facing a war that could end it all.

Oh, the irony.

Alpha gently places his hand on my shoulder, then shifts his focus back to the screen. “You said she’s using an alias? What’s she going by?”

Loki looks straight at me this time. “Eirene Eleutheria.”

Widening my eyes, I let out a small laugh at the same time as Alpha. “You birds reallyloveusing that last name, don’t you?” he states. “Not super stealthy if you all go around using it, though, I must admit.”

Glaring at him, I tilt my head in annoyance. “That’s the exact idea, idiot. She wants me to find her. Otherwise, there’s no possible reason for her to use my alias. At least part of it.” I turn back to Loki and continue, “Do me a favor, search for the meaning of the word Eirene in all languages, and tell me what comes back.”

Loki spins in his chair and begins typing, and instantly, the screen fills with information. “I’m getting a few hits, but they all pretty much mean the same thing. Eirene is Greek for peace.” He spins back to face us, his brow raised in curiosity.

That green hue is doing wonders again. That calming feeling flows over me once more as I smile and turn to face Alpha. “Nighthawk checked into that specific motel, knowing that was the place I went before I joined the club. She knew if she went there and checked in using that alias, I would find her. Shewantsme to bring her in, Alpha.”

He crosses his bulging arms over his chest, a deep scowl etched across his face like he’s unconvinced. “Why the fuck would I let her into the clubhouse, Haven?Sheis the reason Livvy’s dead.”

Exhaling, I shake my head. “No, she’s not.Javieris.Nighthawk was doing her job. A job that Javier ordered her to do. As soon as she saw me, as soon as she knew something was off about the whole thing, she flipped. Trust me, Alpha.”

He groans. “I always trust you, but how can I trust someone wholiterallyjust killed Livvy?”

Sighing, I stand to meet him face-to-face. “I get it. I do. But the code name she gave, when you translate it together, means peace and freedom. She’s saying she brings us peace and wants her freedom. Just like I have.”

Alpha grumbles under his breath. “You get all that from her weird-ass code name?”

Smirking, I chuckle. “We’re birds. We understand each other.”

Alpha shifts his gaze to Loki. “This makes sense to you, VP?”

Loki raises his hands in surrender. “I’m not getting in the middle, but what Iwillsay is that the code name does translate to peace and freedom, Pres. And from what I have seen from the visuals of her at the motel, she just seems to be sitting in her room. Waiting.”

Letting out a long breath, I turn back to Alpha. “Okay, real talk. She has been in with Javier for fuck knows how long, right?”

Alpha scrunches his face and nods. “Right?”

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