18. Tabitha
18
TABITHA
W hiskey Rose was all brushed and slick, and her mane fell just the way I liked it. I gave her a final stroke along her flank and smiled at how good she looked. She was so regal and strong, just like the name I’d given her. Just a few more touches, and I would be confident showing her to the buyers.
Harlan was across the barn, brushing down Beau, and I had no doubt that he would have him looking just as good as Rose. The boy had a knack for not only making horses look good but keeping them calm and steady. I was feeling good about the sale. In fact, I was feeling good about everything, and for the first time in a long time, hope stirred in my chest.
It was a feeling I hadn’t allowed myself to have, but lately, it had taken root and grown fast. I knew Hudson was the reason. We’d had such a good night together. It was one of many wonderful nights with him. It was hard not to feel good about things. It had me thinking about the future, and not in a way that made me feel trapped or terrified.
Sadly, it wasn’t a feeling that would last.
I was giving Rose one final rub down when the air suddenly shifted, and I heard a voice that made my breath catch in my throat. “Hello, Tabitha. You're looking beautiful as ever.”
My hand froze mid-motion.
It had been over a year since I’d heard that voice, so smooth and smug, but I knew right away it was Vasili. I turned, and there he was. Standing at the stall door in his black suit and thick gold chain around his thick neck. His thinning salt and pepper hair was slicked back, and it wasn’t doing him any favors. He looked old, but just as threatening as he had twenty years ago.
He smiled at me like I still belonged to that world I’d fought so damn hard to leave behind, and the barn around me felt suddenly smaller and the air heavier. My heart started pounding so loud I could barely hear anything else.
He looked so much like his brother, and just looking at him made my skin crawl. I didn’t bother trying to hide my disgust as I asked, “What the hell are you doing here, Vasili?”
“I came for what’s mine.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know.” He opened the stall door and stepped inside. “You thought you could just walk away and take what didn’t belong to you… The money. The ties. The blood.”
I swallowed hard as I tried to get a glimpse of Harlan. He couldn’t hear us over the fans or his humming. It was just me. I was on my own, so I took a step back as I said, “Dimitri’s gone. There are no more ties.”
“He may be dead, but his blood runs strong in those boys of yours,” he murmured, tilting his head. “You cut off the Bratva like we were nothing. That’s not how this works.”
He kept walking until I could feel the cold wall of the barn behind me. I didn’t remember moving, but suddenly, I was cornered. Rose had stepped to the back corner and was stomping anxiously. I tried to look strong, tried to be strong, but those old fears I had with his brother were already creeping in.
My hands had started to tremble as Vasili towered over me. The smell of his expensive cologne clung to him, and his gold watch clinked on his wrist. “You were always such a pretty little thing. Obedient too. Eyes down. Mouth shut. I thought Dimitri taught you well, but clearly, I was wrong.”
“I’m not his wife anymore. You have no control over me.”
His hand slammed the wall beside my head, and my stomach turned to ice. I wanted to scream, to shove him and run, but my body wouldn’t move. “Pretty, but clearly not very smart.”
Vasili’s hand shot out, and his rough fingers wound around my throat.
I gasped and clawed at his wrist, but he only squeezed harder. My back hit the back wall with a hard thud, and my lungs screamed for air. His eyes were dark and soulless as he hissed, “You should know, once a Volkov, always a Volkov.”
I continued to claw at his hand, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t let go. He didn’t even flinch. He just kept squeezing, tighter and tighter. I was no match for him. My vision was already starting to blur, and I was on the verge of passing out when I heard, “Let. Her. Go.”
The voice wasn’t loud, but it rang through the barn with enough weight to still the air. Vasili froze. His grip loosened slightly. I blinked through the haze, and after a moment, I could finally see him.
Harlan was standing just a few feet away with a pitchfork gripped tight in his hand. His jaw was locked, and his eyes glared right at Vasili. The boyish innocence he always carried was gone, and he looked threatening as he growled, “I said let her go.”
At first, he didn’t move. He just stood there with his hand on my throat, staring back at Harlan. Eventually, he looked back at me, and there was no missing the hate that flickered behind his eyes as he finally released my throat. I collapsed against the wall, coughing and gasping, and Vasili shook his head as he stepped back and smoothed his suit jacket like nothing had happened.
“This isn’t over.”
And with that, he turned and waltzed out of the barn like he ruled the world.
I held my hands to my throat, still gasping for breath. Harlan dropped the pitchfork and rushed to my side. “Easy there. You’re okay. I got ya. You just gotta breathe. Slow and easy.”
It took me a moment, but I was finally able to stop gasping as Harlan asked, “Who the hell was that?”
“No… one.”
“Sure as hell didn’t look like no one to me.”
I was still trying to steady myself when the sound of tires on gravel caught my attention. Damn. It was the buyers. They were early.
I quickly smoothed my hands over my jeans and tried to shake off the panic clawing at the edges of my thoughts. There wasn’t time to fall apart. Not now. I had horses to think about. I turned to Harlan as I said, “I’m going to need you to do me a favor.”
“Yes, ma’am. Whatever you need.”
“Pretend like none of that happened.”
“But…”
“Just for the next hour or so.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Please. I need you to do this. We have to get these horses sold, and then, we’ll deal with the other.”
“Yes, ma’am. Whatever you say.”
“Thank you. Now, go make sure that Beau is all set for our guests.”
He nodded, then turned and darted out of the stall. I took a second to collect myself before heading out to greet our guests. I had just made it out of the barn when the truck doors opened, and a man and a young woman stepped out. I took a quick look around, and I felt a slight sense of relief when I saw no sign of Vasili.
He was gone, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t stay gone for long.
The couple started towards me, and the man offered a friendly smile as they approached. “Afternoon.”
“Good afternoon.” He was tall with blondish-brown hair with a thick beard and tattoos, and he was wearing a leather vest with jeans and boots. He didn’t look like the horse-riding type, but that didn’t stop me from saying, “You must be my buyers.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Lincoln, and this is Riley.”
“Hi. I’m Tabitha. It’s nice to meet you both.” I forced a smile as I told them, “Dr. Lewis spoke very highly of you.”
“He spoke highly of you as well.”
As he spoke, I found myself staring at his leather vest. It looked very similar to Hudson’s. It even said Satan’s Fury, but at the same time, it was different. And I’d never seen him before. “You’re wearing a Satan’s Fury cut.”
Lincoln glanced down, then back at me with furrowed brows. “I am. Been wearing it longer than I’ve been shaving.”
“It’s like Hudson’s, but it’s not...”
“Hudson?”
“He’s the president of Satan’s Fury. They call him Preacher.”
“Ah, shit.” He tilted his head and looked at me a little closer. “You know Preach?”
“Yes, I know him well and I thought I’d met all the brothers, but…”
“Oh, you don’t know me. I’m with a different chapter,” he interjected. “We’re based out of Memphis. I mean, we’re all Fury, just spread out across different states. Preacher and me go way back. He’s a good man and a hell of a president.”
There was warmth in his voice when he said Preacher’s name and hearing it brought a smile to my face—almost making me forget that sense of dread that was lingering in the back of my mind. “Yes, he is.”
Maybe the timing of it all was just a coincidence. Or maybe this was Hudson’s doing. There was no way I’d ever really know, so I left it alone and said, “Well, I’ve got two horses prepped for you to take a look at. Whiskey Rose is in the second stall, and Beau Sins is toward the end.”
“Great,” Riley replied. “I can’t wait to see them.”
“Well, let’s get to it.”
As I led them inside, I could still feel the anxious knot in my stomach and Vasili’s hands on my throat. I thought I’d finally put him and the rest of the Volkov family behind me and the boys. Clearly, I was wrong. I couldn’t think about that right now. I had to keep my head in the game, so I glanced over at Riley and asked, “It’s your father who owns the ranch, right?”
“Yes, but I’ve kind of taken the reins over the past year or so. He will always have a say, but he’s ready for a break and is eager to retire.”
“I understand. It can be exhausting at times.” When we reached her stall, I stepped inside, took Rose by the reigns, and led her out, giving them both a chance to get a good look at her as I said, “This is Whiskey Rose. Like I mentioned on the phone, she’s a Dutch Warmblood, and she lives up to the breed. She’s smart and amazing at show jumping.”
“Oh, she’s a beaut.” Excitement filled Riley’s eyes as she looked over to Lincoln and said, “Isn’t she just gorgeous?”
“That she is.”
“I’ve never had a moment’s trouble from her.”
“That’s great.” Riley smiled, then looked back at Lincoln. “Do you mind if I walk her out?”
“Of course.”
I handed over the lead, and Riley watched every movement like a hawk.
Whiskey didn’t disappoint. It was like she knew this was her moment, and she took every step with confidence. Riley smiled as she muttered, “Wow. She’s really something.”
I didn’t respond.
I just stood back and watched as Riley looked her over.
Once she was finished, she handed the lead back to me and asked, “And the quarter horse?”
“He’s a few stalls down.”
I led Rose back into her stall before taking them down to see Beau. I was pleased to see that Harlan already had him saddled. I don’t know how I would’ve managed without him. Harlan opened the stall door and stepped aside, waiting silently as I said, “This is our Beau. He’s three years old, and he’s out of Mason Bar bloodline.”
“So, he’s top tier.”
“He’s massive is what he is,” Lincoln announced. “Damn. He’s got quite the build.”
“And he’s fast,” I said. “And gives an unbelievably smooth ride.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
Riley gave him a slow walk-around, murmuring softly as she ran her fingers along his flank, checking hooves and his teeth. She was all business, but I could see it in her eyes that she liked what she saw. “I’d like to ride him.”
“Of course,” I said, swallowing the lump that had been stuck in my throat since Vasili showed his face. I needed to get through this. Needed to breathe. “You can take him out to the back pasture.”
Harlan and I stepped aside and watched as Riley mounted him and took off. She wasn’t gone long before she came back and announced that she wanted them both. She didn’t muddle numbers. She gave the asking price without question. They transferred the money into my account and then loaded them in their state-of-the-art horse trailer.
Before leaving, Lincoln came over and shook my hand. “Be sure to tell Preach that Murphy said hello.”
“I sure will. It was really great to meet you both. I hope we cross paths again someday.”
“I’m sure we will.”
I watched as he and Riley got into the truck and waved as they started to back out of the driveway. As soon as they were gone, Harlan came up next to me and asked, “You good?”
“I don’t know what I am,” I admitted. “Right now, I’m just going through the motions.”
“You need to go tell your boys what happened.”
“I know. I was just about to head to the house and…”
Before I could finish my thought, my cell phone started to ring. I grabbed it from my pocket and answered it as soon as I saw that it was Hudson. I barely had a chance to say hello before he ordered, “Get to the house. Go to Sergei’s office and lock the door. Don’t come out until I get there.”
“But…”
“Just do it, Tabitha.”
I didn’t ask questions. I’d heard the urgency in Hudson’s voice, and I could tell he was concerned. I started towards the house as I told Harlan, “Watch the barn.”
He gave me a quick nod, then rushed back to the barn, closing the doors behind him. I rushed up to the house. My nerves were already frayed, but when I saw the extra guards out front, it lit a fire of fresh panic in my chest.
There were two Fury brothers at the door I didn’t recognize. They had their arms crossed, and they were scanning the front gate like something was about to come barreling through. I’d barely made it up to the porch when I spotted two men in blue polos.
One was on a ladder near the front door camera, and the other had the panel to the side door ripped open and was rewiring something. It looked like they were doing a security upgrade, and it didn’t take much to guess why.
I wanted to ask one of them what the hell was going on, but I kept hearing Hudson’s voice in my head and headed straight inside. I closed the door behind me and hurried down the hallway to Sergei’s office. I slipped in and locked it behind me, just like Hudson had told me to do.
My hands were shaking as I paced back and forth. It had to be Vasili. He would be the only reason why the boys were going to such an extreme. I just prayed that they didn’t know something I didn’t.
My adrenaline was about to get the best of me when there was a knock at the door. “Mom, open up. It’s me.”
“Just a second.”
I rushed over and unlatched the lock, and Sergei opened the door and stepped inside. Panic marked his face as he asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I think so.” I motioned my hand toward the security camera overhead. “Does all this mean you know he was here?”
“Uncle Vasili?”
“Yes.”
“He’s here?”
“He was… He showed up at the barn just before my buyers arrived,” I started. “I was going to tell you, but Preacher called and…”
“Dammit.” Sergei ran his hand through his hair. “What did he do? Did hurt you?”
“I’m fine.”
“So, that’s a yes.” He clenched his jaw. “Son of a bitch.”
“We knew this was a possibility, Sergei. We always knew they wouldn’t be happy about us turning our backs on the family.”
“Well, too fucking bad.”
Before I could respond, the office door flew open with a bang. Hudson stormed in, and his eyes landed on me. Like he knew, they dropped to my neck, and he froze. The whole room shifted with his silence.
“Who did that to you?” he growled, his voice low and dangerous.
“It was…” I brought my hand up to my neck, realizing too late that the bruises must’ve already started to show. “It was Vasili… Dimitri’s brother.”
That was all it took.
In a blink, Hudson was across the room, and his hands were up, cupping my face like he wasn’t sure whether to hold me or break something. His voice was strained as he growled, “He touched you?”
I nodded, swallowing hard.
“I’m gonna fucking kill him.”
“How did this happen?” Sergei asked with concern. “How was he able to get to you?”
“I don’t know. He just showed up at the barn, and before I knew it, he had me pinned to the wall.” I blinked, trying to push the tears away, but it was no use. “He said Dimitri didn’t teach me well enough. Said we were gonna pay.”
Rage filled Hudson’s eyes as he turned to Sergei and barked, “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me he already made a move?”
“He didn’t know,” I said quickly. “No one knew. It just happened.”
Hudson turned back to me, and his eyes were softer now but no less intense. “You should’ve called me the second it happened.”
“I was about to, but the buyers came and…”
My voice cracked, and he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. And that’s when the dam broke. I wasn’t a crier—not anymore, but there was something about Hudson that gave me the okay to break. I knew he had me, so I let the tears fall as I told him, “I thought we were done with them, but they just won’t let go. Vasili will never let go.”
“He won’t have a choice.” He held me tighter. “I’m not letting that bastard anywhere near you again.”
I nodded against him, relieved that he was there and so understanding.
Today was bad. Really bad.
But I had a sinking feeling that this was just the beginning.