Page 22 of Fighting for Family

“Then we’d better get everyone in here,” Leo said, walking outside and whistling for all the others to join them. They filled the entire room as one of the nurses laughed and patiently waited as Leo organized them by family and kids.

Kassie picked up the picture next to it, including everyone. Leo and Catherine were their best friends. They envisioned a lifetime of raising their kids and taking vacations together. She couldn’t imagine it any other way. Her heart broke for Catherine and then for Leo.

“You’ll always be my big brother. I’ll always watch over her,” she vowed to the image as her finger traced his image.

* * *

Chase walked down the hall and knocked on Whiskey’s door as a couple of new team members nodded politely as they passed him.

“Come in,” Whiskey called.

Chase entered and gazed about the room. “Wow. Did you remodel the place?”

Whiskey grinned. “No. Stormy helped me organize everything. We assigned everything, and she explained her system. I’ve adopted it. I can keep track of everything.”

“It’s impressive, Whiskey. Leo’d be proud,” Chase said solemnly.

“He put me in charge, and I won’t let him down,” Whiskey said as he pulled up two chairs and indicated for Chase to have a seat. “What brings you to this side of the mountain? Something must be mighty troubling if you drove here instead of picking up the phone.”

“I saw two of the new recruits. How many did you hire?” he asked, attempting to prolong the conversation.

“As you know, I hired three veterans from the hospital and then recruited five more,” he said proudly. “Conrad’s briefing them on the facility’s rules.”

“Did Rocker make it?” he asked.

“Yeah. I told him to take the day getting settled. He drove his motorcycle into town and went to Ty’s for lunch. The man has his priorities,” Whiskey said, chuckling.

Chase grunted.

“Did you need to go over the plan again on when we leave?” Whiskey asked, waiting for Chase to tell him why he visited.

“Kassie spoke with Catherine last night. She wants to speak with the team again,” he announced. “Can we hold a meeting tomorrow?”

Whiskey’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Did she have questions?”

“No. Catherine made a decision. She wants the team to come home,” he said, his voice breaking.

“You mean like a break? It’s not impossible. We can stay there, and I can bring a couple of the men,” Whiskey said, already checking the roster to see who he might take.

Chase reached over and grabbed his hand. “She wants to call off the search. They haven’t gotten a single lead in four months, and we know from the pictures he lost too much blood to survive for very long.”

Whiskey swallowed as he raked his hand in his hair. “Fuck me,” he whispered. “How can I go against Leo’s widow? He never gave up on me,” he said quietly, clearly broken.

“Catherine owns half the facility. She’s made her wishes known. He’s her husband. Leo wants us to support her,” Chase said sadly.

“Doc, how can I give up on me best friend?” he murmured.

“You’re not giving up,” Chase said firmly. “We’re letting him go.”

Whiskey hung his head, visibly shaken. “Does she kin what she’s asking?”

“I believe she does. Melody’s struggling, and they need some closure. Catherine’s expecting. She doesn’t need the extra stress,” he explained. “Kassie’s calling Victoria and Ivan this afternoon.”

Nodding, Whiskey rose from his desk. “We leave as we planned. The new recruits will finish training by then, and Conrad can keep an eye on them. Stormy can handle the office. I’ll get everything handled before we leave. I’ll contact the team and have Bear set up everything here. The kids don’t need to hear this conversation.”

“I’ll let Kassie know,” Chase said, watching Whiskey. “Do you want me to ask Claire to drop by for a chat?”

Whiskey met his gaze. “No. I’m grieving for me best friend. I don’t need professional advice. My heart hurts for him and his family. I hate feeling this damn helpless. Leo never left a man behind,” he said, his Irish brogue getting deeper.