Viktor (Kincaid Security & Investigation #2)

Chapter One

6:49 a.m.

Sara Jane Riley let out a sigh of frustration. Her mother was supposed to wake her at six. She knew how important this morning was. Dimitri's brother had come all this way to help her, and now she'd be late. Dammit.

"Mommy!"

The sing-song voice of her six-year-old daughter brought a smile to her face. Delia was the one bright spot in her life, the only good thing to come out of her marriage to Roger. Mussy blonde hair and steel gray eyes peeped at her from the bottom of the bed.

"Good morning, poppet. Where's Nana?"

"She's in the shower." The little girl crawled up on the bed, her hand twisting her hair, a nervous habit she'd developed since the night her father hit her so hard, it knocked out one of her front teeth. It broke Sara's heart to see it. But it also gave her the courage she needed to leave her husband.

"Are you hungry?" Sara sat up and kissed her daughter, making sloppy sounds that pulled giggles from the little girl.

"Yessss." Delia laughed and rolled away from her mother.

"Well, let's me and you go downstairs and find some food."

"Waffles?" The little girl grinned, her missing front tooth making her smile even more adorable, despite how she lost the tooth.

"I suppose you can have waffles if you are super good this morning. Remember I told you last night we were meeting Mommy's friend Dimitri and his brother? They're going to help keep us safe from Daddy."

All the happiness bled from the child's face at the mention of her father. Delia was scared witless of him. Despite Sara's best efforts, Roger kept finding ways to violate the restraining order she had against him, and Delia never felt safe.

"It's going to be okay, honey. Daddy isn't going to hurt you ever again."

She hoped to God that was true. It was the only reason she'd given in when Dimitri offered to pay for his brother's services. Kincaid Security & Investigations. From what Dimitri told her, they handled everything from personal security to hard core investigative services. She hated that she couldn't afford to pay for it herself, but when it came to protecting Delia, she'd do whatever she had to. Including take charity.

Getting up, Sara threw on jeans and a nice blouse and then got her daughter dressed in the same. Sara grabbed her cell and sent Dimitri a quick text to let him know she was running behind.

Since the signing wasn't scheduled until around five, Delia would be stuck in the hotel room all day. She'd tell her mother to let Delia lounge in her PJs and have a fun day. Sometimes it was all Sara could do to get the kid to wear normal clothes. She much preferred her pajamas.

"Ouch!" Delia winced when Sara yanked a little too hard on her hair. The brush got caught in a tangle.

"I'm sorry, poppet." She slowed down despite how late she was going to be. Once she was done with Delia, she ran the brush through her own hair and then left a note for her mother, telling her she was taking Delia down to breakfast to meet with Dimitri.

Delia loved the elevator. Her face lit up when it started to move, and she jumped up and down like she was doing jumping jacks. Sara laughed at her antics until the elevator came to a stop and dinged, the doors opening to the ground floor.

The change in Delia was immediate. She stopped laughing, and her face grew unsure. She clutched Sara's hand, her little nails digging into the skin, making Sara wince. Delia suffered from anxiety. She hated crowds and meeting new people. Her father's fault. He caused her to curl inside of herself and be wary of everyone. It wasn't right. Hopefully now that they'd gotten away from him, Delia would be able to heal.