Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

Also in Christine Feehan 's Drake Sisters Series:
    Oceans of Fire
    Dangerous Tides
    Safe Harbour

    Also by Christine Feehan
    GhostWalker Series:
    Shadow Game
    Mind Game
    Night Game
    Conspiracy Game
    Deadly Game
    Predatory Game

    'Dark' Carpathian Series:
    Dark Prince
    Dark Desire
    Dark Gold

    Dark Magic
    Dark Challenge
    Dark Fire
    Dark Legend
    Dark Guardian
    Dark Symphony
    Dark Melody
    Dark Destiny
    Dark Secret
    Dark Demon
    Dark Celebration
    Dark Possession
    PIATKUS
    First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Piatkus Books
    This paperback edition published in 2008 by Piatkus Books
    First published in the US in 2008 by
    The Berkley Publishing Group,
    A Division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., New York
    Copyright «2008 by Christine Feehan Excerpt from Dark Curse copyright e 2008 by Christine Feehan The moral right of the author has been asserted
    All characters and events in this publication, other than
    those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious
    and any resemblance to real persons,
    living or dead, is purely coincidental
    All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
    A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-7499-0863-8
    For my parents, Mark and Nancy King, who taught all of us how to lo Typeset in Times by Action Publishing Technology Ltd, Gloucester Printed and bound by Mackays of Chatham, Chatham, Kent
    Piatkus Books
    An imprint of
    Little, Brown Book Group
    100 Victoria Embankment
    London EC4Y 0DY
    An Hachette Livre UK Company www. hachettelivre. co.uk
    www.piatkus.co.uk
    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    As with any book, I have many people to thank: Domini Stottsberry, who did so much research and worked hard to pull this book together; Cheryl Wilson, an amazing friend and writer even under stressful circumstances. I owe a lot to Rich Campbell, bass guitarist for the band America, who graciously took time out of his busy schedule and gave me so much help, attempting to teach me about touring and life on the road. If I have made any mistakes, they're mine alone, as he was out touring and I couldn't double-check everything. Last, but not least, Jeri Stahl, retired Aurora, Colorado, police detective, now doing consulting work for Denver, who answered all my questions patiently and worked through my scenes with astonishing clarity.

    For my parents,Mark and Nancy Klng, who taught all of us how to love.
    CONTENTS:
    PIATKUS
    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    Chapter One
    Chapter Two
    Chapter Three
    Chapter Four
    Chapter Five
    Chapter Six

    Chapter Seven
    Chapter Eight
    Chapter Nine
    Chapter Ten
    Chapter Eleven
    Chapter Twelve
    Chapter Thirteen
    Chapter Fourteen
    Chapter Fifteen
    Chapter Sixteen
    Chapter Seventeen
    Chapter Eighteen
    Chapter Nineteen
    Chapter Twenty
    DARK CURSE

    Chapter One
    Joley Drake stared in a kind of sick dread at the mob of people crowding the gates and fence. She had forgotten what after parties were like, or maybe she'd just blocked them out. Women pushed against the car windows, lifting their tops and mashing their bare breasts against the tinted panes. Some waved thong underwear in various colors. They shoved at the car, pulling on door handles and screaming. She doubted any of those women knew who was in the vehicle, but they were clearly willing to sell themselves to get an invite inside.
    'My God, Steve,' Joley muttered to her driver, 'sex, drugs and rock and roll are such a cliche, but it's so true.' Even to herself she sounded jaded.
    Steve Brinkley's gaze met hers in the rearview mirror. 'You stopped coming to these things years ago; what made you change your mind tonight? I was shocked when I got your call.'
    That was a question she didn't want to answer, not even to herself - especially to herself. She pushed her forehead into her palm. 'I haven't been to one of these in so long, I let everything but the music just fade away. I didn't want to think about what goes on, but now that I'm here, I might just throw up.' She meant to sound light, joking, but the pounding on the hood and the hands trying to yank open doors were impossible to ignore.
    She felt like an animal trapped in a cage. It was surprising how often she