Page 85 of Viktor

“Mama’s here, poppet.” Sara pulled Delia away from him, and he let her. She hopped up on the bed and pulled Delia into her lap, rocking her. “It’s okay, baby. No one’s gonna hurt you again.”

“That’s for damn sure,” Conner said and came to stand beside Viktor. Delia looked up for a second then buried her head against her mother. Conner was the first Kincaid brother who scared her. “Delia?”

She peeped at him, and he smiled. Gone was the hard, angry man of a minute ago, and there was Conner, the brother he hadn’t seen in years. He smiled, and his eyes sparkled. He looked more like Viktor than he ever had. Her eyes darted back and forth between them, her little lip trembling.

“We look alike because we’re twins.” He winked at her. “I know I can look scary sometimes, but it’s only when I’m worried about my family, and you’re my family now.”

“Remember when my brother Kade said the same thing? You belong to the Kincaids now,malyshka, and that includes Conner.”

“Is he mean like Daddy?”

“No.” Conner took her little hand in his. “I would never hurt a child. You will always be safe with me, and I’ll always protect you. Even when I look mean, it’s only to take care of you, never to hurt you, baby girl. You can trust me when you can’t trust anyone else. I promise.”

More tears leaked out of her eyes, and he continued. “Viktor told me what your daddy did. When I find him, he’s going to go to jail for a long, long time. Viktor and I will make sure of it.”

“You’ll find him?”

His mouth turned up in a half smile. “Baby girl, there’s not a person alive who can hide from your Uncle Conner.”

“Malyshka, I need to ask you something.” Viktor didn’t want to ask her this, but it had to be done, especially after she asked Conner about finding Roger.

She nodded, hugging her mother so tight it might soon cut off circulation.

“Did you see your daddy tonight?”

Her little face screwed up, and she started crying again. Sara warned him off with a look, but this was important.

“I know it’s scary, but if he was there, honey, I need to know. Can you remember?”

She nodded. “I heard something, and I snuck down the stairs. He was in front of Mason’s door and was pushing stuff against it. I ran upstairs and hid in Mommy’s closet. I was so afraid.”

“Motherfucker,” Conner swore. For once, Sara didn’t admonish them over their language.

“Was Delia’s room blocked off?”

Conner shook his head. “Only Sara’s parents’ and Mase’s.”

“I bet he thought we took her with us to the signing.” Viktor started to pace. “Her bed was empty when he looked in her room, and that was probably his first thought.”

“What is it with these assholes and fire?” Conner muttered. “Come on, let’s go outside. Let Sara calm her daughter down a bit. We need to talk to Uncle Pete.” When Mason tried to stand, Conner pinned him with a stare. “Don’t fucking think about it. You’re going to stay put until the doctor clears you.”

“Fucker!” It was barely discernable because of the mask, but Conner flipped him off and walked out of the room.

“I’ll be back.” He kissed Delia on the forehead and did the same to her mother. She’d stopped shaking as soon as she held her baby. At least there was that.

“How is Gabe?” he asked as soon as he leaned against the wall outside Delia’s room.

“Still in surgery.” Conner checked his watch. “It was bad, Vik. He took one in the chest. There wasn’t an exit wound I could find.”

“Shit.” The bullet could have done a hell of a lot of damage bouncing around inside. “Could his spine be compromised?”

“I don’t know. Fuck. This is bad, Vik.”

“You already said that.”

Conner’s entire demeanor had changed. He was back to the hard-ass who terrified people. How the fuck did he flip that on and off so easily?

“I texted Uncle Pete. He and the county sheriff are on the way over to talk to us.”

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