Reign (Riders of Apollo #1)

Chapter 35: Peyton Lennox

I torque my engine and speed up, overtaking cars and only just making turns. I pull up on the driveway of a shitty little house in the dangerous part of town and throw open my door. 

Marielle and Gemma are stood on the doorstep with a man gripping their arms tightly enough to bruise.

Marielle and I met at the market a few years ago and I offered her help the first time, she refused and I didn't want to push. She's a gorgeous woman with dark chocolate skin and a cool ass afro that I've always loved, her eyes are a stormy grey and she is unbelievably intelligent like genius IQ.

I met her while she was halfway through her degree in biochemistry but the dickhead who is gripping onto her made her drop out just before the end of her last year. He got her pregnant by piercing the condoms and replacing her birth control with some fake pill. Mari has always wanted children so she was excited, she didn't know he did that until I found out a few months into her pregnancy.

While she was pregnant though, he didn't lay hands on her like he had so many times before. 

He's cut her and burned her before and every time I begged her to let me get involved. She was always worried for Gemma but I think they've taken enough.

Gemma has bruises all over her skin and Mari has grip marks on her neck and wrists. Nobody questions it because of where they live and her husband is a major drug runner. He's a white douchebag, who is skinny enough to snap in two but has quite a bit of strength hence why Mari has always been scared of him.

His name is Jerry and I want him to fucking die.

The only good thing that's come from him is little Gemma. She's a gorgeous little girl with wide blue eyes and caramel skin, long eyelashes and soft little freckles on her cheekbones, she inherited her mother's curly hair and it frames her heart shaped face perfectly. I'm her godmother and was there when she was born, I'm incredibly protective over both of them.

I slam my door behind me and swing my bat from the back seat, approaching the family with murder in my eyes. Jerry loosens his grip slightly, fearing my retaliation. 

Oh, this asshole is dead. 

"Marielle, could you and Gemma get in the car please?" Mari is able to free herself and her daughter, throwing their bags in the back seat and sitting in the front with Gemma on her lap.

I smash his windows on his house and his fucked up Ford before backing him into the house and closing the door behind us. 

They don't need to see this.

I grab another bag and grab anything that looks like it's either of theirs, watching him as he starts twitching. Probably itching for his next hit. I know that Mari could only pack the absolute necessities so I grab her pictures and a few more things from both of their closets and when I reach the lounge again, Jerry has a needle poised next to his arm.

I drop their things off on the doorstep before destroying everything, ignoring his cries for my ceasefire. "Is that what they sounded like? When you fucking strangled them? Hmm? When you cut them?"

I spin around and land a hit on his stomach, folding him in two. I grab his neck and yank him up. "The coppers are coming for you, I just wanted to have my fun first. You send anyone anywhere near those girls I will kill you, whether you're in jail or not. You can't escape me. Just know that this was mercy." I growl before slamming his face into the wall and heading out of the house.

"Did you kill him?" Mari asks as soon as I get into my seat after throwing the rest of their stuff in the car.

"No, I got him arrested and destroyed his shit." She covers the two year old's ears which makes me roll my eyes. I think about going back to my house but I need Romeo's computer to deal with this shithead so I drive passed it and to the clubhouse.

Mari is jumpy around men so she flinches when she realises how many are in here. Thankfully, it's not too many, just Bear, Romeo, Runner, Rubble and Hunter. "Here, sit up here." I lead Mari to a seat at the breakfast bar with Gemma next to her.

"Auntie Pay, you mad?"

"No, baby, not at all. Okay? I just want to make the bad man go away."

"You mean daddy? He is the bad man." I know my eyes tear up at her words, I never wanted her to go through this. Mari either. Mari starts crying so I take Gemma from her and tell her where the bathroom is.

"Romeo, I need your laptop. Quickly." Romeo, realising the importance of this issue, dashes off to retrieve it as I comfort Gemma with soft words and caresses. Mari comes back at the same time as Romeo, Gemma settles on her mother's lap as I begin clicking away on the computer. Bear lingers behind me with concern and the others keep moving closer, thinking they're being subtle.

Idiots.

"Peyton, what are you doing? I thought you already got him arrested and destroyed basically everything he owns?" Mari is still worried over the abusive dick, she's too caring and kind for her own good. 

"Tanking his credit score, taking his money and destroying any online profiles he has. Uploading all important pictures, data and emails to send to the coppers. This idiot actually keeps all of his details on his computer, why are you living in a shitty house when he's got 250K stashed away?"

"He always said he had no money."

"Well he doesn't now, looks like Marielle Lennox now has 250K and a stellar credit score."

"Lennox? I'm taking your last name."

"Well I doubt you want to keep his, I'm changing Gemma's too."

"Thank you, Peyton. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'll never have to worry about that, darling. I promised you years ago that I'd always be here."

"Did you just hack the DMV as well?" Romeo asks from over my shoulder, apparently he's been watching every key stroke and critiquing me.

"Stop being nosy Romeo and introduce yourself."

"Hi, I'm Romeo. The IT specialist and the smartest one around, I'm also the youngest and you are very pretty." He puts on his flirty smile so I smack him around the back of the head. Literally just got out of an abusive relationship, she doesn't need a twenty-one year old dingus hitting on her. "Ow! That hurt."

"I'm Bear, the boss around here." He likes to sound all big but we all know that isn't true.

"And the most delusional, his wife Lexie is in charge around here." The boys jeer and Mari laughs for the first time in awhile.

"I'm Runner, weapons specialist." He's the calmest of them all and weirdly Gemma reaches for him with grabbing hands. He looks to Marielle for permission before bringing the little one into his arms and speaking away in Spanish. It's funny that she so quickly trusted a bloke who actually told her he is in charge of weapons.

"I'm Rubble, sweetest person alive-"

"And yet can never keep his dirty dick in his pants." I butt in with a shit eating smile on my face, enjoying pissing my boys off.

"I'm Hunter." He doesn't elaborate, just keeps his eyes focused on hers with an intensity I've never seen before. She seems equally fascinated by him and I wiggle my eyebrows at Bear who doesn't react the way I want him too. 

Ugh, men.