On The Rocks

Five

Her words caused Whiskey to stop just as he was about to pop the cap on his beer bottle. He knew the moment that her ex touched her that he would report it to Ryan, not only because she was his daughter, but also due to the fact that he wasn’t fond of men who laid their hands on women and should he run across the other man again he would probably beat him to death. The fire in Kimber’s eyes that he had seen the other night was now back and aimed at him and he wasn’t sure if he should be afraid or turned on. 

“Couldn’t keep your damn mouth shut, could you?” She snapped again, moving past the tables and chairs until she was standing directly across from him, the bar being the only thing between them.

“Normally can’t.” he scoffed as he finished removing the top from the bottle in his hand, “What’s got you so upset, sugar?”

Kimber slammed her clenched fist down on the bar, “Don’t you fucking ‘sugar’ me! What happened with Travis didn’t need to be reported back to my father the moment we got back.”

“What in the hell-” Red grumbled as he came down the stairs, wondering what the damn noise was about and why anyone was up this early, but once he saw the tension between Kimber and Whiskey he was ready to turn back around. No way was he getting in the middle of whatever was going on between the two. When they both turned to look at him he froze midstep, the swelling and redness on Kimber’s face catching him by surprise. “Damn, lass, who gave you the black eye?” Though it hadn’t turned blue or black yet it was clear that it would either by the end of the day or tomorrow, he’d seen enough of them to know.

Whiskey inclined the top of his bottle toward Red, “See, he would have found out anyway. There’s no amount of ice that’s going to get that swelling to go down anytime soon and it’s going to be a bruise before too long, you can’t really cover that shit up. It’s better that he was told than finding out on his own.” 

“I had it handled.” 

“Oh, I know, sugar. I saw the whole thing.” There was a hint of humor in his tone as he remembered the small woman in front of him kicking her ex’s ass. “Doesn’t mean that Prez didn’t need to know. What he did last night, bringing you here and introducing you to the club, in that moment you became part of this club. We protect our own.”

She groaned, dropping her head slightly and turning it so she could look at Red who was just standing there listening to them and then looking back up at Whiskey. “I can protect my-damn-self, especially when it comes to Traivs.” With that she pushed herself away from the bar and turned toward the door to head back outside. “Not like I haven’t done it before.”

Whiskey stilled, eyes flicking to meet Red’s and the look there confirmed that he had heard her right. He set his bottle down on the bar, looking back to her, “What does that mean?”

“Forget it.” She called over her shoulder as she reached for the door, she came up short when a large hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her back. He didn’t say anything as he turned her around and lead her down the hallway, past Ryan’s office, to the very end where the large room they held church in sat tucked away.

“What the hell do you mean you’ve had to protect yourself from him before?” The words were ground out between clenched teeth as he shut the door behind them.

Her brow creased. Why was he so upset about this? “There are reasons we’re divorced and reasons why I can take full custody of Orion without much of a fight from the court.” She sighed, taking a moment to take in the room that held a large table surrounded by chairs. It smelled of leather which she knew was only partially due to the leather chairs themselves, the men wore their cuts and boots everywhere they went and they must have spent a lot of time in here. “Look, I’m not going to go into the full story with a person I barely know. Just understand I can handle myself and we’ll call it a day.” She kept his gaze a moment longer before opening the door and leaving. There was no way she was going to unload the rest of her shitty life story on the man in front of her, not even her own mother knew everything that had happened. 

Whiskey watched her every move as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. With his fists clenched at his sides he took a moment to try and calm himself down as much as possible before he left the room as well. They needed to find a way to keep her ex away from her before either he or Prez put a bullet in the man. With that in mind he opened the door and made the short walk down the hall to Ryan's office. She'd be safe for now while they were able to keep her here, but the moment things were taken care of with the Devils they were going to need a plan.

Kimber stormed out of the building before stopping to lean against the door, thankful that no one followed her. The amount of alpha male testosterone she was now surrounded with was something she wasn't used to and she needed a break from it. She just hoped that she would get the time she needed before everyone else showed up for the barbecue. After a few deep breaths she turned her attention toward the play area, seeing that the kids were still on the trampoline she headed that direction. Nothing could calm her down faster than being around her son. 

Seeing that Piper was seated on the ground, the sandals that she had been wearing discarded with the kids' shoes and her legs out for the sun to shine down on, the woman looked as relaxed as Kimber wanted to feel. Deciding to follow suit once she was close enough she sat down on the grass as well, just to Piper's left, "How was he?" 

"Absolutely perfect. For being such a big boy he's been really gentle with her up there. They're getting along great." Piper beamed with a smile as she glanced to her side. "Heard Prez shouting just as you reached the bar door, how'd that go?" 

Kimber scoffed in response, thinking over everything that had just happened as she took off her boots and socks. She didn't open her mouth until the grass as tickling her toes, "About as well as it could have, I guess. It's honestly weird how protective he is. I get it to a point, he's known about me my whole life, but just meeting him yesterday and seeing the amount of anger he held about this eye is something so unfamiliar." 

"The men in the club have a very clear view on how women should and shouldn't be treated. They would be pissed about any man laying their hands on a woman, but you're his little girl. I may not know how he feels exactly, since I haven't talked to him since you've been brought around, but I know my own father would have murdered any man who would have done that to me." Piper explained, thinking about the situation and about how new all of this was for Kimber. "A piece of advice from one daughter of an angry biker to another, he may seem all big and bad, but you're his princess and he'd do anything for you. With that said, you also have him wrapped around your finger and can pretty much get him to do whatever you want if you play your cards right." 

Kimber raised an eyebrow and studied the woman next to her who was now wearing a sly grin. With that shared look the two broke out in laughter that was shortly followed by the giggles of their kids. In that moment the situation didn't seem as bad as she originally thought.