Ivan 2 (Her Russian Protector #9) - Roxie Rivera Page 0,35
searched our home gym, but he wasn’t there either. A sinking feeling invaded the pit of my stomach, and I walked to the garage to confirm my suspicion.
His SUV was gone.
He was gone.
Numb and feeling so painfully alone, I wandered through the house until I reached the bottom of the staircase. My legs finally buckled, and I plopped down on the first step. I didn’t even try to hold back my tears. Ruby’s voice echoed in my head. She was right. I used to have so many ideas and plans for my future.
But then I met Ivan, and everything felt so perfect and natural, and my plans changed. I enjoyed working with him, and I was proud of all that I had accomplished at the Warehouse to grow the business. I was proud of the way I had taken control of his investment portfolio to diversify and adjust his riskier holdings to more stable earners that would protect us financially. I was proud of the house I had decorated and turned into a warm, inviting home and a place of respite for us. I was proud of our life.
So why did Ruby’s ugly words make me feel so bad?
Chapter Ten
Aggravated with the way the morning had gone to shit, Ivan waited in line at Erin’s favorite spot for breakfast tacos. The least he could do was bring home something she enjoyed so she could have a full belly when she ripped into him for being a complete asshole. Why didn’t you just keep your fucking mouth shut?
Pondering on that, he surveyed the area from the back of the line. The Jimenez sisters’ brightly painted truck was always parked in the Warehouse parking lot on Fridays, and Erin was always one of the first in line to get her taco and Mexican hot chocolate fix. This morning, he’d tracked them down using Instagram and found them in an empty lot surrounded by construction and demolition. The sisters had a knack for finding the best place to park to feed a steady stream of hungry workers.
His phone started to vibrate in his back pocket. He tugged it free and glanced at the screen, expecting to see Erin calling, but it was Dimitri. “Dima?”
“Are you busy?” his friend asked.
“No,” he answered, slipping easily into Russian.
“Listen, I had a chance to talk with that connection I mentioned the other day.”
“And?”
“And she isn’t interested in talking to us about her time working in corrections.”
Shit. Her hesitation wasn’t a good sign.
“Is there anything I can do to persuade her to talk to us? Or to Erin? Money?”
“No, she was very clear that she never wants to be asked about that period of her life ever again, and I agreed to let it go and never bring it up again.”
He sighed. “I understand.”
“I’m sorry, Vanya.”
“It’s fine. Thank you for trying.”
“Of course.” A baby shouted with frustration in the background, and Dimitri laughed. “I have to go. Sophia is demanding I pick her up and fly her around the house like an airplane.”
Ivan laughed. “You better go then.”
After the call ended, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and wondered where he could go for answers. He was sorely tempted to break Nikolai’s order to leave Kostya alone. The cleaner was rumored to be back in town, hiding out with Holly Phillips, of all people. There was a story there, some kind of secret that Nikolai was hiding, about Holly. He had his own suspicions, but he didn’t dare ask. When Nikolai was ready for people to know Holly’s story, he would tell them.
“Hey, Judy, look! El Russo found us way over here on the other side of Houston!” Angie Jimenez, the younger of the two sisters, leaned forward on her elbows at the ordering window and smiled at him. She stuck her head out the window and looked around as if trying to find Erin. “Where’s your wife?”
“Home.”
“Uh-huh,” Angie said, clearly believing there was more to the story. She grabbed her pad of tickets and a pencil. “The usual?”
“Yes.”
As she scribbled on the pad, she called out, “Two barbacoa! Two chorizo, potato and egg! One bean and cheese. Large hot chocolate. Bottle of OJ. Extra pico in the bag.”
“Add two bacon, egg, and cheese,” he instructed, thinking that was the safest option for Ruby. “And another hot chocolate.”
Angie yelled out the additions and then ripped the ticket free. She thrust it at him. “Tell Erin I have a new hot chocolate recipe I want her to