Free Midnight Shadows by Ella Grace Page A

each of them had endured, when he and his brothers and sisters had been adopted, they’d become family. The Mackenzies were enormous not only in numbers but love and loyalty.
    They went on to talk about other things for a few minutes before ending the call with his promise to come for a visit soon, along with the assurance that he would ask Sabrina to accompany him. Not that he believed she would accept the invitation.
    Ian looked out the window of his backyard, thought about and rejected the idea of mowing the grass before he headed to Midnight for the weekend.
    Was he an idiot for holding out hope that Sabrina would change her mind? He knew she'd been hurt by the asshole she'd been engaged to, but dammit, he wasn't the same kind of guy that idiot had been.  
    Tyler Finley. Sabrina had met the man during spring break while she was still in college. She and Finley had become engaged, but a couple of weeks before they were to tie the knot, the guy had been killed in a car crash. That had been painful enough for Sabrina but when Finley’s wife and child showed up to claim the body, it had almost destroyed her. That was when she had learned it had all been a scam. Bilk Sabrina of out her inheritance, leave and go back to his real family.  
    Finley’s widow had actually tried to blackmail Sabrina to keep it a secret. Of course the woman hadn't received a cent. Sabrina hadn’t cared about her reputation. What had infuriated her was being taken for a ride.
    When Sabrina had told Ian about Finley, he had known immediately why, not that she’d tried to soften the truth. She had wanted him to understand that she would never be interested in a permanent relationship.  
    Ian understood her reasoning but still felt there was more to the story than just a creep of a fiancé. Her traumatic childhood—losing her parents in the way she had, had shaped her into a wary, vulnerable person. He wanted to heal all of her hurts, the ones he knew about and the ones he had yet to uncover. Unfortunately he was beginning to believe she was never going to allow that to happen.  
    His gaze shifted back to the charts on the wall. He had dug as deep as he could. Now it was time to bring in someone else to help fill in the blanks. Someone with firsthand knowledge.  
    Knowing Sabrina Wilde, she wasn’t going to like it one damn bit.

Chapter Seven

    Midnight
    Sabrina pulled the piping hot skillet of cornbread from the oven, flipped it onto a plate, and set it aside to cool. She was running ahead of schedule. The gumbo was simmering, creating a heavenly fragrance, and the cheese grits and shrimp was done and in the warming oven, waiting to be devoured. Three pies and two cakes were sitting prettily on the kitchen table just asking to be sliced.  
    Aunt Gibby was watching over the baby while Savannah took a nap. Zach had gone to take care of some things at the police station and Quinn and Sammie had gone to do some work on Quinn’s new office. All was quiet in the Wilde house, but that wouldn’t last.
    Her stomach grumbled, a reminder that breakfast had been hours ago. Even though she’d taste-tested everything, she needed something a little more substantial if she was going to get any work done before company started calling. She had uncovered a new thread last night that she wanted to follow up on.
    She took a couple of slices of bread and slathered it with peanut butter. Grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl, she sliced it, and placed it on top of the peanut butter. She was just about to take her first bite when she heard the shouts.
    “I got a right to see her!”
    What the hell? Sabrina ran to the window and peered out. Spotting the ancient truck, one she recognized immediately, she grabbed her gun from her purse she’d left hanging on a kitchen chair and took off. In seconds, she was on the front porch and pointing her weapon at the red-faced furious looking man standing on the steps.  
    “Get off our property,” Sabrina