IVAN (HER RUSSIAN PROTECTOR #1)

Chapter Two

A few hours later, I climbed out of my car and bumped the door closed with my hip. I glanced around the parking lot of the grocery store and hit the lock button on my key fob. Since leaving the gym, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being followed. I'd said the same thing to Lena when she'd dropped me off at my apartment and she'd looked at me like I was a total loon—but I don't know. Something didn't feel right.

Even after scanning the well-lit parking lot of the supermarket twice, I didn't see anything. Maybe Lena was right. Maybe I was losing it.

Though I still couldn't stop thinking about Ruby, I had to keep living. That meant working and eating. I had the weekend off thankfully but my fridge was totally empty and the pantry shelves were just as bare. The urge to stuff my cart with junk food overwhelmed me. Maybe I could obliterate my fears and worries with a super-sized dose of hydrogenated oils and carbohydrates.

I grabbed a cart and pushed it down the first produce aisle. My purse started to sing and vibrate wildly. Recognizing the muffled ring tone as the one I'd assigned to Vivi, I stopped and dug around in my purse in search of my phone. "Hello?"

"Hey! It's me."

I smiled and rifled through my bag for the short shopping list I'd jotted down before leaving my apartment. "I know. What do you need?"

"Just thought you'd like to know that Ivan was here earlier."

"Here? Where? The Samovar?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"He met with Nikolai at the corner table," Vivi said, her voice soft and conspiratorial. No doubt she was hiding in a linen closet or bathroom stall at the restaurant to make her secret phone call. "I couldn't hear everything. They only wanted tea so I came to the table twice and that was it. I heard your name a few times and Andrei's." She paused. "Nikolai wasn't happy and Ivan left pretty pissed off, Erin."

My stomach flip-flopped. "You're sure?"

"Oh yeah. It's that look they get in their eyes. Cold, you know? Just be careful, Erin."

"I will."

"Why don't you come stay with me and Lena tonight? We'll feel better if you're safe at our place."

"I'm fine, Vivi. Stop worrying. You're going to give yourself an ulcer." I pushed my cart forward. "I'm buying groceries and heading home. That's it."

"Text me when you're safe inside your apartment, okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. Okay. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

"Bye." I dropped my phone back into my purse and finished my shopping. The store wasn't very busy but there were only a handful of checkout lanes open. I ended up four carts back and smack dab in the middle of the magazine aisle. A home decorating magazine caught my eye. I flipped through the pages of gorgeous interiors and lusted after the beautiful homes. The small two room apartment I shared with Ruby would fit in most of the sumptuously photographed kitchens.

My cell phone started rattling around in my purse again. Certain it was Vivi calling to see why I hadn't texted her yet, I jabbed my hand in my bag and swiped my finger across the screen while bringing it to my ear. "Look, Vivi, I'm still in line—"

"Erin!"

My eyes widened at the sound of Ruby's voice. "Ruby! Where are you?"

"Oh god. I'm in so much trouble."