Page 5 of Viktor

His lips tilted upward into a devastating smile. “You can’t fire me.”

“Oh, really?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Yes, really. Dimitri hired me, and until he fires me, you’re stuck with me.”

Son of a dog biscuit. “I refuse to have this conversation. I have a signing to get ready for, and Delia’s had enough stress for one day.”

He smiled, and she wanted to throw the rest of the yogurt in his face, but she refrained. Just barely. Mostly because the victim in her was afraid of what he might do in reprisal.

“Let’s go, poppet.” Sara stood, collected her daughter’s hand, and walked away from the table, aware of the burning gaze boring into her back. Sweet Jesus, that man.

Sara muttered as she pulled the collapsible cart through the hallway heading to her room. It had been a hell of a day, especially with the whole Becca incident. Dimitri’s crazy ex attacked the girl in the bathroom and nearly beat her half to death. Props to Becca for fighting back and coming out the victor. She and Dimitri were still at the hospital. Poor Dimitri. He’d been inconsolable.

He'd asked her to deal with the rest of his pre-orders and break down his table while he went to the hospital with his girl. She’d agreed, but it had taken her twice as long to wrap things up. Not knowing what to do with his things, she’d had the hotel store them and then sent him a text letting him know where everything was.

When she finally managed to dig out her room card and swipe it, she was ready to scream in frustration. She’d been fighting this cart from the second she’d gotten in the elevator. Things kept falling off.

“Mommy!”

She barely had time to brace herself before the flying hairball that was her daughter barreled into her. All her anger and stress melted away with those tiny arms around her. Her daughter was the one thing that brought her any peace these days.

“It’s good to see you too, poppet. Where’s Nana?”

“In the bathroom. Her tummy hurts.”

Sara frowned, worried. Her mother had been having stomach problems all weekend. When they got home, she was going to make an appointment with the doctor if she wasn’t any better. Stomach bugs were no joke, especially at her mother’s age.

“Well, I guess we’ll order takeout for dinner so Nana can rest. We all need a good night’s sleep before we go home tomorrow.”

“Is Viktor coming with us?” Delia tugged at her hair so hard she winced. “He promised to keep Daddy away.”

She hoped he was, because the truth of it was she needed his help with her ex. The goal was to catch Roger violating his restraining order so he could be thrown in jail, and to keep them safe while they tried to do that. Delia wasn’t the only one afraid of Roger. He’d often threatened Sara with what he’d do if she ever left him. None of it pleasant.

Instead of letting herself think about that, she started looking for lounge clothes. “Yes, honey, Viktor will be coming home with us. Maybe not on the plane, but he’ll meet us back in Virginia.”

“Why not on the plane?”

“Because he has a car and will be driving there.”

“Can’t we drive with him?”

Sara turned and looked at her daughter. The hopeful expression on her little face was almost too much to destroy. Delia had always been anxious around strangers, but she’d taken right up with Viktor. It was so unusual, Sara had talked to her mother about it before the signing began. She’d been just as shocked as Sara.

“Honey, we have plane tickets.”

“So?” Delia wiggled down off the bed to find her coloring books.

“Plane tickets are expensive, poppet. We can’t just throw them away.” Sara had already opened a new bank account and had her royalties switched over from her old account she shared with Roger to the new one. Thank God she’d done it before Amazon and iBooks paid out. It was the only reason she had any money right now. Not that she had a lot, but there was enough to make it until next month.

Delia pouted, but she didn’t argue, recognizing her mother’s tone of voice. While it wasn’t harsh, it did convey the conversation was over.

Sara yawned and changed into her own pajamas. The day definitely called for a relaxing evening in with some much-needed peace and quiet before the bustling airport tomorrow.

Her mother, Sue Anne Grafton, emerged from the bathroom. It amazed her that the woman didn’t look a day over fifty, even though she was in her early seventies. She kept her hair dyed a light brown to hide the silver of her aging locks. Her mother loved jewelry, and it was quite evident when she waltzed out of the bathroom, rings on her fingers, tennis bracelet on one wrist, watch on the other, with her earrings shining from beneath the pixie cut of her hair.

“Nana!” Delia’s cheerful greeting pulled her grandmother’s attention to her. “Feel better?”

“Yes.” Sara noticed how pale her mother was, and her worry worsened. There had been a bug going around back home before the signing. It appeared her mom hadn’t escaped it.

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