Sea Haven 01 - Water Bound

target if anyone wanted to get to him.
    Lev cleared his throat. “If I want to hear gossip, where’s the best place to go?”
    “Inez at the grocery store,” Rikki and Blythe said simultaneously. They looked at each other and laughed.
    “Everyone talks to her. She knows everyone and sooner or later, everyone spills their guts to her,” Rikki added.
    “But I don’t want to paint her as just a gossip,” Blythe clarified. “She’s not like that. She’s genuinely interested in people’s lives and cares about 244

    them. She doesn’t disclose anything confidential and she protects the people in the village. The Drakes, one of our most prominent families, are very close to her. Joley is a star in the music industry and Hannah was a supermodel. Kate writes novels and they’re bestsellers, so often, reporters come into the village, especially for those tatty little gossip rags.”
    “Blythe is a first cousin to the Drakes,” Rikki volunteered. “Her mother’s name is Blythe as well. It’s a huge family. I swear, there’re so many cousins they could take over the town.”
    Blythe nodded, her gaze fixed on Lev. “We probably could. And recently there was quite a wedding.”
    “Your family sounds interesting. I didn’t have any siblings so I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a large family.”
    “Noisy,” Blythe said. “And happy. I have a lot of cousins, but no siblings. My mother managed to have me, but no others. She had six sisters.
    She was third to the oldest and quite talented in her way. I could never lie to her.” She laughed softly. “It wasn’t so easy during my teenage years, but all the get-togethers with my cousins were fun. Holidays were the best”
    “So you’re close to your cousins?”
    She nodded. “I see them often. That’s why I came here, to be close to family. I found this great piece of property. Most of the farm was already developed.”
    “Why didn’t your family go in with you on it?” Lev asked.
    Her expression closed down. “I didn’t ask them. I felt it was very necessary to be on my own.” She indicated Rikki with her chin. “I’m glad I did. I never had younger sisters and this farm has allowed me to have a big family of my own.”
    Rikki smiled. “And I’m very glad you did as well.”
    Blythe studied Lev’s face. She seemed to be staring at his eyes. He knew his facial hair hid a great deal. He had scars on his arms and hands, and he was certain she’d noticed them but she hadn’t asked any questions.
    “You remind me of Joley’s husband just a little bit. Something around the eyes, or maybe it’s the way you watch people. You’re very still like he is. He’s Russian and worked for some sort of government agency. I’m not really certain which. His last name is Prakenskii.”
    Prakenskii. He didn’t even blink. Survival took over. His body remained relaxed and he appeared mildly interested, no more. Had someone taken his pulse, it would have been rock steady.
    Do not look at me, Rikki.
    Rikki rocked gently in her chair and idly picked up the handheld kaleidoscope Judith had made especially for her. Lev could see it was 245

    beautiful, the exterior blues and aquas shimmered as if one was underwater looking up toward the surface to palm trees overlooking the ocean.
    Keep looking into your kaleidoscope. She is fishing and we can give nothing away. It would put her life in danger.
    Aloud, he spoke to Blythe, not even glancing at Rikki to see if she understood. He had to trust her to handle this inquiry without hesitation.
    Lev looked Blythe straight in the eye and gave a casual shrug. “Must be my Russian mother. Well, half Russian. Her mother married a contractor who had consulted with a huge building project there. She was a translator.
    Maybe she gave me Russian eyes.”
    “Were you aware,” Blythe asked, “that although the yacht that went down was a Greek vessel, one of those lost aboard was a Russian? I’ve heard someone’s been in Inez’s store asking around about survivors, particularly the Russian.”
    Rikki took a breath and held out the kaleidoscope, as if the conversation was an idle one and didn’t concern her in the least. “You have to look at this, Levi.”
    “Really?” he said to Blythe as he took the proffered scope. “I thought it was confirmed that everyone was dead. I haven’t been keeping up with the news.”
    Blythe nodded. “Judith told me he showed her a picture of the man he was looking