Reign (Riders of Apollo #1)

Chapter 37: Peyton Lennox

This is bullshit.

Well I'm just being dramatic but really I'm not. Just as I'm getting ready to spend the day in bed with Roman, we get a call from Bear.

What a cockblock.

I groan and lob my phone to the end of the bed, slipping out of Roman's embrace and into the bedroom. Petulantly, slamming the door behind me. 

I can be such a child sometimes.

Roman wasn't wrong when he said I'm clingy today but I can't help it. It's a bad day inside my head, everything is too loud and memories keep trying to surface, getting ready to cripple me. He quiets the noise, at least for a bit.

I keep postponing the breakdown but I know it's inevitable. By the end of this week it will have happened. I will shut down and will be difficult to deal with. I've never had to worry about people's reactions to it before considering I've always done this alone.

I'm not alone anymore.

Sometimes that thought is more terrifying than others. Roman may know the story and may also know about the fragility of my mental state but this shit goes downhill way too quickly. Maybe I should try a different way of facing it rather than just shoving it down. Healthy coping mechanisms need to step up.

I have a quick shower before brushing my teeth, letting Roman in as well because we're on a time crunch. She says putting on eyeliner and not giving a shit.

I slip on a pair of black ripped jeans, a cropped nirvana shirt and the cool chain/belt combo that Lucia gave to me before throwing my jacket on over top. I put some Vans on and take my hair out, not caring that it looks messy today.

A little spritz of perfume and a cup of tea to go, I grab Roman and pull him down the street to the club. He squeezes my waist tight as we head into Church, I wave at Lex before taking my own seat in the room. They gave me the one to Roman's left, let's just say that he doesn't like it one bit. 

Said I belong in his lap or whatever.

"What's happening, Prez?" Romeo asks, his laptop already at the ready. I'm surprised that HR haven't launched their retaliation attempt considering the attack on the club was awful and they lost a lot of men. Maybe they've realised that we're an actual threat and are going to start focusing on the Fire Demons since they're a weaker target.

"It's the Fire Demons, isn't it?" Bear looks at me, wincing slightly and that's answer enough.

"Slasher is pissed that our tactics aren't protecting him, he said that he also wants a pact with the Mexicans and the Niners. Apparently HR tried to knock over one of their runs, they lost two men."

"The Mexicans won't go for it, they should be grateful that they haven't killed them. Matías hates him for not trying hard enough to save me, Lucia as well. There is no chance they'll go for it. We're also still in negotiations with the Niners, it's been so difficult already we may fuck up the deal if we bring them into it."

"I tried to tell him that, he said that he is entitled to the same because..." he trails off and I give him a curious look, what the hell is going on? "Because he let you pitch into our MC and that he could easily take you away, taking both pacts with you."

"I'm not going anywhere." I reiterate, looking at Roman quickly to settle his anger. This is not going well at all. We can resort to violence and cut them off at the knees with their trafficking, we can kill twenty four men and we can make pacts with other people but we need to take them the fuck down before they kill some of ours.

"What do we do now?" Hunter speaks up, I look to him in surprise. He doesn't normally talk during these meetings unless we speak directly to him, maybe he's feeling protective over Mari and Gemma because he definitely has a thing for them.

"Saviour, this is getting ridiculous. Gears and I have spoken, we don't know where to go from here." Bear rubs his face in frustration and I lean back in my seat. 

My brain is tripping over itself trying to find a solution to this, their organisation seems to have hands everywhere. Granted, we cut them off from their main source of supply and nicked their money so the only thing keeping them alive right now must be the members' money.

I need to find Twitch.

"Romeo, can I borrow the laptop?" He hands it over and I pull up the bounty website, there's not outstanding warrants on him though I could always make it up and grab him. 

Why do I even need to do this legally? I'm part of an MC now, more specifically a one percenter.

I pull up a few more pages, searching bank account records, travel plans and his entire background. Medical, criminal and otherwise. I scroll through addresses and work details closely. If I can track him I can find out what the hell is going on, I might even be able to get my hands on the letters bossman has been sending out from his cell.

"Find Twitch, read the letters, suss out the plan and then take them down. More present problem, what's happening with Slasher? Even I can't negotiate that shit."

"He's coming over for an argument so you can tell him that."

"Oh fun."

—————

"Oi Bear, I don't have time for this shit. Either you give me what I want or the pact is over, my daughter will be coming with me." Slasher's entrance is grand as him and his men basically plough through the double doors at the front of the clubhouse. 

Could've just knocked. I suppose that's not his style. 

"I don't know what daughter you're talking about but it better not be me." My voice is stable but I am simmering with anger, if this goes to far I will kick off and that's not good for anybody. 

"Peyton, we are your family. You should be doing this for us not these pansies."

"Family is not who you're born with, it's who you die for. You don't get to walk in here and dictate whatever you want. I am doing everything I can here to stop HR from killing the lot of you, I don't have time to deal with whatever petty squabble you have with this MC." I try to keep my tone from rising but I fail towards the end of the sentence, very willing to start stabbing things. 

"I'm not making a pact with Apollo until I get pacts from the Mexicans and the Niners."

"I'm not magic. The Mexicans don't like you, I can't change that. The Niners are jumpy, it's hard enough trying to get those fuckers on our side let alone yours. I am trying to save your lives!" Okay, now the exasperation is clear as I start to raise my voice, trying to explain something to him is like trying to explain something to a brick wall.

"You favour them over us."

"They're my family. I swore myself to them, I swore myself to Reign. That's just the way things are but I'm helping everybody. Even the coppers are backing off to let me work, why can't you understand? Why has everything got to be about making money or connections? Can't you just trust that what I'm doing is the only thing keeping them from wiping you out?"

"I am your father, Peyton."

"This pact is only beneficial for you, we can survive without your help but you can't survive without ours. So be grateful we're even willing to help, you've killed some of ours and we're not a forgiving people but we're putting that aside to save the clubs. And, by the way, my name is Saviour."