Peyton

 

 

 

It was almost three when Dom showed up at Stephanie’s. I hadn’t had a lot of time to explain who Tarot was, so when he showed up at the door, to say that she was surprised was an understatement.

“You’re Dom?” she said, crossing her arms under her chest.

He grinned. “Yeah, is Peyton ready to go?”

“I am,” I said, stepping next to her. “Thanks for letting me get some rest, Steph. I feel a lot better.”

She scowled at me. “You and I need to talk.”

“I know,” I said. “I’ll call you later.”

Stephanie looked at him and then turned back to me. “I really don’t know what you’re thinking, Peyton. You know—“

Not wanting to get into it, especially with him standing there, I cut her off. “I do. Look, don’t worry about me. I’m in safe hands with Dom.” I hugged her and whispered in Steph’s ear. “I’ll be fine. He’s not a bad guy. I swear.”

She grunted.

I pulled away and gave her a reassuring smile. “Like I said, I’ll call you.”

“You’d better.” She looked at Dom again. “Keep her safe.”

“I will,” he replied. “It was nice meeting you.”

Stephanie didn’t reply.

“Goodbye,” I said, leading him away. I looked over my shoulder, knowing that I was going to get an earful later.

“Goodbye,” she said, watching us leave.

“I take it she doesn’t like me,” Dom said when we were in the elevator.

“She doesn’t know you.”

He grabbed me and kissed me. “I’m used to it. Anyway, as long as you like me, that’s all that matters,” he said softly.

“I do like you. It’s why I haven’t left town,” I replied, half-serious and half-joking.

He looked at me with concern. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, babe. I swear, after today, you won’t have to worry about this guy.”

“Are you going after him?”

He nodded. “Oh, fuck yeah.”

A shiver went through me. What if Dom was hurt? What if he was killed? “Maybe you should let the cops handle this,” I said, sounding like a broken record, but not caring.

Dom touched my cheek. “There you go again. The cops won’t handle this. Not the way it needs to be handled, at least. This guy will attack you again if we don’t do something about it, Peyton. I can’t let that happen.”

From the look in his eyes, I knew there was nothing I could say that would change his mind.

“Just, don’t get hurt. Please,” I said softly.

He leaned forward and kissed me again. “I won’t.”

The elevator doors opened and he escorted me to a black SUV that was parked in the lot. As we drew closer, I noticed one of his club members standing outside, holding a leash that was attached to the cutest puppy I’d ever seen.

“Oh, my God, how adorable,” I said, walking over.

“Thanks,” said Brass, running a hand over his chin. “Devon made me shave today.”

I chuckled and pet Chilly. “Where’s Ruby?”

“In the truck,” he answered. “I figured I’d let the dog out to pee.”

Dom opened up the backdoor. “Ruby, you doing okay?”

“Yes,” said a little voice.

I stood up and walked over. Inside was a little girl with long, dark hair, light blue eyes, and a dusting of freckles on her cheeks. “Hi. I’m Peyton.”

“Hi,” she said, staring at me intently.

“We should get going,” said Dom.

“Okay,” I replied, getting into the back, next to her.

Brass put the dog back into the kennel and then both men got into the front.

Dom turned around and looked at us. “We’ll stop and grab you something to eat before dropping you off. What are you hungry for?”

I wasn’t hungry, but knew that Ruby probably needed to eat after the flight. “Whatever she wants.”

“McDonald’s,” said the little girl.

“How about Subway? Or Arby’s?” replied Dom.

“Okay. Subway,” said Ruby, looking disappointed.

He looked at me. “We’ve had McDonald’s twice already in the last twenty-four hours.”

“Ah,” I said, understanding.

“We need to pick up some dog food along the way, too,” Dom told Brass. “Is that okay?”

“No problem.”

An hour later, we were in Dom’s apartment and both Chilly and Ruby were eating. We’d had to sneak the puppy in, since his complex didn’t allow animals.

“I’m sorry to have to run so quickly, but there’s business to take care of,” said Dom, staring at me.

I knew what he was talking about. “What about the dog? What should I do if she has to go potty?”

They’d already put newspaper on the ground, next to her kennel, but I knew she’d probably need to go outside at one point.

Dom sighed. “Don’t bring her out. If someone sees her then they’ll start asking questions. I don’t want you having to deal with that.”

“Okay,” I replied. “I’ll just clean up after her then.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry to lay all this on you,” he whispered, pulling me into his arms. “Especially Chilly. She’s almost harder to take care of than Ruby.”

“I told you before, I want to help,” I replied, looking at his daughter, who was seated at the kitchen table and watching cartoons. “She’s beautiful, by the way.”

He grinned. “Yeah. Thanks. She looks like my mother, who was gorgeous. Especially, in her younger years.”

“Really? She looks like your mother?”

He nodded.

“I think she looks like you,” I said.

His smiled widened.

I grinned up at him. I could tell he was happier than I’d ever seen him. “So, how does it feel?”

“Right now, I’m the happiest man in the world,” he said, nuzzling my neck. He lowered his voice. “I’ll be even happier once I get you alone in bed later.”

“Just make it home,” I whispered back.

“I will.”