Chapter 28
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
KAYLANI
I’d stayed in my room for three days in protest and refused to talk to my father as I came up with a plan of my own.
Father thought taking Atlas would make me fold. He forgot who had taught me how to fight.
Mother was right. He only knew how to negotiate when he felt like he could crush someone’s spirit. I wouldn’t let him snuff mine out. That was why I had come up with my own plan.
Goran was late. I’d texted him to meet me here at 3:30 a.m., and it was now 3:33 a.m. I locked my phone and slipped it into my pocket. If he didn’t get here soon, I would handle this myself.
I’ll give him three more minutes, then I have to go.
The back country road was dark as I waited in the driver’s seat of the truck with the trailer attached. I sat up straighter when headlights cut through the darkness and rolled toward me. I knew it was Goran.
No one used this road except those who lived on the surrounding farms. This lane that connected the back of the properties was rarely used.
The SUV shut off, and Goran stepped out.
I opened my door and jumped out.
He looked me up and down.
“Lani, what the hell is going on?”
“I’m not letting my father use Atlas as a pawn against me.”
“And what exactly does that mean?” He looked at the trailer, then back at me when I didn’t answer. “Oh, no. We are not doing this. How did you even get the truck and trailer off the property?”
I shrugged. “Easy. It was already scheduled for maintenance. I just picked it up instead of Frank.”
“That’s theft.”
“He stole from me first.”
My pulse beat so hard in my throat I felt it against my teeth. I pulled the black balaclava over my head. It was made from the same spandex material as the rest of the outfit. Thankfully, I had kept it from my Catwoman Halloween costume.
“Kaylani, this is not the way to handle the situation.”
He might have been right, but it was my situation to handle. And this was the best way I knew how to fight back.
I poked him in the chest.
“This is your chance to help me and prove you will choose me. I’m doing this. I know the guard rotation. I know where all the cameras are. And I know these trails like the back of my hand. I can do this.”
“And then what? You can’t exactly stick Atlas in Nathaniel’s backyard on the beach.”
“I have a plan, but we need to go now. And I need your help.”
Goran ran a hand down his face. “You’re going to get me killed.”
“No. I’m taking back my life. I will not let him do this to me, to you, or to Atlas. The only question is whether you’re standing beside me or watching from the sidelines.”
“I spoke to Nathaniel last night. He’s going to help.”
“Good. He can help afterward. Me doing this does not mean the fight is over.” I pulled on the black gloves.
“No. It’s probably going to make it worse.”
“I’m not arguing with you about this. Are you going to help or not?”
I crossed my arms and cocked my hip.
“Fuck. What do you need me to do?”
I pointed toward the fence line half a mile out.
“There’s a guard who patrols the back of the property twice a night. I’ve seen him when I stayed overnight before a show. He should be passing by in about twenty minutes. I need you to take care of him.”
“I’m not killing him.”
“I’m not asking you to kill him. Choke him out. Knock him out. Tie him up. I don’t care, but he can’t sound the alarm.”
“You’re lucky I love you so much, woman,” Goran grumbled, making me smile.
I held out the balaclava for him to put on.
Swearing under his breath, he pulled it on over his head.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
If I were going to lose everything, it would not be because I sat back and did nothing.
“Follow me,” Goran ordered, jogging down into the ditch. We followed the fence line, then slowed and stopped. “Stay here.”
He disappeared into the dark without another word. For a second, I almost told him to wait.
The stables’ fence loomed ahead, tall and quiet under the moonlight. Security lights from the barn cast pale halos across the paddocks, but this area was shadowed.
I knew these grounds better than anyone who worked them. I spent every moment here when I wasn’t at school. Without even meaning to, I had memorized every fence post and drainage ditch.
My father might own it on paper, but it was mine in my heart.
My nerves climbed with every second Goran was gone. I almost screamed when he suddenly appeared right beside me.
“The guard is still five minutes out. He’s lazily walking and smoking a cigarette. You head to the barn. I’ll take care of him when he comes around.”
With a nod, I edged through the hedgerow and kept low as I crossed the open stretch toward the barn, careful to avoid the motion detectors. Every step I took thundered in my ears.
The stable doors were locked with a chain.
Are you kidding me?
Didn’t my father know how dangerous that was? Frustrated, I moved to the sliding door that opened into the hay storage. I pulled it toward me and managed to ease through the gap.
He might have barred me from the property, but this just proved he didn’t know what he was doing. Barns cannot be locked as tightly as vaults. What if there was a fire or a horse in distress?
The smell hit me first. Hay. Leather. Everything that screamed horses. It felt like home.
The door to the aisle opened with a soft groan, and I froze.
Nothing.
Just the hum of the single overhead light and the steady breathing of horses half asleep.
Reaching the back door, I unlocked it from the inside and propped it open before heading to the tack room. I opened the locker, grabbed my halter, and slipped it over my head to carry with me. Then I pulled out my saddle and bridle and dashed over to Atlas’s stall.
“Hey, handsome,” I whispered, softly.
Atlas lifted his head, ears snapping forward.
As quietly as I could, I unlocked his door and crept inside, setting the tack down on the ground. I hadn’t been expecting the loud whinny he gave me in greeting.
“Shhh.”
I looked over my shoulder, worried we would alert the guard in the viewing room. Sure enough, the door opened.
Shit.
I ducked down, but the stall door was open slightly, and it was too late to close it.
Heavy footsteps drew closer, and the beam of a flashlight swept across the walls like a strobe light.
Atlas, obviously confused and curious by what I was up to, nudged me where I was crouched down. I glared at him and tried to push his head away.
“Go over there.”
But he just thought it was a new game and kept coming back for more.
A flashlight beam cut across the far wall.
“Who’s there?”
I didn’t move. I didn’t dare breathe.
Don’t be brave. Just lock it and walk away.
The beam moved closer.
The guard’s shadow stepped into view, a radio in his hand. He reached out and touched the sliding lock on the stall.
I bit my lip and stared at the reins that would be visible if he looked down.
Atlas nudged me again. I handed him some hay, hoping he would lift his head so the guard would assume Atlas had unlocked the stall himself. He could have if it hadn’t been locked properly.
The guard lifted the radio to his mouth, but it was suddenly knocked out of his hand and clattered ot the floor. Another shadow swallowed him. The guard made choking sounds, boots scraping uselessly against concrete, then silence.
I poked my head up and looked through the bars to see Goran ease the man to the floor. He checked for a pulse, then pulled out zip ties from somewhere and rolled the guard over as he tied his hands together.
Goran looked at me, and my lungs finally remembered how to work.
“You weren’t supposed to follow me.”
Goran’s eyes were hard. “Good thing I don’t listen to you.”
I blushed.
“Let’s get going.”
My chest tightened. “Is he—”
“Alive. He’ll wake up with a headache and a story he won’t want to repeat. I’ll put him in the lounge.”
He dragged the guard away as I turned and grabbed my saddle, heaving it onto Atlas’s back.
“I’m sorry about this, Handsome. I know you just got home, but we need to leave again,” I cooed to Atlas as I put on his tack.
“We don’t have long,” Goran said as he returned to the stall. “Your father wasn’t kidding about extra guards. There are like ten of them at the gate.”
“Okay,” I murmured as I slipped the bridle over Atlas’s head. “I’ve got you. I just need you to trust me, big guy.”
His breath puffed warm against my shoulder.
I tightened the girth on the saddle and nodded to Goran to open the stall door.
We stepped out into the aisle and prayed the other horses wouldn’t get excited and give us away. Horses were in tune with routine, and when something new happened, they were terrible tattletales with a bad case of FOMO.
Goran moved ahead of us, scanning the aisle, then stepped outside first.
The air felt colder now, like a warning. We slowly walked Atlas toward the path that led to the waiting truck and trailer. Every footstep felt as if it could give us away.
Once we were far from the maze of motion sensors, Goran helped me mount up, then ran beside us as I trotted down the path. The moon was just bright enough tonight for me to see where we needed to go.
“Easy,” I whispered as we approached the back fence.
“So, what’s the plan here?”
“I’m going to jump it.”
“You’re the craziest woman I’ve ever met,” he muttered as he slipped through the wooden rails.
“Okay, bud, it’s just like at the show. We have a great lead-up, then there is room for two strides before we have to run up the side of the ditch. You’ve got this,” I said, unsure who needed the pep talk more, me or Atlas.
I let Atlas see the height of the fence before turning back and coming in at a canter. I set him up like any other jump and prayed this wasn’t the one time he refused. If he stopped, we were dead. Or at least I was.
But there was zero hesitation. Atlas’s ears remained pricked straight up, his stride shortened as his muscles bunched, and then he launched himself over the fence.
We landed, and a rein slipped loose from my grip. Atlas took the two strides, then pushed up the side of the ditch.
“Whoa. Easy, boy,” I said evenly as I tried to regain the rein.
He broke into a trot, then stopped.
I collapsed forward, hugging his neck, my heart in my throat. So many others would’ve taken off, but not my boy. He was a true gentleman.
“I can’t believe we just did that.”
Goran jogged up to us.
“That was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. I fucking love you.” He folded the balaclava up like a beanie, pride shining in his eyes. “Let’s keep going. We don’t want to be within five miles of here when those guards are found.”
Goran ran ahead and opened the trailer doors. I hopped down, pulled off the saddle, and stepped inside. Atlas hesitated for half a second, then followed.
No fuss. No resistance. He trusted me.
I quickly swapped the bridle for the halter and hooked him up. Goran shut the divider quietly and secured the latch. We clipped the back doors closed and ran for the driver’s side door.
“I’ll follow you.”
I nodded but grabbed his hand before he took off for the SUV.
Pulling up my balaclava, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him hard.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
For one long second, we just looked at each other.
I let him go and climbed into the driver’s seat.
“You realize,” he said quietly, “this is war?”
I started the engine.
“He declared it first.”
“As long as you know.” Goran closed my door and ran for the SUV.
The headlights stayed off as I rolled down the dirt lane, turning them on once we were clear of the property and on to the main road.
My hands shook slightly on the steering wheel. Not from fear. From relief.
I had just crossed a line I could never uncross.
The question was whether I was ready for when my father came for us. I needed to be ready. That’s all there was to it.
In the rearview mirror, the property lights faded into darkness.
My father still believed he held the reins and that he could spur me into doing what he wanted.
He had forgotten I was raised among stallions that fought back.