IVAN (HER RUSSIAN PROTECTOR #1)

Chapter Four

My stomach churned with anxiety as Kostya navigated the heavy night traffic. I glanced at Ivan who sat in the front seat and wished he was back here with me. After what we'd shared in his office, I felt our connection more than ever and craved his heat and strength. If Ivan's friend was right about Andrei, Ruby might finally be within grasp.

When Ivan's cell phone rang, my ears perked. I held my breath as he talked in rapid-fire Russian. A few seconds later, he hung up and barked instructions at Kostya. The SUV switched lanes and made an unexpected turn. Before I could ask what was happening, Ivan looked back at me.

"Dimitri missed Andrei by a few minutes but he found someone else who knows Ruby. She's at a crack house across town. Dimitri is taking the kid with him to find her but we'll probably beat them."

I nodded and swallowed hard. My hands balled into fists on my lap. If Ruby was alone again, she was a prime target for both of the vicious gangs hunting her. I closed my eyes and prayed we'd get there first.

Within twenty minutes, we were driving the rough streets of one of Houston's more blighted neighborhoods. Broken-down cars sat in the front yards of ramshackle houses. There were few windows that weren't boarded up and covered in graffiti. Most of the houses looked unoccupied. There were only a handful of lights to be seen on the empty streets.

"Erin."

Ivan's firm voice drew my gaze. "Yes?"

"You will stay behind me. If I tell you to get back in the vehicle, you go. Understood?"

"Yes." After my narrow escape at the last crack house, I wasn't keen on repeating the experience.

As the SUV crawled to a stop along the cracked sidewalk, another pair of headlights came into view. The other vehicle, this one a silver truck, parked across the street from us. I recognized the man who climbed out of the driver's seat from the gym. Tall and blond, he sported the classic Russian look. His hawk-like gaze scanned the street before he gestured to the person riding in his front seat.

The young man who came around the front of the truck surprised me. The Latino boy wore a stark white wife-beater and low slung jeans and held tight to his waistband. There was no missing the dark black gang insignia tattooed across his neck.

Kostya mumbled something to Ivan who grunted. Curious, I glanced at him but Ivan shook his head. Whatever the story, I wasn't getting it tonight.

Out on the sidewalk, I fought the urge to run into the house and frantically search for Ruby. Dimitri and the young man joined us. Kostya hung back, his shoulders pressed against the driver's door as he watched the street like some kind of sentry guard.

"Johnny says he saw Ruby and Andrei here earlier." Dimitri gripped the young man's shoulder tightly. The high-school aged kid winced. "Apparently, the Hermanos have a flop house a few streets over. Johnny supplies the place with stolen booze and drugs to keep the whores happy." Dimitri's gaze fell on me. "He says your sister went there looking for work."

My stomach lurched painfully. Ruby a prostitute? As if sensing my horror, Ivan gently rubbed the small of my back. Compassion flashed across his harsh face.

"She didn't stay," Johnny said, his voice low and soft. "When she realized who the house belonged to, she ran. I was worried she was going to get hit by a car or something so I followed her back here. She was in a bad way. I tried to get her to come with me but she was really confused and asking for a guy named Aaron."

"No, it's Erin. That's me."

"Oh." He looked a bit sheepish. "Well I tried to help her but then her boyfriend came back and I realized who he was so I got the hell out of there. I was going to tell my crew I'd Andrei." Johnny hesitated. "But then I heard that Dimitri and his crew were looking for the girlfriend and I thought maybe she'd be safer with him than out here with a big fucking target on her back."