Page 88 of High Stakes and Soulmates
Uneasy, I head into the trees to retrieve Valley, who is consuming as much grass as possible. She’s reluctant to leave her patch, but lets me lead her back to her saddle. I saddle her quickly and put her bridle on, hoping that if I’m fast enough, I can catch up to Arturo and give him a ride back. But even though I take the main path back, I never come across him. The whole thing makes me feel troubled, and I hate that it’ll be days before I see him again.
I’m grooming Valley when Stefano walks up. It’s already been a day since I’ve seen Arturo, and my unease hasn’t dissipated. “I was told Lorenzo needed you. I guess you’re supposed to meet him at that fork that breaks off to the port.”
I look at him in confusion. “Why? I thought we were done for the night?”
“I have no idea. I’m just relaying the information I got,” he says.
Irritated that my brother said I could have the night off and then changed his mind, I head over to Valley’s tack. I throw it on her and tighten her girth before getting on. I head down the road, taking my time in the light of the moon, really feeling like he could have just told me what was going on if he wanted me out here. And partly because I feel like being a stubborn ass, and partly because I don’t want to do whatever he has in mind for me, I don’t speed up Valley.
Instead, I think about how Arturo is doing and wonder if he’s allowed to enjoy any of the party. It sounds like they’re a bunch of rich assholes, so I’m not quite sure what he might find to enjoy. But more than anything, I find myself wondering if he is going to talk to the man who might get us away from this hell.
When I reach the fork, Lorenzo is nowhere to be seen.
“Well… did he get bored of waiting for me?” I ask Valley. I turn the mare while my eyes scan the darkness. Her ears perk up, telling me she hears an animal, and before long, I see one of Louis’s servants coming down the path that leads to the estate. He’s driving a donkey that brays the moment it sees my horse.
“Evening,” he says.
“Evening.”
“You looking for that brother of yours?”
“I am. He asked me to meet him here and it looks like he’s wandered off.”
“I just passed him,” he says as he points down the road. “Seemed to be in a hurry about something. If you’re quick, you might catch up.”
He clicks the donkey on, and I turn Valley toward the path leading up to the estate.
“Something feels wrong,” I tell my mare, but I don’t know what to do. Did my brother get caught up in something? Arturo warned me again and again to stay away from Louis… but suddenly, Lorenzo wants to meet me in the dark and picked the path leading to Louis’s estate of all places?
But Louis has countless people heading to his estate; it’s not like he’s going to do something to me right in the middle of all of these people, right? If he wanted to do something to me, wouldn’t he have picked a day with fewer witnesses?
I rub Valley’s neck as I look back toward the town. My brother’s horse was gone when I went to saddle Valley, so I know he is out… Louis wouldn’t have done something to him, right? Used him as a way to get to me?
Valley is reading my anxiety. She turns in a tight circle while I try to think about what to do. If I push her into a run, I could check the area leading up to the estate before going back. If Lorenzo is involved in something, I can stop him before anything happens and then quickly get back to the safety of the town.
I squeeze my legs and Valley bolts, kicking up dirt and stone. At a run, she covers a lot of ground, racing us down the path and toward the estate that seems to glow like some kind of beacon in the night.
It makes me apprehensive, but I can’t let my brother unknowingly place himself in danger. When I get close enough that I can see the estate and still don’t see Lorenzo, I slow Valley. He could have ridden beyond it, but the path past the estate only leads to a cliff overlooking the port.
Turning Valley, she starts and even I jump as I discover that there are seven people blocking my path. I’d never even heard them and sure as fuck hadn’t seen them. Even Valley hadn’t heard them walk up.
“Evening,” I say, feeling uneasy. “Lovely night.”
“It is,” a woman responds with a smile.
“Sorry to bother you, but have you seen a lone man on a horse? I’m searching for my brother.”
“Your brother?” a voice behind me asks.
I twist around and see Louis standing behind me. When the fuck did he arrive? I was just looking at the estate and never saw him once.
“I never saw your brother. Why don’t you join us?” he asks.
I shake my head. “That is quite generous of you, but I’m afraid something’s wrong with my brother, so I need to find him. I hope you all have a wonderful evening.”
Valley’s entire body is tense. It’s not like she’s never been around people before, but as she snorts, I know something is wrong. She doesn’t like them, but I don’t know why. Is it just because they spooked her?
“Excuse me, I must head out,” I say as I turn Valley and squeeze her through a gap between the seven people and Louis. “Enjoy your lovely evening?—”
