Raven bristled, but bit back a retort. She needed to choose her battle carefully. And the only battle she needed to fight at the moment was the one for her life.
“I’m so sorry if I’ve hurt you, Sonny. But I never meant to. What did I do to make you hate me so?”
“You exist!” he exploded. “He wouldn’t give me the money I needed for the stables. He said that was your inheritance. I mean, it wasn’t that much. And I promised to pay it back with interest. But he wouldn’t do it. Said he had two kids and he wasn’t sacrificing one’s inheritance for the other.”
Somehow, knowing that warmed Raven. The knowledge that her biological father had at least had some feeling of responsibility for her, if nothing else, showed her he wasn’t all bad. “This is about money?”
“Mostly.” He cut her a glance. “Sick, isn’t it?”
More than he knew. “I don’t need or want the money. It’s all yours. I’ll sign anything you want.”
Laughter played in his throat, a hoarse laugh created from years of smoking. “It’ll be mine anyway, when you’re out of the picture. I didn’t know the old man had already put you in his will, or I would have taken care of that first.”
“First?” A sickening thud of reality hit Raven’s stomach with the velocity of a major-league pitch. “What are you saying?”
“You’re the reporter, you figure it out.”
“You killed your own dad just to get your hands on some money?”
He shrugged. “I’m not proud of it, Raven, so don’t make me out to be a monster.”
Was he kidding? Raven watched with incredulity. Horrific truth made all of this so much more real. “Don’t you think the police might get a little suspicious if two family members die so close together?”
“No one will be able to connect the two. Dad was mugged in Chicago. I had to teach a class that night.”
“What? Did you pay someone?”
“Let’s just say someone owed me a favor.”
“But why meet me and pretend to want a relationship with me? You could have hired someone to kill me too, and no one would have known any better. Why so much drama?”
Sonny shrugged. “I was going to put a bullet through your heart that night on the road home from Briarwood. You got out at that quick stop and I thought I’d wait and before you got back on the highway, I’d just shoot you then and take off. No one would have seen me. I could have done it, you know. Then I’d have my money, and you would be gone. It would be like finally getting justice for your mother ruining my life.”
Raven shuddered, remembering the car that had taken off as she’d come out of the store that night with the bad cup of coffee.
She drew a shaky breath. “What made you change your mind?” Maybe she could play on that and stall for more time. Keep him talking.
“The wind caught your hair and it looked like a sheet lifting up and then down. You were so pretty. Like a doll. And I just wanted to know you. I thought since we were both alone, we could be family for each other. I was your only brother, you were my only sister. I was an idiot.”
“But we could have been there for each other, Sonny. We were starting to get to form a relationship, weren’t we?”
“Yes, but you wouldn’t stop going behind my back to see Strong. I tried everything to make him leave you alone. Even took his little girl. I could have kept her, but I didn’t, because a kid shouldn’t have to grow up without a parent.”
Raven shut her eyes as his words caused all of the pieces to fall together. Somewhere deep inside of him there had to be some decency. Otherwise, there was no telling where Jamie would be today. “Oh, Sonny. You’re right. You shouldn’t have had to grow up without your mom.”
Raven cringed as Sonny’s head whipped around. He glared at her. The car wove from one side of the road to the other as his eyes grew wild. “Don’t act like you care! It was your mother’s fault mine abandoned me. If she hadn’t…if she…” Sonny clenched his fists, obviously fighting for control over his raging emotions. He spun off the main highway onto a gravel road. “Anyway, it won’t be long now and I’ll be able to do what I should have done in the first place. Erase the shame your mother caused mine. Then maybe she’ll come back.”
He slammed the car to a halt and pulled out his gun. “Get out. Don’t bother to run, you’ll never find your way out of here.” He snagged the keys from the ignition and opened his door.
With another prayer, Raven got out of the car. “Now what?”
“Drink this.” He tossed her a bottle of liquor.
“I don’t think so.”
A roar of rage exploded from him and he grabbed her, pinning her arms behind her back with one massive paw. She gasped as he nearly pulled them from their shoulder sockets. Sonny took the opportunity and tipped the bottle, forcing her to drink. She sputtered and spat, but couldn’t keep it all out.
“What are you doing?” she croaked, hoarse from the burning liquid.
“When they find you, they’ll think you were loaded with drugs and alcohol and that’s why you drove into the quarry—just in case the car doesn’t burst into flames.”
Raven tried not to focus on the fiery image. Instead she stayed with the plan…stall for time while trying to talk him out of killing her. “Are you kidding me? Sonny, Matt already knows where you are. He heard most of the conversation from the time we left the parking garage. You’re not going to get away with this, so why add another murder charge?” Her head was beginning to spin and her words were slurring. She pitched forward, but Sonny caught her. He began walking her around to the driver’s side.
“Well, I figure your Matthew is at least twenty minutes behind us. That gives me just enough time to watch this car plunge over the quarry wall, get to my real car, wait for him and then shoot him when he gets here. It’s not like anyone’s going to hear the gunshot.”
Raven felt herself slipping away from the conversation. The liquor he’d forced down her throat must have been drugged, heavily drugged, given how little she’d consumed. She was aware that Sonny had placed her in the driver’s side and was belting her in.
“There now, you’re all relaxed. You see? I’m not a monster. You’ll be completely passed out in just a minute so you won’t feel a thing.” He reached over her, into the back seat. “And I have a surprise for you. You won’t have to die alone.”
“Ginger…” Raven mumbled, clutching the stuffed animal to her chest. Ironically, she almost thanked Sonny. But the words refused to take shape on her tongue. As Raven faded, she thought that the next thing she saw would be the face of Jesus.
Matthew sped across the loose gravel, his high beams shining on the blue car just up ahead.
In a moment of horror, he recognized what Sonny was planning to do.
A hoarse cry tore at Matthew’s throat as the blue car started to move slowly forward. Matthew knew there wasn’t much time. He gunned his own car forward. How close was Raven to the edge of the ravine? “Oh, God. Please help me to get there in time.”
A pop sounded in front of him and his windshield glass shattered. A bullet whizzed by his head and he heard the back glass shatter. He ducked and the car swerved. His mind registered that Sonny was shooting at him, but he couldn’t be bothered with something like that. Nothing was going to keep him from saving Raven’s life.
Matthew made it to the side of the blue car. Then he gunned the accelerator once more. When he cleared the front bumper, he cut the wheels of his sedan and slid to a stop in front of the blue car. The impact forced his car sideways, closer to the quarry. Matthew expelled a relieved breath as it stopped, a few feet from the edge. He had barely enough room to climb out of the driver’s side and walk away from the chasm.
He watched Sonny run toward another car.
“Stop and put your hands on your head.” The amplified voice called out repeatedly, but Sonny refused to stop. He fired off a round toward the police cars. A volley of gunfire followed. When the air had stopped echoing with shots, Sonny
lay flat, staring unseeing at the starry night.
Matthew opened the car door, his heart lodged firmly in his throat at the sight of Raven unconscious in the driver’s seat. He reached around her and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Raven, honey. Wake up.” He pulled her to him and frowned. She reeked of alcohol.
He looked up at the sound of hard soles on the loose gravel. A young officer squatted down next to him. “Is she all right?”
Matthew snatched up a liquor bottle from the seat next to Raven. “I think he either forced her to drink so much she passed out, or he drugged her.”
“Better get her to the hospital to be on the safe side.” The officer looked at the Lexus then back to Matt. “You can ride in the squad car.”
Matthew nodded. He lifted Raven into his arms and cradled her against his chest. He’d come too close to losing her for good this time, and he knew he would never let her go again.
The pounding in Raven’s head could only be described as the beat of a jackhammer playing inside her brain.
She moaned and slowly opened her eyes. Matt sat in a chair next to her, close enough that he rested his elbows on the bed. She forced her lips into what she hoped was a smile as he captured her gaze.
“Hey, sleepyhead.”
“So you finally showed up, huh? I was starting to think I should have called someone else.”
Her thick comment elicited just the response she’d hoped for. A low chuckle that always warmed her. “A little feisty for someone who almost went headfirst down a rock pit, wouldn’t you say? How’d you think to dial my number anyway? That was pretty smart.”
Raven gave him a sleepy smile. “I saw it done once on TV.”
“You and TV.” He grinned.
Nearly overcome with emotion, Raven felt the rush of tears. “Thank you for saving me.”
He leaned in closer, taking her hand. “I’m your knight in shining armor, baby. No way was I going to lose you again.” His eyes glistened with unshed tears.
Raven reached out and plunged her fingers through his thick, wavy hair and drew his head downward. He buried his face against the side of her neck. He came up, kissing her cheek, her forehead, her chin, until finally he claimed her lips. Raven sighed against him.
“I feel rotten. What did Sonny give me?”
“We think the date rape drug, only he didn’t figure you’d come out of it anyway, so you got too much.”
“I ODed?”
“Pretty much. We got you to the hospital just in time.”
Raven shuddered. “I need to tell you about Ray.”
“Ray?”
“Yeah, he’s legit.” She gave him the digest version of their encounter at the mission.
“Yeah, I figured all that out.”
“Sonny’s the man from Adventure Park too.”
Matt shook his head. “I was so focused on thinking it was personal, it didn’t even occur to me I was being threatened to stay away from you and Jamie wasn’t really in danger.”
“It’s okay. You needed to protect her. It was a natural assumption.”
He reached forward and pressed another kiss to her forehead. “I’m going to let your dad and sisters know you’re awake.”
“Sisters? Is Denni here too?”
“And her husband. The whole family showed up, even Justin and Keri’s twins. You are one beloved woman, Raven Mahoney.”
“How beloved?” Raven couldn’t resist the coquettish question. She didn’t want to go another day, another moment without letting Matthew know that he was the one for her. That she’d decided.
He took the bait. “More than any woman has ever been loved since Adam loved Eve.”
“Really? And how do you know he loved her? It wasn’t like he had any other choices.”
“He loved her.” Matthew pressed her hand to his lips, and then held her arm against his chest. “She was the woman created for him. He would never have been content with anyone else.” His eyes spoke volumes and for once, Raven wasn’t afraid to believe the promises they conveyed.
“May I have my ring back?” She whispered the words.
A spark of joy shot to his eyes. “Well, I don’t know. That depends.”
Raven narrowed her gaze.
“On what?”
“Are you interested in being a political wife?”
Raven squeezed his hand. “Are you going for it again?”
He nodded. “I feel like I have a green light now. I just had to get a few things in my life straightened out before the time was right.”
Raven gave a hefty sigh. “It’s going to be a real challenge, you know.”
He nodded. “I know. But I honestly think I’m supposed to run again.”
“Oh, I don’t mean your part in all of this. You’re going to win by a landslide. I’m the one who has the really hard job. I mean do you realize how much of a challenge it will be to decorate the family floor of the White House.”
Matt grinned. “First things first. We have to find our own house for you to decorate.”
“So does that mean I get my ring back?”
“It does. When do you want to get married?”
Raven’s heart leapt as Matthew leaned closer, his sweet breath warming her face. “The sooner the better,” she whispered.
Matthew closed his eyes. “Good answer.”
Raven melted into his kiss, relishing her second chance. She refused to think of the wasted years, and simply gave thanks to God that He was restoring back to her everything she’d almost lost. Today was a fresh new day. Tomorrow was bright. And whatever the future held for them, she knew one thing, the greatest joy would be loving Matthew for the rest of her life.
Epilogue
On Thanksgiving Day, not a sound could be heard in the Mahoney Cabin as Mac Mahoney reached out and took hold of his bride’s hand. The Southern belle glowed with a beauty that went beyond the layers of makeup caking her face.
Raven, Denni and Keri stood next to her, arm-in-arm as they listened to Mac finally reciting his vows.
Raven imagined her mother’s beautiful pale face, so like Keri’s. She had raised them, had loved them and had loved Mac until her dying day. But Raven knew her mother would never want Mac to go through his twilight years all alone…not if he could love again. And he did. The sparkle in his eyes as he slipped the ring on Ruth’s finger said it all.
Raven glanced out at the small gathering of family and friends, who had all taken time out of their Thanksgiving Day to share in the Mahoney family’s joy. The reception would be a Thanksgiving feast.
They all had so much to be thankful for this year. Keri’s Justin and her two ten-year-old boys, Josh and Billy, sat in the front row. Contentment shone in all three faces. It was difficult to believe that only two years earlier, Justin had been fighting to prove he hadn’t killed his unfaithful wife.
Denni’s handsome cop, Reece, winked at his wife. Raven couldn’t stop a smile from forming on her lips. Married less than a year and Denni was already going to have a baby. Her stomach already showed signs of roundedness. It was fitting that Denni be the first of the three girls to bear her own child. She had inherited all of Mom’s ability to nurture and love and care for others. Mahoney House was proof of that. A home for former foster-care girls, it provided a safe place as the young women made the transition from wards of the state to adulthood.
With a sigh, Raven turned her gaze to her own little family. Matthew stared back at her, no doubt remembering, as she was, their own wedding ceremony at the Strong mansion two weeks after her ordeal with Sonny. Much to Raven’s delight, Aunt Meredith had attended.
Next to Raven, Jamie squirmed, no doubt ready to be free of the pink flower-girl dress she lamented over. She’d proclaimed herself too old to be a flower girl and no way would she wear a dress. But some fast talking, bribery and the promise that she could lose the dress as soon as the ceremony ended had finally convinced the little beauty to acquiesce.
A round of applause rang in the air as Mac and R
uth were pronounced man and wife. Mac Mahoney kissed his bride tenderly.
“Okay, y’all,” Ruth drawled. “Time for pictures. I want the whole family up here, pronto, while these kids are still looking fancy.”
Ten minutes of chaos ensued. Raven was jostled and poked and shoved until finally she stood with Matthew behind her, his arms encircling her waist. “Hey, beautiful,” he whispered in her ear.
Raven released a contented sigh as the camera flashed. Matthew nuzzled her neck and she turned in his arms and accepted his kiss.
“Hey, now. You’re making us look bad!” Justin protested before snatching his own wife for a sweet kiss.
“I guess weddings just bring out the romance in some guys,” Reece said. “I’m a romantic all the time.”
“Yes you are, my darling.” Denni raised her face to his.
Laughter and catcalls lifted into the air as the three Mahoney sisters rested in their husbands’ arms.
Raven’s heart sang as she looked around at her wonderful family. The laughter and love seemed to foreshadow the years that lay ahead. Her children and those of her sisters would grow up together knowing they were safe, secure and loved.
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and she smiled, recognizing the gentle touch of her father. She turned and sank into a tight embrace. Words weren’t necessary. This man was her father. She held him tightly, conveying all the love she felt for him and accepting his love for her.
With a kiss on her forehead, he let her go. Matthew slipped his arm about her shoulders and she leaned her head against his shoulder. “Thank you for waiting for me, Matthew.”
“Thank you for not making me wait any longer.”
His eyes sparkled with love. He was about to move in for another kiss when Jamie’s disgusted voice broke through the moment.
“Oh, brother. All this kissy-kissy stuff is making me sick. I probably won’t be able to eat any turkey.”
Once again, laughter exploded in the room. Raven gave her new daughter a quick squeeze. “Just wait until your time comes, sport. Your heart will make the choice for you. You’ll never be happy until you give in.”
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