4. Tabitha
4
TABITHA
"I ’ll start with the mare.”
“Her name is Faith.”
“Well, Faith is farther along than you mentioned.” Dr Lewis flipped through his notes as he continued, “Best I can tell, she looks to be more like eight and a half months along. Her body is in poor condition. She’s underweight and malnourished which means the foal is, too. And the front left hoof is a concern.”
“Yes, I knew it would be an issue. What are we dealing with?”
“Looks like an old abscess that was never treated properly.” I could hear the horses shifting in their stalls. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they sensed my unease as I listened to him say, “It’s left her with some deep scarring in the hoof wall, and there’s some rotation in the coffin bone.”
I nodded, trying to absorb it all. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Well, she’s gonna need corrective trimming, likely for the rest of her life. Might need special shoes, depending on how she responds. We can manage the pain with anti-inflammatories, but she won’t be much more than a pasture horse.” He hesitated before adding, “It’s gonna take time and money, Tabitha.”
I already knew that but hearing it didn’t make it any easier.
Before I could even form a response, he flipped the page and kept going. “She’s extremely underweight, especially for being with foal. You’ll need to monitor her closely. Plenty of high-quality feed and supplements. If we don’t see improvement in the next few weeks, we may need to run some tests.”
I barely had time to nod before he moved on.
“Now, the tall bay.” He shook his head. “As you know, he’s in rough shape. Severely malnourished. He has some muscle atrophy and some rain rot starting on his back. Poor fella’s been neglected for a long time.”
“Yes, and it’s a real shame. He’s such a beautiful, sweet horse.”
“I think he will come around, but he’s gonna take patience.” His voice softened a little. “Slow refeeding and a whole lot of hands-on care.”
It was a lot, but nothing I hadn’t expected. I knew what I’d signed up for, and I was going to do whatever it took to get these horses back on their feet. So, I lifted my chin and met Dr. Lewis’s gaze as I told him, “Alright. Let’s get started.”
Dr. Lewis let out a quiet sigh as he crouched beside the mare. He gently ran his hand down her leg before lifting her hoof. She flinched but didn’t fight him. She just let out a deep, tired breath that said she was done fighting. I slowly stroked her neck as I whispered, “Easy girl.”
Her coat was dull and patchy, and I could feel the sharp outline of her ribs beneath my palm. She’d known hunger, neglect, and pain. And still, she stood there, trusting me to help her. I was working my fingers gently through the tangled strands of her mane when Dr. Lewis said, “This girl is tough. Not many who could withstand this kind of torment.”
Tough.
I knew what that kind of toughness meant.
It wasn’t strength by choice.
It was survival.
Dr. Lewis reached for his tools, and as soon as he started scraping away at the hoof, the mare tensed. Her muscles coiled beneath my hand, and she let out a low, uneasy snort and shifted her weight. She was hurting. Hoping to comfort her, I pressed my forehead against her neck and whispered, “Shh, sweetheart. I know it hurts, but he’s going to make it better. Just a little longer.”
My hand drifted to my wrist, and I ran the tips of my fingers over the old, knotted break. The ache was faint, but it would never fully go away. I closed my eyes for just a second, and suddenly, I was twenty years old again, standing in the kitchen with Dimitri towering over me.
"You will do as you are told!"
His voice had been calm, but the rage in his eyes had me taking a step back. I knew better. I should’ve never questioned him, and now, it was going to cost me. I hadn’t even seen his hand move before the pain shattered through my arm. It was white-hot and all-consuming.
I crumpled to the floor, and I immediately started crying as I clutched my wrist. He showed me no mercy. No comfort. He just gave me a cold, dead stare as he ordered, "Get up."
There would be no doctor.
There would be no x-ray or splint.
Just a scarf that the maid wrapped around it, and not another word. It wasn’t that he didn’t want anyone to know what he’d done. He did. He was proud of his cruelty. It was what led people to fear him, and it worked. No one crossed him—ever.
The mare shifted again and pulled me back to the present. I inhaled a deep breath and tried to push the memory down. It was over. Dimitri was dead, and I was here, free. But freedom came with ghosts, and some days, they felt all too real.
“Got as much as I can for today.” Dr. Lewis stood upright as he said, “She’ll be sore, but it should help.”
“Okay. Good.”
He met my gaze. “You alright?”
“Better now.” I gave the mare another stroke of the neck as I said, “You did good, sweet girl. We’re one step closer to getting you all better.”
“She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s one lucky girl.” Dr. Lewis gave me a soft smile. “The foal, too.”
“I just want to give them a fair chance.”
“Well, they definitely have that. They all do.” He started out of her stall as he said, “I’ll go get started on the others.”
“Thanks, Dr. Lewis.”
“No need to thank me. That’s what I’m here for.”
He gave me a wink, then disappeared into the next stall. I stayed with Faith for a little longer, just stroking her and whispering soft reassurances, and it wasn’t long before she started leaning into my touch. The poor girl was exhausted. “It’s okay. You get some rest, and I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.”
I gave her one last pat, then stepped out of the stall and into the next. Dr. Lewis was already there working on the tall bay. He was nothing but skin and bones, and his long legs were too thin for his frame. I slipped into the stall and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Easy there, big fella. It’s just gonna hurt for a second.”
Dr. Lewis moved quickly and gave him the first shot. The horse stiffened, but I kept my hand steady against him, whispering soft reassurances.
"One more," Dr. Lewis muttered as he switched syringes.
The bay jerked when the second needle went in, but it was done. We moved through the barn, tending to each horse one by one. While he was there, he did his rounds with the thoroughbreds, making sure they were still on track and maintaining. It was slow work, but I didn’t mind. I could spend every minute of every day in the barn with my beauties.
By the time we finished, I was exhausted and ready for a cold drink. I thanked Dr. Lewis for his time, then made my way back up to the main house. I’d barely made it to the front porch when I heard Sergei’s voice. It was loud and angry, but I had no idea why.
Curious, I continued inside, and that’s when I heard him yell, "What the fuck were you thinking?”
I felt my stomach tighten.
"It was necessary,"Nikolai answered. His voice was quieter but firm. And he wasn’t backing down. “You’ve got all these big plans and no way to make them happen.”
"You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,"Sergei snapped.
“But I do, and you know I’m right. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so angry right now.”
“That’s bullshit! You don’t make moves like that without discussing it first."
I gripped the door handle and eased it open. I stepped inside and quickly closed it behind me. My chest tightened as I listened to Sergei’s voice boom through the house. It was low and sharp, just like his father’s used to be, and it made my skin crawl.
"You’re too damn impulsive, Nikolai. You’re always letting your emotions get in the way, and one day, it’s going to cost us."
Nikolai didn’t respond right away.
When he finally did, his voice was cold and decisive. “You have all these big plans, Sergei, but you don’t have the backing you need to see them through.”
“I have the Volkov name! That’s all I need!”
"If that’s true, then, why did someone set that fire at the construction site last week? And why are our tools and equipment constantly being stolen?”
Nikolai kept his voice low and steady.
That was him.
He was full of emotion, but he kept it reigned in.
“That sort of thing just happens.”
“It shouldn’t. Not if the Volkov name has the power you think it does. If it did, then no one would dare to fuck with us or our construction site.”
“Maybe it’s time I remind them what happens when you cross a Volkov.”
His words echoed through the door, and I couldn’t help but think about Dimitri. There was a time when all he did was toss harsh words around, and the boys heard it all. They learned from it, especially Sergei.
He hadn’t just gotten his father’s temper but also the tone in his voice and the commanding presence. He’d spent his whole life trying to be the man his father expected him to be, and I had tried my damnedest to keep him from it.
But some things were inevitable.
I stood there and listened as Nikolai pushed back. His voice was lower than his older brother’s, but it was just as firm. He’d never been as quick to anger as Sergei, and he was never as prone to violence. But he had his own kind of fire, and it was stubborn and unrelenting.
Whatever was happening between them, it wasn’t good.
And I had a feeling it was only just beginning.
I wanted to go inside and step in like I used to when they were little. I wanted to tell them to stop before they said something they couldn’t take back, but they weren’t kids anymore. They were men, and they had to sort this thing out for themselves.
“You would just make matters worse,” Nikolai argued. “We need these guys, Sergei. Satan’s Fury has built something here. They’ve made a name for themselves, and people don’t just fear them. They respect them, and that’s what makes them different. It’s one of the many reasons the Vault has done as well as it has.”
“They’re a goddamn biker club.”
I had no idea who they were talking about. I had never heard of Satan’s Fury, but it was clear they both had strong opinions about it. I just had no idea which one of them was right.
I could tell Nikolai was becoming frustrated when he shouted, “I don’t care what they are. They have something we don’t. They have a reputation that supersedes them. No one crosses them, and no one questions them.”
“This whole thing is nonsense,” Sergei grumbled. “We don’t need these guys. We don’t need anyone.”
"You’re wrong…These people aren’t going to forget what you did,"Nikolai continued, softer now."They’re always gonna remember that you forced them out of their homes and shut down family businesses. You thought it was over when you signed on that dotted line, but it’s far from over.”
Silence.
I could picture Sergei standing in his office with his jaw tight, and fists curled at his sides. It was the same way he used to look at his father when he was tearing into him for being too much like me. He would just stand there, taking in every cruel word. It was during these vicious attacks that my son learned that power was the only thing that mattered.
"And you really think this Preacher guy is the answer?"
"I think Satan’s Fury is the answer,"Nikolai corrected."They’ve been where we are, and they know the challenges we face. They know how to run things without constantly looking over their shoulder. If we have their backing and not just the Volkov name, then maybe, just maybe, we can make this thing with the casino work.”
It sounded smart.
It was well thought out, and most of all, it was right.
It was exactly the kind of thinking Sergei should have been doing from the start. The house seemed to go still as Sergei processed it all. He had always been so certain that his way was the only way, but Nikolai might’ve just proven him wrong.
I didn’t know what Sergei would decide.
But I had a feeling whatever came next would change everything.