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“On it.”

I left the foyer and headed outside. When I got to my bike, I pulled out my phone and called Shep. As soon as he answered, I told him, “I need you to find everything you can on Vasili Volkov.”

“Sure thing. Am I looking for anything specific?”

“Consider him a threat. Look for everything.”

“You’ve got it.”

“I’m on the way to the clubhouse. Have something for me by the time I get there.”

I ended the call, got on my bike, and started over to the clubhouse. It had finally happened. I finally knew what my gut had been trying to tell me for days, and now, I had to figure out what the hell I was going to do about it.

18

TABITHA

Whiskey 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.”