Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

details with the caterers and the party planner along with Inez. They want this to be a huge success. Aunt Carol ordered me to come and collect you,” Sarah explained. She glanced at her watch. “We’re already late so a few more minutes won’t matter that much. I haven’t had a chance to ask you about the other Russian, the one with the magic. Who is he?”
    “His name is Ilya Prakenskii. He was raised in the same state-run home that Aleksandr was raised in. I asked Aleksandr if he remembered anything different about Prakenskii and he did recall a few things that indicates the man may have been born with the same gifts we have. He’s definitely adept at them. He tried to subtly push me to say something I didn’t want to say, and when I realized it, I challenged him to a game of truth or dare.” She smirked. “He definitely didn’t want to engage.”
    “Does Aleksandr think he’s dangerous to us?”
    “He says he’s a dangerous man, has the reputation of a hit man, and that he works for Sergei Nikitin, who just happens to head up one of the Russian mafia families. Nikitin absolutely loves Joley’s music and wants to meet with her.”
    “She attracts the worst people. I think she needs a stamp on her forehead that says, ‘If you’re a psycho, apply here.’” Sarah sighed and looked at her watch again. “We have to find out as much as we can about this Prakenskii. And all of us need to keep a watch on Joley. She can be a bit psycho herself if anyone pushes her too hard. We’d better get to the party. After all, Frank let the press know Hannah would be there.”
    “Not just Hannah,” Abigail said. “Poor Joley and Kate as well. He did a lot of name-dropping to bring in a crowd. He’ll get it, too, dangling the three of them like that.”

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    “Inez is proud of him for that. She wants this event to be a huge success and for the townspeople to fully support him,” Sarah said. “She thinks he brings culture to us.”
    Hannah put up one hand in surrender. “Fine, I’ll go, but I wish he wouldn’t have so many of his famous fund-raisers. He seems to time them so coincidentally when I happen to be back in town.”
    “He does, doesn’t he?” Abbey said.
    “Clever man,” Sarah added. “Free press for him.”
    The town, usually quiet and homey, was alive with people. Several limousines were parked along the wooden sidewalks and various top-of-the-line models of cars lined the streets. Teenage boys hung around in groups to admire the more exotic cars while the young girls tried to catch glimpses of celebrities as they entered the fashionable art gallery.
    Frank Warner had been in Sea Haven a good ten years and his gallery was classy, spacious, and filled with interesting antique artifacts and paintings. Sarah had been to his home once with Inez and she said his house was filled with beautiful artifacts from around the world. Old and much-revered paintings were kept in special rooms where the sun never touched them.
    The gallery featured sculptures from modern times as well, art forms in several types of material, all pleasing to the eye and carrying a hefty price tag. Only a couple hours’ drive from San Francisco, the town’s quaint beauty, with its theater and culture, had appealed to Warner and he’d stayed, making a surprising success out of his gallery.
    He often featured some of his own paintings of the local area, the harbors and cliffs, the crashing waves and windswept landscapes. The Drake sisters found him talented, eccentric, and a bit of a coward, using their fame but not wanting to get too close to the strange, magical gifts they shared.
    Hannah waved to a crowd of teenagers and Abbey sent a brief smile, stepping close to her younger sister. Hannah always looked poised and confident, even a bit haughty as she swept through a crowd with her elegant, exotic beauty, yet she was painfully shy and often had panic attacks. Whenever she made public appearances her sisters aided her by binding together so she could speak and breathe without problems. It was draining on all of them, but they were so used to it, they did it automatically.
    “You look beautiful, Abbey,” Sarah said as they entered the gallery. “I like that pinstripe on you. And you’ve done something different with your hair.”
    Hannah burst out laughing, the sound turning heads. “She’s wearing it down and it isn’t soaking wet and