I held my breath as his thumb wiped away the last remnants of my relieved tears. He seemed impossibly tall and so primal and male as he loomed over me. I gazed up into his harsh face and saw the briefest glimmer of something in his light eyes. I couldn't place it. Sadness? Longing?
He pulled away suddenly and stalked to his desk. He returned with a notepad and pen. "Write down your number and address."
"Okay." I neatly printed my information on the yellow paper and handed it back to him.
"You will go home and you will wait."
"For what?"
"For my call," he explained. "You will not involve yourself in this matter again. Understood?"
"But she's my sister and I—"
"No." He interrupted me with a slash of his hand through the air. "These are the terms I require."
I sensed he wasn’t a man used to being defied. "All right. I'll go home and wait."
"Good."
Something he said made me curious. Vivi's warning echoed in my head. He'll expect to collect. "Ivan, what other terms do you require?"
His gaze snapped to my face. Eyes narrowed, he asked, "What do you mean?"
Awash in anxiety, I clarified, "Are you going to want to be paid for your services?"
He looked annoyed. "Let's find your sister first. We'll worry about compensation later."
I wanted to press him for specifics but he ushered me to the door. Uncertainty settled into the pit of my stomach. What would he want when this was all over and Ruby was safe? Better yet, would I be willing or able to give it to him?
Silently, Ivan walked me to the middle of the gym. I took the hint and quickly scurried toward the exit. Every gaze in the place seemed glued to me. I kept my gaze fixed forward and put one foot in front of the other, my caramel-colored ballet flats moving whisper-soft against the gleaming wood floor.
This time I managed to open the door without too much of a fight. I cast one final glance over my shoulder and met Ivan's piercing gaze. I slipped my sunglasses back into place and left the building.
But as I walked to Lena's car, I couldn't shake the feeling I'd just made a deal with the devil.
*** *** ***
Ivan watched Erin as she hurried to the exit. He didn't blame her for moving so quickly. That she'd been brave enough to come into his gym and ask for his help still shocked him. There weren't many people who would do something so brazen.
Try as he might, Ivan couldn't stop his gaze from dropping to the enticing swing of her hips. The pale blue skirt of her dress swished against her thighs. Those shapely legs and her tight ass were hard to ignore. Innocent as she looked, Ivan had no doubt that Erin was going to be big trouble.
"Kostya." He gestured for the wiry, dark-haired man to come close for his instruction. "Follow the girl. Keep her out of trouble."
Nodding, Kostya left to trail Erin. Ivan caught Dimitri's gaze. They'd been friends long enough to communicate silently. Ivan didn't even check to make sure Dimitri followed him back to the office. The certainty that Dimitri would be there was absolute.
Dimitri shut the door behind him. In rapid-fire Russian, he asked, "What did she want? Who the hell is she?"
"You know the girl Andrei dates?"
"The junkie?'
Ivan remembered the pain that flashed across Erin's face when he'd used the word. It was the first time in a long time that he'd experienced any guilt, however fleeting. "Yes. That's her sister, Erin. Ruby is missing and so is Andrei."
'They're probably passed out in a crack house."
"Possibly," Ivan agreed. "Erin asked for my help in finding them. She thinks it's something more sinister."
"And that would be?"
"The Albanians."
"You're not serious." Dimitri looked perturbed. "You told her no?"
"I told her I'd look into it. I made no promises."
Dimitri cursed in frustration. "What happened to your number one rule? Huh? Don't get involved, right?"
Ivan asked himself the same thing. There was something about Erin. He couldn’t put his finger on it and couldn't explain it. Wiping the tears from her face had left his heart racing and his lower belly clenching. Was it her soft, green eyes imploring him to help that melted through the icy shield he'd erected around himself? Was it her pink pout and the thoughts of claiming her full mouth? Was it that bright citrus scent of her perfume that wound around him and invaded his senses? He didn't know. He only knew that he felt a connection to her, one that couldn't be denied.
"I'm making an exception." Ivan shot Dimitri a look that warned him to let this one go and not point out his hypocrisy. "Get out on the street and find Andrei and this girl, Ruby. Okay?"