"In time shares?" I couldn't hide my surprise. "I mean, really?"
His lips twitched with amusement. "I know. It's really just a legal scam, isn't it? But the money was so easy. Dimitri and I both bought into them when they were cheap and made money hand over fist. We listened to Yuri and got out before the real estate market went bust. I parked quite a bit of my money in minerals and oil and gas with Yuri's company. The returns have been…well…they've been substantial."
"And that's how you paid for your gym and started your training business?"
"Yes." He ran his thumb over the underside of my wrist. "I know it doesn't make it right but I donate to charities. Food banks and women's shelters and the children's hospital here. I send money back to Russia, to the orphanage there. It helps me feel like I'm paying for my sins."
"Oh, Ivan." I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid closer, winding my arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. "You made mistakes. We all do. Yours were pretty big ones but you've been punished for them. You're trying to make it right. I respect that."
He pulled back and gazed into my eyes. "And me? Can you respect me?"
"I do."
He buried his face in the curve of my neck. "I don't deserve you."
I kissed his cheek. "Don't say that."
"It's the truth," he insisted. "You're the type of woman who deserves a man with an education and a clean criminal record. Someone you can be proud of—and that's not me."
"That's not true." I cupped his face and kissed him tenderly. "You saved my life. You saved my sister. You fought to defend me from two men with guns. You could have died, Ivan, but you faced them without any thought for your own safety. Don't you see? That's the kind of man you are."
His pale eyes widened briefly. "God, Erin," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "You make me want—"
But he didn't get to finish his thought. Dimitri chose that moment to knock on the driver's side window. I gritted my teeth with frustration. I'd been sure that Ivan was about to say something amazing but Dimitri had blundered right into the middle of it.
Ivan exhaled roughly and frowned. "We'll pick this discussion up later. Yes?"
"Yes."
"Good." His lips lingered against mine. "Come. Let's do this."
*** *** ***
Ivan controlled the desire to throttle Dimitri for his poor timing. He'd never felt closer to Erin than when she'd been half across his lap while he poured out his darkest secrets. Her acceptance of his past had stunned him. She'd taken a reasonable stance on the crimes he'd committed and the punishment he'd served and seemed willing to accept that he was a different man today than the awful person he'd been when he'd done those things.
He would never stop trying to fix those wrongs. The charities he supported weren't enough—nothing could ever really clean away the smudges on his character—but they gave him a sense of peace. Knowing that Erin was willing to walk beside him without embarrassment or shame and with her head held high filled him with such strong hope. Maybe the life he'd always wanted wasn't so far out of reach after all.
"Do you see the entrance up ahead? Turn in there and then take the first right."
Ivan's gaze moved to the windshield. Erin gave Kostya instructions as they neared her childhood home. Dimitri followed in his truck not far behind. The neighborhood she'd been raised in was filled with big houses and large yards. It was the kind of place he'd dreamed about as a hungry child living hand-to-mouth in an orphanage. Even though he'd surpassed his wildest dreams, he still had mornings where he woke in a daze, unable to believe he'd risen to such heights.
"The brick two story with the dark shutters," she said and pointed to a house near the cul-de-sac. While Kostya pulled into the driveway, she dug around in her purse and produced a key ring. He noticed the way she gripped the keys so tightly. Whether it was the painful memories of losing her parents in this house or the uncertainty of what they would find inside that left her so upset, Ivan couldn't say.
Out on the sidewalk, he gripped her hand. She started to take the lead but he stopped her. He held out his hand. "Give me the key."
"Why?" Erin asked but did as instructed.
"Because Andrei might have been stupid enough to booby trap the place," he said matter-of-factly. "You stay back with Dimitri and Kostya."
"No," Dimitri interjected. "I'll go first."
Ivan nodded and handed over the key. Those years in the military and later in Spetsnaz had given Dimitri quite a few skills Ivan would never possess.
He pushed Erin behind him and waited near the SUV while Dimitri unlocked and entered the house. A few minutes later, Dimitri returned. He shook his head and said, "You aren't going to believe what's in there."