Midnight Shadows (5 page)

He had opened up with her about his time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of having one of his best friends die in his arms. Of the brutal days of fighting and the grueling boredom of waiting for something to happen, and the sheer terror when it did.
 

He’d even told her about his shitty childhood, something only his family knew about. How he’d watched his mother destroy herself with drugs. About his abusive alcoholic father whose favorite pastime, second only to drinking, was beating the hell out of Ian. And he’d shared with her all the emotions and joys that came with his incredible good fortune when Molly and Barry Mackenzie came into his life and he had been adopted.
 

In return, Sabrina had told him about her parents’ deaths when she was ten. Of the devastation and the grief. Of her love for her sisters and aunt—the only family she had left.
 

She had explained her inability to commit to a serious relationship, blaming it on her former fiancé, Tyler Finley. The man had lied to her, cheated on her, and had taken advantage of her for his own gain. She admitted that he had almost destroyed her.

Ian wished with all his heart that the bastard were still alive so he could teach him a lesson he’d never forget.

Without a doubt, Sabrina fascinated Ian on every level. Vulnerable and tough, affectionate and prickly, funny as hell, loyal to a fault, and much too serious. A dichotomy of characteristics living within the same person. And he loved every single one of them.

The tiny dot on his cellphone went into motion, indicating she was on the move. For the past hour there’d been no discernable movement, but now the signal showed rapid progress. Was she through for the night? He wished he’d been able to hide a microphone on her but hadn’t wanted to take the risk. If she was scanned, finding a bug on her could’ve blown up in his face.

A white stretch limo eased out from behind the club. A black SUV followed close behind. Ian waited. One of the vehicles held Sabrina. Which one? The SUV stopped at a light and the limo veered left. The blip on his screen kept moving, telling him she was in the limo.

Ian pulled from his parking spot and headed in the direction the limo had taken. Something was definitely off. Two hours ago, she had arrived in a silver Jag. So why was she leaving in a different vehicle?

Chapter Three

Sabrina stayed quiet, not wanting to draw attention to herself. After a fifteen-minute limo drive with almost no conversation, she’d been pushed into the back of another nightclub, this one even seedier looking than the last. Other than the shove the guy named Garrett had given her into a chair, she’d been ignored.
 

Fine by her.

She had learned two things on the way over. The lazy man with the gun was named Marsh. Garrett had slipped and called him that and had received a furious glare in return. She’d also learned he wasn’t as lazy as he liked to appear. When she had refused to step into the limo, Marsh had picked her up and thrown her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing. The loose sweatshirt he wore hid an impressive amount of solid muscle.
 

She could almost hear Ian’s ‘I told you so.’ He would be furious with her. Even more than he already was. And he had been right. She had walked into this situation with almost no research on the man she had gone undercover with. Just because Ryan Walker had a way inside and she’d only had a limited amount of time to make the decision was no excuse. Enthusiasm had bypassed caution. Yes she could be impulsive, but she rarely gave her trust to someone before knowing them well. One would think she would have learned her lesson.

So here she sat in the corner like a recalcitrant child being punished with a time out. This had been one of her mom’s favorite ways to punish her when she was a kid. And being the kind of kid that never wanted to sit still, it had been effective. Her mom had known her so well.
 

Sabrina gave herself a mental ass-kick. Dealing with guilt and grief at any time was never a top one hundred priority item. Doing so while she needed all her wits about her would be downright stupid.
 

She drew in a silent, inner breath and looked for a way out. She refused to believe there wasn’t one.

The room was apparently used for both an office and storage. Stacked boxes covered one side of the room, the other side held a desk, desktop computer, and a comfortable looking chair.
 

 
There were only three ways out, two doors—one she knew led to the back alley, where they’d entered. The other door was across the room. Garrett stood at that door with a look on his face that told her she’d have to mow him down to get out that way. Between the desk and the boxes was a window. Not an ideal exit strategy but if she had to, she'd throw herself through the glass. Better to have a few cuts than a bullet in her head.

The man named Marsh sat at the desk reading something on the computer screen. He’d given occasional grunts as well as one soft chuckle, so whatever he was reading must have been entertaining.

They were waiting for the boss to show up. As curious as she was to find out who that might be, Sabrina knew it would behoove her to get out before he, and whatever goons traveling with him, arrived. One against two armed men weren’t the best odds. One against three or more would be downright sucky.

The sound of a jaw-cracking yawn caught her attention. Marsh had apparently finished his Internet reading. He stood and stretched his big body. Catching her eye, he gave her a grin. “How you holding up, sugar?”

“I’d really like to go home.” Understatement of the century.

Surprising her, his grin went away and a flash of compassion entered his expression. “Wish I could let you go.”

“You can. I promise. Cross my heart. I won’t tell anybody about what happened.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a hostess at a restaurant downtown.”

“Oh yeah? Which one?”

“Maxi’s Place.”

“The one on 22
^nd
street? Sugar, that’s a strip joint.”

She gave an indignant sniff and held her head high. “We serve pretzels and peanuts, too.”

Marsh gave a loud guffaw and even Garrett snickered. That was okay with her. Maybe if they liked her, thought she was just an airhead with stilettos and a nice butt, they’d consider her harmless and let her go.

“You ever done any stripping?”

The question came from Garrett. The amusement on his face had turned into a leer. That wasn’t exactly the way she wanted him to like her.

“No, I don’t do stuff like that.”

“Maybe you might like to try.” His expression got slimier. “You could audition for us here.”

“That’s enough.”

Marsh’s growling reprimand made her feel a little better. At least he didn’t appear to want to do anything to her. His next words destroyed any relief. “Boss doesn’t want her messed up until he gets here.”

Okay, she really needed to get out of here before that happened. “Do you think I could go to the bathroom? It’s been a while and well…”

“Sure thing, darlin’.” Marsh shot Garrett a hard look. “Take her to the one in the hallway. She has the slightest smudge on her when she gets back, you’ll answer to me.”

Garrett’s responding glare might’ve intimidated a lesser man but it only made Marsh give the man an amused smirk.

“Get up,” Garrett said.

She stood and went with him, but seconds before they reached the door, a loud clanging outside caught everyone’s attention.

“Wait,” Marsh said. “Check that out first.”

“I’m not your damn lackey,” Garrett snarled. “You go check it out.”

Giving the man a look that could’ve melted steel, Marsh barked, “Do it!”

Mumbling curses under his breath, Garrett took Sabrina’s elbow and pulled her back to the chair. Then with one last glower at Marsh, he stomped out the door.

“Guess I’d better not turn my back on him for a while.” The amusement in Marsh’s voice said he wasn’t worried.
 

Hoping to glean more information, Sabrina said, “Who are you waiting on? Why can’t you let me go?”

“I told you, we’re waiting for the boss to arrive. And I can’t let you go because he’s become intrigued with you.”

“How does he even know about me?”

“There were cameras all over that room.”

“You mean he—”

“Yeah, he saw and orchestrated the whole thing.” He gave her a warning look and added, “And enjoyed every moment of it.”

Sabrina couldn’t hide her shudder. “What did Mr. Cruz do that made you guys torture him like that?”

“Maybe he kept asking questions that were none of his business.”

She got his drift and self-preservation told her to shut up while he was still in a mildly good mood. Questioning him further was only going to rile him. But if she didn’t ask, she’d never get more answers. “Did Mr. Cruz work for your boss, too?”

Instead of another warning, Marsh surprised her by answering, “No. They’re in the same business. Competing businessmen you might say.”

“Is that why he was killed? To get rid of the competition?”

“Nah. Boss wasn’t scared of the competition. He’s too big for that. Cruz blabbed. In this line of work, you spill your guts, your guts get spilled.”

“What does your boss do?”

Marsh stood, a cold, blank expression replacing the casual one. “Your questions seem a little too pertinent for a cocktail waitress in a strip joint. Something you been keeping from me?”

She could do haughty as well as anyone. “Just because I don’t have a college degree or work in a high powered position doesn’t mean I don’t have a brain. I have a right to know who you people are and why I’m being held.”
 

There. Put that in your arrogant pipe and smoke it, you condescending bastard.
 

Uh oh. The look got meaner. He started toward her and then stopped when he heard another noise outside. Pulling the gun from his holster, he gave her one last warning before striding out the door, “You move a muscle, you die where you sit. Understand, little girl?”

Okay, this guy was really pissing her off. But since he had a gun and she didn’t even have the use of her hands, all she could do was glare.
 

No way in hell was she going to wait and see what he’d do when he came back. She jumped from the chair and ran to the other door. Turning her back on it, she used one of her hands to twist the knob. Dammit, her hands were bound so tightly that the ties were cutting into her wrists. Knowing she’d have more than this small amount pain if she didn’t get out of here, she ignored the agony and kept trying. Sweat trickled down her back as she strained with all her might to twist the knob enough to open the door.
 

Almost there…almost…

A deep voice from across the room drawled, “Need a hand with the door, little lady?”

If he hadn’t been equal parts furious and worried sick about her, Ian would’ve laughed as Sabrina jumped a foot off the floor.
 

“What are you doing here?”

“Apparently doing what I do best, pulling your pretty ass out of danger.”

“How did you even know where I was?”

“You want to get out of here or would you rather sit down and have a chat?”

“Fine.” She turned her back on him. “Can you get me out of these? They’re tearing into my skin.”

Using the knife he’d stolen from one of the men he’d knocked out, Ian cut the ties around Sabrina’s wrists. When he saw the deep gouges in her skin, he wanted to turn around and beat the crap out of both men again. As gently as possible, he removed the plastic that had stuck to her. “You’re bleeding. Let’s call the police and then get you to a doctor.”

“Where are Marsh and Garrett?”

“Those the two guys that were holding you?”

“Yes.”

“Left them unconscious and tied up in the alley.”

“Then we need to get out of here.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain as soon as it’s safe. But we need to leave now.”

He had trusted her with his life more times than he could count. He wasn’t about to question her judgment about this. “Let’s go. I’m parked around the corner.”

As they entered the alleyway, he saw her give a satisfied nod at the two pairs of legs sticking out from behind the dumpster. Less than a minute later, they were in his car, speeding away from the nightclub.
 

Neither spoke. While Ian concentrated on getting as far from the club as possible, Sabrina took medical gauze from the first-aid kit he’d stored in the console and wrapped her bloodied wrists. That would do for now. When he got to the rental house, he’d treat them properly.

They were on the interstate, headed north before Ian asked, “Want to tell me what the hell happened? Who were those guys and why didn’t we call the cops?”

Before she could answer, Jack, who’d been relegated to the backseat, began whining. Sabrina patted her lap. “Come on up here with me, big guy.”

With a happy yelp, he jumped onto the console and then into her lap. Wrapping her arms around the dog, she gave him a hug and a kiss on his head, then said to Ian, “Because I don’t know who we can trust. All I know is there’s someone more evil than Armando Cruz out there and if he finds me, I’m dead.”