Midnight Shadows (20 page)

“We’ve come to a decision.”

Sabrina stood, whirled around. She’d been so focused on her discussion with Lauren, she hadn’t noticed that the other women had finished their own chatting. Sabrina watched warily as they circled around her. The intent in their expressions was easy to read. This was an ambush…for her own good, of course.

“Look, I know you were given orders, but no way in hell am I going to get ready for that creep. So just get over it. Got that?”

The move shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. A pillowcase covered her head. Someone grabbed her arms and pushed her forward.
 

“Oh for heaven’s sake. Seriously?” Digging in her heels, Sabrina refused to budge.

“Don’t make it hard on yourself.” She recognized Claudia’s voice, which held a distinct hint of tears.

She really didn’t want to hurt the women. They were scared. And if they didn’t do as they were told, they would most likely be punished. However, she had to be prepared to aid in the rescue when it went down. That certainly couldn’t include whatever kind of grooming ritual these women intended to perform on her.

Wrenching her arms out of their grasps, she jerked the pillowcase from her head. “I’m going to tie all three of you up if you don’t leave me alone.”

“We’re doing this for your own good,” Ashley snapped.

Claudia nodded. “She’s right. I once forgot to shave my legs and he got really mad.”

Torn between sadness and amusement, Sabrina backed out of their reach. “I don’t care if my legs rival Sasquatch’s in hairiness, I am not going to prepare myself for that slug. So back off. Now!”

Claudia and Donna backed away, apparently taking her at her word. Sabrina only got a glimpse of the determined light in Ashley’s eyes an instant before the woman attacked. Leaping onto Sabrina’s back, she pushed her to the floor and tried to straddle her.
 

 
Sabrina rolled, flipping the woman over, facedown onto the carpet. Straddling her back, she twisted Ashley’s arms behind her. “I really don’t want to hurt you, but you’re half an inch from pissing me off.”

Ashley squealed and lurched up, trying to throw Sabrina. “Let me go, you bitch.”

“Not until you settle down.”

“It’ll serve you right if he gives you a good beating for being so disobedient.”

“Yeah, well, he can just shove his—”

The sound of a man clearing his throat had all eyes turning to the door.
 

Arms folded, his back leaning against the doorframe as if he hadn’t a care in the world, stood the most beautiful sight imaginable. That sensuous mouth she’d kissed thousands of times was turned up in a big, teasing grin.

 
“Now if you were only in your underwear and pillow feathers were flying around you, my fantasy would be complete.”

Sabrina blew a strand of hair from her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“Giving you a lift home. But if you want to finish up, don’t let me stop you. I’ll be glad to wait.” His grin grew bigger. “And watch.”

Releasing the still struggling woman, Sabrina got to her feet. “Where’s Silva?”

“Apparently he had an emergency at home and had to leave. Took all of his men but one. And that man is out of commission for a few hours.”

Breath whooshed out of her. After all the worrying and planning, they were going to be able to walk out of the house without bloodshed.

“What’s going on?” Donna asked.

Sabrina turned back to the women who’d given up hope of ever escaping from Robert Silva. Never had she been happier to deliver good news. “Ladies, you’re going home.”

Chapter Nineteen

Chicago

Silva’s Estate

“I don’t want to hear another damn excuse! I want to know how they got away from you.”

“I don’t know, Mr. Silva…honest, I don’t. Mrs. Silva went into the salon, just like she’s done every third Thursday for the past ten years.”

“And you didn’t think it strange that she took my four children with her, plus the damn nanny?”

“No sir. She does that a lot.”

Knowing an explosion inside him was imminent, Robert stalked away before he could do bodily harm to the idiot standing before him. Oh the man would be punished…no doubt about that, but not yet. Not until Robert had all the information necessary.

“What did the people inside the salon tell you?”

“That Mrs. Silva had cancelled her appointment two days before. No one expected her to come in and when she did, only the receptionist saw her. She stated…” The man glanced down at his notes, apparently wanting to make sure he got the words correct. Robert noted with some satisfaction that his hand was trembling.

“Her words were: “We’re in the city for some shopping, but my little ones need to go potty. Is it okay to use your facilities?”

He raised worried eyes back to Robert. “They were given permission and all of them went to the back. The receptionist said she got busy and didn’t notice that they never came out. She assumed they had and she’d missed them.”

“And?” Robert said with lethal quietness.

“A camera shows them going out the backdoor to the alley behind the building. There’s no camera in the alleyway so there’s no way to know how they escaped.” He swallowed hard and amended, “I mean…left.”

“I see.”

“Mr. Silva, sir…I deeply apologize. I know it’s my responsibility to keep an eye on your family and I screwed up.”

“What about the trackers inside my wife?”

“Since I didn’t know she was gone for a couple of hours, by the time I checked the monitor, the trackers had already stopped functioning. They must’ve been removed and destroyed right there in the alleyway.”

He truly didn’t know who he was angrier with—Erica, who had known from the first day of their engagement that running from him would mean dire consequences, or the man Robert had charged with making sure she never had the chance to run.

She had to have been planning this for a long time. When he’d first gotten the call, he had assumed she left because of their last encounter when she had asked to come with him and he had shown her once again what her purpose was. But disappearing without a trace, finding someone to remove the trackers, having money to do such things, would have required substantial planning. While she had been enjoying the wealth and status of being married to one of the most powerful men in the world, the bitch had been plotting to leave him.

“Who has she seen, where has she been over the last month? I want a complete list of her activities, including all of her friends and associates.”

“No place different, Mr. Silva. I send you her weekly agenda, just like you told me to. She’s done nothing different.”

Hell, he didn’t keep up with those things. He usually took a thirty second perusal of her agenda and deleted it. He didn’t care where she went or what she did as long as nothing negative reflected back on him. “Send them to me again.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What about her friends, any new ones?”

“She really doesn’t have any friends, sir.”

That was because she was as boring and useless as a wad of chewed gum. But she was his, dammit.

“What about phone calls?”

“I—”

“What?”

“When I was going through her receipts a couple of weeks ago, I noticed she’d purchased something at an electronics store. When I questioned her, she said it was a battery operated toy for your son. She showed me the toy.”

“And?”

“When she disappeared, I called the store to verify that the toy was the only thing she purchased. It wasn’t. Apparently she used a credit card for the toy but also paid cash for a prepaid cellphone.”

Just as he’d figured, she’d had help. No way could she have done this on her own. Not when Robert had ensured that she never had a dime in currency.

“Do you enjoy your job, Antonio?”

Another hard swallow. “Yes sir, very much, sir. I’ll do anything to keep it.”

“The only way you’ll be able to keep it is to find my wife and children. Do you understand this?”

“Yes sir. I’ll do whatever I have to do to find them.”

“Excellent. And just in case you need extra incentive to ensure your success, I took the liberty of providing it.”

Before Antonio could ask him what that might be, Robert pressed a buzzer on his desk. Marsh entered the room.

“Is it done?” Robert asked.

“Yes sir.”

“Show Antonio the photographs.”

Marsh withdrew a stack from his coat pocket and handed them to Antonio.

The color drained from the man’s face. His eyes wide and filled with fear, he whispered hoarsely, “This is my grandmother.”

“Yes it is, Antonio. The only family you have left. The woman who raised you. The only one who loves you. If you don’t find my family, you lose yours. Understand?”

Instead of agreeing, Antonio turned to Marsh. “Please don’t hurt her. She’s an old woman. She’s never done anything to anyone.”

“It’s not Marsh you need to be begging, it’s me. But begging will do you no good.” He leaned forward and whispered softly, “Find my family, Antonio, or I’ll have Marsh cut her up into little pieces and stuff them down your throat. Understand?”

“Yes sir…yes sir.”

“Now get out of here before I decide to kill you where you stand.”

Showing that he wasn’t a complete idiot, Antonio ran.

Robert walked slowly behind his desk and slumped into his chair, suddenly weary to the bone. Most of his men wouldn’t be allowed to see his fatigue, but Marsh had proven his trustworthiness.

“The old woman give you any problem?”

Marsh gave a cool smirk. “She’s ninety-three years old. Not a whole hell of a lot she could do.”

“I don’t want her dead until it’s time.”

“We’ll keep a close eye on her. If she looks like she’s about to keel over, we’ll get her some help.”

“I’m putting all my available men on the search, but I want you to head it up.”

“Yes sir.”
 

“Bring my family back to me, Marsh, and there will be a considerable reward for you.”

“I’ll do my best, Mr. Silva.”

“Update me daily. You’re dismissed.”

Robert’s attention was distracted by the ringing cellphone on his desk. If he had been paying attention, he would have wondered about the satisfied smile on Marsh’s face as the man walked out the door.

Chapter Twenty

Midnight

This was what freedom felt like…something Sabrina would never take for granted again. For months she had worried that the mysterious man who had tortured and killed Cruz would find her and somehow hurt her family. Now that worry was gone. And not only that, Lauren had been found. Plus three other women had escaped Robert Silva’s brutality.

It wasn’t a perfect situation. No one would dispute that. Silva was still a free man, still able to kidnap, rape, and torture. Still manufacturing and selling illegal drugs. Able to do all manner of evil deeds. But Marsh had said that he was close to bringing the man to justice. Since he hadn’t steered them wrong about anything else, Sabrina had to believe him on this. Someday soon, Robert Silva would get his just deserts.

And now everything could return to normal. She could stop worrying about bringing danger to her family, trouble to her town. If she wanted, she could sleep past dawn, not have to prowl the town morning and night. When a case came their way that pulled her out of town, she could take it without worry or guilt. And when the weekend came, she could go to Tallahassee and be with Ian without fear that her family wouldn’t be here when she got back.
 

It was an irrational fear, deeply rooted in what had happened to her parents. Just because she realized where the fear came from didn’t mean it went away. She’d lived with this terror for nineteen years. Most times she could squash it until just a glimmer followed her around wherever she went—a constant reminder that in the blink of an eye everything could change…everything could be lost. But for the past few months, that fear had been an all-consuming fire, just waiting to expand and destroy everything she held most dear.
 

“I’m loaded up. Guess I’d better get on the road.”

Ian stood in the doorway, tall, broad-shouldered and handsome. Her white knight. The man she depended on for so very much.

For some odd reason she couldn’t explain, she didn’t want to see him go. They’d been lovers for several years. She’d said goodbye to him numerous times, but this time the impending separation, no matter how short-lived, made her ache inside.

“Do you have to leave right away? Can you sit for a spell?”

“Of course.”

He settled beside her on the sofa, took her hand. “What’s got you so melancholy looking? Everything turned out even better than we anticipated.”

“You’re right. Lauren is safe, back with Logan.”

“And hopefully will stick around this time.”