Chapter Thirteen
At ten o’clock the next morning, Keri and Justin joined Matthew in Raven’s office to examine the computerized footage they’d taken the day before. Raven sat at her desk and used the mouse to pull the image in closer and adjust the size for a better view.
She turned to Keri and Justin, who stood behind her staring over her shoulder at the computer screen. “Look familiar?” she asked.
Justin frowned and shook his head. “He may have come in for meals, but I’d know him if he ever stayed in the shelter overnight.” He turned to Keri. “Do you remember that guy from the meal lines?”
Peering closer, Keri scrunched her brow. “I don’t think so. But I’ll keep an eye out from now on.”
“I appreciate it.” Matthew’s disappointment was more than evident. Raven’s heart went out to him.
Expelling a breath, Raven sat back in the chair. She lifted her arms behind her head and laced her fingers. “There’s got to be a better way to find this jerk than dumb luck.”
Matt raked his fingers through his hair. “I got in touch with his parole officer before I came over here. But she couldn’t help me. Ray missed his first check-in. Probably because he knew he couldn’t pass a drug test. So there’s a warrant out for his arrest as it is.”
“Well, so much for that.” Raven unlaced her fingers and reached for Matthew’s hand. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll figure out who’s behind all this. If not Ray, then whoever is responsible.”
Matt squeezed her hand and gave her a tender smile. “I just hope we can find him soon enough to avoid another incident.” He released her and reached toward Justin. “It was nice to meet you. I appreciate your coming down here.”
Justin accepted the proffered hand with a nod. “Our pleasure. I just wish we could be more help. The best I can do is offer our prayers.”
“That’s all anyone can do for now. And I gladly accept as much of that kind of help as I can get.”
Uncomfortable, Raven averted her gaze to the floor. Just when she thought Justin might make them hold hands and say a prayer in the middle of her office, someone knocked on her door. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Come in!”
Shane Crowley, an adorable college intern with quick dimples and curly black hair, peeked in. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“You’re fine. What’s up?”
“There’s a guy out here insisting he needs to see you.”
“What does he want?” She thought back over her reports during the past month. Anything controversial that might get her into trouble? Nope. Not unless one considered the exposé she’d done on the tanning-salon-owning pervert who’d installed cameras in each room. But she doubted seriously he had the guts to confront anyone face-to-face.
Shane grinned. “Says he’s your brother.”
Keri laughed. “A brother, eh? That’s a new way to meet you.”
“This guy sort of looks like you, Raven.”
Raven felt the blood drain from her face. Sonny.
“Oh, this I have to see.” Keri strode toward the door.
“Wait, Kere. Let Shane deal with him.” She glanced at the intern. “Tell him I can’t talk now, but if he will come back later I’d be happy to sit down and find out what this is all about.”
“You’ll what?” Keri stared at her, bewilderment popping from every freckle. “Raven, you can’t sit down and talk to a nut job who claims to be your brother.”
“I agree.” Matthew stepped forward. “I’ll go talk to him.”
“No! I think I can handle this,” she said, eyeing first one then the other. “I know you only mean well, but I’ve had a lot of practice in dealing with fans and admirers.”
Keri scowled. “Fine, have it your way. We have to go pick up the boys from swimming lessons.”
“All right. I’ll call you later if I hear anything about Anaya’s family.”
Giving her a tight squeeze, Keri whispered against her ear. “Matthew loves you still. I can tell.”
Warmth crept to Raven’s cheeks. “We’ll see,” she whispered back.
Justin wrapped her in a bear hug, his scratchy chin tickling her cheek.
“Thanks again for coming down, Justin.”
“No problem. Let me know if I can do anything else.”
They left and Raven turned expectantly to Matt, stubbornness plain in every line on his face. He plunked down in the nearest chair and crossed his arms over his chest.
Panic rose in Raven. Sonny was waiting. Her brother. Her secret.
“Matthew,” she said slowly. “As much as I’d love to sit and talk, I’m afraid duty calls.” Forcing a bright smile, she willed him to take a clue and leave.
He shook his head and set his jaw. “I’m not leaving until I know who this so-called brother is.”
She rolled her eyes. “Why? You jealous?”
He narrowed his gaze and pushed to his feet, purpose written in each stride as he closed the distance between them. Slipping his arms around her waist, he pulled her to him in one quick movement.
Raven’s heart nearly burst from her chest as his head moved closer. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her face.
“Not jealous, Raven. Just not willing to take a chance on you being harmed by someone who might not have your best interests at heart.”
“H-he won’t…” Her gaze lowered to his mouth. He smiled and she looked up.
“I’m going to make sure he doesn’t. If I have to hold you close to me for the rest of my life, I will.”
“That sounds an awful lot like a proposal,” she whispered.
“It wasn’t,” he whispered back.
Heat seared her cheeks. She averted her gaze.
He dipped his head lower. “I proposed once. I never changed my mind. The ball is in your court. When you’re ready to take the ring back, it’s still yours.”
His mouth closed over hers before she could process his declaration. For Raven, this wonderful kiss felt just like Christmas, landing her first job and the first morning of vacation all rolled into one. She sighed against his lips as he pulled away. “Matthew…”
“Shh, I’m not asking for you to pick up where we left off before your mother died. Just letting you know that my feelings are still the same. When and if you’re ever ready to love me again, I’ll be here.”
Her heart shouted to her, Admit it. Let go and let him love you!
Before she could decide whether to accept the challenge or quiet her emotions, Matt stepped back. “Don’t walk out to your car alone when you leave. Promise me.”
She nodded. “I promise.”
“Okay then, I’ll leave you to your work. Jamie has soccer practice in an hour and I need to be there.”
He dipped his head and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “I’ll call you later.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, she sank into the nearest chair and buried her face in her hands.
Matthew glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned. The same blue car that had been following them since he and Jamie had pulled out of the ballpark had just reappeared through a zigzag of traffic. His heart sent up a flare to heaven. Lord, show me where the danger is coming from. I can’t protect my family if Ray keeps eluding me.
“What’s wrong, Dad?”
He glanced at his daughter. The worry clouding her eyes slashed at him. He hadn’t meant to be so transparent that his daughter would worry.
“Nothing’s wrong, honey.”
Her face, smudged with sweat and dirt, scrunched with a dubious frown. “I can tell when you’re lying to me. You keep looking in the mirror and breathing heavy.”
He whipped the car out of the lane of traffic and hit the off ramp at sixty miles per hour. The blue car stayed on the freeway. Swallowing hard, Matthew returned his focus to driving.
“Okay, I mean it, Dad. What’s going on? I don’t recognize this street. We’re not even going the right way.”
Matt surveyed the street he’d pulled onto. She w
as right. He didn’t recognize anything either. But the golden arches, standing majestically a few yards on the right, were the universal landmark. “Hey, I thought you might be hungry after all that running you did.”
“Really? Can I have chicken nuggets?”
“You sure can.”
“And a shake?”
“Yep.”
“So nothing’s wrong?”
“Everything is just fine.” For now anyway.
“Okay, that’s great, Ken. Thanks.”
The cameraman puffed on a cigarette and nodded. “I’ll wrap up here and meet you back at the station to start editing this for six o’clock.”
Raven stood outside the courthouse where the serial bank robber had just been arraigned. Her afternoon had been filled with dreams of the kiss she’d shared with Matthew—until two hours ago, when she’d gotten word about the arraignment. Then rational thought fled and she’d moved on instinct. She’d dashed out to wrap up her story, calling Ken on the way. Now she felt a little lost. There would be no more robberies—at least with this guy’s MO—which was a good thing, but it left her at loose ends. Barring an unexpected jailbreak, this guy wasn’t news anymore until a jury of his peers found him guilty. She needed to come up with another running story.
Her thoughts turned back to Matt as she walked through the dim parking garage toward her SUV. A creepy shudder crept up her spine. Too late, she remembered that she’d promised not to walk to her car alone. She squared her shoulders and tried to squash the feeling that someone was watching her. The price of an overactive imagination.
The smell of smoke lingered in the air accompanied by heavy footsteps. She frowned. Ken?
She stopped and turned, expecting to find her cameraman behind her. Instead, a cop walked past her. That explained the footsteps, but not the cigarette smoke.
She pressed the auto unlock on her keychain and moments later left the suffocating garage. The light of day had never looked so good.
An hour after she arrived back at the station, her phone rang.
“Why’d you blow me off this morning?” A heavy, slurred voice spoke into her ear. “They treated me like I was some kind of stalker.”
“I’m so sorry you felt that way, Sonny.” Raven was a little tired of the way her so-called brother vented on her every time something didn’t go according to his plan. “I was busy and I haven’t had a chance to tell anyone about you.”
“No one knows I’m alive?”
“I haven’t felt comfortable sharing my news about you just yet.” She smiled. “We haven’t even met face-to-face. You know?”
“Well, whose fault is that?”
“Mine, I guess.”
Her simple statement seemed to defuse him. “Sonny, how come our dad never calls me? Have you told him about me?”
“I want to meet you first so I can surprise him when you’re ready to meet him.”
“That’s very sweet of you.”
“He’s been through enough. I just don’t want him disappointed.”
“What do you mean? What’s he been through? Is he okay?”
“Oh, he’s okay now. But my mother left us when I was about six years old.” The steel in his tone brought a frown to Raven’s brow. “It was hard on Dad.”
“I can imagine. My mother died when I was in college.”
“A dead mom isn’t the same thing as being abandoned. My mother’s actions were her choice.”
“Of course. I’m sorry, Sonny. That must have been really hard on you and…your dad.”
“Hey, our dad, sis.” His tone lightened as quickly as it had darkened.
Sheesh, talk about bipolar.
“So, when do you want to meet? How about if I take you out tonight?”
“Dinner sounds great. I have to get this story on the six o’clock news, then I’m free for the rest of the night. Where shall we meet?”
“Do you like Italian?”
“Love it.”
“There’s a great little Italian joint just around the corner from your station.”
“Mama Rosa’s?”
“That’s it.”
“Okay, let’s meet say…six-thirtyish?”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too,” Raven replied with warmth. She hung up the phone with a sense of purpose. Tonight was the night she’d finally meet her only brother.
Matthew hung up the phone and sat back in his chair. It wasn’t like Raven not to answer her phone. He’d tried her work line, her home line and her cell and got voice mail on all three.
His heart lodged in his throat. What if he’d scared her off earlier with his big declaration? But she hadn’t seemed scared. She’d actually seemed as moved as he had.
Still, he’d sensed she wasn’t quite ready to give up the possibility of getting a story out of him. A heavy sigh escaped him. He couldn’t do it. Jamie had to be protected. Could he keep his child safe and have Raven in his life too? That was the question, wasn’t it?
Chapter Fourteen
Raven knew as soon as she spotted Sonny that he was her brother. His dark eyes and dark hair mirrored her own in an eerie sort of familial resemblance that she’d sort of hoped for, but hadn’t really expected. He smiled and stood as she approached the table.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly. “I’m not late, am I?”
He glanced at his watch and shook his head. “Right on time. Six-thirtyish, right?”
“Right.”
An awkward silence fell. Neither offered to sit. Raven wasn’t sure whether to hold out her hand, or move in for a quick, sisterly hug.
Sonny appeared to be having the same dilemma. He gave her a sheepish grin and bent, pressing a kiss on her cheek. Perfect.
“Shall we sit?” he asked.
Raven slid into the booth. She slipped her purse off her shoulder and settled it on the seat next to her. The waitress appeared asking for her drink order. “Diet cola,” she said.
Sonny scowled. “That stuff’s rat poison.”
“I’ll take my chances. Can’t eat Italian without a diet soda.”
He shrugged. “Have it your way.”
Clasping her fingers in front of her, she shook her head. “I can’t believe the resemblance between us. Can you?”
“Uncanny.” He rimmed his water glass with his index finger. “We could be fraternal twins. But of course, I’ve seen you on TV so I already knew how much we look alike.”
“So, tell me about yourself, Sonny. What do you do for a living?”
He stirred his straw around the ice water and met her gaze with a shrug. “This and that.”
Oh, brother. That meant he was going to stick her with the check.
He laughed. “Don’t worry. I have steady income. Actually, I have my Masters in Economics and I teach a couple of night classes at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. But only the Ph.D.s make enough to live on. So I also do some physical training at Fitness World.”
“I see. I could use some physical training. What’s your fee?” She grinned.
“Ah, well, that’s where being a family member works to your advantage. I’d do it for free.”
“So, are you married, Sonny?”
He shook his head. “No.”
The one-word answer would have been enough to dissuade most people, but not a sister who made her living being nosy. “How come? You seem like an okay guy, and obviously you have good genes. Why hasn’t some woman snagged you yet?”
“Because I haven’t ever allowed myself to be snagged. Marriage is a slow form of emotional death as far as I’m concerned. My parents were proof of that. How about you? Why haven’t you tied the knot yet?”
“I was engaged once.”
“What happened?”
“Let’s just say, my own disillusionment with life began about that time.”
“You want to elaborate?”
“Not really. Suffice it to say that I decided to put my energy into building a successful career rather than
giving my happiness over to a man.”
The waitress appeared to take their orders, effectively cutting off Sonny’s reply for a couple of minutes. When she left, he gave Raven a scrutinizing look. “Well, it seems you and I have more in common than merely sharing our biological father. We both have a jaded view of relationships.”
“Seems so.”
He chuckled. “Maybe we can find a therapist who gives family discounts.”
Raven couldn’t help but laugh with him. “Good idea.”
“Do you want to see a picture of Dad?” Sonny’s sudden question took her off guard and she fought to swallow down the sip of her soda without spewing it all over the table.
She swiped at her mouth with a napkin and nodded. “I’d love it.” Through all of her searching, she’d never been able to locate a photo.
He pulled his wallet from the inside pocket of his tan sports coat.
Raven took the photograph with a mix of fascination and angst. She should have recognized the man staring back at her. The dark eyes, dark hair. The exotic cheekbones and full lips that had always distinguished Raven from the rest of her family. But this man was a stranger to her. Her mind conjured the familiar image of dear Mac. Daddy. The gruff cop with the gentleness of heart to cry during Hallmark commercials and Christmas programs.
“What was he like as a father?” she asked, without taking her eyes off the photo. “When you were growing up, I mean.”
Sonny released a sigh that told her more than his words could have. “He wasn’t the baseball playing, camping kind of dad. But I knew he loved me. He always told me it was just the two of us against the world. I guess that was his way of making me feel special.”
“That was nice.” Just the two of them. The words scraped Raven’s heart raw.
A dubious grin quirked one side of his mouth. “Well, it was nice as long as he was between women. But Dad wasn’t the kind of guy to stay celibate for long. And he couldn’t just date. He was addicted to relationships.”
“He never remarried?”
“No. He came close a couple of times, but it never seemed to work out.”
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