The shrill ring of a phone interrupted him. Frowning in annoyance, he reached for the cell phone rattling across his desk. He answered gruffly in Russian. I spotted the instant change in his demeanor. Whatever was being said wasn't good. My gut clenched and I waited to hear the worst.
*** *** ***
Ivan couldn't believe someone was calling right now. Erin had the sweetest, most tender look on her face. His cum was still wet on her belly. He needed to tell her that she meant something to him, that this wasn't simply a quick fuck to him.
Irritated, he grabbed the phone and answered. "Yes?"
"Ivan." Yuri's familiar voice filtered out of the speaker. He was barely audible over the thumping bass of music in the background. No doubt he was in the VIP section of one of his sleek, ultra popular clubs. "I found something you've lost."
He instantly perked up. "And what's that?"
"A certain limping fighter just tried to sell his cheap shit in my bathroom," Yuri said, his voice laced with disgust. "The bouncers tossed his ass onto the street before I realized who he was. He can't have gone far."
Ivan knew Yuri wasn’t about to send one of his own men after Andrei. He'd never put them in the crossfire of the Albanians or the Hermanos. "I'm sending Dimitri."
"I hope you know what you're doing."
"I do."
"Is she very pretty?" There was no mistaking the amusement in Yuri's voice.
Ivan frowned. How the hell did Yuri know about Erin? "Nikolai?"
Yuri laughed. "Who else?"
Ivan glanced at Erin who looked perplexed. It occurred to him that she couldn't understand what he was saying. Even with that confused expression on her face, she was still the loveliest thing he'd ever seen. "Yes, she is."
"I'm glad to hear it. I'd hate to think you were risking everything for anything less."
Yuri's subtle warning came through clearly. Of their tight-knit group, Yuri had always been the most cautious and conservative. Undoubtedly that had been the secret to the multi-billion dollar fortune he'd amassed in oil and minerals.
"Thanks for the tip. I'll see you around."
"Be careful, Ivan."
He ended the call and pulled up Dimitri's number. As he waited for his friend to answer, he held Erin's concerned gaze. "We've found Andrei."
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.