“Rainey Petrovna,” Hana continues, “This is Carmen, who runs the most adorable boutique shop in town, and Pepper is Dirk and Hutch’s niece.”

  “I’ve heard about you.” I smile at the girl. “I saw your picture in the softball uniform with the donuts.”

  “Oh, that was a million years ago.” Pepper sits in the chair beside me, the quarrel seemingly forgotten. “You’re from Russia? Is it really super-freezing there all the time?”

  “I only lived there as a little girl. I grew up in Manhattan.” Her face falls, so I quickly add, “Russia’s a really big country, but where I lived was kind of like here.”

  “I’d like to visit sometime. My uncle Hutch was in the Marines there.”

  “I bet he might take you if you asked him.”

  “Maybe.” She scrunches her nose like she doesn’t believe he will.

  Carmen walks over to pat her side. “Come on, it’s late. Your dad’s going to think we had an accident.”

  “Stop by tomorrow, and we can practice driving,” I tell her. “If you want, I mean.”

  “Carmen! You just had a vodka,” Blake scolds. “I’ll drive you back.”

  Hugs are shared, and Pepper shakes my hand. They head out the door, and the room feels quieter with them gone. I start collecting plates, and Hana takes out plastic storage containers for the leftovers.

  “They’re always such a whirlwind,” she laughs. “Carmen’s dating Pepper’s dad, but she’s known Pepper her whole life. It’s okay if you decide to change your mind about the driving thing.”

  “No, I want to. It’ll give me something to do.”

  Otherwise, I’ll be going crazy worrying about Dirk the whole day.

  Norris appears and takes the plates from me, claiming it’s his job to clean up. Hana puts the leftovers in the refrigerator, and we walk into the living room. It’s so different being here legitimately and not sneaking around in the dark.

  “I’ll be glad when the guys are back,” I say quietly.

  “Shew, me too. I’d like to sleep in my own bed again, but Blake said we have to stay here together. My overprotective big sister.”

  Looking down, I pick at my cuticle. “Dirk told me what they did to you. When you were younger, I mean. I’m so sorry.”

  Her lips tighten, and she touches my hand. “You couldn’t have done anything to stop them. You’re younger than I am. We were both their victims.”

  I walk to the window, looking out at the barn. “I wasn’t born in that cage, but I couldn’t get out of it. Then when Simon died, and only Natasha was left, it was my chance to try.”

  “So you took it. I understand that.” She walks up beside me. “And if Scar is your brother, that means we’ll be sisters. We’ll be family!”

  If we’re lucky. The unwelcome thought drifts through my head, so I push it away for something brighter, forcing a smile. “Are you ready to be a mom?”

  “I certainly hope so.” She exhales a soft laugh. “I’m pretty close, so I’d better be. Scar wants a family so much.”

  “I never wanted a man or a relationship. Every relationship in my life has been transactional, except for my dad. And Dirk.”

  “You love him?” Her lips press into a smile, and I blink down, unable to stop the smile curling my lips, the warmth squeezing my chest and stomach. “You do! I knew it!”

  “I’ve got a lot of making up to do.”

  “That’s the best part.” She puts an arm around my shoulders, giving me a side-hug. “I’ve got to take a bath, then I’m headed to bed. This baby is wearing me out, and he’s not even here yet. Did Norris show you your room?”

  “Yeah, I’m on the same side as you guys.”

  “In that case, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  In the middle of the night, I sit straight up in bed with a start. It wasn’t a nightmare, but something is definitely wrong. It was a noise, something horrible I’ve never heard before, yet it’s a sound I recognize nonetheless.

  My heart beats too fast, and an orange glow emanates from outside my window.

  “Oh, God!” I throw back the covers, stumbling in the darkness as I search frantically for my jeans.

  Jamming my feet in the pants legs, I grab the sweater off my chair and pull it over my head, over the T-shirt I was sleeping in. Running as fast as I can for the back door, I’m grateful I’ve been in this house in the darkness. I don’t fall as I tear through the kitchen, jogging down the back steps and skidding to a stop as my eyes widen in horror.

  The barn is on fire, and the horses are squealing in the most blood-chilling way. They’re trapped in the inferno.

  “We’ve got to get them out!” Hana screams, and I look back to see her running from the house as well in her nightgown and cowboy boots with a long coat pulled over her shoulders.

  She holds the bottom of her belly as she passes me in a waddle-jog, and it only takes a moment for me to spring into action.

  “Stop, Hana!” I catch up to her, grabbing her arm. “You can’t go in there! It’s too dangerous.”

  We’re yelling, but there’s no time. Behind me, I hear the door open and close and Blake is running to join us. Hana takes off again, running straight into the burning structure.

  “Hana!” I scream.

  “I’ll call the fire department!” Blake yells, and I nod.

  “I’ll get her out!” Charging into the barn, I’m hit with the full force of the blaze.

  Holding up my hand, I squint through the heat and the smoke until I see her already at Training Day’s stall, opening the door and trying to get the frightened horse to run out.

  “He won’t budge!” she yells as I run down the row, opening all the stall doors.

  None of the horses will leave their safe spaces. They’re too afraid.

  “We have to cover their heads!” I yell back to her. “I saw it in a movie once. They won’t run if they see the fire.”

  Blake runs into the barn and goes straight for the tack room. When she emerges, she has bridles and lead ropes.

  “Fire department is coming, but they’re a half-hour away. Use these!” She tosses each of us a bridle. “Take them to the paddock so they can’t run back into the barn. Hurry!”

  She goes to Regency’s Honor and quickly slides the bridle over the horse’s head, staying close as she guides the large horse out of the small enclosure, trotting with him to the outdoor paddock. I go for Dancer, but a scream from Training Day’s stall makes me double back.

  “Hana?” As soon as I enter, everything goes black.

  A dark hood is pulled over my head, and my arms are pinned behind my back. I’m lifted off the ground in a strong grip, and whoever has me drags me down what feels like a long passage. My mind is spinning, but trying to remember, it has to be in the direction of the large arena in the center of the building.

  Kicking my legs, I struggle to get free, when all at once, I’m thrown to the floor. I fall all the way to my face, but I manage to catch the edge of the hood and rip it over my head. Scrambling quickly to my feet, I’m confused to see Hana standing to the side of a small room filled with hay, and Natasha holding us at gunpoint—with my pearl-handled 9mm Ruger.

  “What the hell?” I gasp. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at Gibson’s! How did you get my gun?”

  “Put it in her hand!” Natasha yells, and Rick steps forward.

  Gloves are on his hands as he shoves the weapon in my grip, lifting my arm and holding it over my head as he pulls the trigger. Hana screams again, and he snatches the gun away, carrying it to Natasha.

  Flames are just reaching this area of the barn, and thick smoke is drifting in above our heads. The noise of horses squealing, the roar of the fire, and the creak of wooden beams splintering in the heat surrounds us.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I yell, watching as Rick hands the gun to Natasha, who is also wearing gloves.

  “Gunpowder residue is now on your hands. You used this gun to put a bullet in your pregnant friend before taking your own life.” Natasha tilts the gun to the side, waving it between Hana and me. “It’s so sad how they trusted you. They left you here to protect the girls, not burn down the barn and kill Scar’s wife and son.”

  “You won’t get away with this!” Hana yells savagely. “Blake is here. She already called the fire department, and she knows what’s happening. Blake will stop you.”

  “It’s true, she would’ve stopped us. If only she hadn’t fallen while trying to save the horses and hit her head. It was a pretty bad lick. She might have a concussion.”

  “Noo…” Hana’s voice is a wail.

  My chest tightens, and I can’t breathe. They’ve taken out Blake. If the fire department doesn’t get here soon, she could die along with all the horses. Now they’re planning to kill Hana and frame me for it—before they kill me as well.

  Adrenaline vibrates in my muscles. I can’t let this happen. Natasha is a power-hungry, heartless villain who’s gotten away with murder three times by my count, but I won’t let her get away with it again.

  Keeping my eyes on them, I take a step back and hold out my hand. “Wait a minute. Let’s talk about this. Maybe we can make a deal.”

  “I’m not making any deals with you, cousin. I’m ending Zander’s legacy right here and now.”

  I take another step back. “But you don’t have Scar, and when he finds out, he’ll murder you, after he tortures you in ways I don’t even want to imagine.”

  I’m stalling for time, taking another step back so Hana is just in front of me to the left. Her head is bowed, and her blonde spirals hang in a curtain, hiding her face. Her shoulders shudder, and I’m afraid she’s crying.

  One more step, and I’m at the back wall. I slowly move my hand around behind me, and my fingers land on the slim handle of a shovel. Closing my eyes, I say the shortest prayer I know, Guide my hands.

  My fist closes over the wooden pole, and I scream at the top of my lungs as I rip it from the hay and swing it with all my might. A gunshot rings out, but I don’t register being hit. I only register the vibration of the shovel through my arms and elbows as it makes contact with Rick’s skull.

  Blood spatters against the white wall, and he drops like a tree. I hope I killed him, is my last thought before I fall to my knees. My head spins, and a heartbeat is in my side. The sounds of struggle draw my attention, and I look up to see Hana and Natasha fighting for the gun.

  “God, no!” I gasp.

  Hana apparently lunged at Natasha after the shot was fired, and my stomach knots as I watch the barrel of the gun swing wildly. Another beat in my side, and I look down to see an ugly crimson circle growing larger on my side. It’s sticky. I've been shot, but it’s so strange… I don’t feel pain.

  I try to stand, but my legs won’t cooperate. Hana screams as Natasha tries to throw her down. I can’t seem to get my footing, so I decide to crawl, lifting the shovel and swinging it like a scythe at Natasha’s legs. It works. The metal makes contact with her knees, and a horrible yell rings out.

  Natasha falls, leaving Hana holding the gun. My old nemesis is on the ground, her leg bent at a sickening angle. I’m not sorry I broke her leg. In fact, I’m a bit pleased until I realize she’s digging in her coat.

  “She’s got another gun!” I yell, looking up to see Hana’s hands gripping my Ruger.

  Her blue eyes close briefly, and she exhales slowly as if she’s been trained to shoot.

  “You won’t shoot me, Hana van Hamilton.” Natasha’s voice is a hoarse snarl. “You’re nothing but a spoiled, Upper East Side socialite who’s been coddled her whole life.”

  “I’m a mamma bear, and I will protect my family.” Hana’s eyes open, and she pulls the trigger slowly.

  I fall onto my forearms and army-crawl away from her line of sight just in case. One staccato pop echoes in the small space, and I look over my shoulder to see Natasha lying on her back in the hay, eyes open, staring blankly at the ceiling overhead.

  My head drops, and I begin to sob.

  It’s over.

  The murders, the cruelty, the revenge…

  “Rainey, can you get up?” Hana kneels beside me, touching my shoulder. “You’ve got to get up, Rainey. We’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got to find Blake. The barn is still burning, and the horses… We’ve got to save the horses.”

  She’s talking so fast, I think she might be in shock, and I want to tell her it’s all going to be okay. It’s over. Doesn’t she understand? She ended it. She ended all of it—her pain, my pain, the years of lies and torture. Tears blur my vision, and I can’t make my mouth speak. I’m so cold, and my legs are completely useless.

  “Rainey, please get up!” Hana’s voice shakes, and I see tears on her face now. “You’ve got to hang on a little longer. Help is coming. Help is coming, Rainey, please…”

  Help is coming…

  This makes me smile. Help has never come for me, and now someone wants to save me. Does this mean I’ve made it to redemption? I must have, because as I close my eyes, I see the most brilliant white light, and the purest joy warms my chest.

  29

  Dirk

  After hours of no one answering my texts, we made it back to the airport in Charleston just before dawn. All three of us were on edge as we flew to my Jeep. I burned rubber out of the parking lot, holding the pedal to the floor as we broke every speeding law to cover the short distance to Hamiltown.

  When we arrived at Hugh’s, the place was in chaos. Fire trucks were on the scene, and while the barn fire was under control, it was still burning.

  Hutch ran immediately to Blake, who was sitting on the edge of an ambulance with an oxygen mask on her face and a bandage on her head.

  “I had just left Rege at the paddock,” her voice shook as she explained, “and I was racing into Dancer’s stall when someone or something hit me in the head.”

  Hutch’s jaw clenched, and he held her in his arms as the emergency workers filled in the rest of the details.

  “We sent Mrs. Lourde and her friend on to the hospital in Miranda Bay.” Scar was moving before the worker finished speaking.

  “Hana and Rainey were helping me evacuate the horses when we all got separated.” I waved to Blake as I turned and jogged to catch up with my partner.

  Now we’re both at the hospital. Hana is in a room under observation. Scar is with her, and I’ve checked in a few times. She didn’t suffer smoke inhalation or any other potentially dangerous effects of being in a burning barn while nine months pregnant.

  I’m just praying we didn’t use up all our miracles on that alone.

  I’m pacing the small waiting room at Miranda General, hands clasped under my arms as I wait for another report from the nurse when Hana walks slowly to where I’m pacing.

  “I hate to think of you out here all alone.” She puts her hand on my shoulder.

  Scar has his hand on her arm, but she waves him away. “I’m fine. The doctor said the baby is fine, and I can’t just lie in that bed. It’s uncomfortable.”

  “You’re lucky you didn’t go into labor.” Scar’s deep voice is slightly less stressed.

  “How are you doing?” Hana rubs my shoulder, and I lower my arms to give her a hug.

  “I’ve been better.”

  “How’s Rainey?”

  “Haven’t heard. She lost a lot of blood. The nurse said by the time they got her here, she was in danger of hypovolemic shock.”

  “What does that mean?” Hana’s wide eyes go from me to Scar.

  “It’s not good,” is all he says.

  “They were able to give her a transfusion, but she’s still unconscious. She needs to wake up so they can check for more severe damage.”

  “She was amazing, a real hero.”

  Hana fills me in quickly on the scene that played out while we were racing across the country to help them. She told me how they were rescuing the horses when Natasha dragged her by the neck at gunpoint. Rick muscled Rainey into the hay storage shed off the inside arena, and there they planned to stage a murder-suicide.

  Scar bends forward to wrap his petite wife in his large arms. His eyes close, and he smooths his hands over her belly.

  “When Rick shot the gun in the air, I was freaking out.” Hana’s voice grows animated. “I didn’t know how we were going to escape them, when all of a sudden, Rainey swung that shovel like she was hitting a line drive in Yankee Stadium.”

  My lips press together, and my eyes heat. “She’s a pistol.”

  My voice is thick, and I do my best to clear it. I want to tell her I’m sorry for being so quick to judge her. I want her to know I’m proud of her. I want to tell her I’ll help her, and she’ll never fight alone again.

  I just need her to wake up.

  “The doctor said you took down Natasha.”

  Hana's lips press together, and her chin drops. “I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t want to do it, but… I didn’t have a choice.”

  She speaks the last part just above a whisper, and I step forward, completing the group hug around her.

  “It was you or her, Hana.” I step back, meeting her sad eyes. “She drew the line and made the threats. You did what you had to do to protect your baby, Rainey, yourself…”

  “I know.” Her voice is quiet. “I just wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

  “I wish Rainey would wake up.” I turn, crossing my arms over my chest again in what I realize is a defensive move.

  I’m holding onto my insides so they don’t spill out on the hospital floor. All the things I said to her. I said I wanted to hurt her. I made her sleep on the fucking floor.

  A strong hand grips my shoulder, and I glance up at my partner. “She’s going to be okay. It takes a lot more than a bullet to stop my family.”

  I put my hand on his wrist, on the place where his scarred flesh meets his hand. “A lot more than a fire?”

  We’re in the group together when the nurse comes out to the waiting room. “Are you the family of Miss Sidorova?”

  “Yes,” Scar answers. “I’m her brother. This is my wife and her…” he hesitates, giving me a glance, “her loved one.”