Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

“Let’s get the medics in here,Jackson.”
    It occurred to Abigail thatJacksonwas being drawn into the Drake family circle whether he wanted to be or not. Jonas always had been there. Tough. Uncompromising. Someone to count on when things got bad. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist and held him there.
    He glanced from her to Aleksandr and his face hardened perceptibly. “What’s the damage, Abbey?”
    She made an effort to tell him Gene needed immediate help. Jonas shook his head. “We’ll get life flight en route, hon, we’ll get him toSan Francisco. The paramedics are with him. I want to take a look at you.”
    “Home.” She managed the word, lying back to stare up at the wisps of drifting fog. She wanted to get home where she was safe. Surrounded by her sisters and protected by the walls of her house.
    “I want them to examine you, Abbey, and don’t give me any grief over it, either,” Jonas said, moving back to give the paramedics room, but retaining possession of her hand.
    “Libby,” she said, trying to pull her hand away so she could push at the paramedics.
    “Not Libby. She’s going to be as weak as you are. Maybe weaker. Good old-fashioned medicine will have to do,” Jonas replied firmly as he stroked back her hair.
    Aleksandr leaned over her. “What did they look like?” His fingertips brushed droplets of seawater from her face with exquisite gentleness. The pads of his fingers slipped over her cheekbone and then her lower lip.
    She wanted to tell him, but the moment his face was in front of hers, tears burned and she hurt, inside and out. His touch sent butterflies winging in her stomach. As hard as she tried to form the words to describe what she had witnessed, nothing would come out. She turned her face away, closing her eyes in desperation.
    Jonas immediately shifted position so that Aleksandr was forced to move back and break contact with Abigail. “Can you talk, Abbey?” he asked.
    His voice was so gentle she wanted to tell him to stop being nice. She really had to fight the tears. She shook her head.
    “You’ll have to question her later, Volstov,” Jonas said abruptly.
    Aleksandr lifted his gaze to the other man’s face, a cold raking that would have given a lesser man pause, but Jonas didn’t even flinch.
    “We’re going to shift you, Abbey,” the paramedic said.
    She opened her eyes and blinked several times to clear her vision. She’d gone to school with Bob Thornton. She nodded and helped roll so they could look at the back of her legs and shoulder. It hurt more when she moved. She was suddenly acutely aware of the wounds, when before it was mostly the terrible lethargy that distressed her.

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    “The bullet sliced through her skin, Jonas, but it doesn’t look too bad,“ Bob reported. ”See here, it’s a bit deeper through the muscle on her shoulder, but relatively shallow along her back.“
    “Thank God,” Jonas said, relief clear in his voice. “What happened to her leg?”
    “I’d guess a shark raked her making a pass.”
    “Damn it, Abbey.” Jonas rubbed his thumb over her hand. “She looks pale, Bob. Are you sure she’s going to be all right?”
    Aleksandr made a small sound, a growling in his throat that might have been a protest of her injuries. He moved around Jonas to Abbey’s other side. She kept her eyes firmly closed and he didn’t make much noise when he moved, but she felt him brush her arm just before he circled her wrist and brought her palm against his thigh. She was shivering and couldn’t stop no matter how hard she tried. His body felt warm against hers and unfortunately, tipped on her side the way she was, he was pressed close to the front of her. As soaked as she was, she was getting his immaculate suit wet as well.
    “She’s in shock, Jonas,” Bob said. “Wouldn’t you be? Someone shot her. A shark nearly got her. She pulled Gene out of the water, at least it looks that way. And there’s a dead body here. I’d say she has reason to be pale. This is going to hurt, Abbey,” he warned.
    Whatever he used on her leg and back robbed her of every bit of air from her lungs. She almost lunged out from under the paramedic and Jonas, desperate to get away from the fire racing over her skin, but she ended up practically in Aleksandr’s lap. He caught her in a firm grip and held her still while the paramedic worked on the wounds.
    “I can do that,