Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

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    their heads.
    “I’m not in love,” Abigail asserted. “I just want him to finish his business here and go away.”
    “So why didn’t you fill in the gaps for Jonas when Aleksandr told him exactly nothing this morning,”
    Joley asked.
    “Don’t you need to go back to bed?” Abigail demanded. “I don’t know why I didn’t tell Jonas anything.
    Aleksandr does a lot of work that might put his life in jeopardy. I’m not about to make a mistake by talking too much about things I know nothing about. I want him suffering and pining away for me and I want him on his knees begging forgiveness, which I’ll never give him, but I don’t want him hurt.”
    “That makes perfect sense to me,” Hannah declared.
    “I think we can all agree on that,” Sarah said.

Chapter 8
    “YOU don’t need to help me,” Abigail lied as she watched Aleksandr maneuver over the rough sand, carrying her kayak. “I’m perfectly capable of doing this myself. In fact, I’m probably far better at it than you.”
    “I wouldn’t think of insulting you that way,” Aleksandr said. “Where do you want to put in the water?”
    “The best place is over there.” She indicated a long sandy beach near where he’d already unloaded his kayak. “The breakers are mild and we’ll have less trouble getting to the rocks. We want to paddle between them where it’s a bit calmer and we can study the formations along the coastline. I know several caves and inlets capable of hiding a boat, but the driver would have to be an expert and the water fairly calm, which it was that night. We should be able to get to them easily using the kayaks.” She knew he enjoyed white-water river kayaking, but she doubted if he’d done much in the ocean. The Pacific coast could be particularly rough.
    “You’re the boss.”
    Abigail glared at him. She had the childish desire to kick him in the shins as he walked with the kayak on his shoulder without the least indication that the weight or shape of it was a burden.
    The boats slid into the water easily just as she predicted. More often than not, the water along the Mendocino coastline was rough with enormous swells so Abigail felt lucky to be able to paddle between rocks where the water was calm as they set out.
    “It’s a beautiful day,” Aleksandr observed. She was beautiful, but he wasn’t about to make the mistake of telling her so. The sun shone on her hair, turning it into a vibrant blaze of color. Her skin looked soft and he tightened his grip on the oar to keep from reaching out to touch her. He ached to touch her. She’d given him insomnia and he paced most nights, staring up at the stars and wondering where in the world Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    she was. Now she was with him and yet there could still be an ocean between them.
    She narrowed her gaze against the sun. “Why aren’t you talking to Jonas about whatever you’re doing?
    He’s very good at his job.”
    “I agree he’s good at his job, and it’s obvious he means a great deal to you and to your sisters. He’ll have his hands full investigating Danilov’s death.” He didn’t want to talk about Jonas Harrington and he damn well didn’t want to talk about Danilov. Cold rage swirled in his gut. He’d been fifteen minutes too late for Andre Danilov. The highway was narrow and winding and a car had pulled out in front of him, slowing him down. By the time he’d gotten around it and reached the marina, Danilov was dead.
    Sometimes it seemed like he was always running to catch up with killers and stumbling over the victims every time he turned around. Danilov had been a good man, a good agent, and Aleksandr was not going home without knowing he’d provided his own brand of justice.
    “Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?” Abigail dipped her paddle into the water and sent her kayak gliding over the surface.
    “The two things are tied together.” Aleksandr kept pace effortlessly. “Danilov was undercover looking into the moving of artifacts and he was killed. I’d say there’s a direct connection to my investigation as well as the fact that he’s my responsibility. I’m going to find the son of a bitch who killed him.”
    Abbey paused and looked over at his face. There was no inflection in his voice, no anger or rage, but he said it with absolute conviction. “You’re not