Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

sea. Go indoors, I’l be there in a minute,†he used his no nonsense voice, praying she’d listen. One never knew with El e and she didn’t take to orders wel .
    â€œBehind you, Jackson,†El e yel ed.
    He knew better than to turn his back on the ocean, but he’d been focused on her and the sleeper wave came roaring at him, looking like a twenty-foot wal of water. The cyclones had merged together and Gratsos was making his last brutal attack.
    Jackson’s heart sank. He had no chance, the wave would sweep him out to sea and he was already too exhausted to successful y fight it. He just stood waiting for it to consume him.
    El e ran forward, her arms up in the air, her face turned toward the sky, palms out. She chanted something the wind whipped up and away so he couldn’t hear, but they were connected, welded mind to mind, and he felt power move in her, through her, a burst of energy so strong he expected the night to light up. He felt the impact of her rage, a wel erupting, an explosion of pent-up violent energy slamming into the wal of water with the force of a volcano.
    Her energy was red-hot and the air hissed and sizzled up and down the beach. Lightning forked in the sky. The wave rocketed upward, a solid sheet of superheated water that burst into the fog, spread like wildfire, consuming everything in its path, so that overhead, great mushroom clouds streaked upward. Flames of red and orange licked along the edges and rol ed like firebal s inside the churning mass, to rain back over the sea, dropping liquid fire into the depths to find the hidden current beneath the water and channel the ferocious energy seeking retaliation.
    The fog was gone as if it had never been, the sky clear with stars scattered everywhere. Silence settled along with the flames and only the sound of the waves remained, a steady ebbing and flowing that brought a sense of peace with it. El e’s knees caved and she went down, face first into the sand.
    Bomber rushed to Jackson, then turned back toward El e, anxious, uncertain which one to go to.
    Jackson stood swaying beside the dory, one hand on the boat’s side to steady himself. He looked around him, dazed, exhausted, trying to find the strength to move, to get to El e. The water was calm, the beach peaceful, and other than Abbey’s steel tank and diving belt having teeth marks, there was little evidence of the fight for their lives.
    â€œEl e?†He staggered his way up to her and sank into the sand beside her.
    El e rol ed over and stared up at him. There was blood trickling from her ear and the side of her mouth. “You scared me again, Jackson,†she whispered.
    â€œYou disobeyed me again.†He stretched out beside her, reaching out an arm to scoop her up so her head was pil owed on his chest and her body was tight against his. “Very inappropriate behavior for the woman of a badass.â€
    â€œI just saved your bad ass, buddy,†she pointed out.
    â€œYes, you did. Remind me to thank you properly later.â€
    â€œStavros real y made me angry this time.â€
    He turned his head and looked down at her pale face. “I’ve got to tel you, honey, when you’re pissed off, you’re hot as hel . That fire in the sky was a major turn-on for me. If I wasn’t so damned tired, I’d be showing you just how much.†Very gently he wiped the blood from her face with his hand. “Do you have any idea how bad Abbey is? She said she was al right, but there was blood and, although she said it was a juvenile, it looked like a big son of a bitch to me.â€
    El e pressed her face closer to him. “Thank you for saving her.â€
    â€œI wish I could take the credit. It was her dolphins. They came back to help at just the right time.â€
    â€œAbbey’s getting stitches in her arm, not very many, but the gash on her leg requires a lot more. Maybe twenty or so.†El e frowned, concentrating for a moment, listening to the flow of information from her sisters. “Her abdomen is very bruised and she’s got a few gashes there as wel , but they think something, possibly her diving belt, saved her.â€
    â€œIt has teeth marks on it.â€
    El e shivered and pressed closer. “You’re al wet.â€
    â€œAnd too tired to do anything about it.†He brushed kisses over her face. “I suppose we could try crawling back to the house.â€