Page 8 of Viktor

Sara smiled. She remembered Dimitri telling her about Viktor’s sense of morality and how he almost always failed. At least he tried.

“Once I was sure Becca was going to be okay, I headed back here. She’s in good hands. My brother loves her and will make sure she doesn’t overdo it. About time he figured it out.”

The waitress came and took their order, interrupting what she was going to say. Viktor settled back against the booth and took his tablet out of the briefcase he’d brought in with him. A Windows Surface Pro. She’d often wondered about those. The commercials for them always looked so cool. She had an iPad herself, but only because her laptop was an Apple, as well as her phone. It was easier to be able to sync everything.

“Now, Mrs. Riley…”

“Please call me Sara. Mrs. Riley is my mother-in-law.”

“Sara.” He nodded and pulled up his notes app. “I’ve done some preliminary investigating of your husband, but I need some details from you. You’ll get no judgement from me on anything.”

Sara appreciated that. So many times, people who were not in her shoes couldn’t fathom why she hadn’t left the first time he hit her. It wasn’t that simple.

“First, I want to make something clear. I’m not stupid. I didn’t fall in love with a man who beat me.”

“I never thought you were. Most women don’t go into a relationship thinking they’ll end up in a bad one.”

“Thank you for that.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

The way he said it made her feel exposed. Stupid, but true. Talking about Roger wasn’t something she wanted to do, but if Viktor was going to protect them, he needed to know the depth of Roger’s depravity.

“I met him while we were still in college. I worked night shift at the local Walmart. He and some friends came in late one night, and he asked for help finding something. Two hours later, we were still talking when his friends came to get him. He was funny, charming, sweet. I gave him my number, and we went out a few days later. That was the start of our relationship.”

Viktor took a few notes while she gathered her thoughts. “He made me laugh. All the time. My friends adored him. They all told me how lucky I was to find a guy who cared so much about me. I was falling in love, and falling hard. No one had ever been as good to me as Roger. He made me feel special and loved. Sometimes I look back at those early days and wonder how I never guessed at the monster lurking beneath the surface of all that charm.”

“How long was it before he started to exhibit aggressive behavior?”

“A few months, maybe. I brushed it off as him being jealous. I even told myself I wasluckyhe liked me enough to be jealous. All I did was laugh at a joke one of his friends made.”

“That’s how it starts.” Viktor nodded, listening. She saw no censure or disgust at her stupidity on his face. Only empathy.

“It was six months before the insults started. Little things at first, like how I looked fat in a certain dress, things like that. Then it got worse when things went wrong for Roger. It was always my fault, even if I had nothing to do with the situation. It wore me down little by little, and I did think about leaving him, but then I got pregnant.”

She remembered the day she told him. He’d been furious. She’d ruined his life. How dare she let herself get knocked up? Wasn’t she smart enough to use birth control? He’d gone on and on, calling her every vile thing he could think of. She’d gone back to her dorm room in tears, feeling useless and pathetic.

“A baby changes everything.” Viktor put his tablet down and took her hand, his fingers sweeping over her knuckles in a calming manner. “It can sometimes make even a bleak situation seem like your only option. Trust me, Sara, I understand.”

“I don’t think you do. By that time, my circle of friends had narrowed to just Roger. He’d managed to wrap me around him so tight, there was no one left to run to. He didn’t like my friends and told me how stupid I was to keep such bad company. Every single day, he reminded me of this until I blew them off and stopped talking to them altogether.”

“And your parents?”

“Dad didn’t like Roger. In the beginning, I didn’t understand why. He was so nice to them, but my dad, he told me something was off about Roger. I ignored it, thinking no one would be good enough for my dad. Daddy’s little girl, and all that.”

“I agree. Fathers usually think that. So do brothers.” Viktor grinned. “We didn’t have a sister growing up, but we now have a sister-in-law and a soon to be sister-in law. We are very overprotective of them. There are times I think they sit and plot out our murders.”

Sara chuckled, grateful for Viktor’s very obvious attempt at lightening the mood. Talking about Roger always took her to a dark place. She latched on to any ray of sunshine during those moments, so she wouldn’t drown in the memories.

“I bet you guys would have driven a sister crazy.”

“Da, we would have.” Viktor laughed, and his eyes lit up. “She would still be locked in her bedroom, safe from all the men who would want her.”

Sara shook her head, laughing herself. It was something she could very well imagine him doing.

The waitress interrupted them by bringing out their food. Duck fries. Becca raved about them, and Sara wasted no time popping one in her mouth. She closed her eyes as the flavor burst across her tongue. Oh, my God. She’d died and gone to food heaven. She was definitely taking some of these back for her mom and Delia.

“Good?” Viktor murmured, bringing her out of her own personal food porn experience. When she opened her eyes and looked at him, all the lust she’d been suppressing came hurtling back at full speed. His eyes were intense, the dark glow making her want to reach over the table and pull him to her.

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