Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 128313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“I have time. And Abdul told me you’d be here.” Atticus smiled. “He didn’t think you’d mind me popping in to say hi.”
“He thought wrong,” I said dryly. But Atticus knew I didn’t mean it. I loved the little wanker, despite myself.
Atticus came to stand beside me as I watched more inspections. It was good to suss out the competition. “Sooo,” he said, and every part of me stilled. Just the inflection of Atticus’s voice told me I wasn’t going to like whatever he was going to say. “There may or may not be a rumor that the great and almighty Jasper Knighton is here to watch over his team and is particularly possessive of one of his riders.”
My hands balled into fists again, and I bit out, “Jake fucking McGowen.”
Atticus nodded. “Jake fucking McGowen.” He gave me a side-eye. “And Alexis Hobbs.” I froze. Looking at Atticus, I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. Atticus exhaled. “Apparently, McGowen mentioned your possessive nature over Hallie last night at a brand dinner, and Alexis Hobbs, who was also in attendance, mentioned how she caught you pining over her when she came to Golden Oaks.”
I clenched my jaw so tight I feared my teeth would crack. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to calm the fuck down. It didn’t help. I knew the minute Alexis Hobbs saw something that day, she would bide her time to use it against me.
Hallie had only just stepped onto the circuit, and there were already rumors about her. Fuck!
I’d fix this. I’d make sure Alexis shut her mouth.
“The rumor will cool down when there’s no fuel given to it,” I said. “I’m not planning to be social here, so there’ll be no room for gossip.” I nodded as the next lot of horses were lined up to come in. Australia. I caught sight of Mila, Horatio, and Chris, Atticus’s groom, checking the board for who was next. I pointed to indicate to my cousin that he better go down and get prepared soon.
I scanned the entrance to the arena and saw Hallie and Sage watching the Australian riders from the tunnel. Today, she was dressed in navy blue, the dark color making her turquoise eyes pop, even from this far away.
There were lots of other riders milling around, sussing out the competition. But my blood instantly spiked to boiling temperatures when I saw Jake McGowen making a beeline for Hallie and Sage.
“Fucking dick,” I said, and went to run toward them when Atticus grabbed my arm.
“Don’t fall for his tricks, Jas. You know he’s only doing this to piss you off.” Atticus’s grip tightened on my biceps as I watched Jake hold out his hand to Hallie and she shook it. She smiled at him, and I wanted to commit murder.
“Arsehole,” Atticus muttered when he next shook Sage’s hand. Atticus released me and crossed his arms over his chest. “He knows we have better horses than him, and better riders. His stud is still struggling to get quality riders on their horses. No one trusts him one hundred percent yet, and no one wants to risk competing on a drugged-up horse.”
I contemplated what Atticus said, and reluctantly confessed, “I hate him. I truly hate him. But I do think he’s legitimate. I believe he didn’t know what his father was doing, and he’s been clean and professional since he took the helm. I may hate him, but I can respect what he’s trying to do.”
Atticus snorted with laughter after a few seconds. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, “How hard was that to say, Cousin?”
I smirked. “Climbing-Everest difficult,” I said, then boiled some more when Hallie laughed at something he said. “I fucking loathe him.” That was an understatement. Jake had tried to best me for years, in and out of the arena. If I fucked a woman, he would fuck her next. If I broke a record, he would almost kill himself to try to break mine.
He never could, and that was the crux of it.
Even with a drug-enhanced horse, he still couldn’t beat me and Henry. Now, he couldn’t compete directly against me, so he was going to try to do it off the field. I’d stupidly shown my cards when it came to Hallie. I knew that was a red flag to a bull in his case. Somehow, I had to let it not get to me.
“She’s smart,” Atticus said, referring to Hallie. “She’ll see through his shit.” All talking ceased when Chris, Mila, and Horatio left to get our horses ready.
“Perfect,” Atticus said, and nudged me again. “I have a good feeling about this year.”
“Don’t jinx it,” I said, feeling that pit of fear sink inside of me.
“Believe it,” Atticus said, always the most upbeat out of all of us cousins. “Sage is insane on Seraphina, and she will be a force of nature when it comes to the jump-offs. Hallie is a natural and one of the most gifted talents I’ve seen in years.” Atticus waggled his eyebrows. “And we have me. And we know I’m set to be the champion of the entire tour.”