Ivan(27)

I was surprised to find Ivan's house teeming with men. Some of them I recognized from the gym. Others were strangers to me but obvious friends to Ivan. I didn't have to ask what they were doing there. It was clear they'd come to show support for Ivan.

He stepped away from me just long enough to talk in quiet tones with Dimitri. His piece said, he took my arm and led me into the house. Someone had placed candles on the available flat surfaces. The subtle glow of candlelight lent a strange ambience to the place. Even so, a flashlight was thrust into Ivan's hand. He flicked it on and used it to light our way upstairs.

Instead of taking me to the guest room, he led me right into the master suite. He closed the door behind us and walked away from me just long enough to dig a long-handled lighter from a drawer. He lit some of the large scented candles on the dresser. The flickering flames glowed strangely on his shirt and skin.

Lowering the flashlight beam, he sank down into a big leather chair in the corner of his bedroom. "Come here, angel."

I ran to him, letting the jacket he'd given to me fall onto the floor. Sobbing, I hurled myself at him and snuggled up tight on his lap. Those powerful arms embraced me. I relished his heat and strength and found such comfort in his soft words and the hand stroking my hair.

"I know you're frightened but everything is going to be fine, Erin. I promise you. No one is going to harm you."

Guilt swamped me. I gingerly touched his bruised face. "I'm so sorry you got hurt, Ivan. When I came to you for help, I never imagined it would get this bad."

He took my hand and kissed my fingertips. "I gave you my protection knowing full well that it could escalate to this level." He held my gaze in the candlelight. "I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat."

He didn't need to say anything else. I understood then that his feelings for me were just as intense as mine were toward him. "I'm so glad I found you."

Smiling, he kissed me. "And I'm so glad you were brave enough to come into my gym. I can't imagine never meeting you."

"I know what you mean. I feel like my life has suddenly been separated into two halves—before Ivan and after Ivan."

He chuckled softly and nuzzled my neck. "It's the same for me."

The front of his shirt gaped open. I ran my finger over one of the onion dome tattoos visible there. In better light, the domes had a bluish tint and each one was capped by a small cross. "What do these mean, Ivan?"

He said something that sounded suspiciously like Russian cursing. "Angel, it's way too late to get into my sordid history. Let's leave it."

I let my finger move along the tattoo. "But you will tell me eventually?"

"Yes." He kissed my forehead. "Someday soon, I'll tell you everything—and then you can decide."

"Decide what?"

"Whether you still want me."

He said it as though he feared I wouldn't. I wasn't naïve enough to think that his past was lily white. It was clear from the amount of ink I'd seen on his naked body that Ivan had lived a terrible life before getting onto a straighter path. I prayed that he hadn't done anything unforgivable.

As I traced his tattoo, my mind returned to the bizarre bird drawing Ruby had shown me. I was sure it meant something but what? I closed my eyes and tried to picture the symbol again. The blurry lines of blue ink became clear in my mind. What was she trying to tell me?

And then it hit me.



CHAPTER SEVEN



"It was a blue bird!" My head popped off Ivan's chest and I grinned at him. "A blue bird!"

He gawked at me like I was a crazy person. "What are you—"

"Ruby had a blue bird drawn on her skin. Bluebird Lane," I explained. "That's our house."

"Your house?" He frowned. "I thought you lived in an apartment."

"I do but we still own our old house. We lived in it until almost two years ago when we decided to put it on the market. The memories, you know?"

"But what does that have to do with Ruby?"

"If you needed to hide a shit load of drugs and money in a place where no one would look, wouldn't you choose a quiet house in an upper middle class neighborhood? We ended our realtor contract a few months ago. I got nervous that Ruby would spend all of her share on drugs so I convinced her that we should ride out the housing slump to get a better price. The place is just sitting there empty."

Ivan sat up straighter. "Where's your purse?"

"In the guest room."

"And your overnight bag that Vivi and Lena brought you at the hospital?"

"The same place. Why?"

"Let's go get them."

Not understanding why we needed my overnight bag, I nonetheless followed him into the guest room to grab it and my purse. Someone had cleared away all the busted up furniture and swept up the broken glass from the brutal fight that had taken place there. Still, the fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge as we entered the space.