Page 160 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

Arms pumping, I ran after the car. Dimitri was not taking her from me.

“Kaylani!”

My feet pounded against the ground, lungs burning from the sudden exertion. There was no thinking. I didn’t calculate. I just ran.

The brake lights flared red as they reached the main gate.

“Kaylani!”

Her name tore from my throat as desperation filled me. She was my entire world. The memory of her teasing and the loving smile she had given me when she told me we were married crossed my mind. But it was gone as quickly as the limo.

I raced to the gate, staring down the road. Their lights were already nothing more than tiny dots on the horizon.

“Ahhh!” The roar that came out of me could have woken the dead.

Before her, I had never allowed myself to dream. I had resigned myself to a life like my father’s. Alone in a tiny apartment, barely remembering my name. But every smile, every stolen touch from Kaylani had made me believe life could hold more, that I could be more.

The silence that followed was louder than the engine had been. I stood there until a trailer moving past nudged me back in motion. Something inside me shifted. Something far colder than panic, sharper than heartbreak.

I marched along the path, aware that my feet were bleeding and leaving red footprints with every stride. The pain was sweet, like a punishment meant for me alone. It fed the anger rising within. Not at her. At him. At Dimitri. At the man who pretended to love his family yet would see their souls crushed for his own gain.

Back inside, I took a deep breath. The trailer still held her heat. Her scent lingered in every corner. The notepad we used for keeping score in card games lay open. I picked it up and read the words over and over.

My hand locked around the pad.

Stomping into the bedroom, I snatched my phone and called the only person who could help.

Nathaniel answered on the first ring.

“She’s gone. Kaylani is gone.”

Silence stretched across the line.

Then, calm and controlled, his voice cut through.

“Where? When?”

“Dimitri picked her up. Just now.”

Another pause, filled with the sound of swearing and the shuffle of movement.

“Text me your location. I’m on my way.”

“Nathaniel…I…”

“I know. We’ll get her back. I’m sick of my father playing this fucking game.”

I stepped into the narrow bathroom as we spoke, flipping on the light with my free hand. The word ‘back’ settled heavily in my chest.

Atlas. Shit. I needed to make sure Corey and Ehren looked after him. I glanced toward the small window facing the temporary stables outside.

“He’ll try to use Atlas again,” I muttered.

“He won’t touch Atlas,” Nathaniel said firmly.

“He might. He’s proven to be quite an asshole. I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to you about yesterday yet.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound ominous at all. We can talk on the plane. I’ll show you the location of a farm that I’ve purchased here in Cali. Send him there. We’ll secure the horse first. She would want that.”