Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

boyfriend.”
    “I’m her fiancé. Harrington is her boyfriend.“
    Joley stared at him with a mixture of shock and horror. She burst out laughing. “Boy, are you misguided.
    Seeing as how you’re going to be family and all, I’ll be happy to set you straight.”
    “I’m not in the least bit amused, Joley,” Abigail said. “Do not say another word to him unless you’re escorting him off the property. In fact, you’re useless as a bodyguard. Give me the gun.”
    “Abbey, honey,” Joley said, “as I recall you didn’t hit the target one single time in all the practice sessions we had. You were too busy looking at the clouds or some strange little bug crawling across the ground.”
    “Well, I’m paying attention now.”
    “Harrington isn’t her boyfriend?” Aleksandr asked, ignoring Abbey.
    “Jonas? He’s practically our brother,” Joley said. “Abigail and Jonas aren’t dating. He’d probably faint if you told him you thought they were. He loves us all dearly, and we love him, but we’re not exactly the type of woman he dates.”
    “Does he date?” Abigail asked, distracted by the idea. “Who does he date?”
    “Not you,” Joley said. She eyed Aleksandr. “What did you do to my sister that made her detest you so much?” She glanced at Abbey. “Is he the one the house let in?”
    Aleksandr sighed in exasperation. “Houses don’t let people in them. Her balcony door was wide open in invitation to anyone at all.”
    Joley shook her head. “Our house is protected, Aleksandr. May I call you that? And it is a big thing if the house allowed you in the other night.”
    “Joley.” Abigail’s voice was very much a warning.
    Every time she was near Aleksandr, she remembered how gentle he could be in spite of his size, how his smile could warm up his eyes. She didn’t want to remember a single good thing about him. He had made her believe she could fit in, that her talent was as useful as all of her sisters’ talents. He had made her believe she was lovable, that in spite of all her flaws, he would always be there. She knew what love was and refused to settle for less.
    She turned away from them and withdrew into her own private world. She wanted to be in her beloved ocean swimming in a world of color and sound far away from where she was now. She heard the lapping of the waves as they rolled gently through the cove in invitation. She heard the cry of the gulls and chatter of the dolphins. The wind kissed her face as she stared up at the drifting clouds.
    Cold water hit her in the face. Startled, she looked down at the dolphin only feet from where she stood.
    It spit water a second time. She became aware of the frantic clicks, of the bodies thrashing in the water instead of hunting food as they should have been. She slammed her shoulder hard into Aleksandr, calling

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    out to Joley as she did so. Aleksandr was the biggest target and she needed to take him down.
    He must have recognized the warning as well because at the exact same moment his arm curved out to sweep Joley into the water too. As the sea closed over them, Aleksandr rolled to cover the women with his larger body.

Chapter 5
    ALEKSANDR felt the impact of a bullet slamming into his back. He was wearing a vest, but the punch was hard enough to drive him against the churning sand. He’d had no time to take a breath before going under and he doubted if either of the Drake sisters had either. Abigail was tugging on his jacket sleeve so he followed her lead. She knew the cove better than anyone else and he had to rely on her judgment.
    Just ahead of him, Abigail swam with strong, steady strokes out toward deeper water, moving among the dolphins to gain the rocks. His lungs burned and deep inside him, rage was a living, breathing entity.
    He had made many enemies, but to have someone shoot so close to Abigail was intolerable.
    Abigail pointed to the dark shapes in front of her and tried to get past him to reach Joley. Aleksandr dragged Joley to the rocks and kept an arm firmly around Abigail. She wasn’t going to get away from him and try anything as heroic and stupid as drawing fire while he hid.
    Dragging air into his lungs, he kept his head down. “Are either of you hit?”
    “No,” Joley said, “and I managed to hang on to the gun.”
    The waves were stronger, pushing them against the rocks, so Aleksandr braced himself and held the two women away