“The calls started right after I married Blue. Her dad still talks to her sister, mostly when she needs money, so maybe he told her we were married. I don’t know. I thought the calls were spam, so I never answered. But after seeing her picture in Blue’s house, I asked about it. Blue told me that was her sister. Then she mentioned that her sister had a kid right after she left town, out in North Dakota. It all clicked.”
He didn’t give us every detail, but it was enough. Enough to see how rattled he was, enough for me to know we’d need to help him figure this out before it blew up with Blue.
Easton rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Then she’s probably calling because she thinks you and Blue have money.”
“What did Blue say about all this?” I added.
West sighed, and dropped his head onto the bar. “I didn’t tell her. Didn’t tell her any of it. I know you guys have been able to let that night go, but I still relive it all the time, mostly in my nightmares. Finding out she was Blue’s sister was a lot. Because if I want Blue in my life, I’ll have to come face-to-face with the only person, besides myself, I associate with Mom and Dad’s death.”
The words hung heavy.
West opening up this way left me feeling like I was meeting a different version of my brother. I always knew he carried the heaviest load when it came to our parents’ death, but I hadn’t realized he was still living there, stuck in the same night two decades later.
“I’m not really sure how to handle the fact that this girl’s calling after all these years,” I admitted. “But Blue’s mature enough to see that you hooking up with her sister twenty years ago is in the past. She shouldn’t hold that over your head.”
West snorted like I’d completely missed the point. And maybe I had. I wasn’t him, I couldn’t know how deep that night still cut.
I poured him another glass of bourbon, and he sat up, downed it in one swallow, then dragged his hand through his hair. I was about to tell him we should head back to Blue’s, let them talk it out, figure out a plan together?—
But then glass shattered.
All three of us spun toward the front door just in time to see it rain down in glittering shards. We pushed to our feet as Easton came around from behind the bar.
The Murphy brothers strolled in, one of them stooping to pick up the brick they’d thrown. Buddy sneered like this was all some great surprise. “Well, imagine our luck, drivin’ by our old haunt and seein’ three of our best friends together all in one place.”
Instinctively, my hand went to my hip where my gun used to sit. Empty. A hard reminder that I wasn’t a cop in this town anymore. I couldn’t flash a badge or haul them out of Fiddlers the way I used to.
This time was different. The bar was closed. It was midnight. They hadn’t walked in, they’d broken in.
I pulled my phone from my pocket, thumb flying to type out a quick text to Linc and my old captain. Then I set it back down and crossed my arms over my chest, frustration burning hot. “I knew you guys had gotten worse since I left town, but this is a new low.” I gestured to the shards of glass crunching under their boots.
“You ain’t seen anything yet,” Huck sneered, spitting on the floor like that was supposed to prove his point.
West exhaled, more frustration than fury, but I could see the itch in him. Between the drinks and the night he’d had, he was practically looking for a fight.
I rolled my eyes, almost laughing. If he swung, I wasn’t about to let him swing alone. If the Murphys wanted trouble in West’s bar, I was damn well going to handle it with him.
“Mind if I sit this one out?” Easton lifted a hand, grinning. “Not really a fighter. I’m more of a lover. And honestly, three on two feels unfair.”
“Yeah, I got it.” I clapped him on the back, resigning myself to being West’s tag-team partner.
I popped my neck, stretched out my arms, making sure the Murphys noticed how little I cared about their tough-guy act. They only got angrier.
But I felt calm. Ready. Because this was the kind of thing I could never do as a cop. Now, I was just a regular citizen. And I was about to help my brother kick those idiots asses.
Chapter Fifty-Five
WEST
I couldn’t even pretendI was mad that the Murphy brothers showed up looking for a fight. Truth was, it was exactly what I needed. And as much as I hated those bastards, I was just glad they picked a night when it was only me and my brothers in the bar. If Blue had been working, I would’ve burned this whole damn place down before I let her get caught up in it.
“You want the big one?” I asked Miles, already knowing he’d been itching for this just as much as me.
“Yeah, I mean, whichever, man.” He shrugged like a bar fight was just another night of small-town entertainment.
I sighed, tugged my watch off, and tossed it to Easton. He caught it and dropped onto a barstool, pouring himself a drink like he was settling in to watch cable TV instead of two idiots about to throw fists.
My nonchalance only pissed the Murphys off more, which made me think maybe I should pick out a song on the jukebox just to draw the night out. A bar fight deserved a good playlist. Unfortunately, the smaller one lunged first, taking a wild swing at Miles.
