Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

swimmer.“
    “Great, that sounds ominous. Well the least you could have done was get me a cup of tea. And you could tell me about your mysterious visitor last night. Sheesh, it was hell trying to get to sleep wondering.”
    “I don’t want to talk about him. Not now. Maybe never.”
    “Great. That’s great, Abbey, wake me up and don’t even give me any good gossip. I don’t do mornings.”
    “I hear the dolphins calling me, Joley,” Abbey said. “Something’s wrong.”
    “Oh, all right. But you owe me big-time. And so do the dolphins. You can tell them you’re going to bring me swimming with you when you go out next and they have to be nice and accept me.” Joley trudged across the floor to the bathroom. “Do I need a wet suit?”
    “No, but you might want to bring a gun.”
    Joley stuck her head around the door, her toothbrush in her mouth. “A gun?” Her face brightened considerably. “Why do I need a gun? Who do I get to shoot?”
    “You don’t get to shoot anyone, you nut. It’s only just in case. That, and you’re a good shot.”
    “Better than Hannah,” Joley acknowledged. “She closes her eyes when she squeezes the trigger. It drives Jonas up the wall.”
    “That’s probably why she does it, although she can hit a target dead center nine times out of ten. You just happen to hit dead center every time. And Hannah wouldn’t actually kill anyone and you would.“
    “It might be you if you ever drag me out of bed this early again,” Joley warned. “But I would forgive you if you’d give me gossip about yourmidnightcaller…” She looked hopeful. When Abbey shook her head and frowned at her, Joley sighed and capitulated. “Where are we going? I thought your boat was floating out at sea somewhere, or did Jonas have it towed in?”
    “Of course Jonas had the boat towed; he always takes care of every little detail. But the dolphins are in Sea Lion Cove so you won’t have to go out in a boat if we’re lucky.”
    “That’s good. Do I really need a gun?”
    “Yes. And you might have to use it. Some hotshot hit man was skulking around last night.”
    “Good God, Abbey, we need to call Jonas.” Joley dragged on a pair of sweatpants and a heavy shirt.
    “What in the world have you gotten yourself involved with? I’m the one usually in trouble. You’re the good girl.”
    Abbey studied her sister. “How do you manage to look like you do first thing in the morning? No makeup, you haven’t even combed your hair, and you’re in sweats, yet you manage to look like a million bucks. I swear, you and Hannah did something right in another life. I wouldn’t mind waking up and looking like you.”

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    Joley blew her a kiss. “That’s a nice thing to say, especially after you didn’t have the decency to bring me a cup of tea. If you aren’t taking out a boat, how are we going to get down to the cove? Are we climbing down the cliffs? My rock-climbing skills leave something to be desired.”
    “I thought we’d use the old smugglers’ route. I have a key to the old mill. Kate’s renovating it with Matt’s help, although they’re so busy with their wedding plans they haven’t done much work on it yet.
    There’s an old stairway leading through the tunnel to the cove. Kate told me it was an old smugglers’
    route a hundred years ago or something like that. I didn’t want to take the time to drive to the harbor, so the stairs will be the quickest way.”
    “Why is it I feel like we’re about to get into big trouble?” Joley asked as she pulled a gun from her top drawer, loaded it, and slipped it into her purse.
    “Why do you have your own gun?” Abbey asked. “I thought we’d use the one Jonas left here for protection, or maybe one of Sarah’s.”
    “Because I get weird letters from crazed fans that scare the hell out of me sometimes,” Joley answered.
    “I told you, now confess everything.” She tiptoed down the stairs, following close on Abigail’s heels.
    “Start with the hot Russian you may or may not be engaged to. From there, go to the hotshot hit man.”
    Abbey paused on the stairs. “What do you mean you get weird letters from crazed fans? You said something at Christmas about that. What’s going on?”
    Joley shrugged. “It comes with the territory. Hannah’s a well-known model and she gets them. Kate writes books and she’s had a few. I sell a few million albums and get out