Page 86 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

“He was taken,” I repeated.

Her eyes filled with tears.

“I’m calling the police.”

She pulled her phone out just as it rang. She stared at the glowing screen that clearly showed her father calling. After a second, she hit talk and put him on speaker.

“Father?”

“Hello, daughter.”

“Dad, I can’t talk. I have to call the police.”

“The police?” His voice was calm. “Whatever for?”

“Someone took Atlas.”

He chuckled.

The sound made the hackles on the back of my neck rise.

“Kaylani, if you insist on acting like a spoiled child and humiliating this family, I will take away the toys that I bought for you. One at a time, until you grow up.”

She shook with rage and fear as she locked eyes with me.

“Dad, don’t, please.”

I fucking hated that he reduced her to begging by ripping out her heart. That horse was part of her soul.

“You think I don’t know how much that horse means to you?” Dimitri continued lightly. “You think I don’t know how close you are to achieving your dream? Of course I do. But you refused to see reason, and I needed to get through to you.”

Kaylani covered her mouth as tears spilled over.

“You will not compete until I say so. You will not return to the stable until further notice. And if you continue to defy me, I will sell Atlas to the highest bidder.”

Kaylani gasped.

My heart cracked in two as something far darker ignited in my gut.

Dimitri hadn’t just taken a horse. He’d taken her center.

“You know what you must do,” Dimitri finished, unable to hide how much he loved blackmailing his daughter.

The line went dead, and Kaylani slowly lowered the phone. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, but she took off running.

“Lani,” I called, following her to the parking lot. I knew what she was looking for and what she would find.

Sure enough, Atlas’s trailer was gone. She dropped to her knees, her head in her hands as she wept.

“Goran…he took Atlas. He took Atlas.”

I kneeled and wrapped my arms around her, rocking her as she cried.

I should have known those fuckers were up to more than just watching. Dimitri thought this was a warning to Kaylani, a nudge in the direction he wanted. He had no idea he had just declared war and tested where my loyalty truly lay.

Kaylani stood, her eyes filled with fire. “We need to go after them. We have to stop him. They couldn’t have gotten that far.”

“And then do what?”