He frowned, looking over his shoulder, and then wheeled toward the stands. Then he abruptly swung back to face her. “You seem to be very calm. After all those hysterics you put us through yesterday, I thought you might be more upset. It seems Reardon was right about you. All you needed was a little discipline.”

“But in the end, you always believe Reardon is right, don’t you?” she asked coldly. “As far as both of you are concerned, might is right, even when it comes to punishing a defenseless animal.” She looked at Reardon, who was talking to Lee Chan, the Chinese jockey now mounting Nightshade outside the stable. He was frowning, obviously giving him instructions. “Will that bastard beat her again when she loses to Chaos? Even though he knows that there’s no way she could win against him?”

He shrugged. “Probably. It always releases his frustrations. Reardon doesn’t like to lose. He made the best deal he could with me about Chaos, but we both know I’m the one who came out on top.” His smile was more of a smirk. “And that top is going to be stratosphere high, Sasha. Is it any wonder I’m willing to let him have a few pleasures to soothe his ego?”

“Pleasure that comes from punishing innocent animals.” She was staring at him with sick horror. “No, it’s no wonder. It’s just hideous and horrible and not to be borne. What a coward you are, Masenak.”

His face flushed; his satisfaction turned to rage. “But you will bear it, bitch,” he hissed. “Because Reardon will make sure you do. What he did to you yesterday is nothing. If I hadn’t stopped him, you wouldn’t have been able to get on that horse today. But we won’t need you to ride Chaos for a while after this race and you’ll have plenty of time to recover. I’m just sorry that he’s whisking you away so soon and I won’t be able to join in the fun.”

“I’m sure you are. Now that you’ve decided that I’m no longer of any use to you.” Her gaze left him to go to Reardon again. His hand was on Nightshade’s neck, and though it appeared to be casual she wanted to rush over and protect the horse. She forced herself to look away. “But I’ll be able to survive him, just as I did you.”

“I let you survive. He won’t.” His lips curled. “I’ll give you some advice. Don’t even think about holding Chaos back and letting Nightshade win. I’m going to win my bet with Reardon.”