“Someone got into the house late last night or early this mornin’, Carbon,” Seth informs me as I listen to Peyton crying hysterically in the background.“They left a bloody knife, pictures of Peyton and the kids, dead flowers, and some other shit on the porch.Marie found it when she got here to make breakfast for your family.Peyton refused to stay in the house and saw everythin’ that was left for her.”
“Fuck!”I yell, slamming my fist into the side of Dominic’s house.“That’s it!I’m leavin’ today and headin’ home.I’ll ride straight the fuck through if I gotta.Not gonna leave my ol’ lady there to suffer on her own.”
“You can’t do that, Matt.You have a job to do,” I hear Peyton say, her voice weak and broken to the point it shatters my heart into a million pieces.
“I’m leavin’, Tutor.No one will keep me here.Once Rooster and the guys find out what’s goin’ on, they’ll understand and won’t say a single fuckin’ word to me.I’ll be on the road in five,” I say, already heading in the house and up to the room I’ve been staying in.Thankfully I didn’t unpack so I only have to grab my bag and make sure I have my weapons and ammunition.
“Matt, I don’t want you to get into trouble.If you have to stay there, I’ll be okay.I’ll stay in the house and no one will get close to me.Things aren’t adding up here, though,” Peyton informs me, her voice sounding a little stronger than a few minutes ago.“Some of the things on the porch are things only my dead husband would know about.The knife was his and should have been buried with him.Some of the pictures are from when the kids were little and no one has access to them but Clark and myself.Jennifer doesn’t even have a way to get the pictures on the porch.We saved them to a hard drive and it’s password protected.”
“What the fuck?Have you told anyone but Seth and me?”I question her as I race back down the stairs to find Knuckles, Omen, and Grudge already waiting for me.
“No.Marie was too busy tryin’ to usher her back inside the house with the kids.Kurt and I have been here with Tease and Homicide remainin’ close by.None of them know what’s goin’ on because I haven’t allowed them to get too close to the house.I’m about to send Peyton upstairs to lay down, but I have a feelin’ her sister will need to come over to keep her in bed.She’s been here every night to ensure Peyton sleeps and doesn’t pace the house all hours of the night,” Seth says as pain fills me and I know I won’t be going on anymore long runs for the time being.Peyton and my kids need me.
“You’re not sleepin’, Tutor?”I ask my ol’ lady and already know the second I get home I’ll make sure she goes to bed and sleeps for as long as she needs to.
“It’s been hard.I’m not comfortable with the pregnancy and you’re not home with me,” she answers shyly, her voice lowering as if she’s embarrassed to admit something like that in front of Seth or anyone else.
“I’ll make sure you sleep when I get home, Peyton.I love you and will be home as soon as I can be.Please stay inside and don’t answer the door for anyone.I don’t want anyone gettin’ close to you,” I tell her, my voice almost pleading with her as I look at the men in front of me just as Dominic enters the room and looks shocked to see us all ready to leave.“I gotta go for now, Baby.I’ll call you when we stop for breaks but I’m hopin’ not to need too many of them so I can get home even quicker.”
“I love you, Matt.I’ll stay inside with the kids.I promise,” she says before hanging up the phone.
“What’s goin’ on here guys?”Dominic asks, stopping in front of us.
“We’re leavin’.I told you I wasn’t gonna seduce your sister to get her to confess to what she’s doin’.Now, my ol’ lady needs me and I’m not gonna waste any more time here with you when all you want is a seduction plan.Get one of your men to do what you want done,” I state firmly letting him know there is nothing that will keep me here.“Rooster knows I’m already plannin’ on leavin’ and doesn’t blame me after what you asked me to do.”
“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me?You can’t just leave me like this!”Dominic explodes, his voice full of anger as he glares at us.
“We can, and are, leavin’.You’ve been havin’ us here for weeks doin’ nothin’ more than sittin’ with our thumbs up our ass because you have no clue who the fuck is messin’ with your shit.You believe it’s your sister and want us to continue to play games so you don’t have to punish her or some shit.It’s fuckin’ ridiculous.We have no problem workin’ for you and helpin’ out when you need us.However, three of us here have ol’ ladies back home and families of our own.Grudge wants to get back to his best friends and his life.We’re done bein’ your lackeys for this job.Call us when you have a real job for us to do.”
“Fuck!”Dominic says, storming from the room and leaving us to exit his house with no more problems because he knows how right we are in this situation.
“You sure you know what you’re doin’?”Knuckles questions me, his voice concerned as he looks at me.
“I’m positive.Someone got on the compound and left shit at the front door of my fuckin’ house.Peyton said some of the stuff is shit only her husband who died has access to.Someone is fuckin’ with my family and I’m not about to let them get away with it,” I state, pulling my phone back out and calling Brick.
“What’s goin’ on, Carbon?”Brick answers his phone.
“You heard about what happened at my house yet?”I return, my voice cold as ice when I think of what’s happened while I’ve been away.
“Yeah.Just got a call from Seth.Your girl is hysterical and needs you here with her,” Brick says, his voice worried as he thinks of someone he knows hurting the way my ol’ lady is right now.
“We’re headin’ back now.Need you to look into the fucker my girl was married to.I know his first name was Clark.Don’t let her know I asked you to look into him.If you have any questions, call me and I’ll get ahold of Jennifer.I can explain what I’m lookin’ for to her and I know she’ll keep it to herself until we know everythin’,” I tell my best friend and know he’ll do whatever it takes to protect Peyton.
“On it.I’ll let Rooster know what’s goin’ on and no one else will know,” he tells me, his voice turning even more serious as I hear him typing away on the keyboard in front of him.“Gonna have Kimber go over and stay with her for a while.I know your mom and Marie are over there already.See ya when you get back.I don’t expect it to take you too long with what’s goin’ on.”
“Not plannin’ on it takin’ long at all.This shit is fuckin’ insane and I’m ready for it to be over with.I want guys on the house at all times.No one will get that close to my fuckin’ family again,” I order knowing Brick and Rooster will take care of it for me until I can get there to deal with the situation myself.Hanging up the phone, I slide it in my pocket and make my way over to my bike.
After placing my bag in my saddle bags of my bike, I straddle it and start the engine before putting my helmet on and making sure I’m ready to ride.The rest of the guys follow my lead and we all pull out in a minute without looking back.I stick to the speed limit while we’re in town.Once we get on the highway, I open up my bike and the men with me keep up without fail.Even the new Prospect in the van with us doesn’t hang back and get lost in traffic.The only thought on my mind is getting home to my family.I don’t care what it takes for that to happen at this point.
