The sun had just started to peek over the horizon when Ivan made his way out of the hospital to a bench near the smoking area. He fished his phone from his pocket and started making phone calls. There was no way he'd make it into the gym at his usual early hour. He'd rely on the other trainers to open up and get his fighters moving through their morning routines.
As he was finishing up his conversation with Paco, Ivan spotted Dimitri crossing the parking lot. His old friend carried two cups of coffee and a bright yellow bag stamped with the red logo of that Mexican bakery Dimitri lived above. Even though his friend had more than enough money to buy his own place, he stayed there in that cramped apartment. He swore it was the hot breakfast that kept him hanging around but Ivan suspected it was more likely the pretty dark-haired young woman who worked behind the counter…
"I thought you two could use some breakfast." Dimitri shook the bag. "They're still warm."
Ivan accepted the coffee and paper bag. A pang of guilt soured his gut as he remembered the awful thing he'd shouted at Dimitri when'd emerged from the house to find Johnny gone. He eyed Dimitri carefully. "Look, about the boy last night—"
Dimitri cut him off with a slash of his hand. "We're not talking about Johnny."
"We are." Ivan pinned his friend with a determined gaze. "I've been thinking about what I said to you and it was wrong of me. I didn't…" Ivan's voice trailed off and he glanced at the hospital. "I know I've been riding your ass about getting involved with the bakery girl, especially since her kid brother is up to his eyeballs in shit with the Hermanos, but I understand it now."
Dimitri's expression faltered. Finally, he said, "I’m not involved with Benny. I'm just her tenant. That's it."
Ivan wasn't so sure about that but he wasn't about to pry into his friend's private life.
"How's the sister?"
"Not good," Ivan said, his thoughts turning to Erin's distraught face.
Never one to ease into difficult conversations, Dimitri said, "Erin is still in danger. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet," Ivan admitted. "I'll bounce some ideas off Nikolai but he made it perfectly clear yesterday that he doesn't want to get dragged into this."
"I'll look for Andrei. Maybe we can do a trade of some kind."
Ivan held Dimitri's hardened gaze. The unspoken words hung in the air between them. "It wouldn't be very clean."
Dimitri shrugged. "These kinds of horse trades rarely are but maybe if we can give them Andrei and some money, they'll leave Erin and her sister alone."
His chest tightened with the realization that such an ugly decision loomed on the horizon. "Find Andrei."
"On it."
He watched Dimitri cross the parking lot before heading back into the hospital. As he made his way up to the private room where they'd moved Ruby, Ivan scanned his surroundings. The small crowds in the waiting areas and huddled around the elevators drew his attention. It would be easy for either of the gangs after Ruby to send someone into the hospital to finish her off or pump her for information on Andrei and the money and the drugs. Ivan doubted she knew anything. From the state of the shithole she'd been left in by Andrei, the man didn't value her very highly. Maybe he'd decided to cut his losses and leave her behind for the gangs as a twisted kind of peace offering.
Ivan paused in the open doorway of Ruby's room. Pale and bruised, Ruby reclined in the hospital bed. Wires and tubes snaked from her thin, frail body. She desperately needed a bath and a good meal.
Erin sat in a chair next to the bed. She'd finally fallen asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he entered the room as quietly as possible and placed the breakfast items on a rolling tray against the wall. He lowered himself into a chair next to Erin and sipped the strong black coffee.
Unable to help himself, Ivan put the cup of coffee on the floor and gently took her small hand in his. The simple act of touching her soft skin calmed his raw nerves. He couldn't shake the notion that he was falling fast—too fast—for Erin but there it was.
Like a siren, she called to him, enchanting and binding him to her. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her. Taking on two vicious gangs and a drug addict sister seemed a low price to pay for keeping Erin in his life.
It wasn't simply her beautiful face or the shockingly hot sex they'd shared that made him want her. Those things were nice, of course, but the intense pull he felt toward Erin came from a different place. She was something sweet and pure that demanded protection. She'd put her trust in him and he would never allow her to regret that. As long as she wanted him, he would protect and defend her.
Erin stirred. She inhaled a long, slow breath and blinked a few times. Her gaze jumped around the room. A grimace tugged at the corners of her mouth. When she glanced at him, her expression softened. Her lips curved in a smile. "Ivan."
Knowing that his presence put her at ease filled him with such happiness. Ivan swept his fingers down her face. "I didn't mean to wake you."
She looked down to their joined hands and gave his a squeeze. "I don't mind." Looking a bit bashful, she admitted, "I liked waking up to find you here, holding my hand."
There was so much Ivan wanted to say but this wasn't the place. Things were good between them right now. He was content to leave it until later. "Dimitri brought you something to eat. Are you hungry?"
She nodded. "Starving, actually."
He doubted that very much but didn't correct her. People here flung around the word so lightly but none of them knew real starvation, not as he and his friends had as children.
Ivan untangled their hands and rose from his chair. He grabbed the bag of pastries and the other cup of coffee. She took them with a smile. "Right after you left, I had a chance to speak with a nurse. She said Ruby will probably drift in and out of sleep all day."
He returned to his seat and picked up his coffee. "I'm not surprised. A human body can't take that much abuse. She's lucky to be alive."
Erin peeled a soft bit of bread from the brightly iced bun. She nibbled it slowly. "I think she wanted to die."
His gaze snapped to Erin's face. She looked so sad and he ached for her. "I don't—"
"No." She interrupted him with an anguished frown. "You don't know her. She's never taken that much or tried so many different kinds of drugs in such a short time period." Erin stared at her sister. "I think she was afraid the gangs were going to catch up with her and decided that was the best way out of the mess."
Ivan didn't know what to say. He didn't want to upset her anymore so he tried to find a gentle reply to set her at ease. "Let's be happy that she's alive. All the rest? It doesn't matter. Not now."
Erin seemed content with that piece of advice. She quietly finished her breakfast while he stroked her arm and upper back. When she was done, Erin turned her full attention to him. "You found Ruby."
He nodded. "I did."
"That was our deal. You'd help me find Ruby. So what happens now? With us, I mean."
He heard the anxiety in her voice. "What do you want?"
"You."
It was a simple answer but one so powerful. Wanting to soothe her nerves, he leaned over and brushed his lips across her cheek. "Then you've got me."
She grasped his hand and tugged him closer for a proper kiss. More seriously, she asked, "And what about the gangs after Ruby?"
"Don't you worry about that. I'll protect you, angel moy."