Ivan 2 (Her Russian Protector #9) - Roxie Rivera Page 0,40
that, Ivan called their HVAC contractor. Seven hours and thousands of dollars later, he had a new system scheduled to be installed the next day. When the technician pointed out that the problem with the old system could have been repaired when it first started showing issues, Ivan groaned inwardly. Erin would never let him forget this. She wouldn’t bring it up in a malicious or cruel way. She would simply have to look at him, and he would know that she was thinking about the time she asked him to do something that he forgot to do and cost them an outrageous amount of money.
By the time he pulled into the garage, it was nearing eight. Erin had texted earlier, letting him know that dinner was in the refrigerator. She had been happy to report that Ruby had finally come out of her room and shared a meal with her. It seemed there were no small victories where her sister was concerned.
The house was quiet when he entered. Thinking about the truck driving by the gym, he walked the entire first floor, checking windows and doors and setting the alarm for the night. He had already sent a photo of the truck and the license plate information to Kostya. All he could do now was wait for some news on that end.
He quickly ate the dinner she had left for him and loaded his dishes into the dishwasher before heading upstairs. He went into the extra bedrooms upstairs, checking the locks on the windows. When he neared Ruby’s room at the end of the hall, he noticed the door was cracked, and the lights were on. He lightly knocked on the door. “Ruby?”
“Yeah? What?” she called from inside the room.
“Can you check your windows? Make sure they’re all locked?”
The door swung open suddenly. She stood there in a matching plaid flannel pajama set Erin had picked out and crossed her arms. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he assured her. “I like to make sure the house is locked down at night.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Thinking it was rich for her to ask that when she was probably lying about knowing what had happened to Erin, he turned it around on her. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Maybe why you’re supposed to keep your mouth shut?”
Her lips flattened into a grim line. “No, there’s not.”
With a sigh, he admitted, “Our security cameras at the gym caught a truck driving by multiple times a day for the last week. I’m concerned it might be someone doing surveillance on Erin—or you.”
She swallowed and shook her head. “I don’t know about anyone in a truck.”
“I believe you,” he said, sure that she didn’t know of the specific vehicles used by the people who wanted to keep her silent. “When you’re ready to trust me, I can help you. We both know that I’m connected to people who can keep you safe. Who can keep your sister safe.”
“Like they kept her safe when she was kidnapped on your front porch a few months ago?”
The statement stung, but it was a fair question. “One of those men almost died trying to keep Erin safe.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want anyone to die for me.” She closed the door without another word, leaving him standing there and wondering how the hell he was going to get through to her.
When he finally entered the master suite, he found Erin splayed out on the loveseat in the sitting area of their bedroom. Even though she had piles of pajamas, she wore one of his old, faded tees. Her ankles were crossed and resting on the other end of the couch, and she had one of her favorite reality shows on the TV over the fireplace. She smiled when she noticed him. “Hey!”
“Hey.” He crossed the room and leaned down to kiss her. “Thanks for dinner.”
“Of course.” She gave the bottom of his shirt a little tug. “So? What was the damage to our business account?”
He grimaced. “We can talk about it in the morning.”
She laughed. “That bad, huh?”
He sighed. “Go ahead and get it out.”
“Nah, I’m saving this I-told-you-so for our next argument,” she decided. “Just going to stow it away until it’s useful.”
“You are so mean,” he said, leaning down to kiss her one more time. “I’m going to shower.”
He didn’t waste time and went through his nightly routine in record time. He had other plans for tonight. Plans that didn’t include mindless