Page 80 of Victorious: Part I

Nighthawk glances down at Poppy, letting out a small laugh. “Jesus, I’m being schooled by a little bird I used to train. Oh, how the tables have turned.”

Snorting out a laugh, I tilt my head. “Oh, trust me, Poppy schools all of usconstantly.”

The rest of the room mumbles in agreement under their breath.

“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.” She giggles, then urges Nighthawk to look at the screen once again.

Nighthawk turns, reaching for her chair, pulls it in, takes a deep breath, and shrugs. “Who the hell am I?” she mumbles more to herself, then begins to read while we all sit, waiting for the realization to hit her. “Huh! My name is Cassandra Marshall. That’s cool. I kinda like that for me. Wait!What the fuck?”

And there it is.

She stands abruptly, her chair flying backward as her eyes lock with mine. “Is this a sick-fucking-joke?” she snaps.

Alpha beats me to it this time. “I’m assuming you got to the part where the Governor is your father?”

She spins dramatically to Alpha, throwing her hands in the air. “No shit! That hasgotto be a mistake. Ican’tbe related to that fucking pile of trash!”

Poppy reaches up, grabs her hand again, and Nighthawk lets her take it. “Sometimes we get dealt a shitty blow. And yeah, the Governor is a real fucking asshole—”

“Language!” Alpha snaps.

“Sorry, Daddy,” she grins but continues, “But he’s locked up. And you’re free now. So don’t spend your time worrying about the past because we have a storm coming, and we need Nighthawk to help us. After the storm, Cassandra can go take out vengeance on her father.”

A slow smile crosses my face at just how amazing my little bird is, and I can’t help but see Alpha try to fight the proud smile on his face too.

Nighthawk nods in complete agreement. “All right, fuck it! I’m in.”

The Chapel falls to silence as we take in the monumental task ahead of us.

It took almost everything we had to take down the Cartel last time and then the Governor.

Now, we have to take down the Cartel that has invaded multiple facets of the government and a corrupt senator who’s aligned with the Governor we sent to prison.

Just another Sunday.

“Well,” Alpha starts, breaking the stunned silence. “Welcome to the club, Nighthawk,” he tells her with conviction. “Shit around here is about to get interesting.”

Chapter Nineteen

CLOVER

The landscape outside my window blurs as we drive, red earth and distant mountains passing by under a brilliant blue sky. We’ve been on the road for a couple of hours now, and the tightness in my chest has finally started to loosen.

Just a little.

I’ve cried myself out for now, though I know the tears are still there, just below the surface.

Phoenix hasn’t said much since we left. He’s kept his hands at ten and two on the steering wheel, his face set like stone, only his eyes betraying him as they flick to the rearview mirror every few minutes—like he’s still trying to see home, even though it vanished a long time ago.

“You okay?” I ask, my voice sounding rough even to my ears.

He glances over at me, then back to the road. “Shouldn’t I be askingyouthat?”

I shrug, tucking my legs up under me on the seat. “You’re allowed to not be okay, too, you know?”

His lips twitch into what might almost be a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Liar.” I snort.

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