missed her. From the moment she fell into her drug habit, she had been lost to me, flitting in and out of my life when she needed something. At least, when she was in jail, I didn’t have to worry about where she was sleeping or if she was eating or even alive. I had been able to let that anxiety go, but I had replaced it with the worry about what was happening to her on the inside. Was she being hurt? Harassed? Bullied? Beaten? It was awful not to know, to lurch from one phone call to one visit to one phone call on a never-ending cycle of intermittent contact.
But she was out now. She was coming home. I had already lost my parents, and I swore right then, as I refused to let go of my embrace, that I wasn’t going to lose my sister, too.
Chapter Nine
“So, do you want to go straight home or stop for breakfast somewhere?” I knelt in my seat, facing her in the middle row as she slipped into the hoodie from the bag I had prepared. “Ivan and I have the day off, so we can do whatever you need to do.”
Ruby made a face. “You didn’t both need to take the day off.”
“I needed a driver,” I explained.
“Why?” she asked, frowning.
“Why do you think?” Ivan asked, skipping straight over the niceties.
I cringed, and Ruby looked at me with confusion. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Ivan,” I pleaded quietly. “We talked about this.”
He clenched his jaw and turned his gaze toward his window. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, no,” Ruby interjected, sitting forward and aggressively grabbing the sleeve of his jacket. She jerked hard enough to make him sway and demanded, “If you have something to say to me, be a man and say it.”
“Ruby!” Shocked at her behavior, I reached for her arm, and she suddenly balled up her fist as if to strike me.
“Don’t. You. Dare,” Ivan growled menacingly. “You touch your sister, and you’ll be living under a fucking bridge for all I care.”
“Ivan,” I whispered harshly. “Please.”
His jaw remained tight as he met my pleading gaze. “I’m serious, Erin. If she hits you, that’s it.”
“I know.” I placed a soothing hand on his shoulder and turned to face my sister. She seemed just as surprised by her behavior as I was. She had dropped her hands and looked dazed. Hating that she felt so out of place and so on edge after her time inside, I carefully took her hand. “Ruby, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that.”
From the corner of my eye, I could see Ivan staring with disbelief. I could practically hear him asking what the hell I was doing apologizing for almost being struck by my sister.
“No.” Ruby lowered her gaze and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m just...it’s reflex now.” She swallowed hard. “It was hard the last few weeks, and I haven’t been getting much sleep.”
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “Really. I know this is going to be hard for you to adjust to everything.” Chancing a glance at Ivan, I silently begged him to let it go. He nodded stiffly and turned his attention back to the windshield. Giving Ruby’s hand a gentle squeeze, I said, “Maybe we should have a hands-off rule for a bit?”
She nodded. “Yeah. That’s...yeah.”
“Okay. Good.” I let go of her hand, and she settled back into her seat and buckled her belt. With Ivan’s blundering accusation, there was no point in waiting to ask her until later. “So, the thing is,” I started carefully, “last week, I was leaving my barre class, and, well, I was robbed.”
“Attacked,” Ivan corrected gruffly. “She was attacked by men with ski masks. They robbed her and set her car on fire.”
Ruby's face slackened with shock and horror. “What? Why? Who?”
“You really don’t know?” Ivan watched her in the rearview mirror and seemed convinced by her reaction.
“Of course, I don’t know who attacked my sister!” she snapped angrily. “I know I’m a fuck up, but I wouldn’t stand by and let that happen.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” I hurriedly assured her. “It’s just that...well...”
“What?” she demanded. “What is it?”
Holding her gaze, I explained, “The guy who had me shoved against a car told me that if you didn’t keep your mouth shut, they would be back for both of us.”
There was a flicker of understanding in her face, so quick and faint that I thought I had imagined it. Before I could