Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

alibis for everyone.â€
    Ilya pushed his fingers through his hair. “There’s one other smal problem.â€
    â€œWhat would that be?â€
    â€œMy brother. I’ve tried luring him off the ship with the idea of having him arrested for trying to bribe a public official,†Ilya said. “I sent word that you’d only talk to him.â€
    Jackson stood up so fast his chair went over backward. He kicked it out of the way and advanced on Ilya. “You never said you had a brother working for Gratsos.â€
    â€œNo, I didn’t,†Ilya said. “I didn’t know until we went in to get El e out. I talked to her and asked her to keep it confidential until I could figure out what was going on.â€
    â€œWhen?†Jackson demanded. “She’s been with me every minute.â€
    â€œNot this morning. I was at the Drake house when you dropped her off to get ready.â€
    Jackson swore under his breath, furious with Ilya, even angrier with El e. What the fuck, Elle. You don’t keep something like this from me, you understand? It’s my job to protect you and I’ll be damned if you hold back information.
    Don’t say the “F†word to me on our wedding day.
    Is that all you have to say to me? I’m standing here with my dick hanging out because you didn’t let me know Ilya’s brother was working for Gratsos. Jackson stalked out of the house, away from Ilya, tempted to punch him. He paced back and forth on his deck.
    Well, put that lovely treasure back in your pants and calm down. He asked me to keep it confidential.
    I don’t give a damn what he asked. We don’t do that. You tell me everything.
    There was a short pause. I’m sorry, Jackson. I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you. Ilya told me they had each other in their sights and put their guns down. He wanted to know what part his brother had played in the events on the island. His brother was a bodyguard, but he was the only one nice to me. He definitely wanted me off the yacht before Stavros took me to the island. He argued with Stavros.
    But he didn’t help you escape and he sure as hell knew what Stavros was doing to you.
    He never came into the room until the day Stavros brought that guard in and killed him. The bodyguard was furious.
    Jackson erupted into language far worse than the “F†word. He didn’t give a damn if the man was Ilya’s brother, he hadn’t stopped the torture happening to El e. Maybe he hadn’t known everything, but he was guilty and the man could go down with the ship.
    He turned at the sound of the door closing quietly. Ilya faced him. “He’s undercover. He was raised the way I was, Jackson, and he’s undercover. You know you don’t blow months or years of work to save one person. You have to look at the bigger picture.â€
    â€œI don’t want to hear bul shit excuses.â€
    Something hard flickered in the depths of Ilya’s eyes but he remained calm. “You’ve worked undercover. I’m certain you’ve had to make hard decisions. If you’re trying to take down the ring, do you save hundreds, maybe thousands, or one?â€
    â€œYou don’t know that’s what he’s doing.â€
    â€œI know. I can’t tel you how I know, I just do.†Ilya regarded Jackson steadily. “He has to live with himself and what he’s done in order to get close to Gratsos, just as I had to live with very unpleasant things.â€
    â€œHe pul ed his boss out of harm’s way on the island. You can’t tel me he didn’t. So he’l do it again if you give him an inkling of the plan.â€
    â€œWhich is why I don’t intend to. I’ve tried to lure him to shore, but if he doesn’t take the bait, he’l die with Gratsos. I’m not wil ing to risk Joley and Hannah or any of the Drake sisters any more than you are. They’re my family now, my first loyalty is to them.â€
    â€œTel me you didn’t have Gratsos in your sights and let him go.â€
    â€œWould you believe me?â€
    Jackson nodded and kept his gaze steady on Ilya. Ilya shook his head. “I didn’t have a shot. I would have shot through his bodyguard to take him out.â€
    Jackson let out his breath slowly. “Okay. Okay then. Let’s just get this done. I’m