Belonging (32 page)

"A hell of a lot! Money, Angie. It all boils
down to money. Me and Jerry—we got it all worked out."

"Jerry?"

"Jerry McKinley. McKinley Construction." He
shot her an impatient glance. "He planned to submit a bid for the
new building..."

Angie went numb. "And in your job, you would
have had access to all the bids."

"Now you're catching on. In exchange for a
sizable fee, Jerry gets a little freebie." Todd laughed
maliciously. "There's no way anyone else could turn in a lower
bid, right? Bingo, Jerry gets the contract—"

"And you get your pockets padded." Her
stomach began to churn. Now she understood Todd's reasons for
wanting to deepen their relationship. He hadn't wanted her for
herself; he'd only wanted to use her. Greed had been his only
motivation.

"My God, Todd," she muttered. "I can't
believe you tried to terrorize me into changing my stand. Don't you
know me any better than that?"

"I know you, all right," he snarled. "And
you'll do anything to protect those brats of yours! Do you know
where they are right now, Angie? Who they're with?"

She stared at him dumbly. She couldn't
believe that Todd would really... But he'd already kidnapped
Spooky, a terrible voice reminded her. And he was tense, so tense.
She could feel his desperation.

The tires squealed as the car screeched to a
halt. Angie focused dimly on the traffic signal before them, the
long stream of cars.

She lifted her chin defiantly, wondering if
her lips were trembling as much as she thought they were. "You
won't find them," she said clearly. "They're not at home."

"They're at the Crawfords. I know it—and so
does my friend."

Pure panic clawed its way up to her throat.
Her head swam dizzily, and for a sickening moment she thought she
might pass out. "They're fine," she said jerkily. "If something had
happened, Janice would have called...."

Her voice trailed away. There was no way of
knowing if Janice had called. And she couldn't watch Kim and Casey
every second. If either one happened to be near the street... They
were so young. It would be so easy to pull a small, unsuspecting
child into a car.

The light turned green. Her head jerked back
as Todd accelerated. "Todd, be reasonable," she pleaded. "You can't
expect to get away with this."

His hands gripped the steering wheel
fiercely. "I can and I will!" he shouted. "As long as you do what I
tell you!"

"Even if I did, sooner or later someone would
find out." Angie braced her hands on the dashboard. Fear sharpened
her voice. "Todd, listen to me!" They careered around a corner,
and she cracked her head on the window. If he was trying to scare
her, he was doing one hell of a job.

The Mercedes sped forward, darting and
weaving through the traffic. Horns blared, brakes squealed. And
still they moved, faster and faster.

"Todd, please!" Angie grabbed for the
emergency brake, knowing her effort was hopeless even as she lunged
across the seat.

She heard the sickening sound of metal on
metal. A sharp cry filled the wildly spinning void around her.

Then everything was dark.

***

Matt stepped into the mayor's office at
precisely five- fifteen. Georgia was standing at her desk in the
process of clearing the day's clutter.

Without breaking his stride, he started
across the room. "Hi, Georgia. Angie still holed up inside?"

Georgia's voice stopped him halfway.

"She's not in there, Chief." She squinted up
at the clock on the wall. "Left here about four-thirty."

Matt turned with a frown. He was a little
surprised she hadn't let him know she was leaving. "Did she go
home?" he asked. "She was supposed to meet me here."

"She said she'd be back. Todd Austin's car is
in the repair shop, so she gave him a ride home," Georgia shrugged.
"She must have got caught in traffic."

"The repair shop?" There was a distinct edge
to his voice. "I saw him drive up and park over on Oak Street less
than two hours ago." He hadn't given it a second thought at the
time. But most of the city's employees parked in the lot adjacent
to the building or on the street directly in front of it. Now
chilling needles of apprehension raced up his spine.

"Maroon sports car, some kind of foreign
make?"

He nodded, a tense look on his face.

"That's his, all right," Georgia
confirmed.

Matt felt as if he'd been struck between the
eyes with a hammer. "It's him!" He banged a fist on the desktop,
suddenly furious with himself—and with Todd Austin. "Dammit, it's
him!"

He had just slammed his car door shut and was
shoving the gearshift into reverse when he heard the crackle and
buzz of the police radio. Matt gunned the motor. He was scarcely
listening as a call sputtered through, dispatching a unit to the
scene of a traffic accident.

It wasn't until the officer requested a DMV
check on the vehicles involved that Matt gave it a second thought.
And then he broke out in a cold sweat. His stomach lurched
sickeningly.

One of the cars belonged to Angie--and an
ambulance had just been summoned.

***

Matt was never sure how he got to the scene
of the accident in one piece. Over and over, agonizing thoughts ran
through his mind. How badly was Angie hurt? Had she been thrown
from the car? Through the windshield? His stomach tightened. What
if she was...

He yanked the steering wheel toward the curb.
With a spray of gravel, a whining squeal of the brakes, the car
screeched to a halt.

Matt jumped out, his eyes quickly scanning
the area. The street had been blocked off. There was a small city
park on one side, a grocery store on the other. The site was
teeming with police vehicles and bystanders.

Then he spotted Angie's car. The front end of
the vehicle resembled an accordion; the rear door on the driver's
side was almost completely caved in.

The ambulance was nearby, parked beneath a
tree. Two blue-shirted paramedics were just sliding a stretcher
through the double doors. There was a white blanket draped over the
stretcher, but Matt could see that the victim was a woman.

Matt felt his heart stop. He rushed over to
the ambulance just as the driver was closing the second double
door at the rear of the van.

"Wait!" He was dimly aware of his voice
cracking. "The woman inside... how serious is it?"

The man shrugged. "Likely a concussion, I'd
say. She smacked her head on the steering wheel pretty good.
Fractured arm, too. Don't know about internal injuries yet. Have to
wait till we get to Emergency to find out." He started around the
side of the vehicle, then turned back. "You know her?"

Matt nodded tersely.

"You can follow us to the hospital if you
want."

There was a sickening feeling in the pit of
his stomach, a kind of fear he'd never known before. He took a
moment to gather himself, watching as the ambulance pulled onto
the street. The sight of the overhead lights flashing in the
brilliant sunshine seemed almost obscene.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. "Why is it
you're always a little too late to get in on the action?" a voice
behind him asked.

He turned and for a second he thought he was
dreaming. But when a warm, yielding form walked straight into his
arms, he knew that he wasn't.

"Angie. Angie, I thought..." He couldn't go
on; he could only look at the flashing lights of the ambulance
rounding the corner, his throat clogged with emotion.

She ran her fingers over the sharp angles of
his cheekbones. "I'm fine. See?" She pointed to a small bruise on
her right temple. "My only battle scar." Her slight smile faded.
"Todd sideswiped that car--" she pointed to a mangled sedan behind
him "--and the driver's the woman they just took to the hospital."
She didn't tell him that, before she had blacked out, they had spun
around on the sidewalk and narrowly missed hitting a tree.

Matt hugged her fiercely, then drew back to
gaze down at her. His hands rested lightly on her shoulders.
"Todd's behind this whole thing, Angie," he began.

"I... I know. He told me. He vandalized the
yard, took Spooky and dumped her miles out of town. And you were
right, Matt. It was all for money." In a low voice she told him of
Todd's plan. She ended with a shiver. "He threatened to do
something to Kim and Casey if I didn't vote for the new
building."

Matt froze once more. "They're fine," she
assured him quickly. "A dispatcher has already checked with
Janice."

Her smile was brave, but there was a telling
glaze of moisture over her lovely blue eyes. Matt aimed a silent
curse at Todd Austin.

At precisely that moment he saw a uniformed
officer leading Todd toward a police cruiser. He then decided
voicing his outrage would be much more satisfying.

"I'll be back in just a minute," he told
Angie. Dropping a light kiss on her forehead, he moved away.

Briefly noting the name tag worn by the
officer, he dropped a hand on his shoulder. He nodded pleasantly
toward the caged back of the cruiser. "Mind if I have a word with
the suspect, Officer Stevens?"

The man turned with a frown, but the look
changed to one of respect as he saw who had made the request. "Sure
thing, Chief."

Sullen and stony, Todd Austin stared straight
ahead, handcuffed wrists dangling on his knees. Without a word Matt
opened the door, grabbed him by his lapels and unceremoniously
hauled him from the back of the vehicle.

A number of spectators looked on with
interest at the spectacle that was about to unfold.

Matt towered over the other man. With his
feet braced slightly apart, big hands curled into fists at his
sides, Matt was indeed a formidable figure. "Do you have any idea
what I'd like to do to you, Austin?"

Todd sneered. "I almost got away with it,
Richardson. You had no idea it was me who was terrorizing your
precious little—"

"Shut up." The incredibly soft tone belied
the savage light in the police chief's eyes.

"Oh, come on," Todd taunted. "Are you afraid
somebody's gonna find out about you two?" His laughter was
malicious as he jerked his head toward Angie, who was watching
silently a short distance away. "Instead of bragging about what
you'd like to do to me, why don't you tell us what you wanna do to
her? What you've already done—"

But Matt had heard all he wanted. He lunged
toward the other man.

"Matt, don't!" Angie pleaded, determinedly
tugging at his arm. "He's only goading you. Don't you see
that?"

The harshly threatening expression slowly
faded from Matt's face. He stared down at Angie, suddenly aware
that there was something different. She looked rather scared,
undeniably concerned, but there was also a depth of emotion in her
eyes that hadn't been there before—at least when she looked at
him.

He released Todd so abruptly the other man
fell back against the trunk of the car. He nodded briefly to
Officer Stevens. "Get him out of here."

A wave of intense feeling swept through him
as he caught Angie's hand in his. "You're right," he said softly.
"He's not worth it. But I will say he's damn lucky you weren't
hurt, or it wouldn't be the jail he'd be spending the night
in."

Right now all Angie wanted was to forget this
whole mess. "Let's go home," she murmured. The smile she directed
at him was weary yet tender.

Matt's eyes dropped to where her hand had
settled into the crook of his arm. He was just about to tease her
when a voice called, "Hey, can we get a shot of you two?"

They both turned to see a photographer from
the Bulletin waving at them. Angie gave a tiny moan, but Matt
grinned devilishly.

"Sure thing," he promised. Before she had a
chance to protest, he pulled her into his arms and ducked his
forehead down to hers. "Ms. Mayor and the Chief may make the front
page yet," he whispered just before he gave her a kiss guaranteed
to knock the socks off anyone who cared to look on.

Angie didn't mind in the least.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The episode didn't quite end there.

Janice, of course, had to hear all about it.
At nine o'clock that night Angie, Matt, Bill, Janice and four
youngsters were still gathered around the kitchen table at the
Crawfords' house.

"I can't believe it. It was Todd Austin all
along!" she exclaimed for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"When the police called to see if Kim and Casey were all right, I
couldn't imagine what was going on." She shook her dark head and
grinned at Angie. "Didn't I tell you once that having a big-time
cop from Chicago was like having Kojak in town?"

"Ex-cop from Chicago," Matt reminded her. His
fingers curled around Angie's, as if to remind himself that she was
really okay. "And I'd hardly call myself the hero in this story,
anyway," he added wryly. "As usual, though, there's never any
shortages of bad guys."

He was talking about Todd.

Beside him, Angie found herself lost in
thought, scarcely listening to the conversation. In spite of the
contempt she had for Todd's planned manipulation, she felt rather
sorry for him. He was bright and intelligent, and he'd had so much
going for him. He should have been grateful; instead, he'd found
himself blinded by the need for more.

She had also discovered something else
tonight. She suspected she was very, very lucky. Matt loved her,
but instead of accepting and nurturing that love, she had chosen to
turn her back on it, and him, because she was afraid. She could
only hope it wasn't too late. But from the warmly possessive light
shining in Matt's eyes the past few hours, she didn't think it
was.

"Mommy." Kim cast a worried look at the
puppy, who was sniffing around the corner of the kitchen. "I think
Patches needs to go outside."