Midnight Shadows (24 page)

Not that Silva suspected him yet. There was no reason to. Still, Holden was too experienced and had been through too much to take anything for granted. If any shit went down, he would be prepared.

Within minutes he was out the door, closing it without a backward look. On the way to his car, his eyes on alert for threats, he placed another call. Sabrina would make the same call…maybe already had, but the man needed to know a few other things.

When the phone was answered on the first ring, Holden didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “Mackenzie, Sabrina’s in danger.”

Tallahassee

In the two-minute phone conversation with Marsh, Ian packed his clothes. Once he ended the call, he took the time to grab a half-dozen weapons from a stash he kept in the closet of his spare bedroom. Then because he knew she might need the comfort, he grabbed Jack, a bag of dog food, and they were off.

As he sped out of the driveway, he punched a speed-dial number, but it wasn’t Sabrina he called.

“Zach, have you talked to Sabrina?”

“No…not today. Why? Wait…looks like she’s on the other line.”

“Okay, talk to her but call me right back. We need to make plans.”

Zach didn’t bother asking what the hell was going on, which Ian appreciated. Every second counted.

They should have kept closer tabs on the women. Yeah, Sabrina had done a lot for them, but one thing they hadn’t counted on was one of the women actually returning to Silva. Who the hell does that?

Ashley had actually seemed to be the most grateful of the three women they’d rescued. Her claims of having a couple of distant cousins in Portland were true…Ian himself had checked them out. Apparently whatever had happened with them had caused her to believe she was better off being a sex slave to Silva. How was that even remotely possible?

Marsh didn’t know what Silva had planned. Whatever it was, Ian would be there to face it head on with the rest of the Wildes.
 

His cellphone rang with Sabrina’s ringtone and Ian pressed the button on his steering wheel. “Sabrina.”

“Ian…you’ve heard?”

“Yeah, Marsh called me. I’m on the way.”

“I can’t believe she did this. How could she go back to him? He’ll kill her after he’s gotten what he wants.”

“I don’t know, but she made her decision. We just need to do everything we can to insure everyone else stays safe.”

“Agreed. Here’s where we are so far. I’ve called Donna and Claudia. They can’t believe it either, but Brody’s already making arrangements for their safety. Donna is still in Mobile, so she’s covered. He’s sending one of his men to Houston to protect Claudia.

“Savvy and I are about to leave. We’re taking Aunt Gibby and Camille Sage to Mobile. Brody has someone to protect them.”

“Savannah isn’t staying with them?”

“She said she wasn’t about to abandon us. Camille Sage is on formula now so Aunt Gibby should be fine with her. She and Zach had a big blow-up and aren’t speaking to each other.”

“That’s not true,” Savannah said in the background. “We had a lively discussion and I’m sure when I get back, he’ll have had the chance to calm down and see reason.”

As protective as Zach was of his wife, Ian doubted that, but he wasn’t surprised at Savannah’s decision. The Wildes stuck together, no matter what.

“What about Lauren?” Ian asked.

“Logan is taking her to the safe house we used when we were protecting her before. One of his men will see to her protection.”
 

Her voice went softer and he knew she didn’t want anyone else to hear her. “I really messed up, Ian.”

Leave it to Sabrina to take responsibility for someone else’s mistakes. “No you didn’t.”

“If I hadn’t pursued Cruz, none of this would have happened.”

“And you never would have known that Silva had kidnapped Lauren. You saved her life, Sabrina. And three other women. Just because one was too screwed up to appreciate her freedom is not your fault. You gave four women a chance…one of them made a choice that she didn’t want to stay safe. That’s on her, not you.”

“If anything happens to my family…” Her voice went thick with tears. “They’re my everything, Ian.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to them, baby. I promise.”

“We’re having a family meeting tonight at seven. You’ll be here in time for that, won’t you?”

“Yes. I should be there not long after you arrive back from Mobile.”

“Good. I—Okay, gotta go help Savvy get the car loaded. I’ll see you soon. Right?”

The vulnerability and uncertainty in her voice sounded so unlike the self-assured Sabrina. Ian wished with all his might he could be with her now. “I’ll see you soon, I promise.”

For the thousandth time since she’d left home, Sabrina checked her phone for missed calls, voice mails, or texts. Zach had said he would call if he spotted anything suspicious.
 

Dammit, she was stronger than this but couldn’t stop herself from compulsively checking just to make sure she hadn’t missed a message. She had to do better. Earlier, she had almost lost it with Ian. No matter what he said, she’d gotten them into this situation. It was up to her to get them out.

“Bri, for the last time, this is not your fault.”

Savvy’s reassurance couldn’t diminish the knot in her gut.

“I keep telling myself that, but I’m the one who brought this asshole into our lives.”

“Technically Lauren did that when she came to us asking for our help. When we took this venture on we knew it would put us in the crosshairs of some very bad people. It goes with the territory.”

“I know. And the rational part of me is saying deal with it and move on.”

“And the other part?”

She glanced over at her sister Savvy, who she loved more than life. “The other part says gather my loved ones together and head for the hills. I couldn’t bear it if anyone was hurt because of this.”

“We’ll be fine, Bri. As long as we stick together, the Wildes can’t be defeated.”

Even with the brave words and encouraging smile, Savvy’s red, swollen eyes told a different tale. Saying goodbye even for only a few days to her daughter had been gut- wrenching for her sister.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go back, be with Camille and Aunt Gibby?”

“Of course I want to be with them, but they’ll be fine. Aunt Gibby is great with the baby. And I’m not about to let my family face this monster without me.”

“And you and Zach? Are you guys going to be okay? He seemed pretty steamed.”

“We made a vow to face every adversity together. When he calms down, he’ll remember that.”

The two-lane highway stretched out before them led to Midnight. One of only two roads into town. It wouldn’t be easy, but they could be monitored, watched night and day to prevent Silva and his thugs coming into her town. But that was only if they used the roads. What if they came through the woods or pastureland? There were hundreds of places they could enter. Not every location could be monitored and protected.

“How are we going to keep them out, Savvy? There’re just a few of us. Who knows how many men Silva will have with him.”

“We’ll make do, Bri. We always have. This goon will not defeat us. Besides, Silva isn’t just going to drive into town and start trouble. He’s evaded prosecution all these years. No way is he going to allow a personal grudge to become public.”

Sabrina had firsthand knowledge of how Robert Silva handled his personal grudges. He had people to do his dirty work for him so his hands could stay clean.

“Shouldn’t we warn the rest of the town? Just in case?”

“I mentioned that to Zach. He said he might call a special town meeting to put people on alert. He’s going to talk to the town council about it tonight.”

“What about—” Sabrina’s heart twisted with sadness as she spotted a large object in the middle of the road. She was too far away to tell what kind of animal it was, but judging by the size, it was either a deer or maybe a large dog. Poor innocent creatures had no defense against mankind.
 

Easing her foot off the accelerator, she slowed her car down as she approached. She was within twenty yards when she realized it was neither a deer nor dog. It was a human being.

Savvy gasped beside her, recognizing the same thing. “Bri…? Is that what I think it is?”

Ten yards from the body, she stopped. The highway was free of traffic this time of day. People who worked outside Midnight hadn’t made it home yet.
 

Pulling her gaze away from the bloodied body in the road, she took in her surroundings. Thick, dense forest on both sides. Anyone could be hiding anywhere. If she got out, she’d be easy pickings for a sniper.

Sabrina took her gun from the console beside her. Savvy pulled hers from her purse.

Though the body faced away from her, she could tell it was a woman and she was blonde. There were no visible signs of life but no way could she not check.
 

Sabrina pulled on the door handle. “Call Zach. It’s probably too late to save her, but tell him to bring Quinn just in case.”

“We’re already sitting ducks here, Bri. If you get out, you’re just making it too damn easy.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think Silva wants it easy, at least not yet.”

“And if it’s a trap?”

“Hell, Savvy, if he’s got a sniper out there somewhere, we’d both be dead right now.”
 

With that, she pushed open the door and got out of the car. She took the few steps to the body, walked around it and then expelled a long, sad sigh. The woman’s face was bloodied and bruised, but Sabrina easily recognized Ashley.
 

Although she already knew by the unfocused, glassy look in the woman’s eyes, Sabrina pressed her fingers against her neck, searching for a pulse. Her skin was cold, icy, almost as if she’d been in a freezer before she’d been dumped here. Silva had most likely had her killed not long after she returned and then put her on ice to preserve the body.

Cursing the brutal bastard, Sabrina gently turned the dead woman over onto her back and saw that Ashley’s body wasn’t the only message he’d sent. There was a typewritten letter attached to Ashley’s blouse.

Hello Sabrina. Yes, I do know that’s your name. Thanks to Ashley here, I know all there is to know about Sabrina Wilde. What an interesting and resourceful woman you are. Almost makes me think you’re one of the precious few with tits and a brain.
 

But I digress.

You’ve inconvenienced me, Sabrina, and I’m too busy of a man to take that lightly. Therefore, recompense is due. You have twenty-four hours to comply by surrendering yourself.
 

If you don’t comply, there will be consequences. Just how important is your family to you?

There was no signature. She didn’t need one. Besides, Silva wasn’t about to implicate himself. Nothing linked him to this letter or even Ashley’s murder. If she accused him of murder, he would laugh.

The sound of a siren told her that Zach and Quinn were on their way. Sabrina stood, holding the letter in her hand. Silva wasn’t going to stop until he was either dead or he got what he wanted. She just needed to decide what she was going to do about it.

Chapter Twenty-four

It was going on dusk when Ian approached Midnight’s city limits. He was pleased to see a roadblock about a quarter mile from the town. Bart Odom, one of Zach’s deputies, was a stoic sentinel standing beside his police car, his lights whirling a warning. No one was getting into Midnight via the roadways without first being checked out by the police department. Unfortunately there were a lot of other ways to get into town.
 

Sliding his window down, Ian said, “How’s it going, Bart?”

Bart gave a nod. “Evening, Ian. It’s been fairly steady. Folks coming home from work or shopping. Wanting to know what’s going on.”

“What are you telling them?”

“What Zach told me to say. Just doing a routine check. Most everyone’s buying it…none of ‘em looked real pleased. We’ll have to come up with a better reason soon.”

“And more people to guard the road.”

“You got that right. If that asshole wants into town, just one of us standing against him isn’t going to get it done. Zach said we’ve got a few hours before that’ll happen.”

“How’s he know that?”

“Got a letter with the body.”

That was news. Sabrina had texted him about Ashley’s body. She hadn’t mentioned a letter.

“I’ll head on up to the house. You need to check inside my vehicle?”

“Yeah. I’m sure you’re on the up and up, but Zach’ll tear me a new one if I don’t check everybody.”

“That’s no problem. I appreciate you being thorough.”

The big man swept his flashlight into Ian’s Wrangler. “This is my town. Ain’t nobody coming in and harming me or mine.”

After being cleared to go, Ian drove slowly through the downtown area, not surprised that everything looked as normal as always. Cars and trucks were parked in front of Faye’s Diner, as always doing a steady business this time of day. A couple of places, an insurance office and some kind of children’s store, were still open. Several people strolled down the sidewalk around the town square enjoying the cooling temperature. A teenaged couple sat in front of the large Mimosa tree fountain, most likely throwing pennies into the water and making wishes.