Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

corner and the area carried the feel of violence.”
    “Oh, there was a terrible brawl. Chad swung a statue at Prakenskii‘s head. I think he meant to kill him.
    They had exchanged words, but I couldn’t hear. I was in the small closet near the door leading to the alley where the delivery trucks come. Prakenskii hardly seemed to move, but he tore up Chad. If I hadn’t seen Chad attack Prakenskii first, I would have felt sorry for him.”
    “What happened to Chad?”

    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    Carol sighed. “I thought I could take a picture of the fight, but I must have knocked into the door because it squeaked. Prakenskii didn’t look toward me, but he did grab Chad in one of those policeman holds and force him out the back door. I decided it best not to follow them and to allow them to settle their argument in private.”
    Joley burst out laughing. “We could have had a Drake family convention in the back room of the art gallery. What does that say about us?”
    “It says you’re all foolish and take chances,” Aleksandr said.
    “Well, you were there too,” Joley said. “And we were almost treated to the traumatic, forever-stamped-on-our-memories, take-to-the-grave vision of Sylvia baring her breasts, thank you very much.”
    “Before we do anything else, I want to perform a healing ceremony on Abigail and we may as well see if it helps Aleksandr too,” Libby said, pinning him with her gaze. “He wasn’t invited, but it doesn’t look as if he plans on leaving soon.”
    Aleksandr watched with interest as Libby unwrapped several beautiful stones and set them carefully within the circle. The stones were round and blood red. “Those aren’t genuine rubies, are they?” he asked.
    Carol nodded. “They’ve been in our family for generations and we purify them when needed with the elements of earth, air, fire, and water. The ruby is a strong stone and can be used for protection as well as healing. This is a star ruby and particularly powerful. We’ll use a second ruby outside the circle placed beside a red candle to aid our energy in the healing.“
    Aleksandr shook his head. “I can’t imagine Prakenskii doing any of this.”
    Carol flashed him a quelling look. “If you are going to be disparaging about our practices, young man, now is the time to leave.”
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that Prakenskii is one of those men who is very action oriented. I can’t see him trying to manipulate energy in crystals and stones.” He indicated the stone in Libby’s hand. “I’ve never seen anything like that before—what is it?”
    Libby held it up. It looked almost like an orange-gold opal, with fiery flashes of many colors when held up to the light. “It’s a very rare type of feldspar stone from India, called sun-stone.”
    While Abigail’s sisters and her aunt prepared for their protective cleansing, Aleksandr swept back Abbey’s hair and pressed a kiss against the nape of her neck. “What were you thinking? Why would you be so upset at that party?”
    “I realized things about you. About me. Do we really want to discuss this now?”
    “I don’t want you hurting like this. Give me something to work with, Abbey. Don’t just shut me out.” His lips moved up her neck to her ear. “If you feel things, you must feel how much I love you. If you can hear truth in voices, you have to hear it in mine.” He kissed her neck, his teeth teasing her skin seductively.
    “You have to believe in me just a little.”
    Was she just being stubborn, holding on to her hurt and anger, believing he betrayed her? Was she so Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    terrified of living with his ruthless streak, knowing what he was capable of doing, that she would rather lose everything? Was she such a coward that she couldn’t let go of the past? “What would you do to solve a crime, Aleksandr? Would you sleep with another woman to get information? Would you go that far?” Her throat felt constricted and raw with pain when she asked. Her heart thudded so hard in her chest she feared it might burst through the walls. She couldn’t ask him if he’d killed someone to set her free. The words pounded in her head, but she couldn’t force them past the constriction in her throat.
    Aleksandr stiffened, his arms slowly releasing her. She could see by his face she didn’t have to ask the real