Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

been closed off to emotion for too long to resurrect guilt now. Undercover work, or taking out someone who lived beyond the arm of the law, was simply a job, and he had a code he tried never to deviate from, one that he could live with in a world of violence. He had a couple of triggers and his bosses knew it. The mistreatment of women and of children. He had seen too much as a child and wouldn't tolerate it, so he was often sent on the jobs demanding cleanup rather than arrest. Like the one he was on now.
    The branches of a bush swayed against the wind. Another twig snapped. Loud. Too loud. He turned fast, felt the knife slice across his ribs as he slapped it down and away from him. A second attacker had come up behind him. The only reason the strike hadn't hit home was because Ilya was blurring his image a bit and his assailant hadn't seen him until he was right up on him. He'd swung a knife instead of firing his gun.
    Ilya kicked the man's gun arm, smashing through bone, moving inside to whirl the attacker in front of him, facing the swaying bush. Bullets spat out and thunked into his human shield. Ilya dragged the deadweight with him until he had relative cover. He dropped the body, dove for the ground and crawled rapidly into thicker brush. The moment he was clear, he tore a strip from his shirt with his teeth and bound his wound.
    He waited in silence again. Minutes ticked by.j The shots were bound to have attracted someone's attention. He didn't have the luxury of patience. He began to work his way toward the remaining man. He could still hear heavy breathing, this time rasping, as the air burst from lungs overtaxed with anxiety.
    The last attacker decided to make a run for it. Hei began to withdraw, backing through the brush, cracking small branches and crunching dry leaves. Ilya pinpointed his position and rolled toward him fast, coming up firing several shots in rapid succession. The attacker hunched over on the ground. Ilya crawled close, still covering him. A finger on the man's neck found no pulse. Ilya spent a few minutes looking for the knife that had scraped his ribs, retrieving it so he could leave a relatively clean scene behind.
    He glanced at his watch and swore. Joley's performance was nearly over. The feeling of doom inside him hadn't lessened. The danger he'd sensed hadn't just been this hit squad. He had to get back to Joley fast.
    Ilya isn't in the arena. Joley could barely focus. She was worried, worried enough that she'd reached out telepathically and tried to connect with him. He hadn't answered. Uneasily she glanced around at the band. Ordinarily, Staples Center in Los Angeles was another of her favorite performance venues, but this time, she felt overwhelmed instead of energized by the thought of performing that night.
    She had a bad feeling. Her stomach churned with a terrible dread she couldn't shake.
    'Come on, Joley, get dressed. We've got to go on in a few minutes,' Logan said, glancing at Tish for help.
    Tish sent Logan a quick quelling look and flashed Joley a bright smile. 'Logan can watch the baby while I help you.'
    'Ten minutes, Tish,' Jerry reminded her.
    Joley realized they were all treating her carefully. She knew they thought her arm, which was swollen and bruised but healing fast, was much worse than it was. Only Tish and Brian knew the truth. She was pining away for the wrong man. He talked to her at night when she couldn't sleep. She wanted to beg ai*d plead with him to come to her, but she'd remained silent. If she expected Brian to stay away rom Nikitin and Denny to stay away from drugs and women, and Logan to toe the line with Tish, the she expected the same high standard of herself.
    'It's amazing how you've just fallen right back into taking care of all of us,' Joley said as she pulled open the door to the large room she'd been given to get ready. She preferred her own bus, it helped calm her down, but she'd come directly from the hotel, so she used the suite the center set aside for their performers.
    'I forgot how much I loved to travel with the band,' Tish said, shoving a long narrow box to the back of the table so she could set Joley's makeup case there. 'Who sent the flowers?'
    'Are there flowers?' Joley's heart leapt. Maybe Ilya had sent them. If he had, she'd do the right thing and throw them away. Or maybe that wouldn't be right. She wouldn't want them to go to waste. 'Let me see. Is there a card with them?'
    Tish dragged the box back to the center of the