Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

youngest and all of them had incredible gifts. They all knew she had a weakness for dangerous men, but they had no idea just how terrible her craving for Ilya Prakenskii really was. And he was the epitome of everything she stood against.
    She believed in the order of the universe. She believed in good and evil, in the balance of nature. She believed in the right to defend oneself, of course, but she deeply and sincerely believed it was wrong to harm another. It was rumored that Ilya was a hit man, and she could never, under any circumstances, have a relationship with a man who was evil.
    The problem was, he didn't feel evil. He felt hot and sexy, with that terrible edge of danger she seemed to crave.

    She had been in his mind many times. He could communicate with her telepathically, and that meant he had to open his mind to hers. She had caught glimpses of violence, terrible things that made her afraid, but she'd never seen a memory of him murdering in cold blood - and if he was as evil as a hit man would be - then why couldn't she feel it when she could tell so easily with others?
    'Joley?'
    She nearly jumped out of her skin, whipping her head around and gaping at her lead guitarist, Brian. 'You scared me.
    What are you doing here this time of the morning?' She kept running, turning her head away from him, afraid the guilt would betray her.
    'You seemed so upset when you left, Joley. You barely said a word. I saw the Reverend there and I know he and his entourage are confrontational with you, so I was worried.'
    'I'm fine.' She glanced at him. 'You should get some sleep. We have a show tomorrow in Chicago.'
    'Stop that thing and talk to me. This is Brian, not some schmo off the street. We've been friends for years.' He held out the water bottle as an offering.
    Joley let out her breath and allowed the treadmill to slow to a stop. She took the towel from Brian and wrapped it around her neck before taking the water bottle. T thought you were allergic to exercise. What are you doing here?'
    'You're always here when you're upset.'
    'I'm here to work out. And I sometimes come up with my best songs late at night.'
    'Tell me what happened. What were you doing at Nikitin's party?'
    She shrugged and swallowed a long gulp of water. T couldn't sleep and thought I'd check it out. Once I got there, I remembered why I hated those things.' She dried off her face. 'Did you manage to run down that little weasel Dean whatever his last name is and his friend? The ones hanging with the girls who couldn't have been older than fourteen.'
    Brian shook his head. 'I never found them. Denny helped me look for them, but we couldn't find them anywhere. We checked the pool, the gardens, the garages, everywhere, but they must have made the girls leave.'
    'If he shows up in Chicago, Brian, I'm having Jerry fire him.' Jerry St. Ives was her manager, and she was just as angry with him as she was with Dean. He had promised to oversee the parties and make certain that no young kids were taken advantage of.
    'Joley, you know very well anyone could have invited those girls. For all we know Nikitin did. At least talk to Dean before you give him the axe. He could have been escorting them off the property'
    'He ran when I called him.'
    'Honey, come on. Joley Drake angry is a scary thing. I'll talk to him if you don't want to do it, but at least let's give him the benefit of the doubt. This is America. Innocent until proven guilty'
    She rolled her eyes. 'And what's with Denny and the blonde?'
    'He was afraid you saw that.'
    'You think? She was blowing him right on the grounds in front of anyone and everyone.'
    'He was pretty screwed up.'
    'Is that supposed to be an excuse?' She shoved her hand through her hair in agitation. 'I like his girlfriend. Lisa's a really good person and she deserves better than him.' She knew she sounded disgusted and judgmental, but it was the truth. 'I'm not going to be able to look at him.'
    Brian shook his head. 'Joley, not everyone is perfect.'
    She burst out laughing. 'Is that what you think I am, Brian?'
    'We all do.'
    'I was there for the same reason as Denny. I just didn't go through with it.' She pushed past him and threw the towel in the empty basket. Housekeeping had come and gone long ago.
    'What the hell are you talking about?' Brian demanded.
    'I was lonely. I went to the party with the idea of bringing someone home. I'm not perfect, but I'm also not committed to anyone. Denny is. He should be a man and tell Lisa