Free Drake Sisters 04 - Dangerous Tides by authors_sort

nodded and, still clutching her purse, she hurried down the corridor toward the room where the orthopedic surgeon was preparing to take the boy to the operating room.

    "That was nice of you, Elle," Jonas said as he began to walk down the hall toward the double doors, Libby in his arms.

    "I'm not nice, Jonas." Elle looked at Jackson when she made the admission.

    A faint smile briefly touched the deputy's mouth and was gone before it could reach his eyes or warm his expression.

    Jonas glanced down at the youngest Drake sister. She was obviously in pain, Jackson supporting her as she walked. "Yeah, you are, Elle. Protecting Libby when someone is pummeling her wasn't such a bad thing. You didn't hurt Irene."

    Tears shimmered and Elle ducked her head. "I wanted to hurt her."

    "I know, baby," Jonas said gently, "but you didn't, and that's what matters."

    Elle flashed a wan grin. "Thanks, Jonas. You aren't all bad either."

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    Jonas laid Libby in the back of his car, her head in Elle's lap. "Get Pete's statement, Jackson , see if you can get anything out of him while I take Libby home. I'll get back as soon as possible. They're taking Drew into surgery and it will be awhile before we can talk to him again. He didn't admit it, but he definitely went over that cliff on purpose. He would have gone into the ocean if he hadn't hit that outcropping. I want him seeing someone before he ever leaves the hospital."

    Jackson nodded, brushed back Elle's hair again, the gesture casual, but his fingertips lingered on her skin. She scowled as she watched him stride away.

    "Why do you deliberately try to provoke him?" Jonas slid behind the wheel, glancing back at her in the rearview mirror.

    Elle picked up Libby's hand, wrapping her fingers tightly around her sister's palm as if she could hold her to them. "He's always so in control and he thinks everyone should do whatever he says. And everyone caters to him. Big bad Jackson . We're all supposed to be so scared." She bent and kissed her sister's brow. "No one orders me around, Jonas, least of all him. He thinks he can tell me what to do."

    Jonas kept his eyes on the narrow, winding road. The highway was steep with several switchbacks. The mountain rose on one side and the ocean shimmered on the other. "You're the only one who gives that man guff."

    "Someone has to do it." Elle leaned back and closed her eyes. "And I'm really good at it." Her head pounded and her chest felt broken into pieces. She could feel the presence of her sisters as they joined with her to hold Libby close. She had taken on the grave injuries of another and all they could do was shoulder part of the pain to give Libby's body a chance to try to heal.

    "What is it between you and Jackson?" Jonas asked curiously.

    "Absolutely nothing." Elle frowned. "Jonas? Who was the man that was treated just before Irene went crazy ? Do you know how severe his injuries were?"

    "Tyson Derrick. He pulled Drew off the cliff. They were being lifted up to the top of the cliffs when something went wrong with his safety harness; he fell about thirty feet into the rocks. Dr. Shayner said he was in bad shape, head trauma, internal injuries." He paused and glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "If he was that bad, how the hell was he watching everything through the glass? Damn it, she healed him, Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    didn't she? Sometimes you girls set my teeth on edge."

    "Why would Libby take such a chance? She's normally very careful. I mean she might have tried to take the edge off, but to take on the injuries, that's too risky, not just to her, but to all of us and she knows better."

    "I don't understand any of you, so don't be asking me."

    "You love us," Elle said with complete confidence.

    He ignored that. It might be true but he wasn't admitting anything out loud. "How did you know Irene was