Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

last four years. There’d always been an edge to Aleksandr, a side of him she could never quite reach, but it seemed more pronounced now. Jonas had warned her away from Aleksandr, and Jonas was a shrewd judge of character.
    Without warning Aleksandr reached over and dragged her kayak close to his so they were facing each other. “Get that look off your face. I may deserve anger from you, but not that.”
    Her heart jumped wildly and her hand went to her throat in a gesture of defense. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “ Fear .” He snarled the word. “You have never had reason to be afraid of me. You’re looking at me as if I might whip out a gun and shoot you. I don’t deserve that from you and I’m damned sick of seeing it.”
    She bit back a retort. She wanted to fight with him. She wanted to be at odds with him so she could keep him at arm’s length, but his behavior was very unusual. Aleksandr didn’t fight or argue. It wasn’t his way. Abigail didn’t like to argue either and most of their time spent together had been either hot and sexual, or lazy and pleasant. Worse than his strange behavior, and the unusual anger that seemed to be smoldering just beneath the surface, was the hurt in his eyes. She didn’t want to see it. He didn’t deserve to have her see it or acknowledge it, but she’d hurt him simply by the flash of fear she’d shown.
    “I’m sorry, Sasha.” She snapped her teeth together, annoyed that the words had slipped out. “I guess we really don’t know one another very well anymore. It’s been a long time. I’ve been through a few traumatic events and I’m not quite as strong as I used to be. Maybe it’s the same for you.”
    She refused to stare into his eyes. She would not be mesmerized by him. She wouldn’t believe in him or be dazzled by the strength of his personality or his driving purpose. She had to stay focused on what she could and couldn’t live with. Aleksandr Volstov had been a beautiful dream, a figment of her imagination.
    The man with her now was hard, as tough as nails, and he would sacrifice anyone or anything for his purpose. She had to see him that way and no other or she would lose herself again.
    Abigail peered over the side of her kayak, scanning the water. It was darker in the cave and the shadows made it difficult to see below the surface. A hole in the ceiling near the back allowed the sunlight to pour down across the water. She quartered slowly back and forth, keeping away from Aleksandr.
    Trying not to think or feel. There were so many rocks and nooks and the kelp swayed back and forth with the motion of the waves, making it nearly impossible to see anything.
    “What’s that?” He pointed to a spot just to her left.
    Abigail moved slightly. The kelp alternately covered and revealed an object glinting in the sun. “I can’t make it out.”
    “It’s something shiny. Could be metal.”
    Retrieving the object was going to be a slight challenge. If they’d been in kayaks without skirts, they could hop off and fish around. But with the type of kayak they were using, once they got out in the water, they would have a difficult time getting back in without help. “Do you want it?” she asked.
    “I’ll get it,” he said.
    Abigail ignored him and leaned over as far as possible, her paddle locked firmly in one hand while she stretched her other arm toward the object, closed her eyes, and dove for it. Her hand landed clumsily on Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    it, and she made her grab as she set up for the roll and came up dripping wet, the thing in her palm.
    “Show-off,” Aleksandr groused. “What is it?”
    She opened her fist. “A watch.” She held it out to him. “Do you recognize it?”
    Aleksandr turned it over in his hands. “This was Danilov’s watch. The bastards must have taken it off of him before they shot him.”
    “I’m sorry, Sasha. Why would they take it off of him?”
    “We sometimes carry tracking devices. Danilov’s was in his watch.”
    “How would they know that?”
    “It may have been a guess.”
    His voice was distant, as if his mind were somewhere far away. The tight knot inside of her shifted and loosened. And that was frightening. She had lost herself after his betrayal. She could never go through such a thing again and she needed to keep her defenses up. His sorrow, his anger, all of his emotions ate away at her until she could only think