Drake Sisters 05 - Safe Harbor

likes to be in the 'in'
    crowd and Joley is definitely 'in.' Anyone seen with her is written up in every tabloid around the world. She's news, baby, and Nikitin wants to rub shoulders with society.
    He thinks he can hide what he is that way."

    "So far he's managed to do it," Hannah pointed out. "I think it's more than that, though, or why would Prakenskii ask me if she's a spell-singer?"
    "You haven't explained to me just what that is yet."
    "It's dangerous, Jonas. She could be potentially deadly. Sound can cause a lot of damage and it can even kill. Joley is capable of that, not to mention she can take a roomful of people—a stadium full of people—and get them to do what she wants."
    Jonas was stunned. He sat there trying to keep his mouth from hanging open. He'd always accepted the things the Drakes could do as something good. Even with Hannah sending the wind to rescue him, she'd saved his life. He hadn't thought too much about the others, not quite so lucky, the ones who had been caught by her fury.
    "Joley's too strong to be used that way."
    "Is she, Jonas? I don't know, but Prakenskii was able to keep me from dying and I should have been dead. Libby might have been able to keep me alive for that long without aid, but I don't honestly know if she could have. It took strength and endurance and a lot of power. A lot of power. He's already marked Joley. And he wears her down, whispering to her at night. Only a handful of people in the world know what a spell-singer is and what they can do. Ilya Prakenskii knows and that night he and Nikitin wanted me to go back to the hotel with them. What do you think Joley would do if Nikitin put a gun to my head?"
    Jonas went very still. "You don't think he could have arranged the attack on you and then had Prakenskii save your life so Joley would feel as if she owed him, do you?"
    "Prakenskii doesn't talk much, but when he saved Aleksandr's life, he told us we owed him then. I imagine he feels this is a much larger debt."
    "Could he be a spell-singer?" Because if Joley could mesmerize a stadium full of people into doing what she wanted, couldn't Ilya Prakenskii mesmerize a couple into murder?
    "I see where you're going with it and I just don't think he could hide that from us.
    We've been in his head too much. One of us would have known."
    Another small knock on the door had Jonas slipping his hand inside his jacket to grasp his gun.
    Sarah stepped in with a wide, forced smile. "Hannah, I thought maybe you'd like something to eat. You really should keep up your strength."
    "I should, too," Jonas reminded her, relaxing. "If you're bringing Hannah a tray, bring me one, too, please."
    Sarah's gaze swept the room. She frowned. "Hannah? Where's your mirror?"

    "I had a little run-in with it," Jonas said. "She loves me anyway, don't you, baby?" He crouched down beside Hannah and took her hand, looking up at Sarah with a wry smile. "Guess that earns me seven years of bad luck."
    Kate poked her head in the door. "Hannah, you have a visitor. Ilya Prakenskii is here to see you."
    A shiver slid down Hannah's spine. She couldn't hide her uneasiness from Jonas, not when he was so close and holding her hand.
    "I'll go down," he said.
    Hannah pulled her hand away, sick of being coddled. Yes, she was frightened, but Joley was her sister, her responsibility, and she wasn't going to send Jonas down while she cowered in her room.
    "While you get dressed," he added. "Don't take all day."
    "No." Sarah shook her head. "She doesn't need to go down. Stay here, Hannah. Kate and I can go with Jonas and see what he wants."
    "No, I need Hannah to come with me. I want her impressions of anything Prakenskii says or does. She's the strongest empath among you."
    "Elle and Libby are empathic and Elle is stronger than any of us," Sarah corrected.
    "Libby is all about healing, Sarah," Jonas said, a bite of annoyance in his tone. "And Elle's volatile. If Prakenskii is here for something other than checking on Hannah, I don't want Elle starting a war. Keep Joley and Elle far away from him."
    "Hannah can't go down," Sarah said. "I forbid it."
    "Hannah." Jonas turned to her, his tone absolutely neutral, his gaze gentle. "You tell me what you want to do, baby. I'd prefer you there, but if you'd rather not—say the word."
    "Jonas," Sarah hissed. "Stop pushing her. You're always pushing her. She's barely out of the hospital. She needs looking after."
    Hannah moistened her suddenly dry lips with her tongue. Her