Page 51 of Viktor

“Now, Sara Jane, you might want to think before you start accusing. You said yourself you didn’t see the man.”

“Who else would have any reason to hurt her?” Viktor moved from where he’d been leaning against the sink and came to stand by her. He did not like the tone of voice the deputy adopted.

“Why would her husband want to hurt her?”

“Oh, I don’t know…maybe we can ask him why he’s been hurting her for the last seven years?”

The deputy’s lip curled, but Sara put up a hand. “Carl, you can believe me or not, but the truth is the truth. My husband, your friend, beat me for a long time. He’s pissed because I finally left him and pressed charges for his assault on Delia. He’s the only person who has any reason to want to hurt me.”

Pride swelled within Viktor for Sara’s strength. She wasn’t flinching away from the truth or backing down. She was fighting. Only now she didn’t have to fight alone. He would bear the brunt of it if she let him.

He was pissed at himself for letting her out of his sight, knowing Roger was probably wound tight, just waiting to blow. He’d never forgive himself for her getting hurt on his watch.

“I’ll stop by the garage and speak with Roger.”

Deputy Dipshit’s remark pulled him out of his dark thoughts. “Let me guess. There’s really nothing you can do?”

“There are no witnesses, and Sara said herself she didn’t see her attacker, so leads are pretty slim. We’ll check the hospital cameras, but I don’t know what we’ll find. Depends on if there any cameras close to the exit her attacker fled through.”

“Well, then, I guess it’s a good thing I called my Uncle Pete in the state police.” Viktor took extreme satisfaction from alarm that crossed Deputy Dipshit’s face. “He’s going to have a few cruisers start swinging by the farm and trolling through town.”

“There’s no need for that…”

“There’s every need for that.” Viktor’s voice went quiet and cold. “If the local police can’t handle a domestic violence suspect, then it’s time for the state police to step in.”

“I’m tired.” Sara leaned against the raised half of the bed. “Do you have any more questions, Carl?”

“Not right now, but I may come out to the farm for some follow-up questions or if we find a suspect.”

Viktor snorted. The man would no more try to find who did this than Viktor would smile and thank Deputy Dipshit for all his hard work.

Sara shot him a warning glare. He glared right back at her. His woman might be in pain, but no way in hell was she going to sway him from protecting her from asshats like the deputy.

The man said his goodbyes and left, leaving the three of them alone. Delia tried to squirm out of his arms, and he tugged her close. “Malyshka, your mama is hurt. If I put you down, you have to promise no climbing on her.”

“I promise.”

He settled her on the foot of the bed, and her lower lip wobbled. It went straight to his heart. He hated there was nothing he could do to make this better. Any other child would be in tears, screaming at the sight of their very battered mother, but not this one. She was so used to seeing Sara in this condition, it didn’t even faze her. It wasn’t right.

“I’m okay, honey. I promise.” Sara smiled, or at least she tried to. It looked more like a grimace to Viktor, but Delia didn’t care. She understood what her mother was trying to do.

“Does it hurt?”

“Just a little bit.”

His phone rang. Kade. He started to let it go to voicemail, but he wasn’t about to have a repeat of the last time he didn’t answer. He needed to know what was going on with Matthew. “Did you get our kid back?”

Kade laughed at his brusque question. “Hello to you too, Viktor, and yes, we brought him home. His name is Mateo.”

Viktor grunted. He knew Kade and Angel named him Matthew, but Mateo was probably the only name the kid knew.

“He’s going to need some therapy, but we’ll get him sorted.”

The things that boy must have witnessed growing up in the cartel chilled Viktor’s blood. He’d need more than “some therapy.” The kid was going to need a lot of intensive therapy.

“How’s the case going?”

Instead of answering his brother, he looked over at Sara. “I’ll be right back. It’s my brother.” Once he was in the hallway, not more than a foot from her room, he put the phone back to his ear. “This shit is going sideways fast.”

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