Chapter Nineteen
Carbon
KIMBER INFORMED ME she was getting Peyton out of the house today.
It’s the only reason I left to come to Down ‘n Dirty to do paperwork and check on things with the rest of the staff. If I were home, there’s a good chance Peyton wouldn’t leave.
She isn’t going too far, just to the clubhouse.
However, since we brought the twins home, my girl is even more terrified to leave for any reason.
She’s even asked the doctors to make trips to the house for their appointments instead of taking them to the hospital or office.
The only one who won’t come to the house is the specialist Chayne needs to see.
So far, we haven’t had to take our son to see him, but that appointment is coming up soon and we’ll have to leave the compound.
I know Peyton is going to freak out about it, but if we can get her out of the house for a little bit each day then maybe it won’t be too bad for her to go to the hospital.
Riding through town, I’m not that far from the bar when my phone rings. I immediately answer because I know my girl isn’t home and I don’t want anything to happen to her.
“Hello,” I answer, not sure who’s calling me right now.
“Mr. Whitfield, this is Dylan Banks from the fire department. I’m calling to inform you that Down ‘n Dirty is on fire. We’ve mostly got the flames extinguished, but there has been some damage done to the structure,” the man on the other end of the line informs me.
“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me? I was just there and left less than ten minutes ago. What caused the fire?” I question the man calling me with this news. “And what about my staff? There were a few people in there when I left.”
“They all got out safely. The fire started in the basement. That’s all we know for sure.
It came up through the floor and did damage to the stock in the storage room.
You’re lucky the fire wasn’t worse considering the alcohol you have in there.
We’re not sure what started it at this point, but we’ll get to the bottom of it.
Can you and some others in the club come over so we can talk in person?
” Dylan asks me, his voice in full business mode.
“Of course. We’ll be right there,” I tell him, hanging up the phone and calling Rooster instead.
“What’s goin’ on, Carbon?” Rooster answers his phone as rage fills me.
“Down ‘n Dirty is on fire. I just fuckin’ left there ten minutes ago. The fire department is already there and got the flames mostly put out. Everyone who was there already got out safely. Apparently, it started in the basement. I’m not sure what started it at this point.
The fire department will have to conduct their investigation,” I inform Rooster before he starts swearing up a storm on his end of the call.
“We’ll be right there. Do you have anyone with you?” he asks me as I hear him moving around and know he’s leaving the garage now.
“Knuckles is with me. He doesn’t know what’s goin’ on yet. I literally got off the phone with the guy from the fire department and called you,” I answer him, my voice hard and cold as anger fills me.
“I’ll call everyone else and we’ll get there immediately. You and Knuckles head there now,” Rooster orders me, his voice going colder.
Hanging up the phone, I motion for Knuckles to turn around.
“What’s goin’ on?” he asks me through our communication system.
“Down ‘n Dirty is on fire,” I tell him shortly, my voice shaking with the rage filling me.
“What the fuck? We just left there?” Knuckles yells, his voice harder than normal when he’s not around his family.
“I know. I guess it started in the basement and went up to the storage room. Said it could’ve been a lot worse because of the alcohol but they got it put out before it could,” I tell him as we make our way to the bar.
We can’t get too close with the fire trucks parked there and the police having the area taped off.
Knuckles and I park our bikes where we can and walk the rest of the way to the parking lot of the bar.
It doesn’t take us long to smell the smoke from the fire and see the damage that’s been done to the place.
Dylan said on the phone that there was some damage to the place, but this is more than a little bit if you ask me.
“Fuck!” I shout, my anger making me want to pound the shit out of something.
“We don’t know how bad it is yet, Carbon,” Knuckles says, trying to calm me down as I try to get even closer to the place.
“It’s gonna be bad, Knuckles. I don’t have to be a genius to know that,” I respond, my voice going even colder than before.
“Let’s not do anythin’ rash right now, Carbon. Let Rooster and everyone else get here before we do anythin’,” he tries to reason with me as I hear the rumble of bikes getting closer to our location.
“Knuckles, this isn’t gonna fuckin’ fly with me.
Not only is someone after my woman but someone is also fuckin’ with my business.
Yeah, it might belong to the club, but I’m the one runnin’ the fuckin’ place.
This is an attack on me and no one will fuckin’ tell me any different,” I tell him, my entire body shaking with rage as I take in the scene before me and know something isn’t right about this situation.
Before Knuckles can respond to me, Rooster and everyone else rushes up to our side.
“What the fuck is goin’ on?” Rooster questions us as we watch the scene before us.
“We haven’t talked to anyone yet. They’re all busy wanderin’ around the scene and takin’ care of shit to talk to us yet,” Knuckles answers Rooster for me as I keep my eyes locked on the scene in front of me.
“We’ll figure it out as soon as they’re done. For now, we watch over everyone as they work to get the fire out and figure out what the hell is goin’ on,” Rooster states, his voice cold as hell while we all remain at the tape the police put up to keep everyone away from the fire.
***
The fire ended up reigniting and started all over again.
It happened just as the fire department was packing up and getting ready to head out.
The chief didn’t even have a chance to talk to us before they had to pull their equipment back out again and put the fire out once again.
To say I was pissed would be an understatement.
This is complete bullshit and I have no clue what the hell is going on.
“Go call your woman and check in on her and the twins,” Rooster orders me, his voice going slightly softer as he looks at me and pulls me away from the tape.
With a short nod of my head, I turn my back on the chaos behind us and pull my phone from my pocket. There are no messages from Peyton and no calls. While part of me likes seeing she hasn’t called or messaged me when I know she’s not at the house, another part of me starts to panic.
Peyton’s phone goes directly to voicemail. She never once turns her phone off. Because of the kids and her family, she always keeps the phone on. Peyton isn’t one to miss out on something happening to anyone she loves. Now that includes the men and women of the Dirty Slayers MC as well.
Switching up, I call my sister instead.
“Carbon? What’s going on?” Kimber answers her phone, her voice trembling with emotion and I’m immediately on high alert.
“Where’s Peyton? Her phone is goin’ straight to voicemail and that’s not like her,” I question my sister.
“She, um, she took one of the Slayer Slits to the store a while ago and hasn’t returned yet. I was just getting ready to call and check on her,” Kimber informs me as the rage I’ve been feeling all day long intensifies even more.
“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me!” I explode, my voice breaking and I know I’m scaring my sister.
“I’m sorry, Matt. I can say no one went with them. It’s just the two of them and I have a feeling now something is wrong,” Kimber says, her tone showing signs of guilt and fear.
“What the fuck!” I yell out as Brick and more of the guys race to my side and I hand my phone over to my best friend.
“What’s goin’ on, Carbon?” Rooster questions me, his voice hard and cold as he waits for me to calm down enough to answer him.
“This is a fuckin’ distraction for what’s really goin’ on,” I tell him, knowing deep in my heart that’s the truth of the matter. “The fire was started intentionally to distract us while my fuckin’ woman was taken.”
“What the hell are you talkin’ about?” Homicide asks, his tone immediately hard and cold as he goes into full Enforcer mode.
“Peyton took one of the Slayer Slits to the grocery store and no one’s heard from her since then.
It’s the first time she’s left the fuckin’ compound on her own.
Her fuckin’ phone is goin’ straight to voicemail and she never turns it off for any reason.
The most she does is put it on silent or vibrate mode.
Pretty fuckin’ convenient she goes missin’ and there’s a fire at the business I manage, don’t ya think?
” I put out to the members of the club as they all surround me and listen to what I have to say.
“If that’s what you’re thinkin’ then that’s what’s goin’ on,” Omen says, his voice leaving no room for argument from anyone around us. “What do you want us to do, Rooster?”
Omen never calls Rooster dad when he’s in club mode. It’s always Rooster and I know that’s what’s going on with all the guys right now. They’re not just men I call my brothers but the men of the Dirty Slayers MC.
“I want everyone out searchin’ for Peyton and this fuckin’ Slayer Slit.
She has more to do with this than she’s lettin’ on and I have a feelin’ she knows who’s been stalkin’ Peyton and has been helpin’ everyone involved in this mess,” Rooster orders, his voice quieter now that there’s a crowd gathered to see what’s going on with the fire at Down ‘n Dirty.
Everyone starts to leave the area and I stand there in complete shock.
When today started out, I never thought this is how it would end.
I thought I’d show up at Down ‘n Dirty for an hour at most and then I’d go back to the clubhouse to hang out with my family for the rest of the day.
Especially Callum. I knew he was showing up to see Peyton and the twins.
He wants to be in our lives more and doesn’t care what he has to do to be a regular part of things.
Especially now that Kimber and I have children.
Though, I did hear he’s moving to a new town.
There’s a brand new club that’s been started and every single one of the guys is ex-military.
I’m not sure about anything else regarding the club, but it’s the first time Callum’s been excited about something in a very long time.
“Where’s your head at, Matt?” Brick asks me, getting in my face and pulling me from my thoughts.
“She’s fuckin’ gone, Jayson. Someone has my woman and I don’t have the first clue where to look for her. We have no clue who’s after her and what they want. This is her worst fuckin’ fear come to life,” I tell my best friend as the guilt weighs heavy on my shoulders and I look him in the eyes.
“We’ll find her and bring her home, Matt.
Peyton is smart and won’t let anythin’ happen to herself.
She’ll do what she has to in order to buy us enough time to find her.
I’m gonna go back to the clubhouse and pull up security footage from the grocery store.
Also gonna dig into the Slayer Slit who supposedly needed to go to the store.
I’ll check on the kids when I get there and let you know how they are,” Jayson tells me as he turns and walks away, leaving me standing on my own once again.
Knuckles remains at my side as I finally pull my shit together enough to run for my bike so I can get searching for Peyton.
The only thing I can think of is that Jayson’s right and she knows that we’ll come for her.
We’re not gonna let her suffer alone and be at the mercy of some crazy stalker.
I’m not sure who the hell it is yet, but we’ll find out and make sure they pay for the suffering Peyton has gone through over the last several months at their hands. This ends now!