Drake Sisters 04 - Dangerous Tides

isn't going to die down right away and you have to keep Libby from telling the truth. They'd crucify her."

    "What does the article say?"

    "Look at the headlines. They're following up on the faith healer article, and wondering if the Goddess, that would be Libby, or the Queen of Debauchery, that would be me, was caught in a love nest. It went so far as to imply there was more than one man there. They've even circled a picture they believe is proof of the second man. Libby's name is mentioned, but of course, the real speculation is whether it's me or not. Hannah is too tall. They can't implicate her, so with my hair dyed, everyone will believe it's me. I've instructed my publicist not to comment."

    "You can't do this, Joley," Tyson said. "I appreciate that you'd want to, but Libby won't let you and neither will I. We didn't do anything wrong. We were in the privacy of my home."

    "I think you need a really good security system," Sarah said. "If you don't mind, I'm going to put one in for you."

    Tyson rubbed his hand over his jaw. "I doubt she's ever going to want to go back to that house." His mind raced a million miles an hour with ideas of retribution, but there wasn't a single idea of how he could change what had happened. He looked around the room at the faces of Libby's sisters. All of them, even Sarah, looked sympathetic.

    And Joley. She sat by herself, one leg drawn up, her head on her knee, the black waves of hair cascading down to draw a veil over her face.

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    "Joley." He said her name softly. "No one has the right to do this to anyone. It doesn't matter what your profession is, they shouldn't hunt you down and peek like voyeurs into your private life."

    She sighed and lifted her head, a wan smile on her face, one that didn't reach her eyes. "Maybe they shouldn't, Ty, but they do. I'm not letting them hurt Libby. My career can take this." She shrugged. "Who knows, maybe it will benefit from it, but not Libby's. She has to maintain a certain reputation."

    "You hate this." She did. He could feel her misery. All of their collective misery and somehow, instead of condemning him, they made him feel a part of their protective circle.

    "I hate that my beloved sister has to endure dirt like this because of who I am. No one from a slander rag would even know our names if I wasn't Joley Drake."

    "Baby," Sarah said, "that isn't true. Hannah is famous and so is Kate."

    "Yes, but they weren't stupid enough to be photographed with Rob Ryan. He's married with a couple of kids and since Rob just made another blockbuster movie, the paparazzi are out for blood. That's why I've been in all the rags lately. It's been a regular 'Get Joley Fest' lately and now it's spilled over to my family."

    The bitterness in her voice had Elle wrapping her arms around her sister protectively. Tears streaked her face and Tyson remembered Libby had said she was an empath. If that were so, she would be feeling the pain each person was feeling.

    "What were you doing with the movie star?" Tyson asked.

    "Walking through the hotel. We ran into one another, had lunch and that was the entire extent of our fling. Well, I signed a couple of CDs for his kids."

    "Have you warned Mom and Dad?" Libby asked. She came into the room, her chin up, green eyes alive with pride.

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    Tyson went to her and when she tried to sidestep, he simply gathered her into his arms. She went stiff, but he persisted, holding her close to him, determined they'd weather this firestorm together.

    "I wanted you to know first," Sarah said. "It's impossible to tell from the picture that it's you, not with Joley dying her hair."

    Libby jerked out of Tyson's arms. "I’m not letting Joley take the fall for this. No way. Joley, you can just dye your hair blond again. If you take the blame those pictures won't stay in the tatty little gossip papers no one believes. They'll get sold to the more reputable magazines. They'll be on television. You won't be able to get away from them."

    "I knew that's what you'd say, Libby," Joley said. "So I made certain it was a done deal. Even if you call the paper and say it was you in the picture, they'll believe you're just trying to clear my name. I'm not letting anyone drag you through the mud."

    "I am going to call them and clear this up."

    Joley waved toward the phone. "The