Joley shrugged. I think you're right.
Ilya kept all expression from his face as he teased her. Maybe I should tell them I ate spaghetti off your stomach last night and licked sauce off your breasts. He'd done more than that--a lot more than that. Do you think they'd believe me then?
No, they'll just think all the tabloid stories are the truth.
"Joley," Hannah repeated. "Are you really thinking of getting married?" There was a little hitch in her voice and her gaze shifted for a moment to Ilya.
Joley nodded. "I'm not into big weddings. I thought we'd just run off, get it done and then sort of tell Mom and Dad after."
"Before," Ilya corrected.
"After," Joley said.
"We will tell them before we are married and give them the opportunity to join us," Ilya said. I will not be hidden from your parents as if you are ashamed of me.
Her gaze jumped to his face. "Ilya. Never. How can you think that?" She was so upset she forgot the others hadn't been privy to their exchange. "It has nothing to do with you. I just can't seem to do anything right and I've given up arguing with my father."
Everyone erupted into speech at the same time.
"No!" Sarah said firmly. "Absolutely not."
Libby shook her head. "Joley, you haven't thought this through."
Abbey stepped directly in front of Ilya. "Mr. Prakenskii, do you kill people for a living?"
The room fell silent again, and Joley hissed, a long, angry note escaping between her teeth. "Don't answer. Don't say anything. She's using her gift of truthspeaking on you." She leapt up and pushed between her older sister and Ilya. "How dare you? Did you ask Damon that question? Or Matt? What about Jonas? Did you ask him? Or Tyson? You have no right to do that to him." Furious, she glared at her family. "I'm done here."
She turned on her heel, yanked open the door and walked out, slamming it behind her.
Ilya faced her sisters and their men. "She wanted you to be happy for her. She wanted to share something special with you. I would have given you any information about myself freely had you asked. It wasn't necessary to embarrass her." He followed Joley out into the hall.
Joley walked briskly toward the elevators. She was furious--furious--with her family. It was always the same. Joley, the one they all had to look out for because she couldn't make a decent decision to save her life. None of them had lost their minds over Damon or Matt. Or Jonas. What the hell was that all about? Jonas was bossy and he worked undercover even when he promised he wouldn't. What kind of a husband was he for Hannah?
Ilya caught up to her and took her clenched fist into his hand, stopping her. "They were objecting out of love for you, Joley." His thumb slid over her bare knuckles in an attempt to ease the tension out of her.
She was going to cry. She could feel the tears burning behind her eyes, and that made her even angrier. "I didn't question if Hannah was out of her mind when she chose Jonas. I supported her decision. Maybe I teased her a bit, but I wanted her happy and it was obvious that Jonas made her happy."
She had always been so careful in her choice of men because she knew she had a weakness for the dangerous ones. She'd laughed about it, joked about it, never once hid it from her sisters, and she'd made certain she stayed away from them. Her family should have trusted that she knew she what she was doing.
"Is it possible that all of you knew Jonas and had accepted the man he is already?" he asked gently. "I watch you all when he's raking you over the coals, and you might roll your eyes and sigh, but you let him have his say because you know he's afraid for you. And when he's afraid, he's angry."
"Don't defend them. They don't deserve it."
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her clenched fist before pulling her into the refuge of his arms. "You had the same fears, laskovaya moya. It is a legitimate question after all. I went to a great deal of trouble to create my reputation."
"Jonas and Aleksandr are standing in that room. Aleksandr is Abbey's fiance. She could have asked him privately what he thought, not tried to embarrass you in front of my entire family."
"I don't embarrass so easily, Joley." He nuzzled her neck, holding her close in an effort to still the tremors running through her body. "But I love you all the more for wanting to defend me." A sound alerted him, and he whirled around, thrusting Joley behind him as a door opened. Hannah came down the hall toward them.
"Joley, Ilya, come back inside."
Joley looked stubborn. "I'm really angry," she said. "I'd better not."
Hannah reached them and drew her sister into her arms, although Joley remained stiff. "You're hurt, baby, that's not the same thing. And you have every right to be upset. I'm happy for you and so is Jonas. He says Ilya is a good man."
"By agreeing to marry him, I said Ilya was a good man. I know I've always been attracted to the wrong sort of men, so why would I marry someone I wasn't certain of?"
"You're right, Joley. Everyone is very sorry. Please come back and we'll have some tea." Hannah smiled up at Ilya. "Joley is very loved and we're all a little overprotective of her."
Ilya nodded his understanding. He felt very protective of her as well, and sometimes felt her family didn't protect her enough. Joley thought of herself as tough, but she was very sensitive and vulnerable. He slipped his arm around her waist. "Let's go have some tea."
Joley scowled at them, but she'd never been able to resist Hannah. She followed her sister back to the room. You're uneasy. We don't have to go in.
He looked down at her. She surprised him sometimes. It isn't your family. I need to go soon. My gut tells me there's a problem with Nikitin, and I'm rarely wrong. I need to be there. In any case he texted me a summons, and you don't say no to Nikitin.
She stiffened and threw him a quick shake of the head. No, you can't go. I've heard about the Russians when they get upset.
His expression didn't change, but she had the impression of a brief smile in her mind. It warmed her as nothing else could.
I am Russian, lubov moya.
Joley stepped very close to him, as if shielding him from her waiting family. They were all on their feet watching soberly as she stepped in front of him. His heart reacted with a curious melting. She looked regal to him, regal and beautiful, and in that moment whatever tiny bit of him he'd held in reserve was gone in an instant. He was completely, utterly hers.
"I am going to marry Ilya Prakenskii. I'm in love with him and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. None of you have to agree with my decision, I'm not asking you to, but I expect you to treat him with respect, the same way you treat every other man in this family."
She wasn't asking. She was stating, and staring her sisters down while she did it.
Hannah reacted first. To Ilya's dismay, she put her arms around him and hugged him. "Welcome to the family. Please forgive our former rudeness, we were just very shocked. Joley normally communicates with us, and she failed to tell us she was even contemplating marriage."
Sarah nodded. "She's been rather opposed to it." She still eyed him warily, as if he might have cast a spell on her sister.
Jonas stuck out his hand. "Why so quick? You'd think you were in a hurry. Mom and Dad are going to want to be there."
"I want to be there, too," Hannah said decisively.
"We all do," Libby added. "Joley, you can't run off and get married without your family."
Hannah waved her hand, and a tray floated in with tea in mugs and a platter of fresh-baked cookies.
"It's just better," Joley said. "Once we're married, he'll have to quit his job." She took a cookie and a mug of tea and went over to Abbey, who was huddled on Aleksandr's lap in the corner. "Here, have some tea, it's good for you, and let's declare a truce."
Abbey broke into a smile and took the mug. "Accept my apology."
"Done." Joley flashed Ilya a smile. "He can't work as Nikitin's bodyguard if he's married to me. He'll be splashed all over every tabloid around the world and there goes his career."
"Is that why you think we're getting married immediately?" Ilya asked. He took a mug as the tray floated passed him.
Hannah looked up, her gaze sharp and focused. "Your magic is different from ours, close, but different. The mark on Joley's palm, can that be removed?"
"No man would remove his mark from his woman," Ilya said and took a sip of tea. "I can't stay long, so make your questions count if you need to know something."
The slight smile faded from Joley's face. "They don't need to question you."
"Actually," Hannah interrupted, "I have a question. Are you the seventh son of a seventh son?"
Joley whirled around, sending hot tea streaming out in a half circle. Ilya lifted his hand, and the liquid remained in the air, then refilled the mug.
Joley glared at her sister. "Why in the world would you think that?"
"His magic works differently, yes, but not that much different, and he has all the gifts, not just one or two, and his gifts are highly developed. It makes sense."
Joley raised her chin and glared at Ilya. "We'll it might make sense, but he's not. You're not, so don't even pretend. It's not funny. Do not give them ammunition." She sank gracefully onto the floor and sipped at her tea. "You aren't funny, Hannah, to even think of that." She sent Ilya another warning look. You aren't, so forget teasing me.
"I don't understand," Matt, Kate's fiance said. "What difference does it make?"
"None!" Joley said. "None whatsoever."
Kate cleared her throat and took the plunge. "If Ilya is the seventh son of a seventh son and his line works anything like ours, then he's destined to produce sevens sons with all the gifts."
Joley shuddered. "Well, he's not."
Ilya grinned at her. "The cookies are very good, Hannah. You'll have to give me the recipe."
Jonas nudged Joley with his foot. "You look a little pale there, Joley. Maybe you're protesting a bit too much." He lifted an eyebrow at Ilya. "Are you the seventh son of a seventh son? You know, Joley, I've never forgotten that little pro and con list you made for Hannah when I was trying to convince her I should marry her."
"She did that?" Ilya asked. "She's still doing it. She has a list for me."
Joley narrowed her eyes and looked down her nose at both men. "The cons are stacking up fast, Ilya. I wouldn't get too smug. Siding with them and teasing me goes on the con side."
"Being the seventh son of a seventh son might just go there, too," Jonas said.
"Stop saying that!" Joley put down her mug and clapped her hands over her ears. "I'm not listening to any of you until you start to make sense."
She might not be listening, but she was looking around the room at her family. Every sister was staring at Ilya with a shocked, apprehensive expression. There wasn't the humor Jonas seemed to find in the situation, and Joley's stomach began to tie into little knots. Her gaze jumped to Sarah's face. Sarah, who often knew things. Joley's mouth went dry. Sarah simply stared at the floor, impossible to see what she was thinking--and that was a bad omen. Joley looked up at Ilya. You're not.
Ilya bent and brushed a kiss on top of her head. I told you not to rely so much on your birth control.
If she'd been pale before, she went white now, blinking up at him, her stomach going from hard knots to a roller coaster. She could feel the blood draining from her face down her body until she was dizzy--actually dizzy. She shook her head. "I'm going to throw up. I am. I'm really going to throw up."
Ilya calmly crouched beside her and laid a hand against her abdomen. The rolling immediately ceased. Joley shoved him backward, hoping to knock him on his butt, but he kept his balance.
"You're not funny. I'm not having children, let alone seven of them. Sheesh. Everyone can just quit looking at us that way. Ilya hasn't a clue about his family, he's making it up." She flashed him another smoldering glare. You'd better be making it up, because the sex wasn't that great--nowhere near, in fact.
Then I'll have to work on it, won't I?
No amount of great sex will make me sign on for having seven sons. I mean it, Ilya. I wasn't ever going to get married, I'm certainly not going to produce seven sons. Have you seen a pregnant woman? Swollen ankles. Labor pains. Water retention. Labor pains! No way. Are you out of your freaky little mind?
He took her hand, the one with his mark, and kissed her palm. "We'll be fine. I can't stay, lubov moya, I have a job to do. Have a great performance this evening. Joley, you stay with security at all times. Change your dance patterns, stay away from the edge of the stage."
"I can't do that. I can't be thinking about where I am on the stage while I'm working."
"You're going to have to. And the moment you're done, you get back to your hotel room until I'm there to escort you to the next concert."
She made a face at him.
His expression hardened. "Jonas and Aleksandr are going to make certain you do as I've said. Whoever put that bomb on your bus wants you dead."
"They've arrested Lucy. Jerry called me this morning and told me they found parts she'd used in her hotel room when they searched it."
"Lucy Brady is not capable of making a bomb that sophisticated, Joley," Ilya said. "She was set up. Someone used her to get to you."
"Nikitin?" Sarah asked.
Ilya shook his head. "Nikitin has his own reasons for wanting Joley alive right now. I can't see him for this. We've got another player mixed in, but it sure isn't Lucy."
"When she was threatening me with the bottle, she referred to 'he' several times. At first I thought it was Logan, but that didn't make sense now that I really think about it," Joley admitted. "But I have no clue who she might have been referring to. I can ask..."
"You don't ask anyone anything at this point," Ilya said. "You go out on the stage, do your job and get back to cover as soon as possible. I want your word."
Joley looked mutinous.
He shrugged. "You can always cancel tonight if you'd rather. It's your choice. Going onstage isn't the best of ideas when someone is trying to kill you."
"You can't stop me."
"The last time I looked, I was a lot bigger and stronger than you."
His voice was absolutely mild, not a hint that he was angry, or even getting close to getting upset, but there was resolve as well, an implacable determination that made it very clear to her that if she didn't agree, he wasn't above using physical force.
Joley took another sip of tea, waiting for the flickering flames to die down a little in her stomach so she could look at him without wanting to throw something. "I really don't like being told what to do, Ilya. I'm an adult, quite capable of making my own decisions."
"Then as an adult, make the adult decision to be safe. Give me your word now, Joley or I'll be hauling your ass back to my place and you won't be leaving there until I feel it is safe."
She inhaled sharply. "I don't like threats."
"That wasn't a threat. I don't make threats."
Her breath hissed out between her teeth. "I don't like being treated like I'm not quite bright, that I can't get that there are safety issues."
"I don't think that at all. I know you're bright, Joley. It's just that you think more about other people than you do yourself. So give me your word, because I know you'll never break it and I don't want to have to worry about you."
"Fine then. I'll do whatever." She didn't like the little thrill she'd gotten when he said he knew she was bright, or the way his voice had caressed her when he told her she thought of others, because she just capitulated when she should have made it clear she would follow security for herself, not for him.
With my child growing inside of you, it would be good to take extra precautions.
She snatched her hand away from him. "That's not funny. Run, you coward. You can't know who your brothers are or how many you have or even if you're the youngest. I'm not buying into that. Go away and be careful. I'll kick your ass if anything happens to you."
Ilya stood. "Did you get the information I asked f
or, Jonas?"
Joley grabbed his hand again. "What information?"
Later, Joley, when we have no one around.
She wanted to protest, but his life was dependent on secrecy, so she just nodded and blew him a kiss he didn't deserve as he followed Jonas and Aleksandr into the kitchen.
"John Dylan seems to be turning up quite often," Ilya said. "Lucy Brady had his ID. He claimed she stole it when he took a break and removed it, then left it on the table in the room where they were eating lunch. Most of the crew sleep during a performance because they have to work again breaking down the set and equipment right after. He says he went to bed and didn't notice he didn't have his ID."
"Bullshit," Jonas said. "They know where their ID is at all times, especially during heightened security. The crew protects their band. They're like a family. Why would he even take it off in the break room?"
"He said he broke the chain and was fixing it when someone called him out of the room." Ilya shrugged. "It's plausible, but not probable. But he wasn't anywhere near that bus, not for a moment, which is a little suspicious in itself. He can account for every moment of his time and has witnesses."
Jonas's eyebrow shot up. "Every moment?"
"Yes. He was questioned along with other members of the crew, and he had his entire day mapped out. Everything checked out just like he said, right down to when he used the can."
Jonas and Aleksandr exchanged a long look. "No one can do that, Ilya."
"Exactly. He's in this up to his ears, but he has an accomplice," Ilya said. "Dylan was also with Dean when Joley saw them with the teenagers, and several of the crew told me he spent a lot of time with Dean, but when I questioned him he said he barely knew him."
"Dylan isn't in any way connected to the Russian mob other than maybe if Dean was working with them to feed them an occasional groupie. He's got connections here in the States," Jonas supplied. "He's a nephew of a man named Dominic Dylan. Have you ever heard of him?"
Ilya shook his head. "Should I have?"
Jonas tapped a manila folder. "Here's what we have on him. He's been making a name for himself. He's got a big family, lots of siblings and cousins, and he's spreading his net. He went to jail for tax evasion, but they suspected him of everything from arms dealing to running a human trafficking ring. Are you starting to see a connection here?"
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