We arrive at Whiskey Kirk’s to find a packed bar. I doubt I’d be able to move through the crowd if not for Cap’s giant body pushing people out of the way and making a path for me. Finally, we reach the bar where I catch my breath.

“Smells like a biker,” Cap says, sliding out of his jacket since it’s thirty degrees hotter in the bar than outside.

“Dozens of bikers will do that to a place.”

While Cap yells at the bartender to be heard, I spot Colton breaking through the crowd of bodies. He smiles at a few people but doesn’t stop to chat. He makes a beeline for Cap and me.

“Fuzzy navel and a shot of whiskey,” Cap yells over the din.

Tugging Cap’s arm until he leans down, so his ear is level with my lips, I say, “Don’t take anything personally.”

“What?” he mutters, frowning darkly and no doubt annoyed by the deafening noise.

I gesture toward my brother. “This is Colton.”

Cap sizes up my brother and shrugs. “Does he want a fuzzy navel too?”

Colton glances at me as if annoyed I’m not more annoyed in his defense. He shoves Cap, nearly knocking the drinks from his grip.

“Is that your way of saying you want to fight, pal?” Cap hollers over the noise.

The entire bar falls silent, scaring the shit out of me. Cap hands me my drink and smiles at Colton.

“Well, buddy, friend, pal?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’m excited to kick the shit out of a biker in a biker bar. Is that so wrong?”

“Colton,” I warn, hoping to talk sense into him. Then I spot my sisters out of the corner of my eye and realize this was Pop’s plan all along. He wasn’t going to get the club involved when he could just send his testosterone-soaked son to rough up the new guy.

“You talk a lot of shit, but can you back any of that up?”

“Is this where I punch you in your pretty face?”

“No, wait,” I say, pulling Cap away and trying to put space between Colton and the sexy giant ready to pound my brother into the floor. “This is dumb.”

“Tell him, not me,” Cap says and kisses the top of my head. “I’ll stay over here and stretch while you convince him to back down and kiss my fucking feet.”

“You’re acting like a baby.”

Cap flashes me a brilliant grin that makes very clear how he will not be the one to stop the impending fight. Leaving him to gloat over a win he hasn’t gotten yet, I storm over to Colton.

“Can’t you be a fucking adult for just once?” I demand as my brother stretches out his buff arms.

“Shut up and get out of the way. Pop wants me to tenderize your bitch lover.”

Lily forces her way through the crowd of people around us. Rando isn’t far behind her. They glance around at everyone placing bets on Colton or the giant tourist.

“Did you see the size of his arms?” Lily asks our brother. “He’s going to kill you.”

“I wrote you a beautiful eulogy,” Rando casually announces. “I started it in high school and finished it three weeks ago. I think you’ll enjoy hearing it from your Lay-Z-Boy in hell.”

“What took you so long writing that, dumb-dumb?” Colton growls.

“I wanted to fill my eulogy with your good qualities. Since you don’t have any, I eventually just lied. Did you know you’re selfless and spend your free time reading to the blind?”

“Shut up.”

“Is that your final request?”

“I’m not going to die. The guy is all size, no style.”

Lily speaks up before I can tell my brother to get a grip. “His fingers are the size of Italian sausages. He’ll wrap them around your throat and squeeze and squeeze until you die.”

“Your head might pop off,” Rando says before adding, “Pop goes the weasel.”

“I can handle this guy.”

Lily and Rando look at me in unison as if their brain waves are on the same frequency. My oldest sister asks, “Do you think he’ll kill Colton?”

“No.”

“Then why are we here?” Rando asks Lily.

“We came here for a beer.”

Glaring, I growl, “No, you came here to stir up trouble for Pop.”

“Well, there’s that too,” Rando mumbles and walks off.

“Colton, if you’re smart, you’ll back down now.”

“I’m going to pound on your boyfriend.”

Flipping him off, I storm away. “He’s going to make you eat those words, bitch.”

Lily remains at our brother’s side. She looks genuinely concerned, but I sense deep inside she’s just bored and worrying gives her something to do.

I strut over to where Cap stretches out his long, thick arms. When he leans down to kiss me, I whisper, “You’re not going to kill my brother, are you?”

“Pip, I’d never do something to hurt you like that,” Cap says and caresses my cheek. Stretching out his shoulders, he smiles. “With that said, I do plan to fuck him up a little.”

“Really?” I mutter, glancing back at Colton.

“Be cool, will you? It’s not like your brother is a skinny, weak fucker who can’t throw a punch. I bet he’s gotten his ass beat more than once. He can handle it.”

“Just don’t hurt him in a way that can’t be fixed.”

“So broken leg, yes. Head injury, no. Got it.”

“On the other hand, as much as I love my brother, I don’t want you taking it too easy on him and getting hurt.”

Cap gently cups my jaw and smiles. “Now you’re just talking out of your ass.”

“Hey.”

“If I get hurt, it’ll be because he got in a good shot. I give nothing to an opponent. I’m an asshole that way.”

Before I can complain about how he shouldn’t be so proud of his asshole-nature, my phone vibrates in my pocket. Worried my parents are calling to scold me for letting Colton get his ass kicked, I answer only to realize I’m talking to the twins.

“We had to hear about your boyfriend from our mom,” Avery whines in her most indignant tone before both twins emphasize, “Our mom.”

“Sorry, but I’m in the middle of something right now.”

“Yeah, your boyfriend is about to beat up your brother. We just saw the pre-fight video in the family’s FB group.”

I glance around the bar until I spot the twins’ younger brother and sister standing on chairs to better film the fight. Cavalry sees me and pokes his sister, Nevaeh. The blond siblings wave at me before gesturing toward their parents drinking in a corner booth. Well, if the entire Rogers family isn’t enjoying the show.

“I can’t talk right now, Avery.”

“Why not? Does your boyfriend need you to hold his beer while he stretches out all those fine muscles?”

“Stop ogling Cap.”

“Honey precious,” Savannah interrupts, “if you’re going to date a man like that, you’ll need to get accustomed to the fairer sex giving him a gander.”

“Thanks, Blanche Devereaux for your Southern-girl advice. Can I hang up on you now?”

“No, stay on the line while we watch the fight.”

“What the fuck for?”

“We can console you while you watch either your brother or boyfriend receives a pounding.”

“Whatever,” I say and turn to find Cap standing nearly on top of me.

He picks me up at the waist and rests my ass on the bar top. “So you can see the action better,” he says and plants a quick kiss on my lips. “Promise not to kill your brother.”

Before I can stop him, Cap turns away and heads for Colton. I watch him stretch out his muscles by punching air.

“Here we go,” Avery says on the phone. “He looks huge, by the way. How’s that going to work?”

“It works perfectly. Thanks for asking.”

“Did he hurt you during sex? Is that why he picked you up like that?”

“Stop spying on me,” I growl into the phone. “You wanted to leave Kentucky. That means you’ll miss out on stuff.”

I hang up my phone and stare out at Cap and Colton circling each other as the crowd makes room. Rando and Lily join me on the bar top, one at each side. Saying nothing to me, they lean back to order drinks.

Lily answers her phone, yells to be heard over the noise, and hands the cell to me. Taking it without thinking, I hear Savannah’s voice.

“Why are you such a pill?”

“I don’t want Cap to get hurt.”

“But Colton is fair game?”

“No. Shut up,” I grumble, already flustered and now downright overwhelmed. “Why did you call me?”

“I wanted to gossip about your boyfriend. What else would I want, darling?”

Handing the phone back to Lily, I flinch when Colton punches Cap. The sound of fist meeting jaw echoes in my ears and I feel like I might vomit.

“When did you get soft?” Lily asks.

“I’m not soft.”

“That was Avery asking, not me,” my sister says.

Taking back the phone, I grimace when Colton gets another shot to Cap’s face. “What do you want?”

“Don’t worry about your boyfriend,” Savannah says, having stolen the phone from her twin. “He looks like he can take a punch or two.”

“I always figured it would be fun to have people fight over me. I was an idiot.”

“No, sug, you’re just young and inexperienced,” Savannah says. “Stupid comes with the territory.”

Rando nudges me. “Colton’s kicking your Cas’s ass.”

“Yeah,” I say, watching Cap take punch after punch.

“Give the phone to Lily,” Avery orders and I dreamily do as she says.

Lily takes the phone, talks for a few seconds, and then hugs me. “From the twins,” she whispers in my ear.

Despite the comfort I feel at knowing they and my sisters care, I struggle against the urge to jump down and run to Cap’s aid. I mentally will him to look at me just so I’ll know he’s okay. Did Colton knock something out of him with that first punch?

My brother struts around a passive Cap while coaxing the crowd to clap and chant his name.

Suddenly, Cap glances back and finds my gaze searching for his. I mouth the words, “kick his ass” but don’t know if he can read my lips. Whatever he thinks I said, Cap gives me a half smirk and a wink before turning back to my brother.

He playfully slaps Colton upside the head as if to regain his attention. When my brother turns around and sizes up the bigger man, Cap knocks him off his fucking feet with one solid punch to the jaw.

The crowd freaks out. Not upset as much as loving a good fight. I can’t count the nights I spent in here, watching club guys battle each other for bragging rights. I chanted just like the crowd and clapped when someone got a great shot in. Tonight, I can only stare at the fight and try to remember to breathe.