Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

the spotlight, directing it into the muddy waters below. “Try to use as little psychic energy as possible, Abbey,†he cautioned. “Gratsos is out here, riding in the fog, and he’s seeking a target again.â€
    â€œI don’t care about that. I’m going in.â€
    â€œWait!†He said it sharply, catching her shoulder and holding her in spite of her efforts to somersault into the water. “We go together and we go tied together. The water is going to be very cold, very dark and now, more dangerous than ever, and we have no idea what we’re going to find down there.†He shoved a webbed harness for her ankle at her. “Put it on.â€
    â€œI have a knife already.†She touched her belt.
    â€œFucking put it on, Abbey. We aren’t taking any chances.â€
    A brief smile flashed at him as Abbey strapped the harness to her leg so the knife fit snugly. “You have such a foul mouth, Jackson. Wait until al your little girls talk like that.†She accepted the end of the six foot length of rope and clipped it to her belt so they were loosely tied together.
    Kiwi leapt from the water, dousing them both, his head bobbing as he scolded Abbey, urging her to hurry. His body slammed back into the water and he circled the boat.
    Jackson thrust a light into her hand, watched as she put in her mouthpiece and motioned to her to go in. He fol owed right behind her. The dolphin slipped close, brushing their bodies once, twice and then angled so Abbey could reach out and catch his fin. He dove, taking her with him. Jackson felt the pul of the rope and swam down, fol owing. The dolphin was incredibly strong and fast, dragging them both through the sea, deeper and deeper.
    It was dark and the beam from their lights barely cut through the murky water. The world was cold and foreign, instead of the way Jackson usual y saw it when he dove. There was a feeling of dread, of danger building and twice Abbey looked back at him and he knew she was feeling it as wel . Jackson al owed the dolphin to do the work, looking around below and above, doing his best to provide a guardian for Abigail in the hopes of seeing anything deadly coming before it actual y reached them.
    The dolphin swam out from under Abbey abruptly and circled a struggling mass. Boscoe, tangled in a fisherman’s net, was bleeding from his nose and fins as he fought to free himself. Jackson pul ed his knife out while Abbey put her hands on the dolphin, calming him.
    He felt a smal surge of energy in the water, almost electric, as she communicated with the animal and knew they were in real trouble now. By using psychic energy to keep the dolphin calm while he slashed and cut through the thick netting, she was cal ing down another psychic attack on them. He had no idea what form it would take, but they were extremely vulnerable there in the cold ocean at night. Abbey began helping him, although it took a great deal of strength to cut through the netting. They circled the dolphin as fast as possible, pul ing the net away from him as they went.
    It seemed to take a long time—too long—with the dark water surrounding them and the dolphin occasional y thrashing out of desperation in spite of Abigail’s reassurances. There was no tel ing how long he’d been fighting and he was exhausted and needed air. The moment he was free, he surged toward the surface, Kiwi abandoning them to help Boscoe. Jackson kept the knife in his hand and signaled to Abigail to go to the surface.
    She nodded and began to swim, kicking strongly in an effort to hurry. Jackson stayed right behind her, and he felt the first tug on his body, a powerful flow of water backwashing against the tide. Swearing to himself, he used his strength to try to keep them going in the direction they wanted—up—but the wash of water caught them both and tumbled them much like a spinning washing machine.
    Jackson flung out his arms in an effort to snag Abigail and bring her in close to him, to help protect her from the debris churning with them, but he could only feel her suit as she tumbled beneath him toward the sea floor. His body smashed against the ocean floor. He rol ed over and over, his tank scraping, the force of the water trying to strip his body of al gear. He made himself relax, letting the water take him, feeling the pul of the rope anchoring him to Abigail. He knew with the force of the turbulence, the rope