Chapter Nine

Whiskey smiled at Phoebe as she explained how Ezra shouldn't touch the kittens yet, or the mother would get mad. Bear was standing close with Joey in a carrier on his chest. It was amazing to see his grumpy friend smiling now.

War walked into the barn, carrying a couple of beers with him. "Thought you could use a drink."

Whiskey took the cold one from War. He hadn't realized how tense he'd been until they'd gotten behind the locked gates of the Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC's compound. He took a sip of the Brotherhood's beer.

"Yeah, thank you for providing us a safe place."

"Hey, we're friends, but even if we weren't, I still owed you for your help with our issue. You know, we'd love to have you all form an official chapter."

War had perfected his stare when he was a detective, but it didn't work on Whiskey.

"We appreciate the offer, but right now, we think it's smarter to just be support for you all when you need it. The information that we find out in the bar might change if we were an official chapter. As it is, people from out of town just see us as a bar open to everyone."

War's hand on his collarbone let Whiskey know War understood and agreed.

"I get it. Anything else you need? Scoop and Sarah are searching for something we can use to help you."

Whiskey walked a little away from where Bear was watching over the kids by the kittens. Whiskey didn't want Ezra to hear him discussing Vivi.

"Yeah, tell me how I make this feeling go away. I couldn't sleep last night worried I wouldn't be able to keep Vivi, Ezra, and Little Tot safe."

War smirked and shook his head. "I wish I could. I mean, my woman is a badass, but I still worry at different times. It sounds like Vivi means more than just a fake marriage."

Whiskey swallowed and hoped his friend didn't laugh him out of the barn, but discussing feelings was something new. Oh, he knew his dad, uncles, brothers, and cousins loved him, but they didn't say it all the time. They definitely didn't discuss it.

"I don't know. I know when I think about her not being in my life, I feel like I can't breathe. When I imagined Ezra having to be with his uncle or granddad, it made me physically ill. I wanted to either hide Vivi and Ezra away or go and blow those jackasses' houses up."

War chuckled. Bear walked closer but told Phoebe and Ezra to not move. "What's so funny over here?"

Bear kept his voice low to not wake his son asleep on his chest.

"Whiskey has joined our club."

"Which one? The too many animals and kids to count? Or my wife is an FBW? Or, my personal favorite, I can't live without my woman, but what the heck do I do next?"

"What's an FBW?" Whiskey questioned.

"My wife is a fierce, badass woman. I don't want to get a lecture about swearing again," Bear whispered.

War chuckled, "Well, technically, I think he's joining all three, but he needs help on what to do next."

"Just thank your lucky stars, you weren't like our president who had to crawl out of a hole and apologize to his woman. You just need to show her how you feel."

"That's it. If I knew how to show her how I feel, then I wouldn't be asking you two."

A pat on his shoulder had him turning. Locks, Baron, Rascal, and Scoop had joined them in the barn. Locks, Baron, and Rascal were original members of the MC.

"Hey kids, Regina has cookies and drinks on the picnic table out front. Wash your hands out there, then you can have snacks," Locks directed them.

Whiskey waited while the kids left. Locks' face didn't look happy.

"We need to chat about something, but if you don't mind an old man butting in, I'd like to offer my take on it."

Whiskey was more than happy to have Locks give him advice. Locks had been married for thirty-some years before he lost his wife to cancer.

"The way to a woman's heart is showing her she matters to you. You've already started showing her because you stepped up. You've shown her son he can trust you by your actions. You've taken them somewhere safe. I bet you're doing things you don't even realize that show your love."

"Love?" Whiskey questioned. Was that what he felt for her? He liked her. He admired her strength in running. He wanted to finish at the bar so he could spend time getting to know her better. Was this what love felt like?

"Imagine a year in the future. Now, imagine Vivi isn't a part of it. How do you feel?"

His heart clenched at the thought of not having Vivi with him. "Empty."

Baron laughed along with Locks. "Locks was right. He said you were already deeply in love with Vivi and Ezra. I said I had to see for myself."

Whiskey thought through what everyone had said. He honestly couldn't see any future for himself without Vivi in it. He wanted Ezra to be his son permanently, not his pretend son. He wanted to help Vivi raise Little Tot and then add more kids to their family.

He wanted to hold her tight and reassure her she'd always be safe. If this is what love felt like, then he was going to make sure Vivi knew how he felt. He wasn't letting her slip away after she was safe.

"Now, for the not-so-great stuff. Sarah and I did a deep dive into Vivi's ex-husband's family. They have a couple businesses, but their main source of income isn't from anything legitimate. I think we found the reason they want Vivi and Ezra. Ezra's dad left everything in his will to Ezra with Vivi as guardian of it until he is eighteen. From what we found, it was changed three weeks before he died. Also, I don't think he died by accident. The coroner's report says natural causes, but there's nothing in the report. Where it should detail the condition of the body, there's nothing."

Whiskey had worried the situation would get worse, and it had. He was at a loss for what to do next besides hiding out. He was a bar owner. He'd done stuff for the MC but not on the level of organized crime, which is what Vivi's ex-husband's family sounded like.

"So, what's your suggestion?"

"You all stay here until the threat is neutralized. I sent a message to someone I know in Kansas City and am waiting for them to get back to me. I know saying don't worry is freaking meaningless, but there isn't anything you can do right now." Scoop nodded when he finished and headed out of the barn.

"Nothing we can do about it tonight. I've got supper on for everyone at the house. The ladies want their evening, and it will be good for Vivi to have fun." Locks motioned toward the house and headed out to the kids.

"Whiskey, what's the damage at the bar?" Rascal asked.

"They were able to get it out relatively quickly, but because we had curtains over the windows, the fire spread rapidly. Sealed cement floors helped, but Crewe and Hennessey estimated we're replacing all the booths because of the cloth seats. Windows are being upgraded and replaced. I told them to do whatever upgrades we'd been wanting anyway since insurance has to replace so much. It's going to be a chunk of change, but we're upgrading to bullet-resistant glass."

Whiskey appreciated Rascal and Baron's pats on his shoulder. It wasn't the same as having his dad and uncles here, but the MC had his back and would help him keep his family safe.

Whiskey wasn't sure how to just wait and do nothing, but it didn't sound like he had a choice. He had a lot to consider. How did he show Vivi his feelings for her had changed? He'd never considered himself a hero or even husband material. He'd wanted a family, but always worried he wouldn't find one. Who knew all it took was taking a ride on his motorcycle to Bluff Creek?