Page 95 of Victorious: Part 3
This is the man who took Poppy.
Who killed Livvy.
Who has spent years trying to break everything I’ve built.
Slamming my drink on the table, I glance back at the other presidents, swiping my mouth with the back of my wrist and clearing my throat. “I gotta go, brothers. My Old Lady just bought me a Cartel-sized present.”
The others chuckle as I head for the den door. “Make him suffer, Alpha!” City calls through the screen.
I glance back over my shoulder, one last time, at the other brothers who helped me make this happen. “Oh, I intend to.”
I spin with an aggressive pace, making my way out into the clubroom to see Haven, in all her glory. Fuck, she’s stunning as she stands over Javier like a damn goddess, with him on his knees in the middle of the room. Birds flock around him, so there’s zero chance of escape, and my brothers converge around them.
We’ve got you now, asshole.
“Found a little something for you, baby,” Haven chimes, her voice steady but her eyes burning with the same fury I feelclawing at my chest.
I drain my whiskey in one swallow, the burn focusing my thoughts. “Get him into the Chapel. Tie him to the chair at the head of the table.” My voice sounds foreign even to my own ears, too calm, too controlled for the storm raging inside me.
Rosella cackles, her laugh chimes through the air, as Magpie swoops in, hauling Javier’s almost limp body from the floor. The birds haul Javier toward the Chapel while I follow, my brothers forming a semicircle behind me.
This moment has been building for years, every sleepless night, every nightmare about Poppy, every memory of Livvy’s lifeless body.
When we reach the Chapel, they dump him into the president’s chair, my chair, like the cruel irony it is. Haven produces a vial from her pocket, snapping it under his nose. The ammonia hits him like a slap, and his eyes snap open, wild and disoriented.
For a moment, he looks genuinely confused. Then recognition dawns, and his lips curve into a smile that makes me want to put a bullet between his eyes right here, right now.
“Ahhh, Alpha,” he purrs, his accent thick with mockery despite his circumstances. “The legendary president of LA Defiance. You know, you’re smaller than I imagined.”
I don’t react to the bait.
Years of military training and leadership have taught me patience, even when every instinct screams for immediate violence.
“Javier Rojas,” I say. “Thewannabeking. Tell me, how’s your empire looking tonight?” I mock, circling him like he’s my prey.
His smile falters for just a second before returning full force. “You think you’ve won? You’ve destroyed a few operations, disrupted some cash flow. This is merely temporary. I have resources youcan’timagine, connections that—”
“Had,” Haven interrupts, stepping forward. “Youhadresources. Past tense. We’ve been through this, Javier. That bump on your head give you memory loss, or are youreallythat stupid?”
Loki appears at my shoulder, tablet in hand, and he passes it to me. “Every facility has been compromised. Every account frozen. Every government contact exposed.” I lean right into his face, smirking so wide that my cheeks almost hurt. “We didn’t just hit your operations, Javier. We burned yourentireCartel to the ground. All… over… the United States.”
The smile finally dies on his face, replaced by something uglier. “You haveno ideawhat you’ve done. The power vacuum you’ve created will be filled by someonefar worsethan me.”
Shrugging, I stand up, moving away from him. “Better the devil we don’t know,” I reply, pulling up a chair to sit directly across from him. I watch as fear begins to creep into his eyes, no matter how well he’s trying to hide it.
“Besides,” I continue, leaning forward until we’re almost nose to nose. “I’m not interested in yourgrand schemesanymore. I want to talk about something morepersonal.”
He snorts, rolling his eyes. “What could wepossiblyhave to discuss?”
Glaring at him, anger surges through me as I fight to hold back my rage. My hands are balled into fists at my sides. “Livvy!” I growl, her name hangs in the air like a blade threatening to slice his throat.
Javier’s eyes narrow, but I catch the flicker of satisfaction he can’t quite suppress. “Ah, yes. Olivia. Beautiful woman. Shame what happened to her. Nighthawkreallydid do her job well.”
Every muscle in my body tenses, but it’s Cassandra who surges forward, pure anger in her expression, but Haven’s hand settles on her shoulder, grounding her, reminding us all we have a plan.
That this moment is about more than justour rage.
“You ordered Livvy’s death,” I state simply. “It’s on you. No one else.” I shift my gaze to Cassandra, who looks back at me with clear regret in her eyes.
