Page 83 of Viktor

“She’s a brave kid. I think I scared her to death. She looked at me and cried, telling me I wasn’t her Viktor.”

“How bad is she hurt?”

That woke Sara up. She grabbed at the phone, and he shook his head.

“First degree burns on her left leg and a broken wrist. I don’t know how that happened, though.”

Viktor’s breath whooshed out. The burn was serious, but it wasn’t life threatening.

“We’re getting on a plane. As soon as Gabe is out of surgery, call me. I might be in the air, but I’ll see it as soon as we land.”

“First flight back here isn’t until ten a.m. I already checked.”

“Trust me. I’ll get there in a couple hours. I don’t want the local PD on this. Call Uncle Pete.”

“Already did. State police are crawling all over the crime scene, and he promised he’d be there personally.”

“I want him found, Conner.”

“Team’s on the way. They’re flying in. Kade’s coming too.”

“Rent us some rooms, and I’ll be there as soon as I can. And Conner?”

“Yeah,brat?”

“Thanks for keeping my kid safe.”

“She’s ours.”

He smiled. “For keepingourkid safe.”

As soon as he hung up, Sara was on him. “What is it? What happened to my baby?”

“I don’t have the entire story. Conner gave me the basics. When he got there tonight, the barn and the farmhouse were in flames. He and Mason got everyone out. Delia and your parents were admitted for burns and smoke inhalation. They found Gabe in the barn. He’d been shot and is currently in surgery. That’s all I know.”

“We have to get home, now.” Fear caused her voice to shake, and she jumped up, at a loss for where to start.

Viktor took her in his arms and held her close. “Calm down, baby. Delia is fine. She’s got a burn, a broken arm, and they’re holding her for smoke inhalation, but she’s okay. Mason’s with her. Your parents are fine. Again, it’s smoke inhalation. You get our bags packed, and I’m going to call in a favor to get us home.”

She took several deep breaths, clutching him like he was the only life raft in an ocean full of sharks. Her entire body shook, and he held her for as long as it took for the tremors to subside.

“You good now, baby?”

She nodded and moved away from him to grab her suitcase. Viktor opened his contact list until he found Bart Eldridge’s number. He let the phone ring until the man picked up.

“There had better be someone dead.”

“There might soon be. Wake the hell up.”

“Who the fuck is this?”

“Viktor Kincaid.”

“Shit.” Bart yawned and told someone to go back to sleep. “What’s going on?”

“I need a favor.”

“Anything. Name it, and it’s yours.”

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