"Thomas Bixby... that is it Alec! Think about it," Mathias snapped his fingers. "Why do you think he kept trying to foist his daughter off on you? He must be the one funneling the money from the accounts."
"Why? Why would he steal from the town's treasury? The man has more money than he knows what to do with," Alec asked confused.
"I don't know, but I am going to find out. I bet he has been funneling money out of my parent's account for years. I am going down there," Mathias said on his way to the door. "If I find out that bastard has stolen from my parents, I will beat him to a bloody pulp."
"Hold up! I will go with you," Alec offered quickly gathering his coat from the hook by the door.
"Melody! What are you doing in town?" Serena smiled at the woman standing in the line at the bank.
"Next!" the harried teller called out. The line was quite long today which was not usual for a Wednesday.
"I am delivering some papers for Gabriel. He and Pops are over at Harlan's store. They were in such a heated debate over something political, so I snatched the papers. Lily and I escaped in just in time. Isn't that right Lil?"
Serena smiled down at the girl as she nodded enthusiastically. Apparently little Lily had less of a love of politics than her big sister did.
"Morning, Etta." Serena turned to greet the lady who was before Melody in the line.
"Sir, as I have explained Mr. Bixby will not see you today!" The clerk called out angrily. "You are holding up the line. Please step aside."
"I will see him, or there will be hell to pay," the man in the front of the line growled. He looked familiar to Serena, but she could not place him.
"Mrs. O'Malley, if you'd like you can go in front of me in the line," Etta offered shyly. She cast a look toward the other woman's protruding tummy and smiled. "It cannot be easy to stand for so long. If this gentleman in front of me will hurry that is, you can be finished in no time."
"Thank you Etta. My back does ache a bit." Melody smiled at the woman gratefully. "How was everyone's Christmas? Did you have a lovely birthday, Serena?"
"It was..." Serena was cut off by the commotion. The bank doors crashed open as Trudy burst in and ran past the man at the counter. Pushing him aside she ordered the clerk. "Get my father."
"Yes, Miss Bixby. Right away." The teller hastily complied with her command.
"Just what is going on out here?" Thomas Bixby exited his office in exasperation. "You!" Thomas Bixby pointed at the young man. "You aren't supposed to be here until later in the day. Fools...no one can stick to a plan around here."
"Papa?" Trudy shot a look between the two men. Something was going on that she was not aware of and her hackles rose.
"Shut up!" the dirty man hissed at her angrily.
"I will not! Who are you to be telling me to shut up?" Trudy snapped back.
"I am the man who is robbing this god damn bank... that is who!" Joe pulled a weapon from his coat and brandished it around. The crowd of ladies inside gasped in fear. The little girl hid her face in the folds of her mother's dress. Good, he needed their fear to accomplish his goal.
"Get back over here." He ordered the teller with a motion of his gun.
"Joe Vernon... you put that gun down right this minute!" Thomas came charging around the desk. "This was not the way we were going to do this."
"Don't even make a move toward the door or I shoot. I will start with the fat one." Joe motioned at Melody's belly.
"Leave these women be. I cannot believe you would be that stupid to pull this mess right now. I told you that if you failed me again, I would not pay you."
"I want my money!" Joe yelled in return.
"You failed to stick to the plan. You get nothing!"
Joe pointed the gun at the fat man's gut and squeezed the trigger. The report of the shot was deafening as the banker fell to the ground. The teller made a run for the door so Joe shot him in his head before he could make it to freedom. He meant business, he wanted that money, and he wanted it now.
"Papa!" Trudy screamed and ran toward her fallen parent. "Someone, please help!"
The ladies shot Joe a frightened look, but gathered close to the injured man in hopes of saving him.
"Get on your bellies now!" the gun waved in the direction of the trio of ladies and one small girl was gathered around the old fat man. His hands shook as Joe ordered their obedience. He had not meant to shoot the banker, but the bastard had refused to pay him the rest of the money that Joe was owed. The teller, he cared nothing for. The stupid little man had been useless anyway.
"You! Come with me, and open the safe," he ordered the tall blonde one. The snooty banker's daughter had better know the combination, or he would just flat out kill her where she stood. The way he saw it, this was all her fault. First she wants the mayor for a husband, and then changes her mind. That was what stopped her pa from paying him what he was owed, he knew it.
"No."
Joe was stunned. The bitch actually said no to him with a gun pointed in her face? The girl was loco for sure. He did not have time to mess around with her.
"Get over here," he ordered again, as he stalked over to her and grabbed one arm and pulled her toward the back room where he figured the bank's safe should be located.
"You are going to open the safe for me."
"I don't know where the key is!" Trudy cried out as he squeezed her arm painfully. She really was not lying. Her father would have never told her something that important.
"Go on and search for it then!"Following her back into the main room he ordered the remaining women. "Get up and help find the damn key so I can get out of here."
"Someone needs to stay and apply pressure to my papa's wounds or he will die!" Trudy snapped at the fool. "They will hang you for sure then."
"Quit your stalling bitch. The quicker you find that key, the quicker I am out of here and you can get that cheating pa of yours some help, so he don't die. Gun shots to the belly are life threatening ya know."
The women got their feet and started canvassing the bank. Serena and Melody went into Thomas Bixby's office and began rummaging through it in hopes of finding the blasted key. Etta Howard began pulling the contents of the banker's pockets out to search for it. Lily was the one that actually located it. It was hanging on a golden chain around the man's fat neck.
"Here it is!" Etta cried out.
"Give it to me," Joe snapped as he stalked across the room to the cowering woman and snatched it from her hand. "You ladies can help me grab up the money, let's go." Joe motioned them to the back with the wave of the gun. "Kid, you stay there and help keep that fat bastard alive," he ordered the eerie brat that kept watching him silently.
"This plan is absurd. I do not know what my papa was thinking when he hired you in the first place," Trudy pushed the door of the bank's vault open a little wider and tried to reason with the imbecile holding the gun on the people within. "Just take a few bills and go," she hissed at him.
"Your pa promised me the money, and he is going to pay up one way or the other... just because you can't marry the mayor now, that is not my fault," Joe thundered as he waved the gun in her direction once again. "You should have let him diddle you like that red headed bitch did. You'd be Mrs. Mayor then and not her. Why, you are much prettier than she is. The man must be blind."
"Just let the ladies go Joe. Mrs. O'Malley is heavy with child. You would not want to hurt the baby would you?" Trudy batted her eyelashes at the fool. She was hoping to distract him with her flirting.
"None of you ladies is going to get hurt as long as you all do as I say," Joe assured them. "That's a girl just get that vault open."
Trudy's fingers fumbled a bit with the key, but she managed to get it inserted into the lock and open the door. With a twist of the brass handles, the heavy door slowly swung open.
"Holy shit!" Joe gasped at the enormous pile of money inside.
Trudy realized that this was the distraction they needed. With a flick of her eyes, she motio
ned the women huddled against the wall to sneak out of the vault room. The further they were away from the gunman the better. At Serena Wentworth's comprehending nod, Trudy breathed a sigh of relief. One by one the women inched slowly toward the open doorway. Melody O'Malley was first through the door, following her was Etta Howard. The last of the ladies inched closer to the door and gave Trudy an appreciative smile before stepping through the doorway.
"Hey, get back over here and help me load these bags right this minute!" Joe exclaimed, as he caught Serena trying to sneak out.
Trudy felt responsible to this whole mess. If she had been strong enough to stand up to her father, none of this nonsense would have happened in the first place. The fact that the man was in the next room on the floor possibly dead, had not really registered to her yet or so she hoped. She was sure some sense of emotion would surely hit her when this was all over with. After all, he was her flesh and blood. She pushed those thoughts away as she focused her attention on distracting the filthy man.
Running her fingers down his arm seductively, Trudy asked, "You don't really need her do you?"
Pursing her mouth into a pout that she'd practiced most of her life, Trudy informed him silkily, "all you really need is me. She can't give you what I can, Joe. Let's get that money and get out of the bank."
"Trudy... don't offer him that," Serena up behind her and grabbed her arm trying to pull her away from the dangerous situation she was setting herself up for. Trudy shook her off and hissed, "Go away Serena... Joe doesn't want you."
"No, she stays. I have a use for her after all," Joe waved the gun in Trudy's face, "now shut the hell up. I have to think."
"What is there to think about Joe? You can have the money and me. You don't need anyone else. Let the red haired witch go," Trudy pleaded.
She had hoped that Serena Wentworth would have had more sense in that heavily curled head of hers. Why on earth did the woman do anything and everything to get on her nerves? Trudy was trying for the first time in her pampered life to be noble, but the girl was making it hard on her. Damn but she was getting pretty tired of the pint sized prima donna.
"Let's go," Joe fed up with Trudy's scheming, grabbed both women by the arm and led them into the main room. The heavy sacks containing the money weighed him down, making it difficult to maintain his hold on both of the women.
He stopped short at the sight before him. Two large men had entered the bank silently and waited to ambush him. Fuck! His day was going from bad to worse. His ex- boss Mathias Sinclair, a man that he actually feared was furious. He looked ready to tear Joe limb from limb.
"Let her go!" The giant of a man standing over the solid banker, ordered Joe. "You've killed two men here today. Don't let this go any further."
The banker's daughter gasped, but made no other visible signs of distress over her father's death. Joe figured that she probably despised the fat bastard as well.
"How did you get in here? Who let you in?" Joe squawked.
In Joe's surprise, he had released his grip on the mayor's wife and she escaped his clutches as his money bags fell to the ground. She ran into the arms of her husband. He paid no attention to her bolting, as he focused on her furious brother.
"Let Miss Bixby go Joe," Mathias warned once again. His weapon pointed in the general direction of Joe's head.
"Back off or I kill her!" Joe shouted. He lifted the barrel of his gun to Trudy's temple.
"No one needs to die today," Mathias said in a gentle tone, but Joe was in no mood to be placated. He wanted his cash and he wanted to leave this stinking town as fast as he could.
"Get away from the door! I swear I will put a bullet in her pretty little head if you don't." Joe walked her closer to the fallen bag of money. "Pick it up for me," he ordered Trudy. When Trudy leaned down slowly and hefted the bags into her arms, Joe grabbed a tight fistful of hair to hold her still.
"Ouch!" she cried out, but he had to give it to the girl, she did not cry or fuss about. He liked that stubborn streak that ran through her. An idea formed in his mind, and he was determined to see it through.
"Just release the woman. You can leave with the money, we won't stop you," Mathias assured him.
Joe wasn't stupid. He saw the slight nod that Sinclair had shot the mayor. He knew they would try to overtake him as soon as they got the chance. He wasn't going to let that happen.
"No! The bitch comes with me. She owes me and I know just how she is going to pay up. Her knees will be aching before this day is out." Joe slapped her hard on the rump and the women in the room gasped at his coarseness.
"This is your last warning Joe. Let her go or I shoot."
"Oh, double damn!" Trudy stomped a foot in frustration. If you wanted something done, you had to do it yourself. Rising on hand, she raked her nails down the idiot's face. Her nails sinking deeply into his flesh, Trudy tried to inflict as much damage as possible. There was no way she was going to find herself kidnapped and raped by this fool.
"Fucking bitch!" Joe screamed while making a grab for the side of his face. The opportunity afforded Trudy the chance to break free. She ran toward the doorway in hopes of getting help.
"You're dead bitch!" Joe lifted his arm and aimed his gun at the back of her head. He pulled the trigger.
"No!" Mathias, seeing the action dove in front of Trudy. The bullet slammed into his back as he knocked her to the ground. His big body covering hers he lay there so still.
"Mathias!" His sister screamed and ran forward. Her husband caught her before she could reach his body.
"Let me," Alec offered as he checked his friend for signs of life. "He is alive." Alec announced while trying to remove his friend from the woman that was pinned underneath.
Joe could see through the door that people were rushing toward the bank. The sound of the gunshot alarming them.
"Shit! Shit!" Joe started panicking.
Tossing the gun from his hand, Joe picked up his money bags and made a hurried escape. He wasn't going to hang for this. After all, none of this was his fault. If the damn banker would not have been so greedy, Joe would not have had to take matters into his own hands.
After she was pulled out from under the giant man, Trudy turned into quite the general. She was not going to let the man who saved her life die right in front of her eyes. Foolish man that he was, why did he have to jump in front of her? Didn't he know she wasn't worthy of his sacrifice?
"You need to cut off his shirt and jacket. Bandages, we need something to stop the bleeding... " Trudy ordered Alec Wentworth, who knelt by his friend's side to help support his body. Turning to Etta, she ordered her to go fetch her brother. "Tell Sebastian to bring his wagon!"
The bleeding was bad. The bullet had hit in the middle of his spine. Trudy knew that this was a bad sign. She applied as much pressure on the wound as possible; she prayed she was not doing more damage to him with her actions. This was a serious injury and far more complicated than she believed Sebastian was trained for.
"Matt... Matt, wake up," Serena wept as she shook his arm.
"Leave him be. It is better he be out for this next few minutes. Moving him is going to be quite painful." Trudy informed her frankly. She may not like the woman, but she knew how she would feel if it were Sebastian lying here bleeding to death.
"Will he live?" Serena looked up with hopeful eyes. Tears shone in her big eyes and it tore at Trudy's heart. "Of course. Your brother is too damn hardheaded to let a little bullet stop him."
"Thank you," Serena whispered gratefully, and Trudy was glad that she did the one thing she did so well in this life... lie.
"I'm sorry. I did the best that I could." Sebastian came from the closed parlor of the Sinclair's home that had doubled as a surgical room. The young doctor was covered in blood and wearing a grim expression.
"Is he...?" Charlotte Sinclair could not bring herself to finish the statement. One hand clutched tightly in her husband's, she waited for the doctor's answer.
"He will li
ve," Sebastian nodded at their sighs of relief. Turning to address all of the occupants in the room he announced, "I fear he may never walk again."
"What?" Charlotte's knees gave out and she was thankful that Alec had caught her before she had slumped to the floor.
"I am very sorry. The bullet did some damage that I cannot repair. I had to make the choice between continuing to search for fragments of the bullet and let him bleed to death, or close him up and let him live. I chose to close him up." Sebastian defended his choice.
"No one blames you Sebastian. You did the best under the circumstances," George Sinclair offered one tired hand in thanks to the young man who had saved his son.
"If it is fine with you folks, Trudy will stay with him tonight. She is just finishing bandaging him as we speak," Doctor Bixby inquired.
"Yes. She can sleep in Serena's old room," George offered.
"My baby!" Charlotte wailed and threw herself into her husband's arms.
"Hush, my love, Matt will come through this. He will walk again one day," George rocked her gently and motioned for Alec to please see the doctor out.
"Mama, please don't fret, Mathias will be fine." Serena rushed over to the weeping woman and was embraced by both her parents. Together the family spent the entire night in unity praying for the man they loved.
"A kiss as a cure... no sweeter prescription."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Trudy sat silently and watched the man who had saved her life, fight for his. The rise and fall of his chest as he struggled for breath worried her. The fever was back again, and she had spent most of the day bathing his brow and upper chest trying to cool him off.
For three days now Mathias's body had fought off the hands of death. In his delirium he had yelled, laughed and lashed out. He had confused her with his late grandmother, his sister, and even Reverend Peterson. He held conversations with shadows and mumbled threats as he thrashed about. His legs remained still, confirming Sebastian's diagnosis. Trudy was exhausted, but she refused to allow anyone else to care for him.
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