Midnight Shadows (15 page)

“I’ve got your back, Sabrina. Always have, always will.”

His support giving her the strength she needed to handle her family’s objections, she flashed him a glowing smile of thanks and turned back to them, now prepared more than ever to take them on.

Her sisters were already angry and disappointed with her and now they were worried, too. Even as she listened to their protests, deflected and reassured, she felt the pain of that. It hurt more than almost anyone could comprehend. The fact that she deserved their censure and disapproval made it a million times worse.

For most of her life she had defied what other people thought and said. If someone disapproved of her, she took it as a point of pride. But when it came to family, most especially Savvy and Sammie, she wanted and needed their approval and love to an almost desperate degree.
 

She didn’t question why she felt this way. Even those who knew her best weren’t aware of her extreme vulnerabilities. Hiding the deepest parts of herself was an ingrained habit. On a fateful day, nineteen years ago, she had committed what she considered the most awful transgression possible. Everything that followed had been influenced and led by that one terrible sin.

No one knew about it. She was determined no one ever would. However, because of it, she had done everything she possibly could to ensure she never hurt her family again.

Oh she had astounded them, possibly embarrassed them, but never would she purposely hurt them.
 

When they finally paused for a breath, she tried for levity, hoping to break through the tense atmosphere. “So what does a woman wear to meet a sleazy drug lord? Any suggestions?”

Neither sister looked impressed with her lame attempt at humor. Okay, so she wasn’t a comedian.
 

“Seriously, you two, what am I supposed to do? Just let Lauren be abused by this creep for the second time?”

“Of course you can’t, Bri,” Savvy said. “We have to help her any way we can.”

“But that doesn’t mean we aren’t worried about you,” Sammie added.

“Telling you not to worry won’t do any good. You’re going to do that anyway. For what’s it worth, this seems like the most solid plan.”
 

“It’d be a lot easier if Silva could be taken at this time. Sneaking in to rescue you and Lauren without anyone knowing about it won’t be easy.” Savvy cut her eyes over to where Holden Marsh stood talking with the men and then lowered her voice. “You’re sure Marsh can be trusted?”

“Not a hundred percent, but why would he agree to get everyone involved? If he’d tracked me down just to take me back to Silva, it’d be a lot easier if you guys knew nothing about this. He could’ve caught me off guard somewhere and taken me. No one would have ever known.”

“Except you’re not exactly easy to catch off guard or be taken,” Sammie said.

“Maybe not, but I’d be easier than all of you guys together. I think he’s telling the truth.”

“Then we’re going to do everything we can to make sure both you and Lauren come out safe.” Savvy grimaced “I just wish I could be there.”

“The information you dig up on Silva will be just as important.”

“Quinn will be coming along, too” Sammie said. Her grim tone said she wasn’t completely happy about that.

“I’m sorry I got us into this.”

Savvy gripped Sabrina’s wrist, pulled her around. “Stop it, Bri. We’re in this together, just like all of our cases. If you hadn’t gotten involved in Cruz’s business, we wouldn’t even know that Lauren had been taken. I hate to think of her in Silva’s grasp. She’s been through so much already.”

“I agree,” Sammie said. “And yes we’re disappointed you didn’t tell us what happened with Cruz, but only because this shouldn’t have been your burden to bear alone. I wish you had trusted us.”

“Trust had nothing to do with it. I just hated getting you guys involved when you had so much going on.”

“Can we at least agree that if anything like this ever happens again, you don’t keep it from us? Remember we Wildes stick together, no matter what.”

Sabrina smiled her thanks for Sammie’s quick forgiveness. “I believe I can keep that promise.”

Savvy gave an emphatic nod of approval. “That settles that then. And bottom line, this is the reason we created Wildefire Security…for cases like this. So let’s talk about what we need to do to bring both you and Lauren back home safe.”

Chapter Thirteen

“At last she wakes.”

Ian’s morning voice always sounded so sexy and gruff, like silk over sandpaper. Brown eyes, the color of the Kentucky bourbon her granddad had been so fond of, gleamed down at her. The perpetual five o’clock shadow stubbling his handsome face gave him a rakish look that never failed to increase her heart rate. He was smiling just a little, giving her a teasing glimpse of the dimple in his right cheek.
 

“Good morning.”

“Get much sleep?”

No, she hadn’t. Nightmares had chased her all night. Ian knew better than anyone how unusual an easy sleep was for her. Intimacy was difficult for Sabrina for a lot of reasons and one of them had to do with her inability to sleep the night through without nightmares. No one in her family knew about them. She couldn’t bear for them to ever find out. Nightmares had been part of her life since she was ten years old. Awake or asleep, they shadowed her but it was in sleep, when she was her most vulnerable, that they tortured her soul.

Ian had questioned her many times about them. How could she tell him when she didn’t have the courage to tell her sisters? Thankfully he no longer asked. Besides, it was easy enough to use her parents’ deaths as an excuse for the nightmares. He didn’t have to know about the other things that haunted her.

She smiled now, wanting to push those dark thoughts away. “Enough. How about you?”

“Not really.”

“You’re worried about me.”

“A perpetual state of being these days.”

She didn’t want to argue with him. It would do no good…her course was set. Tomorrow she would become a willing prisoner of Robert Silva.
 

She was grateful Ian had gotten over his anger. Having him mad at her was almost as difficult as having her sisters upset with her. She depended on him for so much. His acceptance of the person she was, including all her weird hang-ups and flaws, was as close to unconditional love as she could imagine.

They’d all been working like demons for the last couple of days to ensure everyone was comfortable with their plan. Being too much of a realist to believe the plan would proceed without glitches or problems, Sabrina didn’t bother to reassure Ian that she would be completely safe. He was no dummy and knew the risk she was taking. If somehow this was their last time together, she wanted the memory to be a good one.

With that thought in mind, she cupped his face with her hands and brought his mouth to hers. And just like that…like always, need exploded. There had never been anyone like Ian in her life. Ruthlessly tender. Sexy. Dominant without being overbearing or obnoxious. She had never known that a man could be so tough but oh so gentle, too.
 

Threading her fingers through his thick hair, their shared breath a thing of beauty, she let him take her to a place she’d never known existed before he’d touched her that first time.
 

Lifting his mouth from hers, Ian spread small, soft kisses over her face, down her creamy neck. His tongue licked, then swirled around a beautifully taut nipple that beaded and tightened with his attention. Sucking greedily, he listened to her rasping, excited breaths as she became more aroused.
 

He knew what she was doing. Knew part of it was to comfort, part of it was to distract. She was worried about him, just like she worried about all the people she cared about. And, whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not, she was showing her love for him. Sabrina was many things, but she wasn't a user, and she didn't fake affection. She loved him but in his heart he feared she would never willingly acknowledge it.
 

Ian took in a breath, inhaling all the delicate scents of the woman he adored. The musk of her arousal blended with the tangerine lotion she'd slathered herself with last night. When they'd first started dating, he'd mentioned that tangerines were his favorite fruit. Somehow she'd found lotion that smelled just like tangerines. One of the many ways she showed her love for him.

“Ian. Come inside me.”
 

“Soon,” he murmured. His tongue swirled around a nipple, nibbled a little, and then lightly bit down. She arched her body on a gasp of arousal. Holding his head to her breast, she urged him on.
 

When he lifted his head, she moaned at the loss of contact. “Shh...” he whispered. “I'll make it good for you. Promise.”
 

“You always make it good. You never disappoint.”
 

He chuckled softly. “High praise indeed. Let's see if we can go from good to spectacular.” His mouth covered hers, he plunged his tongue deep, loving her taste, the generous way she gave herself up to his desires, his needs.
 

Raising his head, he trailed more kisses down her body, following shadows, licking and savoring wherever his mouth led him. From the hollow of her neck, he followed a path down her torso, swirled his tongue around her navel, moved his mouth to the inside of her thigh, licked, nibbled, licked again. Her legs spread wide in invitation as her body arched.
 

Ian laughed softly. “Eager are we?”
 

“For you? Always.”
 

“Let's see if we can make you even more so.”
 

Settling between her legs, Ian parted the soft folds of her sex and devoured the sweetness he found there. She came quickly, almost crying in her need to reach the pinnacle.
 

He settled back onto his knees and watched her. Never had he seen anyone more beautiful, more giving. Sabrina was a lovely woman…no one with eyesight could deny that fact. But Ian saw so much more than her physical beauty. He'd seen firsthand her love for her family, her compassion for anyone hurting, her need to right wrongs. How many animals had she rescued since he'd known her? How many people had she tried to help? When they were working together as partners, almost every week she'd take a case pro bono.
 

She would deny it, but she had the softest heart of anyone he'd ever known.
 

“Ian?” For once she sounded a little self-conscious. “Why are you just staring at me?” Her eyes shifted downward to where he was hard, hot, aching. “We're definitely not finished.”
 

Lowering himself onto her, Ian slid easily into the softest, most welcoming warmth he could ever imagine. “Oh no, my darling Sabrina, we're not finished. Not by a long shot.”
 

And with that he proceeded to show her that good could definitely become spectacular.
 

Sabrina lay beside Ian, her body so sated she didn't want to move. Their lovemaking had always been wonderful. Ian was the most giving lover she could ever imagine. This time had been even better than any other. If she was making memories, then apparently Ian was, too. She refused to believe there was a need to worry that this would be their last time. Everything would work out. She had to trust her instincts.
 

“I guess we need to get up and have one last meeting with everyone. Marsh said he wanted to leave at dawn tomorrow. We still have a couple of things to iron out.”
 

He didn’t respond, didn’t move.
 

“Ian?”

A harsh breath exploded from him as if he’d been holding it back, and then he surprised her by saying, “If I asked you not to do this…for me. What would you say?”
 

“We've already had this discussion.”
 

“It doesn't mean we can't have it again. It's not too late. We can find another way to get to Lauren. Putting yourself on Silva's radar could come back and bite you in the ass.”
 

“I'm already on his radar. He's been looking for me. It might be only a matter of time before he finds me. Let’s rescue Lauren so Marsh can concentrate on bringing down the bastard for good. That’s the only way we’ll ever be sure I’m safe from him.”
 

“That is if Marsh is on the up and up. You're taking an awful lot on faith with him.”
 

“I don't see that I have a choice. And you checked with your sources at the DEA. He's definitely undercover.”
 

“Yeah, but that doesn't mean he's not gone bad. Look at what happened with Ryan Walker. Besides, even if Marsh is on the up and up, it doesn’t mean he’ll take care of you if something happens. What if Silva finds out what’s going on before we can get to you? How do we know Marsh won’t throw you under the bus to save himself?”
 

“I can take care of myself.”
 

“Dammit.”
 

Startling her, he shot up from the bed and his feet thudded to the floor. With angry, jerking movements, he slid into his jeans and then glared down at her. “The thing is, whether you want to admit it or not, you put yourself in dangerous situations more times than necessary. You said you don't have a death wish. I don't believe you. But one thing for certain, the day will come when you can't fight your way out of trouble. Your number will be called and I won't be around to pick up the pieces. Think on that.”