Page 7 of Stolen Empire
I cross the yard toward the shed on the far side, where the saddles and training gear are kept.
The door should be locked at night, but when I reach it, I find it hanging open.
My body tenses, and I step inside, flipping the light switch.
The interior is a mess.
Saddles are stacked haphazardly on their racks, bridles tangled on hooks, and a bucket of grooming tools has been knocked over, spilling brushes and combs across the floor.
I turn and walk back outside, pulling my phone out again, scrolling through my contacts, and find the number I need, then pressCall.
It rings twice before a groggy voice answers, annoyed.
"What?"
"Get to the training yard," I say. "Now."
There's a pause, then a rustling sound as the person on the other end wakes up fully.
"It's one in the morning, Dimitri. What's going on?"
"You left the equipment shed unlocked. Get here, and bring the others."
I hang up before he can argue and shove the phone back into my pocket.
I lean against the shed's exterior wall, arms crossed, and wait.
It takes less than fifteen minutes for them to arrive from their bunkhouse at the far end of the track.
Three men stumble into the yard, still pulling on jackets and rubbing sleep from their eyes.
The one in front is Rodion, the groom who was supposed to lock up tonight.
He's young, maybe twenty-five, with a thin face and nervous eyes that dart around the yard before landing on me.
Noorse and Sylvan follow behind him, both looking equally as annoyed to have been brought out this time of night, but I won't let them keep fucking up and not hear about it.
"Boss," he says uncertainly. "What's this about?"
I push off the wall and walk toward him, stopping close enough that he has to tilt his head back to meet my gaze.
He's a smaller man but he slouches, making it worse.
The former jockey knows, however, how serious I am about workplace housekeeping.
"The shed was open—unlocked. Anyone could've walked in and taken what they wanted."
His face pales.
"I locked it. I swear I did."
"Then explain why I found it hanging open ten minutes ago."
He stammers, his hands moving uselessly at his sides.
"I don't know. Maybe the lock didn't catch. Maybe someone came back after I left."
His excuses are going to get him smacked.
