Betrayal of Trust (18 page)

P
ent-up energy buzzed through Raven as she sat behind the anchor desk for the first time as the rightful occupant of that chair.

Two minutes to air time and she fussed with the papers on her desk, smoothed down her seafoam suit jacket. She caught a glimpse of herself on the monitor and nearly passed out. Seafoam made her look like a Martian. Why on earth hadn’t she gone with a nice tan color, or basic black?

Panic began to form a ball of despair at the base of her throat. Horror of horrors, she began to cough.

Water. She needed water.

Eyes wide, she glanced around. Where was her water?

Someone cleared his throat. Loudly. She followed the direction of the sound and located Ken. He pointed to her desk. Ah. Her water. On the shelf under the desk. She sipped it gratefully and swallowed down the lump just as the assistant gave her the five…four…three…two…one…

Matthew couldn’t have been more proud as he watched Raven handle her first night as anchor. She
looked good. Confident. The jacket she wore gave an olive tone to her complexion, making her appear even more exotic than usual. His heart picked up a beat at the sight of her. After several days without seeing her, he was beginning to feel like the barren earth during a drought. He needed to see her again, to hold her.

A tap at the door broke his focus. “Come in.”

His mother maneuvered a tray and walked across the room to his bedside.

“Mother, I could have gotten the door.”

“Nonsense. You need to stay in bed covered up.”

“I’m feeling a lot better. Still a little weak, but the penicillin must have finally kicked in.”

“Well, here’s your supper. I made chicken noodle soup. From scratch.”

She lifted the lid off the silver serving bowl. Steam rose, and the aroma of garlic, onion and chicken broth tempted his stomach.

“Mmm. Smells great, Mom. Thanks.”

His mother smiled broadly, proudly. She was in her element with someone to care for. “Here, turn off the TV and eat while it’s hot.”

“No, wait.”

His mother glanced at the TV. A smile of understanding lit her eyes. “Quite the little news reporter, isn’t she?”

“Yes. This is her first night as anchor. I wanted to tape it for her just in case she wants to have it someday.”

“How sweet of you. I’m sure Raven will appreciate the thought.”

He shrugged and gave a little chuckle. “It probably won’t matter. I imagine every member of her family is recording it as we speak.”

“Speaking of Raven, she called several times yesterday to check on you.”

Matthew smiled, feeling the warmth of contentment to know she cared. “I’ll call her when the news is over.”

“Actually, you do need to. She said there is an urgent matter she needs to discuss with you.”

“When was this?”

“Yesterday.”

“Mother, it’s after six o’clock. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Her chin lifted stubbornly. “You were in no condition to worry about anything but getting better.” Her silky brows rose. “And now you’re better. So I was right.”

“All right. I know you’re worried about my getting well. But if Raven needs me, I want to get the message immediately from now on. She wouldn’t say something is urgent unless it truly is.”

Mother sniffed. “Fine. Next time, I’ll wake you up from your sick bed. But you were so ill at the time, you wouldn’t have known your own name, let alone been able to help her with her
urgent
matter.”

“Mother, it’s not that I don’t appreciate that you’ve been taking care of me. But some things are not for you to decide. And anything where Raven is concerned is my business.”

“Oh, fine. I suppose I’ll have to get used to it. Unless I miss my guess—and you know I never do—you and Raven Mahoney will be married before the end of the year.”

Matthew winked and gave her a wry grin. “If I have my way about it, we’ll be married before the end of the summer. I think I’ve waited long enough for Raven to be my wife.”

She pressed a motherly kiss to his forehead. “Good, no fever. I’ll leave you to your phone call, but please do eat first so your supper doesn’t get cold.”

“I will.”

He ate hungrily while watching the rest of the newscast. He waited until the news faded and reruns of an eighties sitcom filled the screen before he finally grabbed his cell from the nightstand and dialed her cell phone. Voice mail picked up. She most likely had the ringer set to vibrate or silent. On impulse he hung up and dialed her number at the station. Her assistant answered.

“Hello, may I speak to Raven Mahoney, please?”

“May I ask who’s calling?”

“Matthew Strong.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Strong. Miss Mahoney is in a meeting and can’t be disturbed.”

Disappointment sifted through him. “All right. Can you tell her I called?”

After receiving her assurance, he hung up the phone and leaned back against his plumped pillow. He closed his eyes and relaxed the tension in his head.

Raven’s stomach growled as she wrapped up the ten o’clock news and removed her earpiece. The planning meeting had lasted for three hours, and no one had thought to bring in any food. Now she was grouchy, hungry and more than a little nervous about her meeting with Sonny. What sort of sick game was her half brother playing by pretending their biological father was still alive?

Shaking her head in frustration, Raven felt inside her jacket pocket for her cell phone. She had only one missed call…from Matthew, but no messages. Disappointed, she slipped it back into her pocket and snatched her purse from her office before heading to the door.

She glanced around for Ken, hoping to walk to the parking lot with him, but when she located him sharing
a moment of laughter with Kellie, she changed her mind. A two-minute walk to her SUV and she’d be fine. But her overactive imagination and the memory of her last conversation with her weirdo half brother made the two-minute walk seem like an eternity. She nearly fainted in relief when her SUV came into view. Her footsteps quickened on the concrete, creating an eerie resonance she could definitely live without. She beeped her car locks and reached for the door handle.

“Where you going, little sister?”

Raven screeched and jumped back as Sonny appeared next to her like something out of a nightmare. “S-Sonny,” she said, trying to find the presence of mind to remain calm. “You nearly scared the life out of me sneaking up like that.”

He gave a sideways grin. “Wouldn’t want to scare the life out of you, would I?”

“I’d certainly hope not.”
Oh, Lord, why couldn’t You have made me a better actress?
“What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were going to pick me up at my house at midnight.”

“You have company.”

“Yeah, my dad and his fiancée are staying with me for a few days.”

“Your dad?” He frowned. “He’s not your dad. My father is…”

“Well, biologically, yeah, but Mac raised me as his own. In all the ways that matter, he’s my dad.”

Raven knew as soon as she spoke that she’d made a mistake. Sonny’s lips turned downward. “So what does that make me to you? Nothing?” He curled his long fingers around her upper arm, gouging the soft flesh with nails abnormally long for a man. “Come on.” He pulled her with him as they walked further into the parking garage.

“Sonny, that hurts.” She kept her tone even, praying for the presence of mind to undo the damage she’d just done. And to find a chance to make a break for it.

“You think that hurts?” He moved in close, his face inches from hers, breath reeking of alcohol and cigarettes. “You know what really hurts, Raven?”

She shook her head.

“Knowing that your father loved his cheap piece of trash’s offspring more than he loved his own son. What do you think of that?”

“I don’t like that you’re referring to my mother in that manner.”

He jerked her to a stop beside a blue beater of a car. Now it was starting to make sense. “This is your car?”

“Yeah, some reporter you are. I’ve been following you for weeks.”

“I know, I’ve seen it. I saw it at home in Briarwood, I saw it on the road to St. Louis. You were following us?”

He opened the passenger-side door. “Get in.”

“I don’t think so.” Raven stared him down. “You need help, Sonny. I don’t know what you think you have planned for me, but there’s no way you’re getting me in that car.”

His gaze narrowed and he reached around to the back of his jeans. In half a second, Raven was staring down the barrel of a .357 magnum. “Still think there’s no way I’m getting you in the car?”

Well, that was one way. “All right.”

“Buckle your seatbelt and don’t try anything while I go around to the other side.”

Sonny closed the door. Raven pulled on the belt and as she did so felt her cell bulge in her pocket. Hope sparked an idea and she plunged her hand inside, sending quick thanks to God that she’d put Matt’s cell on
speed dial. She felt around until she found the middle key and prayed for all she was worth that she’d found the right one. She pressed the button.

Matthew woke to the sound of his cell phone ringing on the pillow next to him.

Raven. He’d all but given up on her.

“Hello?”

The muffled sound of background noise greeted him. He glanced at the screen again. Caller ID definitely showed Raven’s cell. He laughed to himself. She must have hit a wrong button and dialed him by mistake.

“Raven!” he called. “I’m on the phone here.”

“What was that?” a man’s voice growled.

“What was what?” That was definitely Raven’s voice.

“I heard something.”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Give me your purse.”

“What for? Do you need money?”

Lord, is she being robbed?
Matthew hit the speaker phone and sprang into action, careful not to make any noise while he dressed.

“Where’s your cell phone? I know you never go anywhere without it.”

“Sonny, it’s not in there. Would you relax before you end up wrecking this car? You’d hate to do that, wouldn’t you? These blue Pontiac Sunfires are hard to find these days. What is this, ten years old at least?”

“Your reporter mind,” the man said in disgust. “Always wanting details. Well, details aren’t going to help you where you’re going.”

Cold fear snaked down Matthew’s spine. Raven was in real trouble.
Does the name Sonny Thatcher ring a bell?
Where had he heard that? His fuzzy mind recalled
the earlier phone conversation. It had to be too much of a coincidence that a Sonny was out to kidnap Jamie and Raven. How could he have been so shortsighted? All along, Raven had been the one in danger. Thankfully, she’d had the presence of mind to dial his number and somehow hide her phone.
Keep the clues coming, Raven. Blue Pontiac Sunfire. Sonny
.

“All right, baby,” he whispered as he grabbed the phone and headed downstairs. “Lead me to you.”

“Where are we going, Sonny?” Raven’s voice remained calm and clear as though she were enunciating more carefully than usual. “I know we’re not going to meet your dad. I found out he’s dead. Even read his obituary.”

“Why do you keep calling him my dad? He’s
our
dad. Only
you
shouldn’t even be here.”

Sonny was Raven’s brother?

“You’re right, of course. Mac was great to me, but I always knew I wasn’t like the rest of my family. I grew up with two sisters, did I tell you that?”

“Yeah.”

Good, Raven, good. Keep him talking.

Matt ran out to the car. He muffled the mouthpiece with his shirt while he cranked the engine and put it into gear.

“I used to dream about having a big brother.”

“Sure you did.”

“No, really. I did. That’s why I was so happy when you called me. Of course I didn’t know that just a couple of weeks later, you’d be kidnapping me from work and waving a gun in my face.”

Given this new information, Matt drove toward the station. It was the best he could do. I need more information, Raven, honey.

“Look, Sonny. I have to use the restroom.”

“Tough.”

“I mean it. It’s an emergency. How about stopping at that Burger King up there on the corner of Fremont and Chesterville?”

Yes! Good girl, honey.

As much as he hated to, Matt knew he had no choice but to put this call on hold and dial 911.

“Nine-one-one emergency.”

“Yes, I need to report a kidnapping.”

Matthew gave as much information as he could as quickly as possible, including the general location in the city and the make, model and color of the car Raven was in. Then he disconnected from the dispatcher and clicked back over to Raven.

“Sonny, please. Slow down. Highway 17 is treacherous.”

“Don’t worry. There won’t be any traffic to worry about getting into a wreck. The only thing down here is the rock quarry. The kids party here on the weekends. But it’s pretty well empty through the week.”

Highway 17? Where was that? Matthew kept his eye on the road while he leaned across to the glove box for a map of the city and surrounding area. As he sat up, the map tapped the radio, sending a blast of Christian rock into the car.

He fumbled to turn it off, but not soon enough.

“What’s that? What’s in your pocket?”

“Wait! Sonny!”

“Give it to me. I should have known you were up to something. Hello?” Sonny’s voice ranted into the phone.

“Who are you, Sonny? And what are you doing with Raven?”

“What’s the matter, Strong? Didn’t my baby sister tell you her dirty little secret?”

“What secret are you talking about?”

“Oh, that her mother seduced my father and got herself pregnant. And guess who that baby was?”

“That wasn’t Raven’s fault, Sonny. She’s a good person. I love her.”

“I tried to tell you to leave her alone. That she was mine, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“I know you did, but I misunderstood at the time. How about another chance?”

A short burst of laughter blasted Matt’s ear. “You don’t catch on too quick. Say goodbye to loverboy.”

“I love you, Matt.” Raven’s sweet voice came through the line just before it went dead.