Chapter 11

Peyton

Sunlight trickled in through the gap of the closed curtains, waking Peyton from her sleep. She stretched, groaning as her bruised skin moved and disturbed the wounds across her body. She was about to roll onto her side before she felt an arm tighten around her waist.

Hadina hummed in her sleep, rubbing her face against Peyton’s arm with a contented sigh. Peyton stared at her, avoiding the urge to reach out and run her fingertips across Hadina’s beautiful features. It had felt like years since she’d been in bed beside the woman she loved, and longer still since she had felt her touch.

When Hadina had come storming back to the room last night, Peyton had been furious. She had told her to leave, but Hadina had chosen to ignore her. But mostly, Peyton was just exhausted. She had been fighting for her life for weeks, and she didn’t want to have to fight Hadina too. The moment Hadina had invaded her personal space, Peyton had caved.

Her heart was already Hadina’s—what was the worst that could happen?

She had already been through the worst, or as close to it as she was willing to imagine. And if she was being really honest with herself, Hadina fighting for her despite her protests was what she wanted. But being honest with herself wasn’t Peyton’s strong suit. Living in denial and delusion was way easier.

“ Buenos días, tentadora ,” Hadina said softly, loosening her grip on Peyton.

Peyton looked at her and offered a small smile. “Good morning, Hadi.”

Hadina peered around the room, taking in the sunlight. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Some. Sleeping is hard right now,” Peyton admitted quietly. “I see things I don’t want to see when I close my eyes for more than a minute, not to mention, every spot on my body seems to protest every position.”

Lacing their fingers together, Hadina squeezed her hand. “That won’t last forever. But I’m sorry you have to go through it at all. Your body will heal in time. Unfortunately, nightmares have a way of plaguing us in the most terrifying ways. If I could take them from you, I would. If I could suffer them instead of you, I would.”

“I wouldn’t wish it on you.”

Hadina shrugged. “I probably deserve it. I definitely deserve it more than you.”

The sadness and guilt in Hadina’s voice reminded Peyton of why she had fallen in love with the Adis ice queen. While the woman had a hard shell protecting her, she was soft and vulnerable inside—Peyton was the only person ever really allowed to see it.

“I don’t think anyone deserves it. Not really. Although,” Peyton said with a slight smirk, “I wouldn’t mind if Demi faced some nightmares of her own. That woman probably does deserve it.”

Hadina sat up at that, her face transforming into a beautiful mask of vengeance. “I’ll make sure that she experiences a lifetime worth of nightmares, for you and for everyone else she’s ever harmed.”

Peyton brought her hand up to Hadina’s cheek, looking into her eyes and seeing the fire within them. “Only if I’m by your side while you do. We do it together.”

“We do everything together from here on out,” Hadina agreed, propping herself up on her elbows.

Leaning forward slowly, Hadina captured Peyton’s lips in a gentle kiss. Despite the fact that they had spent hours making out last night until Peyton’s lips were swollen and sore, she still craved Hadina’s kisses like they were the air she needed to breathe.

Deepening the kiss and throwing her arms around Hadina’s shoulders, Peyton groaned. She would never get her fill of this woman and the absolutely tantalizing way she kissed her. When Hadina’s tongue teased at her lips, Peyton opened up for her and relished in the taste. She tugged at Hadina to move her hands, get rid of the clothing barrier between them, but Hadina shook her head with a soft chuckle, separating them a little.

“Ay, baby, you’re still healing!” she admonished, glancing worriedly at the bruises across Peyton’s skin.

Peyton smirked, shrugging. “I’d heal better if we were both naked. Something about body heat?”

Hadina swatted at Peyton’s roaming hands. “ ?Necia! That’s for fucking frostbite! As far as I can tell, you're plenty hot right now.”

“Spoilsport,” Peyton muttered, groaning as she got out of bed. “Guess I’ll go take a shower.”

“I could join you…”

“You could but since you won’t let me see you naked, you’re not getting to see me naked.” Peyton laughed at the curses Hadina muttered to her back as she made her way into the ensuite bathroom. “I would really love a coffee for getting out of the shower, if you’re feeling dutiful!”

“Anything you want will be yours,” Hadina replied, sending a fresh set of butterflies free in Peyton’s gut for the first time since she returned home.

Hadina had told her—in her strictest voice—that she had to rest and relax until her body wasn’t in complete agony. While Peyton wanted to rebel against being told what to do, she really was in agony and she knew she needed the rest. So after her shower and coffee, Hadina went off to work while Peyton stayed in bed watching movies. But the thing about getting kidnapped, abused, and almost murdered was that it really put a damper on how entertaining fiction was.

A knock at the door a few hours later interrupted her rather boring movie marathon. "It’s Piper.”

Peyton sighed. While she loved Piper, she wanted nothing more than to just chill on her own. But Piper had never done her wrong, that much she knew.

“Come in.”

Piper opened the door, popping her head inside. “Up for some company?”

Peyton plastered on a fake smile. “Sure! Come on in.”

“I just wanted to check in on you,” Piper said, spinning her curly hair around until it resembled a bun on top of her head. She clambered up onto the bed beside Peyton, nudging their shoulders. “I’m always here if you need to talk.”

“I don’t want to talk,” Peyton answered bluntly. “I have everything playing on repeat in my mind. Talking won’t help that.”

Piper pursed her plump lips, nodding ever so slightly. “I can understand that. How about we just be sloths and watch trash TV then? Keep your mind distracted.”

Peyton could hardly imagine how Piper of all people would be able to understand, but she appreciated the sentiment. “Sounds good to me.”

Handing Piper the control, they flipped through a bunch of channels before Piper landed on some sort of soap opera. She began to explain to Peyton what the show was about, but Peyton couldn’t take any of it in. She just nodded and pretended to focus on the show, laughing at whatever quips elicited a giggle from Piper.

“ It was…my mom. She’s the one who hit me.”

Without realizing, the show had delved into a more serious tone. A young boy bore bruises on his arm which caught the attention of his teacher. The pain in his voice was what caught Peyton’s attention, but the fact it was his mother hurting him? Something inside her snapped and she began to sob uncontrollably.

“Shit, Pey… I’m so sorry!” Piper turned the TV off and wrapped her arms around Peyton.

The tightness of Piper’s grip on her was agony on her damaged body, but Peyton stayed in the embrace. She would rather feel the physical pain of a comforting hug, than the mental anguish over what Demi had done to her.

“I hate this!” Peyton cried out between sobs. “I feel so freaking weak, Piper. I can’t believe this is who I am now. I’m a weak, cowardly murderer !”

Piper rocked them slightly, running her hand over Peyton’s hair. “You’re neither weak nor cowardly, Peyton Dimitra. And for the other part—you had no choice. It was self defense.”

Peyton shook her head, pulling out of Piper’s grip. “No, you don’t understand! It wasn’t self defense. I killed those men and I felt joy . I was happy that I was taking their lives after they made me suffer so much. Do you know how wrong that is? I took two human lives and I can’t believe that’s who I am now. Even if they did deserve it, it was wrong.”

“It’s something you have to learn to deal with, Pey. Because you can’t let it eat you up like this.”

“I’m so scared,” she admitted. “I’m scared of how angry I am. It’s a fire in me and no matter what I do, it won’t extinguish. And I don’t think it ever will; at least not until Demi is dead in the ground. And even that is so fucked up.” Peyton took a deep breath, her sobs making her body shudder. “I never thought my life would turn out like this, Piper. And I love Hadi, with everything in me, and I don’t want to lose her, but I don’t know how to do this. I’m going to be a weakness in the Adis chain and I can’t do that to you all.”

Piper hushed her gently, grabbing her some tissue from the bathroom to wipe her face. “You’re not a weakness and you never will be. I always thought of myself like that too. I’m the baby sister, the creative one, the one who stayed as far away from the family business as possible. But neither of my sisters have ever viewed me as weak. If you choose to be part of the family, it doesn’t mean you have to be part of the business.”

“That’s the thing,” Peyton mumbled, “I really want to be part of the business. And that scares me even more.”

“What about therapy?”

Peyton balked. “Are you joking? I can’t tell anyone any of this.”

“Not that kind of therapy. Adis therapy .” Piper crossed her legs, letting her hands fall into her lap. “When my mom died, I was so little, but I’ve grown up with so many memories of a woman who loved me more than she loved herself. That’s an amazing feeling, for sure, but it’s also so much pressure. And the loss of that love, combined with knowing I had to make myself worthy of it as I grew, pushed me into being someone you’d never recognize. I was so angry and bitter and I lashed out at everyone.

“I remember running away once. I was barely at the edge of town when Adrian pulled up beside me in one of the family cars. He told me to get in and when I did, he turned the car off. We sat there for an hour, in silence, until I finally broke down. He told me that my mom would have wanted me to grow up being whoever I wanted to be, and that simple piece of information changed my life.”

Despite her hurt, Peyton smiled at the tenderness in Piper’s voice. The emotion was pouring from her, and Peyton didn’t miss the faint blush at the mention of Harris.

“He took me to some of our training locations. Taught me how to box, let me beat the shit out of some punching bags. Took me to a shooting range. Made me go running. He made me try everything to help me release the rage and the hurt that was stuck inside me.”

Peyton sighed. “I love that he did that for you; really, I do. But I’m hardly in a fit state for that type of therapy.”

Piper patted Peyton’s hand. “Adis therapy will be there for you when you’re healed and ready, because those feelings don’t just go away.” She grinned, leaning forward as though they were sharing a secret. “Besides, Adis & Co. have a shrink on the books too, just in case you do want to go the traditional way.”

Wiping at her tear stained cheeks, Peyton snorted. “That’s good to know.”

“Either way, we’re all here for you, Pey. You’re a strong, beautiful badass and you have an entire family by your side now. You don’t have to go it alone.”