Chapter 24

Peyton

Sitting at the kitchen island, Peyton rapped her fingertips on her mug of coffee. Hadina had been away for hours already, and she could only assume what she was doing to Derick Hernandez. So, instead of focusing on how scared she was, she was texting back and forth with Kaira. Not that it was helping any.

Kaira: You doing okay?

Peyton: no. Im freaking tf out

Kaira: H knows what she’s doing

Peyton: True. But im still getting used to this life. What if shes in danger

Kaira: *eye roll emoji*

Kaira: H can handle herself. And she’s got Harris with her

Peyton knew that Kaira was right, but it didn’t ease her nerves. It wasn’t that she thought Hadina couldn’t handle things herself—she most definitely could—but Peyton secretly hated the fact she wasn’t with her. That everything was happening because of her and instead of being part of the action, she was sitting at home so that she wouldn’t be scarred further.

“Honey, I’m home,” Hadina called out, the sarcasm dripping in her voice. Such a sweet, gentle greeting and both women knew it didn’t fit them or their lifestyle.

Jumping off her stool, Peyton ran to the hallway to see Hadina standing in the foyer, her clothes covered in blood. Even her face was marked with crimson.

“Hadi! Are you okay?” She ran forward, taking Hadina’s face in her hands to check for any wounds or signs that she was harmed.

Hadina nodded, taking Peyton’s hands and pressing a chaste kiss to them. “I’m okay. It’s not my blood.”

Peyton blinked. “That’s a lot of blood. Tell me it belonged to Hernandez.”

“It does.” Hadina grinned, all teeth and viciousness. It sent a flutter through Peyton. “We got him… Poplar is on his way with a car and body. Adrian has the tracker, so he’ll be trailing him. Shouldn’t take long for Demi to realize what’s going on.”

“So, what now? We just sit around and wait?”

Hadina shrugged off her jacket, revealing an extra bloody shirt. “First, I need to take a shower. And then I have to sleep. What comes next… Well, we’ll need all the energy we can get. You should get some sleep too, tentadora .”

Peyton trailed after Hadina as they made their way to their bedroom—formally Hadina’s, but Peyton spent most of her time there now anyway. Slowly, she peeled off Hadina’s bloody clothes, depositing them in the laundry basket beside the door. Then she turned on the shower, adjusting the heat until the temperature was perfect.

Taking Hadina by the hand, Peyton led her inside the walk in shower.

“You’re still fully clothed . ”

Peyton tutted, walking into the shower with her, the water soaking into her clothes. “Wet clothes can be dried. Let me take care of you, baby.”

Hadina acquiesced, taking a step backwards to give Peyton more room. While she would never tell Hadina, Peyton had heard her pained cries in the shower after she’d tended to business. This was the only way she knew to make it even slightly better for Hadi, to take away some of the work so she didn’t have to think or feel or do anything.

Taking the bottle of body wash from the shelf, Peyton lathered up her hands and began to rub at the red stains covering Hadina’s body. Hadina sighed softly, closing her eyes and letting the water cascade down her face. Peyton’s touches were gentle and slow. There was something sensual about it, without it being arousing. She wanted to look after Hadina in the way she knew her love would look after her.

With an extra level of delicateness, Peyton washed Hadina until she was clean. Hadina stayed silent, only emitting another sigh when Peyton began to wash her hair. She took extra care with Hadina’s long, raven locks as she shampooed and rinsed, repeating the process again. Only when Peyton had applied conditioner and was rinsing it out did she feel Hadina begin to tremble. Her body shook in silent tremors and Peyton felt the hot tears run down Hadina’s face.

Grabbing a towel from the rack on the wall, Peyton switched the shower off and wrapped Hadina up. “Let’s go, love.”

Hadina nodded, letting Peyton lead them to the bed where she pulled back the duvet, ushering Hadina to lay down. Stripping herself of her now wet clothes, Peyton crawled in behind Hadina, curling her body. Entwining themselves together, Peyton held Hadina close until they both drifted off to sleep.

Almost twenty-four hours had passed by since Hadina had sent Eddie Poplar off with a beat up car and the dead body of Derick Hernandez. Peyton had woken up to breakfast tacos and a mug of freshly brewed coffee, courtesy of Hadina. But then the day turned into a waiting game and both of them were starting to get anxious.

“You have no patience,” Zellie muttered from where she sat, cross-legged, in the plush emerald armchair.

Peyton scoffed. “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks.”

“Stones. It’s supposed to be stones.”

“Urh! Same difference.”

Hadina laughed and pressed a soft kiss to the side of Peyton’s neck. “I like it when you yell at my sister.”

Peyton blushed, burrowing further into Hadina’s side.

“ ?Consigue una habitación! ”

Both Peyton and Hadina looked up to glare at Zellie. “You’re the one in our space.”

Zellie flipped them off. “This is a family room in our family house. I am allowed to be here.”

“Hm, true. But are you wanted here?” Peyton countered, a sudden bout of confidence coming over her.

“Ooooh, so feisty. Hadi, your kitty has claws.”

Hadina rolled her eyes, making Peyton laugh. Even if she wasn’t Zellie’s biggest fan, which seemed like an understatement, Peyton had to admit that she enjoyed seeing some humor between Zellie and Hadina. After all they’d gone through, a bit of hilarity was the least they deserved.

The tune of Hadina’s phone loudly interrupted their playful bickering. Peyton sighed, seeing Harris’ name on the screen. There was no denying the fact that shit was about to go down.

“ Ta bueno. ?Qué pasa? ”

Peyton watched Hadina tap the screen to put Adrian on speakerphone, placing the phone between them on the table. Zellie raised her eyebrows, leaning forward in her chair.

“ La tenemos . We got her. I was tracking Poplar and he went to one of the regular meeting points. I guess Treyva had anticipated it because she was waiting for him. Then a text came through on the burner phone; an address and time to meet.”

Hadina sucked air through her teeth. Zellie grinned ferociously. Peyton, however, watched as her hands began to tremble where they were folded in her lap.

“Tomorrow. Eight p.m. She even signed it as Regina .”

“Send a text back to confirm.”

This was what they’d been waiting on. What Peyton had wanted ever since she got back to the Adis home.

Revenge.

Retribution.

Vengeance for her sister. For herself.

Yet, anxious thoughts still tugged at her. What if they couldn’t kill her? She’d been an aloof presence all this time; what was different now?

"You are.”

Hadina’s voice broke through Peyton’s cycle of perturbed thoughts. She hadn’t realized that she’d been talking aloud. Even Zellie was looking at her, as though she was trying to give her extra confidence through her gaze alone.

“We’ve never tried to take her out before. But what’s different now is that we have you, tentadora . You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, and your mind is an invaluable weapon to Adis & Co.”

“She’s right,” Zellie replied. “Besides, this is the first time in a long time that we are all together. Fighting together. Watching each other’s backs. This is one bitch ass woman against the elite Adis family. And that includes you, Peyton.”

“You’re an Adis now.”