Midnight Shadows (25 page)

Everything looked peaceful and serene—a typical summer evening in Midnight. Ian had an ominous feeling that things were soon going to change.

The instant he turned into the tree-lined drive that led to the Wilde mansion that uneasiness increased. Lights blazed throughout the house, cars were parked sideways in the drive, preventing other cars from entering.
 

He pulled onto the side of the road, in front of the mansion and got out. The sight of Sabrina running toward him worried the hell out of him. Had something else happened?

He’d barely exited his vehicle before Sabrina was at his side. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Instead of answering, Sabrina flew into his arms and held on tight. Having never been the clingy sort before, she felt a minor shock at her behavior. Going on full meltdown, especially right now, would not only be bizarre but also stupid. She had to stay strong.

“Sweetheart?”

Allowing herself one more moment of comfort, she breathed in Ian’s scent and then spoke against his neck. “Nothing else has happened. I was just worried about you. You took longer than I thought you would to get here. And I couldn’t get you on your cellphone.”

“Sorry about that. I was going to bring Jack with me, then decided if there was trouble, I didn’t want to take the risk of him getting hurt. I dropped him off at the sitter’s house. That put me behind. And you know there are a lot of dead zones between here and Tallahassee. Hard as hell to get a signal.”

He was right of course. And she had known that but the wild panic she’d been feeling since finding Ashley’s body wouldn’t settle. Until everyone she loved was either within her grasp or she knew their whereabouts, her chaotic fears wouldn’t rest. But now, Ian was here. He was safe. She could take a breath, slow down and finally get her thoughts together.
 

She pulled away, straightened her spine and settled herself down. It was time to make some decisions.

“Everyone’s gathered in the living room. We’ve got sandwiches and stuff if you’re hungry.”

Ian grabbed his bags from the back of his Jeep. Handing her the lightest one, he carried the other one and then hand in hand, walked with her into the house.

“Have you heard anything more from Marsh?” Ian asked.

“No. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad. No news isn’t always good news.”

Ian stopped abruptly and pulled her around to face him. “Talk to me.”

How could she tell him, make him understand her fears? “It’s as if my nightmares are coming true. I’ve put my family in danger again.”

His eyes narrowed in confusion, speculation. “What do you mean, again?”

She wanted to slap her hand over her mouth. Existing on a dozen cups of coffee, minimal food, and razor-edged nerves had made her careless. She had to get herself together or she couldn’t do what needed to be done.

“You know what I mean. I put my family in jeopardy when I went after Cruz. And now this.”

The doubtful expression told her he wasn’t buying it for a minute. Ian, better than anyone, knew she’d been having nightmares long before she’d ever heard of Armando Cruz.

“Is that what your nightmares are about? Putting your family at risk?”
 

His quiet, gentle voice invited her to open up…share her burden. She couldn’t. This secret, this shame, had been hers since she was ten years old. It wasn’t one she could ever share.

“After what happened to my parents, who wouldn’t have nightmares?”

Grabbing her shoulders, he shook her gently and then leaned his forehead against hers. “Hear this. You did nothing to cause this. If we hadn’t gone after Lauren, she’d likely be dead.”

“I know but—”

His voice hardened. “But nothing, Sabrina. Snap out of the useless, self-indulgent guilt and let’s figure out how to deal with this problem. Together.”

The words were harsh but much needed. Ian was right. Lamenting over poor choices did nothing. She could wallow in guilt till the cows came home and it wouldn’t solve a damn thing.

“You’re right.” She took in a breath, let it out slowly and then straightened her shoulders. “Let’s figure out a way to kick Robert Silva’s scrawny ass.”

Ian dropped down into an oversized chair in the living room. The room was large with plenty of seating, but more chairs had been added. Apparently others would be joining them soon. For now, it was Sabrina and her sisters, Zach, Quinn, Brody, Logan, and now Ian.

After giving a grim nod to the room in general, Ian asked, “I understand there was a letter with the body?”

Sabrina handed him a piece of paper. “We put the original in an evidence bag. This is a copy.”

Ian’s blood turned cold. “The guy’s off his rocker.”

“Yeah,” Quinn agreed. “That’s why he’s so damned dangerous.”

Zach stood in the middle of the room, taking charge as the Chief of Police. “Now that we’re all here, let’s update everyone so we’re on the same page. Aunt Gibby and Camille Sage are under armed guard in Mobile. Lauren is in Magnolia Springs, also under armed guard.
 

“I’ve got my two deputies guarding both entrances into town, but we all know if Silva wants in, that’s not going to stop him.” His gaze swept around the room, meeting each person’s eyes. “We need help.”

“What about law enforcement from the surrounding towns?” Ian asked.

“I’ve contacted them, but they’re about as short staffed as we are here in Midnight. They’ve offered assistance if something goes down. Having their people come over and guard the town for preventative measures isn’t going to happen.”

“Then where do you propose to get more help?”

“I’m going to call a town meeting and explain what’s going on.”

“How do you think that’s going to go over?” Logan asked.

“Hard to say. It’ll scare some of them for sure, which isn’t all bad. Fear’s a healthy thing sometimes. But Midnight residents come together when one of their own is threatened.”

“I agree.” Quinn put his arm around Samantha’s shoulders, his voice thick as he continued, “If it wasn’t for them, Sam and I might not be here. I don’t know which one of them saved our lives that night, but it doesn’t matter. When they heard Sam was in trouble, they were determined to save her.”

“There is another option,” Sabrina said.

Noticing the stubborn tilt to her chin, Ian already knew where she was headed but asked anyway, “And that would be?”
 

“We do what the letter says. I go with him. You guys follow or put a tracker on me and we—”

Ian didn’t even bother to let her finish her sentence. “I think I speak for everyone here when I say hell no. And even if I don’t speak for everyone, believe this—I will hogtie you and have Zach throw you in jail before I let you near that bastard again.”

Fire in her eyes, she surged to her feet. “I believe Zach would have issues with you telling him who to put in jail.”

“Don’t be too sure of that, Sabrina,” Zach said, “I’d let him do that if I thought it’d keep you safe.”

Sabrina turned her gaze to her sisters, as if expecting them to back her up. Since their expressions were identical to his and Zach’s, she dropped back into her chair. “Okay, fine. We’ll have a town meeting, alert them to what’s going on, but that can’t be a long-term solution. This man has got to be stopped.”

“Agreed,” Zach said. “I’ve talked to Marsh. He’s going to try to convince his people to move on Silva. Even though they want more evidence to be able to put him away for good, based upon this new threat, he’s confident they’ll change their minds.”

“And until then, we wait and watch each other’s backs,” Brody said.

“Exactly.” Zach stood. “I’m going to meet with the town council tonight…let them know what’s going on, about the plans for a town meeting. Tomorrow morning, after school starts, I’ll use the tornado and hurricane warning system. Folks know to tune into our emergency channel on the radio. I’ll announce a meeting at the town hall for nine o’clock. We won’t get everyone, but we’ll get enough so word will spread fast. With Midnight’s grapevine being what it is, within an hour, everyone will know.”

“You know not everyone’s going to be onboard with this,” Savannah said.

His eyes went cold with determination. “Leave those few to me.”

Chapter Twenty-five

A thick silence permeated the interior of Ian’s SUV. He hadn’t said anything to her since that insulting ‘hogtie you’ statement and damned if she was going to act as if everything was okay.
 

She and Ian were taking the nine to midnight shift on the other end of town. Sabrina had always enjoyed their surveillance gigs together. You could learn a lot about a person when there was nothing to do but listen to crickets chirp and wait for something to happen. She’d done plenty of lone surveillance jobs and definitely preferred having company. Tonight was the exception.

Oddly enough, she and Ian rarely argued. She could count on one hand when they’d been really angry with each other. She gave most of that credit to Ian. He was an easygoing, even-tempered man who might get frustrated about something but rarely lost his cool.
 

Sabrina knew she was the opposite and did her best to moderate her responses because of Ian’s calming ways. Losing her temper with Ian around often made her feel like a bratty child who didn’t get her way. She hated that feeling.
 

So now, instead of yelling at him for his highhanded, infuriating remark, she would take the high road and stay quiet.

As they drove through the downtown area, she kept her eyes open for anything unusual or out of place. Coming up on nine o’clock meant most businesses other than a couple of gas stations were closed. Faye’s still had a couple of stragglers inside. Knowing Faye, the woman would have them out the door within the next few minutes. All was quiet, peaceful. She prayed it stayed that way. Midnight and its colorful, quaint, and sometimes zany characters meant so much to her. Having anything, especially the evil of Robert Silva, invade it would be so wrong.

They pulled off the road about a quarter mile out of town and Ian turned off his headlights. The peace of the night flowed around them…the only sounds the typical summertime chorus of crickets, frogs, and the occasional owl.
 

“Okay, so maybe the ‘hogtie’ comment was a little over the top.”

“Yes, it was.”

“I’m sorry.” Then ruining a perfectly good apology, he added, “Doesn’t mean I won’t do it, though.”

Sabrina huffed out an exasperated breath. “Oh for heaven’s sake, Ian. It’s not like I haven’t done anything dangerous before. I know how to take care of myself.”

“Yes you do, but you’ve never had to deal with someone who is intent on doing harm to you immediately. Silva has a personal grudge against you now. This isn’t like before, when he merely wanted you as his captive. He’ll want to make you pay for humiliating him. He knows who you are…knows about you and your family. Whatever contingency plan you had, he’d be ready for it.”

“Okay…fine. It was just an idea.”

“A stupid one.”

She ground her teeth, refusing to get into a pointless argument. Especially when everything he said was the truth.

“I called my folks to let them know what’s going on. No details but enough for them to be on alert.”

Sabrina closed her eyes. She’d been so caught up in her own world, her own drama, she hadn’t given any thought that Ian’s association with her might well endanger his family, too.
 

“I’m so sorry, Ian. I didn’t even consider they could be in danger, too.”

Rough, callused fingers trailed tenderly down her cheek and then his big hand cupped her jaw, turning her face toward him. “The entire world isn’t your responsibility to save, sweetheart. There are others who can pick up the slack.”

“No, but I should have—”

“You’ve got more than enough on your plate. Other people can take care of things, too.”

She shook her head. “I’m the one who started this train wreck.”

Releasing her, Ian straightened in his seat. Looking out the windshield, he asked quietly, “Have you ever thought about getting counseling, Sabrina?”

So startled by the question, she stared at his profile for several seconds before finally finding her voice. “Counseling for what?”
 

Ian heard the defensiveness in her tone and when he turned to look at her, saw the fear in her eyes. Emotions tightened his chest. There was nothing he wanted to do more than hold her, reassure her that everything would be okay. If he could slay every dragon for her, calm every one of her fears, he would. But that wasn’t something Sabrina would allow or want. And the damnable thing about that was, her self-sufficiency was one of the reasons he loved her so much. She was fiercely independent, yet felt things so deeply, allowed them to touch her so hard, that her emotions made her intensely vulnerable.

Her childhood trauma had shaped her and made her who she was, just as it had her sisters. But Sabrina’s pain seemed deeply rooted, much more than Savannah’s or Samantha’s. Admittedly he knew Sabrina better than he knew her sisters, but they both appeared more grounded…less damaged.