Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

reaction, he wasn't all right. He was struggling to maintain. She had to find a way to distract the attention from him. 'The next time you have a secret, try not to go all Jimi Hendrix on your guitar. Of course, if you really wanted to do it right, you could have smashed your guitar onstage. Then we could have gathered up the pieces, autographed them and sold them as souvenirs.'
    She redirected the conversation, all the while keeping watch on Brian. The anger had drained away, but the dark moody colors still swirled around him and his melody was sad and lonely, as if his heart were breaking.
    Talk gathered around them, the band members teasing Brian about breaking his guitar into tiny matchsticks and selling the pieces on eBay. Brian took the teasing in his normal good-natured way, but while his mouth was smiling, there were shadows in his eyes, so she stayed with the band, being there with him, with them, laughing and teasing in a way she hadn't done in years.
    Eventually, as the others drifted out and made their way to the hotel, she sat down beside Brian. 'Are you all right?'
    He shook his head. 'It hurts, Joley. I've never hurt like this before. Not even when my father disowned me.'

    'What happened?'
    'Someone tried to kill Sergei tonight. I was with him. If it wasn't for the bodyguard, Prakenskii, we'd all be dead.'
    Joley inhaled sharply and reached out. Ilya didn't answer her. She closed her fingers over the mark on her palm and pressed her hand to her heart. 'Is everyone okay?'
    Brian glanced at her sharply. 'You mean the bodyguard? He just about killed everything that moved, but he got us out alive. I have to take back everything I said about him. He didn't hesitate to come into that house after us, when we were completely surrounded. I thought we were dead, Joley. I really did.' He hung his head, scrubbing his face with his hand, over and over, as if he could wipe away the memory.
    Her heart pounded hard. She tried to still it by taking deep breaths. 'But everyone's okay?'
    'Yeah. After a car chase and a shoot-out.'
    'And then you came here and performed.'
    A ghost of a smile touched his mouth. 'Not very well, apparently'
    Joley answered his smile with a teasing one of her own. 'I don't know. After all that, I'd say you did pretty well.'
    The smile faded from Brian's face, and he looked as if someone had ripped out his heart. 'He's a mobster, Joley.
    Prakenskii tried to cover for him, and I knew he was doing it for my protection.' The words stumbled over one another fast, coming out in a rush, as if all the air in his lungs was bursting out with the revelation. 'Prakenskii was worried Sergei would hurt me if he guessed I knew the truth.'
    She bit at her lip, frowning. 'How did you find out?'
    'You mean aside from all the dead bodies? Bodyguards aren't like that. Prakenskii is a machine, Joley, cool and without emotion; he didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, not one time. There were so many of them, and he killed them all. Sergei and the other guy, Eddie, took it all as if it happened every day - and for normal people that's just not the case. And then, when we were in the car, Sergei told Prakenskii he would kill the people who attacked us and kill their families.'
    'He said that in front of you?' She tried not to let her alarm show.
    'He spoke in Russian. I know he thought I wouldn't understand, but I've been studying Russian for the last year. It was supposed to be a surprise for him…' He trailed off, tears swimming in his eyes.
    'It doesn't matter. Businessmen don't say they're killing not only their enemies, but the families of their enemies. I knew right then.'
    Joley put her arms around him and held him close. 'I'm sorry, Brian. I'm really, really sorry' She didn't like the crazy thoughts swirling around in his head. 'Come back to the hotel with me tonight, Brian, and we'll just talk for a while.'
    'I don't want to intrude.'
    'Don't be silly, you wouldn't be intruding. Say you'll come. Steve can drive us both back together. And if you don't want to hang with my family, you can call it an early night.'
    Brian looked around the empty room. 'I loved all this. The music - the life - all of you.' He spread his hands out in front of him. 'Now it seems so empty'
    'Because you need someone to share it all with,' Joley said. She stood up and tugged at his hand. 'You know you shouldn't be alone, Brian. I may not be Nikitin, but I love you, and I'm always here for you. Come on back with me.
    You can sit in a