Oceans of Fire (6 page)

“I’ll get them.” Jonas was already moving, taking the stairs two at a time, leaving Aleksandr to face Abbey’s aunt.

Carol regarded him with her hands on her hips. “I’ll get a blanket to wrap her in. I can’t very well have you taking her clothes off.”

“I’m her fiancé,“ Aleksandr stated without the least compunction. ”Please just show me to her room and I’ll do the rest.“

At his declaration, both Libby and Elle tried to push themselves up, although neither succeeded.

Carol didn’t ask for more of an explanation, but guided him up the stairs to Abbey’s room. Her bedroom was spacious with French doors that led out onto a wide balcony overlooking the sea. “You’d better be telling the truth, young man. I’m not without my own gifts and that lovely accent will not save you from my wrath should you be lying.” She closed the door before he could reply.

“I know you’re angry, Abbey,” Aleksandr said as he laid her on a blanket on the floor, “but you brought this on yourself. I gave you plenty of time.” He began to peel off her wet suit, an incredibly difficult task when it was as snug as a second skin. “I’ve only got so much patience.” He wrapped a robe around her the moment he stripped her and tried not to notice her body.

Not that it mattered. Even with his eyes closed he remembered the feel of her body, her lush, generous curves, warm and soft, skin pressed tightly against him. Abbey in his arms. Fitting so perfectly. He cinched the robe around her waist, careful of her wounds, and squeezed a towel around her thick red braid to soak up the excess water.

She pushed at him with feeble hands. “Angry is an understatement. Go away.”

“No. Not this time. It’s taken me four years to catch up with you. There’s no way I’m going to walk away. Especially when you get yourself mixed up with this mess. If the Russian mafia is involved, Abbey, it’s going to get messy. And Jonas Harrington can go to hell if he thinks he’s got a claim on you. We’re engaged and I’m not letting you out of it.”

“You don’t really think I’m going to let you walk back into my life!” She pressed her fingers to her temple. “I need to be downstairs with my sisters.”

She was getting her voice back and that wasn’t good. “Where are your sweats? I’m not taking you down there if Jonas is going to know you aren’t wearing anything under that robe.”

Her eyebrow shot up but she indicated her second drawer, not wasting energy on an argument with him. The truth was, she was shocked to see him. She could barely stand to look at him, to see him, so solid and real instead of the man haunting her dreams.

Aleksandr scooped her up once she had wiggled into her sweatpants. “I’m taking you down there, but don’t make the mistake of making eyes at him.”

“Do shut up, Sasha.” The nickname slipped out without conscious thought. He’d always had a jealous streak and it annoyed her no end.
Everything
about Aleksandr annoyed her, especially his complete confidence. And his attitude. As if
he
had the right to be angry with
her
.

“Do you want to tell me what you were doing in the sea by yourself?” He gave her a little shake in his arms. “And you should have more sense than to be caught in the open when bullets are flying.” The angrier he got, the thicker his accent became. All the while his arms were gentle.

She didn’t want to remember that about him. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“Yes, you do. You have to answer for taking ten years off my life, not to mention the four lost between us.” He strode down the stairs and into the living room as if he owned her house, as if she weighed no more than a child. As if he were in charge.

“Put her on the floor, over there,” Carol directed, pointing to a spot where she’d spread a few cushions.

Aleksandr propped Abigail against the sofa and sat beside her. Close. His thigh touching hers. “She has a bullet wound across her back and a shark scraped down the back of her leg.”

“Oh, dear.” Carol put her hand over her mouth. “I’ve brought her tea, but that won’t help her injuries.”

“The paramedics disinfected them but she refused to go to the hospital.“

Libby moved then, dragging herself across the few feet that separated her from Abigail, and reached out to touch her sister’s leg.

Abigail shook her head violently and tried to pull her leg out of reach. “No, Libby. You’re too weak.” She gasped the words, fighting for energy just to speak.

“Just rest, Libby,” Carol admonished. “You can’t heal another person after what you’ve been through. Drink your tea.”

She made it an order. “All of you.” She looked at Aleksandr. “I’m gone a few years, and they all grow up and forget everything we taught them. It’s a good thing I’ve come home.”

Libby reached for Abbey’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Abbey shook her head. Libby was the healing force of the Drake sisters. Through her, unbelievable results could be achieved, but she paid for it dearly, often taking on the pain and illness of the injured or sick person she was aiding. “We’re fine. We’re all fine,” she assured her sister.

Aleksandr pressed the cup of tea into Abigail’s other hand and helped her bring it to her mouth. She didn’t fight him, but watched instead as Jonas returned from the captain’s walk carrying her sister Hannah.

Hannah stared at Aleksandr with curious eyes. “Who?” she mouthed.

“None of your concern,” Jonas snapped. “Did you pay the slightest bit of attention to how close you were to the edge when you were casting? You nearly fell over the railing, Hannah. Another inch and we might have lost you.”

“There, there, dear.” Carol patted Jonas as if he were a boy. “There’s no way of knowing when the weakness is going to hit. Hannah commands the winds. She has to reach out to the sea. Don’t give her a lecture when she can’t even defend herself.”

“That’s the best time,” Jonas muttered. “In fact now would be a good time to give them all a lecture on safety. Do you realize Abbey was diving in the sea alone?”

“Go get Sarah and Kate and Joley, Jonas,” Carol said. “We’ll make certain Abbey never does such a foolish thing again.” She gave him a little push toward the stairs.

Aleksandr wanted to laugh at the sheriff’s expression. Aunt Carol had reduced Jonas’s dangerous image to that of a “bad boy” with a few well-chosen words and her tone. The Drake women were truly perilous to the opposite sex, but then he had firsthand knowledge of that. His hand slid over Abbey’s until he could intertwine his fingers with hers.

She looked at him. Tears swam in her eyes and his heart jerked hard in his chest. He’d never been able to stand her tears. That day, the day neither of them would ever forget, he hadn’t gone to her because her tears would have changed the course of his life and he hadn’t been able to afford what would have resulted. He leaned over her, blocking her from the sight of the others. “Don’t cry,
lyubof maya
. You are my heart, my world.” He murmured the words in his own language because it was the only way he could tell her. He’d never stopped loving her. He had nothing without her. He’d learned that in the emptiness of his violent world. In the endless travels and the bleak hotel rooms. There was no home without her, not even his beloved Russia.

Abigail shook her head. “Go away, Sasha, don’t come back here again.”

He brought her hand to his mouth, his lips sliding over her knuckles, his tongue tasting her. Salt and sea. That was Abigail. “I go only because there is no talking to you when you are like this. And you’ve had a bad fright, but I will return, and we will sort this out.”

Aleksandr pushed himself up as Jonas returned carrying another Drake sister. “I will go, but you know where I’m staying. Please do me the courtesy of informing me of any information you might procure.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Volstov. I’ll be seeing you the minute I leave here,” Jonas assured him. “You want me to call for a ride?”

Aleksandr shook his head and deliberately looked at Abbey. “I’m staying close by so I can keep an eye on things.” He had done what he could to stake his claim, but he knew Abbey well enough to know she was going to be upset that she was so vulnerable and he had taken advantage. Damn Jonas Harrington for having the inside track.

Carol showed him to the door. “I’ll take good care of her,” she assured him, “no need to worry about Abbey. As soon as Libby is feeling better, she’ll attend to her sister.”

Carol closed the door and immediately hurried over to Abigail. “Are you all right, dear? Shall I call your mother?” Her expression betrayed her anxiety. “How bad are your injuries?” She glanced toward the door. “And that fiancé of yours has the sexiest accent. When he was speaking in Russian I nearly fell on the floor.”

Abigail didn’t want to agree with her aunt, but she was grateful she was already on the floor. No matter how many nightmares, no matter how often she relived Aleksandr’s behavior, the moment she saw him, heard his voice, touched him, she knew she would have to be very careful. “I’ll be fine, Aunt Carol,” Abbey assured her. “I just want to go to sleep.”

“Not before you talk to me,” Jonas decreed, depositing Joley in a chair beside Kate. He suddenly crouched down beside Abigail and took the hand Aleksandr had held. He took a breath. It seemed the first he’d taken in several long hours. “I was really scared for you, Abbey. I saw him standing over you. I saw the gun and the two men down. There was blood everywhere and I thought for a moment we lost you.” He sighed and rubbed his chin, his eyes avoiding hers. “I came close to killing him with no warning. I was that scared.” He hung his head for a moment. “I nearly pulled the trigger just to get him the hell off of you.”

“Jonas.” Abigail let her breath out. “It was horrible, of course you would have thought he was trying to hurt me.”

“I almost killed a man in cold blood, Abbey. I never want to feel like that again.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “I’ve done a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never killed an innocent man.”

She tightened her fingers around his. Without warning her skin prickled and she looked up to see Aleksandr watching them from outside the window. His expression hardened and his eyes grew even colder, if that were possible. Her heart jumped and began a wild beat she couldn’t control. He held her stare for a moment then turned and disappeared from sight. Abbey cleared her throat and tore her gaze away from the window. “It’s not going to happen again, Jonas. I’ll be careful.”

“You’d better be.” He took the cup of tea Carol handed to him and immediately sipped the hot, rejuvenating drink. “Thanks, Aunt Carol. It’s been a hell of a night.” He sank back, resting his head against the sofa, and looked around him at the Drake sisters. “Abigail witnessed a murder tonight and I’m afraid the Russian mafia may be involved. They’re a very violent and messy bunch. I don’t want
any
of you involved in this, and Abbey, you stay the hell away from Volstov. I don’t know why he’s claiming to be engaged to you and I don’t have a clue if you knew him somewhere before this, but he’s a very dangerous man and he’s up to his neck in the mess.”

Sarah roused herself to wave her hand. “He’s claiming he’s engaged to Abbey?”

Abigail could feel color sweeping into her neck and face as all of her sisters, her aunt Carol, and Jonas stared at her. She drank more tea to give herself time to think up an answer.

“Abbey?” Kate prompted.

“Well,” Abbey hedged. “Yes. I mean no. Not really. Maybe.” She drew up her legs. “I’m confused.”

“Just how long have you known that man?” Jonas demanded.

Abigail clenched her teeth. She detested being the center of attention. “I don’t want to talk about it, Jonas.”

He was silent for a moment as he drained the rest of the tea from the mug Carol had given him. “Tell me what happened tonight, Abbey. And don’t leave out anything, even a small detail you think may be insignificant.“

Abbey set the teacup on the floor between them as she related the evening’s events. She could feel the tension rising between her sisters but none of them pressed her for details or for explanations and she knew they wouldn’t until Jonas left. Once he was gone she would really have to explain things and already she was getting the classic headache from magic overload.

“Oh, my.” Carol broke the silence after Abbey finished.

“This could be an international spy case, or something equally intriguing. All of you stay right there. I’ll need to get the camera. We should record this for your children’s children.” She hurried into the kitchen.

“Murder isn’t very intriguing, Aunt Carol,” Sarah called after her. “It’s just plain nasty. And we look awful. You can’t take our pictures like this.”

“Darling”—Carol bustled back into the room with a small camera in her hand—“these are the best photos of all. Unrehearsed and yet significant. The moment you all embarked on an international crime-fighting case involving foreign spies and handsome agents.” She smiled happily at Abbey. “I know a dozen good love potions and even more spells, dear.” She clicked away with the camera, taking pictures from several angles. “You just let me know if you need them with your young man.”

“I don’t have a young man,” Abbey protested.

“He seems to think so,” Carol said. “You have to learn to make yourself clear in matters of the heart. Believe me, I know. Hannah, dear, quit making faces at me. You should be used to having your picture taken.”

“Not without fifteen makeup men to help her out,” Jonas said.

“Go away,” Hannah directed him, waving her arm. “I’m too tired to fight with you.” She ignored Carol snapping more shots ferociously.

“You even manage to look elegant when you’re sending me away, Hannah,” Jonas said, standing up. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll be back later to check on everyone. Anyone want help up to their room before I take off?”

“Are you sick? You never call me Hannah.” Hannah pushed herself upright and regarded Jonas with a troubled gaze. “Are you all right?”

Her thick mass of platinum hair fell over her shoulder and pooled in spirals over the back of the couch. He looked away from her, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Jonas,” Hannah insisted, “we can help you feel better. Just give us a minute.”