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I snorted. What kind of name was Kira?
Mags scowled at me with her head slanted. "How drunk are you?"
"None of your fucking business. I want Echo." I swayed and steadied myself against the bar. I may have been drunker than I thought—probably shouldn't drive.
"Excuse me?" She looked at me like I had asked her to strip.
I scanned her up and down and settled on her tits. She probably has some—
My thought got cut off when she shoved me. "Weston!"
"Wha—?" I lost my balance and fell on my ass, disappearing behind the counter. A few customers leaned over the top like I was some type of free entertainment.
"Jesus Christ, Sheats." Mags looked past me. "Kira, get Kiwi. He just came in."
Oh, fuck no. I scrambled to push myself up, but slipped again. I hadn't had that much to drink. Had I?
Someone grabbed me under the arms and pulled me up. Mags shoved her hands in the front pockets of my jeans.
"Hey! Take your—"
She fished out my car keys and handed them to the person holding me up. "Take him home." To me, she said, "We'll talk tomorrow."
Before I could reply, I was being dragged out of The Grizz. Outside, the fresh air hit me like someone backhanded me, and I stopped.
"Wes, dude, let's go," Kiwi said. He probably wanted to appear authoritative, but all I saw was the guy who had lied to me.
I rounded on him, and he stumbled back. "I'm not going to clock you, asshole," I barked then mumbled, "even though I really want to."
Kiwi sighed. "You have every right to—"
"SHE FUCKING BETRAYED ME!" I roared in his face.
His eyes narrowed, and he moved closer until our noses almost touched—emphasis onalmost. He would've had to raise himself on his tiptoes to breach the gap. I was about to point that out when his next words shut me up. "Listen up, you dimwitted drunk. Roe-Roeneverlied to you. She didn't advertise who her sperm donor was, but you got the version of herself she doesn't show anyone. And I mean, anyone."
He took a breath. "Neither of us had seen Francis for over a fucking decade. I mourned him with her for years. She had no idea what happened until her mom died.
"She went through fucking hell to survive and care for Stephanie. What do you think it was like? Watching her drive to The Pole every single night, putting herself on display for the scum of the male species. All to afford her mother's hospice care and pay bills.
"I was the one lying to her mother when she asked me if Roe-Roe took another double at the diner.I"—he stabbed his chest—"was the one who promised Stephanie I would take care of her and then fucking failed her."
"You're cursing a lot tonight," I observed.
This earned me a poke against the sternum. "Did you listen to a word I said?"
Man, I didn't think I'd ever seen this guy this worked up. I managed to nod. "Yeah, I got it all." And I did. I knew King had a rough life, not to mention what she did to save that poor girl from her boss, but hearing it from Kiwi…
"Okay, then pay close attention to what I have to say next." He leveled me with a glare until he was convinced he had my full attention. "Roe-Roe had no clue you were here when she stopped in Stonebriar. She never intended to stay either. It was all a damn fucking coincidence. Did she stay because of you? Yes. Did she have some weird, unhealthy crush on you? Also, yes. But none of that was planned on her part. Don't ask me what sparked this obsession of hers. Maybe it had something to do with what Francis did to your friend. Maybe she was curious. Maybe it was simple attraction—you are a hottie." He smirked, and I couldn't help but grin back. "But she never—NE-VER—had any intention of hurting you. You were the first person that made her truly happy. And that should say something. I've been her best friend since the day she was born. No one has made her smile the way you did."
The more he laid into me, the more it felt like being choked. Should I have let her explain?
"Where is she?" I rasped over my dry throat.
Kiwi's shoulders sank. "No clue, man."
My brow furrowed, and he explained. "I would be wherever she is in a heartbeat. Screw the business I built here. I've always put Roe-Roe first, which is why she refuses to tell me."
"Mags knows," I declared. She never admitted it, but she basically had a neon sign with the words "I know" hanging over her head.
