Page 47 of Conceal

He peers down at me, even though I’m not a short woman by any means. The look on his face tells me he doesn’t trust me.

“I’d like to say I could talk to them and make them fix things, but I have no sway over them either,” I shrug, because it’s the truth. I don’t like what my family does, but I could cry and beg for years, and it would fall on deaf ears.

He steps forward menacingly, into my space, but I don’t back down. He’s not about to start a fistfight with a woman at a three-day-event. Roman growls from behind me, though, and I feel Mik step forward against my back.

“Don’t think for a second that you’re going to hurt that woman...” he threatens, and while I know he’s trying to be scary and intimidating, I bite back my smile. Because I like that he’s protective.

I hold up my hands, shaking my head. “I know, I know. You’ll kill me. But I promise, I have no ulterior motives other than just wanting a friend. I’m sure you know how lonely it can be in our world.”

This seems to take him by surprise, because his shoulders dip and his scowl softens. After a moment, his chin dips in a tiny nod, and he turns and walks toward the finish line.

I check my watch and realize I’m up soon. I jog back down the hill, tighten the girth again, and then Mik gives me a leg up into the saddle. I spend ten minutes warming Juliet up, knowing she’s in the best shape of her life.

When it’s our turn, we trot to the starting gate and turn toward the route. This is my favorite part. The anticipation. Will we nail all of our lines or mess up? Will we fall or stay upright? Will something spook Juliet and throw us off course? Will we finish on time allotted or go over? Go under? But right now, it’s just still. Juliet is poised tight beneath me, as dialed in and ready as the athlete she is. I take a steading breath in and out, and when the gate agent nods for us to start, she leaps into an easy canter without much direction from me. She’s a pro.

We canter through the woods; the light beaming across the trail through the trees is especially distracting. But we take the first two jumps perfectly. I’m smiling from ear to ear, knowing this is going to be a good run. There’s another jump down a little hill and then a long gallop before the next one. The idea is to tire the horse out, or test the overeager ones who just want to run. Juliet’s cool, calm, and collected; her breaths timed with her strides.

The next is a skinny jump down a short hill, through a pool of water, another jump, and up a short hill.

There’s a jump at the top of the hill, before a long gallop downhill. These really test our horse’s stamina and ability to shift their weight back.

But it’s at the bottom of the hill, when we turn toward the next jump, that Juliet falls away from underneath me, and the ground rushes towards me.

Then black.

Chapter thirty-one

Roman

“Fuck!” I shout as Juliet and Tatiana go down. There must have been a patch of ice or mud or something, because Juliet hits it just right that her hind leg shoots out underneath her and both girls hit the ground hard. Tatiana, with a thousand-pound animal on top of her. They were probably going fifteen miles an hour. And how fast was she falling? It would be like being hit by a car.

I sprint to her and watch in horror as Juliet scrambles to her feet. The poor mare is shaking with fear as she tries to not to step on her loving rider beneath her. Tatiana’s wearing a helmet, but she’s on the ground, motionless, and my heart fucking stops. She has to be okay. But her limp body on the ground doesn’t move.

Juliet snorts and stomps and runs her nose all over her person. The bond these two share is on another level.

I slide to my knees next to her, holding her in my arms and turning her onto her back carefully. I feel for a pulse at her neck and am rewarded when it pulses against my fingers forcefully.

Her eyes are still closed, though, and I don’t dare risk moving her anymore.

Mik’s there, then, holding Juliet’s reins and comforting the poor girl. I can see the ambulance the event planners staffed in the distance, but they’re taking too fucking long to get to her.

I shout at them to hurry up, even though I know they can’t hear me. Lev appears on her other side, his shaking hand touching her face gently.

“Come on, baby. Wake up. You’re okay. Just a little spill...” he says, and I can hear the fear in his voice.

Mikhail runs his hands all over Juliet, checking for any injuries, but when he’s decided she’s fine, he loosens her girth and watches, his face a mask of torture and pain.

“Juli...” Tatiana whispers, her closed eyes pinched shut.

“She’s fine. Mik has her. Don’t move,” I bark, knowing my tone is all wrong. Needing to do something, I unclip her helmet and take it gently off of her head. I put my hands on either side of her neck, spreading my fingers to create a makeshift neck brace out of my fingers while the paramedics take their goddamn time.

People die and get paralyzed all the time in riding accidents.

Finally, the ambulance arrives, and I take a reluctant step back to allow a dirty blonde man and a heavier-set woman work on her. Lev has to be dragged away. But I hover.

“Take care of Juliet. Load her up and drive her back to the barn and meet us at the hospital. I’ll text you which one we end up at.”

He nods once and leaves.