Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

from being inside, and his particular plague has spread like wildfire.'
    'Do you think he had Dean killed?' Ilya asked. 'If the kid was working for Nikitin, bringing him the girls, then yes, I have to say, that's a good bet,' Jonas said. 'He made it look like a Russian hit to throw suspicion on Nikitin - or you. My guess is, John Dylan took professional pride in showing his uncle he knew how to do a solid hit.' Jonas glanced at the door and lowered his voice even more. 'Is it possible the bus was meant to take you out? Had anyone seen you with Joley? Could someone have connected you and put you there?'
    'Brian knew. Her driver, probably. It's possible Brian voiced his concerns to the other band members. Certainly Tish knew, and if she did, Logan probably did.' That hadn't been discreet of him. He could have gotten her killed.
    He had known from the beginning that getting involved with her would be dangerous to both of them. He shook his head at his own stupidity. He'd been thinking with other parts of his anatomy rather than his brain. 'Yeah. Others knew.' He hated to admit it, hated making such an amateur mistake. In his entire career he'd never made such a selfish, risky error. He couldn't blame it on Joley and the spell she cast over him. The ultimate responsibility was his.
    Aleksandr tapped the folder. 'This man, Dominic Dylan, is a huge arms dealer, Ilya. He's been photographed with Kolochek and the German, Heinzman. They only talk to the top men in the business. Word on the street says Dylan wants a bigger piece of the pie. Human trafficking brings in tremendous revenue, as you well know. Anyone who has done their homework knows they have to get rid of you to get to Nikitin. Without him, that branch goes down here in the United States and creates a vacancy'
    'And Dylan wants to fill the vacancy'
    Jonas nodded. 'That's what we think. So the hit could have been on you, and Joley could have been a by-product.
    Whoever put the bomb there really didn't give a damn who they killed as long as they took you out. It makes more sense. They create a problem for your girlfriend by using Lucy, feeding her anything that would make her believe Joley was her enemy'
    'Great distraction,' Ilya said. And it was. I was very focused on Joley and asked Nikitin for a few days off to help her out.'
    'They may still come after her to keep you off balance. We'll have our own people all over her tonight, Ilya.'
    'I've got to put Nikitin somewhere safe. I've spent three years on this investigation and I'm not blowing it. No way does Dominic Dylan take over the human trafficking market. I'm shutting it down for good on this end. What about Elle? Is she out?'
    'As far as we can tell, she's not investigating Nikitin. If your paths have crossed, she may be working to nail Dylan, but she didn't respond to Jackson's calls,' Jonas admitted, referring to his deputy. 'He's pretty pissed. He doesn't get like that often, but when he does, it isn't something anyone wants to witness. We don't know exactly who she's working for.
    Have you asked Joley? Elle's the loner of the family, keeps everything close to her. If anyone really knows what she's up to, it would be Joley'
    Ilya sighed. 'Even to me, I doubt if she'd betray her sister's confidence. And if she does know, she keeps it buried deep. As much as I'm in Joley's mind, I've never seen a reference to anything Elle's doing.' He glanced at his watch.
    'I've got to go. I've got a bad feeling that Nikitin is in trouble tonight. You keep close to Joley. If you think, even for a moment, that she's in danger, just get her out, don't wait for her permission.'
    Jonas shrugged. 'You don't have to worry on that score. I'm used to her being upset with me. She gets over things fast.'
    'That's good to know, because when she finds out I'm not teasing her about the seventh son of a seventh son, I have a feeling she'll be really angry'
    Jonas drew in his breath. 'That's not right, Prakenskii, you can't do that to her. Are you sure?'
    T don't know much about my family, but I do know I'm the seventh-born son. I don't know if the Drake sisters have exactly the same fate we do, but essentially the seventh carries all the gifts and his partner is destined. In my bloodline, all partners are destined, but they don't seem to have the birth control problems the seventh runs into.'
    As he spoke, Ilya walked back into the main sitting room. He reached out his hand to Joley. She let him pull her to her feet. He caught a