Page 12 of Whiskey

Whiskey gave Vivi a light squeeze at her panicked words. What she didn’t know is his dad and uncles were preppers and prepared for any scenario.

“I agree. Are you thinking just to the tornado shelter, the housing addition or somewhere else?”

Beth ran into the room, shutting the door behind her. “Hey, Remi and I didn’t feel comfortable without a couple exit plans. I’m going to pretend to be Vivi and be taken by ambulance to the hospital. We’ve left some SUVs outside in different places for you. There are two behind the trucking company, two behind the real estate office and two over in front of your dad’s house. They all have out-of-state plates, so they don’t come back to the MC. Pick whichever ones you want and get to the compound. War sent a couple guys to pick you up at different times to look for tails.”

Beth turned her back, pulled her shirt off, and picked up an identical dress to Vivi’s. She slid it over her head, then toed off her boots and tugged her jeans down. While she opened the bag, Whiskey debated, but he thought their best option was the real estate office. It would put them closer to Bluff Creek, and it was the shortest walk for them underground.

Beth turned around. She’d slipped a fake pregnancy belly bump prosthetic under the dress and completed her look with a wig the color of Vivi’s hair. “Okay, I’m heading out. You guys get out of here. Vivi, you and Ezra will be good.”

“Let’s get down there now. Real estate office.” Whiskey tilted his head toward the wall. Hennessy pulled the book out of the bookcase and input the code for the wall. After it opened, he leaned over and pulled the rug back at the bottom of the stairs. Inputting another code, he pulled the recessed handle.

“Whiskey, you go down first, then I’ll hand Vivi down, so she doesn’t have to deal with the ladder. Ezra next, then I’ll come down and close.”

Whiskey didn’t want to leave Vivi or Ezra up top, but Hennessy had a point. There weren’t stairs to the underground tornado shelter and tunnel system. It was a ladder, and Vivi’s belly would make it hard for her to go down it.

He slid down the ladder, holding onto the outside poles. Once he was down, he flipped the light on. He wasn’t far enough in to trigger the motion lights.

“Okay.” He waited for Hennessy to help Vivi stand on the top rungs, holding her arms. He reached up and slipped his arms around her.

“I got her.” Hennessy held her until Vivi was held tightly again in his arms. He stepped away from the stairs and then made sure Vivi was steady before he let go.

“Let’s go, Ezra.”

Ezra shimmied down the ladder as if he’d done it his whole life. Whiskey led Vivi and Ezra a couple feet away to the shelf with the two-way radios and the flashlights. He handed one to Ezra. Hennessy joined them.

“It’s about one hundred yards to the exit from the real estate office. Vivi, do you want us to carry you?”

Vivi rolled her eyes, and despite the situation, Whiskey smiled at her spunk. “I’m pregnant, Hennessy, not broken. Yes, let’s go. Little Tot’s jumping on my bladder and I really have to pee.”

“Mom, you should have gone before the wedding like I did.”

Whiskey grasped Vivi’s fingers and led her along the corridor. Hennessy had Ezra. In all the scenarios, he’d never considered Vivi’s dead husband’s family would resort to tossing freaking Molotov cocktails into his bar. Once they got through this, Whiskey would be upgrading their windows and figuring out something fire-safe to block the sun. Those curtains went up entirely too fast.

He walked a little slower than if he was carrying Vivi. Between her shorter legs and carrying around an extra forty pounds, he could tell she was tiring, and they were only half-way there.

Screw it. She was his wife, and he was taking care of her whether she agreed or not.

He leaned over and lifted her in his arms.

“Whiskey,” she screeched.

“Shut it, Wife, I’ve got you.”

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.

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