Chapter Eight

Vivi stirred at Whiskey's hand, lightly shaking her shoulder.

"We're here."

She glanced around the darkened area. They were parked in front of a grouping of houses. She was surprised she'd fallen asleep because she'd been so worried after the fire had started at the bar. She was going to have to thank Peck and his brothers for their over-preparing. The tornado shelter and tunnels under the bar had allowed them to leave town without anyone being the wiser.

A knock at her door had her turning. The door opened and a tall woman with dark brown hair was smiling at her.

"Hi Vivi, I'm Remington, Beth's oldest sister. We have my sister's old house ready for you all. Let me take you in."

Whiskey walked around, his hip bumping Remington out of the way. He slid his hand across her forehead, moving her bangs out of the way. "Are you okay to walk, or do you want me to carry you?"

Whiskey was treating her like she was going to break at any moment. Although it was sweet, she didn't want Ezra worried.

"I'm good. I need to stretch a little anyway after riding in the car."

Hennessy rounded the car carrying a sleeping Ezra. He followed Remington as she led the way into the house. Whiskey held out his arm for her to take. She slid her hand through his elbow and held on as she stepped out of the SUV. Once he saw she was steady, he led her toward the house. Vivi glanced at the nice house as they walked in. She was too tired to appreciate how pretty it was.

The smell of fresh bread greeted them as they entered. A smiling woman walked out from what she assumed was the kitchen area.

"I've got food for you all. Vivi, the bathroom is to your right. I'm Regina, this one's mom." She pointed at a tall man with a light beard who was in a vest which had President on the chest. She nodded and headed for the bathroom. Now that Regina had mentioned it, it was imperative she get to the bathroom. She walked in there to do her business. Her first glance in the mirror had her shaking her head. Her hair was a mess. They wouldn't be doing any wedding pictures, that was for sure.

She did her business, then found a washcloth to clean the smeared mascara off her face. She'd never imagined her former father-in-law would resort to fire-bombing a place to get to her. She understood that they wanted Ezra to carry on with the family business, but why was it so important they have her?

There must be something going on here and maybe after some food and sleep, she could start to try to figure out what it could be.

Walking out to the main room, Ezra was awake and already sitting at a table eating a sandwich along with a couple cookies on his plate. A large dog sat quietly beside him.

"Mom, Regina said I could have cookies since we didn't get wedding cake and Moss is going to stay with us to help keep us safe. He's a guard dog."

Vivi sat in the chair Whiskey pulled out for her. He nudged her plate toward her. It contained a sandwich which had a pile of pickles beside it. A couple cookies along with a glass of iced tea was beside her plate. Whiskey had made sure her sandwich didn't have anything she didn't like on it. She'd wondered how married life would be with Whiskey even though he'd promised it was a marriage of convenience and she didn't owe him anything. If tonight showed her anything, he was just about perfect.