Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

shouldn't have pried.' She turned onto her side. 'I've only got a couple of hours to sleep and then I'll be working. When you leave, please don't wake me up.'
    'Joley, you're angry with me.'
    'No, I'm just very tired.' And she wasn't angry. She was empty. Not even sorrow could fill her emptiness. She would say whatever he needed to hear so he would go and she would be safe. She flashed a fake smile at him and closed her eyes, waiting for him to leave her.
    Chapter Eleven
    'Joley. Wake up. Wake up, honey.'
    Joley groaned and squeezed her eyes closed tighter. 'Go away.'
    There were whispers. She heard them from a distance and tried to turn her head to see who was disturbing her. Her body felt heavy and cumbersome and her eyelids barely opened. Tish and Brian huddled together over the bed. Jerry stood at her table with the shreds of two white packets in his hands.
    Joley?
    Ilya's voice shredded her heart. That perfect pitch. No one had such a perfect, heartbreaking tone. She closed her eyes and pulled the covers over her head. She couldn't hear him or see him. She needed to stay asleep where he couldn't get to her to destroy her further.

    'Joley, what the hell did you take?' Jerry pushed Brian and Tish aside and crouched by the bed, shaking her. 'What did you take?' He dipped a finger into the envelope and tasted it, scowled and handed it to Brian.
    'She doesn't do drugs,' Brian said, repeating the same action and tasting the powder.
    'She took something,' Jerry snapped. 'Joley, what the fuck have you done? I swear you'd better tell me or I'm calling a fucking ambulance right now. Get her up. Walk her up and down the bus. Get some water on her face. What did you take?'
    Joley frowned at them, forcing her lashes to lift. 'Go away. I'm sleeping.'
    'You're getting up,' Jerry decreed. I don't expect this kind of drama from you, Joley. Denny maybe, but not you.
    What the hell did you take?'
    Her mouth felt like cotton. T can't take drugs. You know that. They don't work on my body. They just make me sick.' She rolled over and stared at the ceiling, keeping the comforter wrapped tightly around her body.
    Tish took the packet from Brian and sat on the edge of the bed. 'What is this, honey?'
    'Hannah made it up for me. I'm only supposed to use one envelope, but I couldn't sleep so I took two - and it worked.' She glared up at Jerry. 'Until you decided to barge in.'
    'What's in it?' Jerry demanded, relief making his voice gruff.
    T don't know. She grows all that stuff. She's like supergardener, and all her powders and creams work.' Joley put her hand over her eyes. 'Did you have to raise all the screens?'
    'Only two,' Brian said. 'I'm getting you something to eat. I'll be right back.'
    'Get her moving, Tish,' Jerry said and awkwardly patted Joley's head.
    Tish waited until the men had left and shut the door. 'You're covered in bruises, Joley, you have marks all over your body. What happened? Do you need a doctor?'
    Marks all over her? Ilya's marks. Inside and out. She could feel him touching her, whispering to her, his breath warm against her skin, his hands like magic. She pulled the comforter closer to hold the marks tight against her skin. The absolute compassion and caring in Tish's voice was her undoing. Tears burned in her eyes and clogged her throat. She shook her head. 'I'm all right. Nothing bad happened. I was just stupid, the way I'm always stupid.'
    'You're never stupid, Joley. You might be attracted to the wrong men, but you're careful. You know to keep a distance.'
    'Does it look like I kept my distance this time, Tish?' Joley raised her head and looked straight at the other woman, letting her see the heartache, the betrayal, the pain that wasn't going to end just because she was smart enough to walk away. She had committed herself to Ilya. She had given herself to him - all that she was, everything - and he'd stolen her heart even when she tried to protect herself. 'I'm such an idiot. I know my own weaknesses. I do, Tish. I laugh at them and guard against them. I've never allowed myself to fall in love. Never.'
    Until now. With the wrong man. Everything about him appealed to her, even his aloofness. T intended to be the goddess who finally melted his heart of stone. What a crock.' She covered her face with her hands. T can't believe I did this.'
    'Come here, baby,' Tish said.
    Joley laid her head in Tish's lap and let her stroke her hair soothingly. She wasn't going to cry. She deserved this for her own stupidity.