Page 78 of Bourbon and Secrets

But she shakes her head, tears falling before I can even finish the question.

“Mom didn’t say a word. And I didn’t know how to bring it up. When you left, she shut down for a while. But then she started seeing Griz, and she felt like Mom again. So I let it go. I tried to look ahead and not back.” Maggie clears her throat. “She was happy—for a little while, she was happy. And then she was gone.”

I blow out a breath, trying to digest what my sister’s telling me. This wasn’t how I saw any of it back then. There were no signs that anyone else had been there. Or maybe there were, but I could only see my mom. My stomach sinks, and I suddenly feel sick. I think about what this could mean for her and everything I’m feeling swirls into a protective anger. “You know all of this and somehow you’re working for him? For Waz and Wheeler? What kind of shit are you involved in that Waz would have beat you up like that, Maggie?”

She glares at me and crosses her arms across her chest. Sounding frustrated, she spits the angered tone right back at me. “You’ve been asking the wrong questions, Faye. You’ve been so dead set on being the savior and protector when you strolled back into town that you didn’t stop and think that maybe there was more to all of this.”

I rub at my wrist and try not to get defensive, because she’s right. So I bite my tongue and give her the room to keep talking.

“I wasn’t brought on for web design. They wanted me to apply my skill set for smart coding and numbers. Tweaking theoff-track betting systems and manipulating the odds. I’ve been doing it for a while now.” She shifts and crosses her arms, looking around first before she finishes. “It was a way to try to get the jump on Waz. I was funneling extra money into his account. I wanted it to look like he had been skimming off the top. Taking money from Wheeler Finch. But that asshole figured it out. I told him it was an error, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t believe a word of it. Made it really clear that my ‘mistake’ wasn’t going to happen again.” She lets out a sigh, shaking her head and adds, “Now the rumors about horses being drugged and slaughtered—” Her eyes water at that. “There’s a mess brewing, Faye.” She wipes under her eyes and shakes off the softness of those emotions.

She’s put herself in the middle of something dangerous. He’s more than a creep or an asshole. Waz King is a monster. Killed his brother in cold blood. Threatened my mother. Now my sister. Smacking around a woman is easy for someone like that.

Maggie gives me a half smile, and something in that proud look makes me pause to think through the details. She isn’t going to let that happen again and she needs help. And then it clicks.

“That’s why you’re talking to Cortez, isn’t it?” I pull her closer to keep her from walking away. “Maggie, answer me.”

But instead, she simply shrugs one shoulder. “More than one of us is capable of doing what we believe is the right thing, Faye.”

As the air horn sounds, the crowd starts roaring. Maggie’s friend waves her over from the side gate. When she turns her back to me, the part I don’t understand comes blurting out, needing to know. “Maggie,” I call out, and she looks over her shoulder at me. “What were they talking about? In the argument between Mom, Tullis, and Waz?”

She lifts her chin and says, “That’s what I’m still trying to figure out.”

Chapter 27

Faye

FOXX

I see that Lily stole my phone. Thank you for entertaining her. I really need to change my password.

Where did you run off to, Peach?

Cortez asked if I saw you too. Ditched him again? Guy must be a lousy date.

I’ll be at Ace’s tonight after the rodeo—I want to see you.

I don’t know how to respond. My mind has been consumed with what Maggie told me. I’ve been sitting in the bathroom stall for the entire length of the rodeo, feeling like I’m frozen. Cortez called me twice, but I wasn’t sure how to deal with him. There has to be more, but what I do know is that if the FBI has targeted someone, it wouldn’t just be Waz King. He’s a package deal.And that has me thinking back to what Cortez said,“A wider wingspan...”

I’ve played every detail that I could remember from that night and not a single time has any part of me thought that anyone other than my mom stabbed Tullis. I’m spiraling with this and the fact that I just believed something entirely wrong for the past five years. It has my heart aching and my stomach in knots. So I tell him exactly what I want.

FAYE

I want to see you too.

It might not be the entire town spread throughout the house and grounds of Ace and Griz Foxx’s home, but it damn well feels like it. I smooth my palms over my belted t-shirt, which I’ve worn plenty of times on stage as a dress, but here it feels a bit short. Shedding my jacket at the door, I hand it off to their very formal coat check. My purple cowgirl boots aren’t appropriate for a rodeo, but at an after party chock-full of masculinity and women just itching for attention, you bet your ass I’m wearing my favorite boots.

Every room I walk past is full of cowboy hats, but I’m looking for very specific eye candy. Specifically, one with glasses and a helluva dimple. In the sprawling kitchen, a larger huddle of bronco riders kicks back bourbon as Griz makes them laugh. His thick white mustache is tilted up, enjoying every minute of entertaining these guys. I can see why my mom would have been attracted to him. He’s a good-looking older man, but he’s the kind of guy who commands a room. All charm and charisma—Lincoln has the same way about him.

When I push through the next room and toward the outdoor space, it feels like a montage of a party. Only this one is splashed with rodeo cowboys, bourbon, and just the hint ofsomething sexy in the air. Like not a single person is leaving here without drinking something good and a promise to get fucked. Truthfully, I want both of those things too.

Looking around, I spot Hadley perched on the outdoor bar, surrounded by a group of men. It makes me smile at the way she’s so easily become a friend.

“That’s her right now. Faye!” She waves her hand for me to come over. “This is by far the most talented—” Leaning into me, she says, “I’m sorry in advance for embarrassing you.” Then she sits higher and finishes her sentence. “AND sexiest burlesque dancer I have ever laid eyes on. If you haven’t been to Midnight Proof, this is your sign to see her before she leaves us.”

My stomach sinks at the idea of ending my time there.

One of the guys calls out, “She’s here now—how about a taste, darlin’?”

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