Page 63 of Preacher

barn was quiet. It was the good kind of quiet. There were no worries about sick foals or wounds that needed my attention. As I passed Faith’s stall, I paused and peered over the gate. “Hey there, sweet girl.”

She lifted her head lazily from the hay. Her eyes were soft, and her belly was much rounder than it had been just days before. There were no signs of distress and no restlessness. Dr. Lewis said she was coming along well, and if all went well, she’d deliver her foal in the next few weeks.

I reached out and gave her a gentle rub between the ears. “You just have to hang in there a little longer, and then, you’ll have a sweet baby at your side.”

I left her with a smile tugging at my lips and relief settling in my chest.

It wasn’t much, but I’d take it.

By the time I reached the main house, it was after six, so I expected the boys to be winding down for the night until I heard Sergei say, “…since Satan’s Fury started hanging around, we haven’t had a single issue with theft or vandalism.”

“I told you,” Nikolai boasted. “I knew they were what we needed.”

“About time you got something right.”

“Damn,” Nikolai grumbled. “Can’t win around here.”

“No, Sergei’s just being a dick,” Viktor interjected. “Things have improved, and they wouldn’t have if Preacher and his boys hadn’t come into play.”

“Yes, I have to say, I didn’t think they’d take to the place so quickly,” Sergei admitted. “But their presence has made a notable difference. I just have to wonder if they’re who we’ll need around once the casino opens.”

“Why would that change anything?”

“We want high rollers with deep pockets. We don’t want them being scared off by some leathered, tattooed bikers.”

“Those tattooed bikers have been saving our asses, and I think they’re exactly what we need,” Nikolai argued. “People need to know that they have eyes on them. Their eyes. People know them, fear and respect them, and we’re still working to build that.”

“We build that by having security guards, and I plan on having more than we could possibly need.”

“Yeah, you could do that, or you could wait and see how things play out with the Fury boys.”

“I’ll think it over.”

“I know neither of you want to hear this…” Viktor cleared his throat. “But he’s been calling again.A lot.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Me too,” Sergei said. “Twice this week.”

“Same here,” Nikolai replied, sounding defeated. “He’s not taking the hint.”

My stomach sank.

I knew exactly who they were talking about.

Their uncle Vasili. Dimitri’s brother.

He hadn’t reached out since the funeral. He hadn’t shown up to mourn or offer condolences over his brother’s death. He didn’t care about his brother or his children. The fact that he was calling them now, almost a year since his death, wasn’t a good sign.

I took a quiet step back and was about to make my way to the kitchen when Sergei’s voice rose again. “So, when were you going to tell us about Mother?”

“What about her?”

“That she’s screwing around with Preacher.”

My blood turned to ice.

There was a long pause, and then, Viktor muttered, “She didn’t say anything to me.”

---