Mikhail
Chapter thirty-four
Nikolai: Sell the horse
Istare at the text that just beeped on my phone, disbelieving what my eyes are telling me. The horse. Juliet. Tatiana's everything. There's no way. He can't.
I look at the barn around me, Juliet tucked safely in her stall next to the donkey, munching happily on soft hay. I have no idea if Niko knows where Tati boards Juliet, but there's no way I can let that happen.
I'm quick to type back.
Me: Of course. I'll let you know when it's done
I need a plan.
Me: I need an emergency placement for a horse. I can pay her board. Please tell me you have an empty stall
Katie: For you, of course
Katie's my new boss and is quickly becoming one of my favorite people. She's in her sixties, and her hands are mangled from arthritis, but her strawberry blonde/gray hair, smoker's voice, and overall don't-take-no-shit demeanor is refreshing. She's as kind as she is tough.
I throw Juliet's halter on and load her into the trailer, throwing as much of her grooming kit into the back of the truck as I can. She truthfully doesn't need much, and I'm not sure Nikolai even knows where Tati boards Juliet, but it's not a risk I'm willing to take.
Driving over to New Hope, I go through everything I need to do to make it seem real.
I need a bill of sale.
I need to move all of her tack and halters and ropes.
They won't think it's strange when I go to New Hope, because it's my new job.
I can't tell anyone. If Dmitri's monitoring our phones, it'll be a death sentence for Juliet.
If Tati knows, she won't be able to keep awa from her mare.
Tati has to think she's gone. A sinking feeling fills my chest. She's going to hate this.
She's going to hate me if she thinks I sold her heart horse.
But if I tell her where she is, New Hope is the first place she'll go.
She won't be able to not ride. And then Lev and Rowan will know, and now I'm risking their futures, too, because they'll be labeled accomplices.
They'll have been compliant in my tricking and lying to the Chernovs. It's a death sentence.
And Tati needs them now more than ever.
No. This has to be my secret to bear. If they find out I lied, it's only my head that will roll, and two men who love Tati will remain.
Becky's standing in front of the barn when I pull into New Hope, the trailer kicking up dust behind me.
She greets me with a hug, like she always does, and I wonder if this is what it's like to have a mother.
Someone warm who actually cares about me?
Becky obviously pays me, though she reminds me it's not as much as she'd liked to pay me.
But I don't mind. I'd rather she spend her money on the horses.
But the way she treats me feels like the way a family should feel - warm and affectionate.
"This is your little stow away?" she asks cheerfully as I lower the ramp of the trailer.
"Yes, ma'am. She needs to hide for a little," I reply.
"I cleared out paddock H for her. It's the furthest from the road, and hardly anyone goes back there."
My heart stuttered. Here I was, asking the closest thing I ever had to a mother to hide something from a dangerous mafia family. And instead of asking me why I needed to hide a horse, she simply moved her farm around to make it happen.
I release Juliet into paddock H, closing the gate behind me and double checking the chain, before turning and wrapping my arms around the much smaller woman.
"Thank you," I say, my throat clogged with emotion.
Her tiny hand pats my back in return.
"Anytime, Mik. Anytime."