Belonging (31 page)

The contents were much the same as before—but
it was clearly a warning. Matt's jaw jutted out as he read. He
didn't like this whole setup. Not one damn bit.

"You and the girls are coming home with me.
And you're staying until we've found out who's behind all
this."

His voice was quiet, but there was a steely
determination in his eyes. Angie could tell he was waiting for her
to explode. But she didn't. She knew he was right. It would be best
if she wasn't alone. Besides, she just didn't feel up to another
argument with him. She began to tell him so, but Janice cut her
off before she could say a word.

"He's right, Angie. I think we'll all feel
you'll be a lot safer if you're with Matt." Her look turned
imploring. "And this time I'm really not trying to knock your
heads together!"

"I agree," Bill put in. "You shouldn't be
taking any chances, Angie."

Angie's laugh was wobbly. "Hey, don't I get a
say-so here?" She held up her hands in a conciliatory gesture.
"Before all of you decided to gang up against me, I was going to
say that it's probably for the best if I don't stay here." Her gaze
slid to Matt's. "Now can we gather a few things together and get
this show on the road?"

***

It was late when Matt hung up the phone in
his kitchen. He remained where he was, silently assessing the
figure sitting at the table.

"Coffee?" He asked, covering his concern with
sudden efficiency. Without waiting for an answer, he reached into
the cupboard and brought down two cups. After filling them both
from the pot on the counter, he walked back to the table and set
one before her.

Angie accepted the offering, marveling that
Matt was so calm, so offhand. She still felt as if her inside were
no more than a mass of gelatin. It was hard to believe the girls
were now safe and asleep iu the spare bedroom upstairs. She was,
however, very grateful for his calm reassurance.

"Thanks." Hesitantly she smiled at him. "For
everything."

He nodded. "We'll have a team out to check
for fingerprints and talk to the neighbors first thing in the
morning."

In spite of herself, Angie shivered. Just
thinking about the havoc at her home made her feel cold inside all
over again. "Think it will do any good?" she asked, trying her best
not to sound glum.

"I wouldn't bank everything I owned on it,
but let's hope so."

For her own peace of mind, she attributed his
pessimism to caution. Tracing a finger around the rim of her cup,
she smiled rather weakly. "Three women and a puppy may cramp your
style, Chief Richardson."

He didn't say anything for the longest time.
When she finally glanced up at him, she saw such tenderness that
her heart turned over. "I'll take my chances, Ms Mayor," he
murmured. "I'll take my chances." Rising, he held out a hand. "You
must be exhausted. Let's get you to bed, okay?"

Angie unthinkingly placed her hand in his and
let him pull her to her feet. Their eyes met and merged, melded by
a force neither could deny. She wanted nothing more than to lose
herself in the dark warmth of his mouth, the strength and security
of his arms.

In that moment the feeble defenses she had
forged against him crumpled. She was so tired of fighting—-fighting
Matt, fighting the confusion in her heart. It felt so good. So
right, this feeling of belonging. Perhaps someday she would succeed
in sweeping him from her life. Someday... but not now.

A finger beneath her chin eased her face
upward. "How are you holding up?" he asked very gently.
"Truthfully, now."

She was touched at the deep concern reflected
on his face. "I'm fine," she murmured.

"Really?" His eyes searched the pale curve of
her cheek, then lingered on the dewy softness of her mouth.

"Really." Her body responded instinctively to
his nearness. Her arms found their way around his waist. She leaned
her head against his chest as if it were the most natural thing in
the world to do. "But only because you're here," she
whispered.

Matt smiled at the faint shyness he heard in
her voice. "I'm glad you called me." His breath stirred her hair as
he rested his chin on her head. "You scared the hell out of me,
though. All I knew was that something was terribly wrong, and I
thought something had happened to Kim or Casey." He paused. "The
minute you saw what happened, all of you should have left, Angie.
Whoever broke in could have still been inside the house."

"I know," she admitted sheepishly. "Janice
and I were both so stunned I couldn't think straight. Especially
after I found the note."

"That reminds me," Matt said with a frown.
"The city hall issue is on the agenda for Monday's council meeting,
isn't it?"

She nodded. Pulling back, she looked up at
him worriedly. "Do you think we should postpone the vote
again?"

"No... No, I think you should go ahead with
it."

Something in his voice made her curious. "You
know who it is, don't you? Who, Matt?" she demanded urgently.
"John Curtis?"

"We don't know," he said cautiously. "But
whoever it is, he's been pretty damn careful so far."

A prickly unease ran down her spine. "Then
why do you think we should go ahead with the vote?"

He shook his head. "Angie, please, no
more."

Her eyes remained locked on his face. His
closed expression revealed nothing, but suddenly something clicked.
"Wait a minute," she said slowly. "Whoever is behind this...you're
trying to smoke him—or her— out of hiding."

Before he had a chance to respond, one of her
hands, which had been resting lightly on his waistline, eased
around toward his back.

"Your gun. You're wearing it again." Her
breath fluttered unevenly. Since the night she'd told him how Evan
had died, Matt hadn't been carrying it—at least when he was with
her.

But tonight he was. She tried not to be
alarmed, but her attempt at a smile fell flat. "I'd like to say
you're not scaring me, but I think I'd be lying."

"Dammit, Angie." Muttering roughly, Matt
hauled her tightly against his chest. "After what you've been
through, that's the last thing I want."

Held so tightly against him, his heart
drumming steadily under her ear, she felt as if some of his
strength radiated into her. "I'm okay. Honestly," she assured him
and managed a tremulous but honest-to-goodness smile. "Only between
all the excitement and coffee, I probably won't be able to sleep a
wink tonight."

His thumb traced the fragile line of her
cheekbone. "Are you propositioning me again, Ms Mayor?"

"I'm not sure," she responded quietly, a
vaguely troubled light appearing in her eyes. "But I do know I
don't want to be alone tonight."

His warm lips touched her forehead, closed
her eyes with wispy, feathery brushes, before settling fully on her
mouth. It was a kiss filled with tenderness, meant to comfort, and
Angie felt a storm of emotion fill her heart near to bursting. She
was dimly aware that she was handing control over to Matt, but at
this moment she trusted him every bit as much as she trusted
herself.

She clung to him wordlessly as he scooped her
into his arms and carried her up the stairs to a room swallowed by
darkness. She felt the softness of a mattress beneath her, the
touch of his hands on her body, his whispering voice instructing
her to slide over.

"Hold me," she pleaded.

She was instantly cocooned in warmth,
blanketed in security. The only thing she could think of was how
right—and how good—it felt here in Matt's arms. And somehow she had
never been more grateful for this man who gave everything and
demanded so little.

He kissed her eyelids closed, drew the covers
up over her bare shoulders. "Go to sleep, babe."

Even though Angie was convinced it would be
hours before she could relax, she fell asleep almost
immediately.

Instead, it was Matt who lay awake long into
the night.

Angie discovered she didn't particularly care
for the feeling of being a hunted animal. It was hard not to read
ominous signs into anything the least bit unexpected—the sound of
a car door slamming, the phone ringing, a floorboard creaking. But
for the girls' sake, she managed to act fairly normally.

Kim and Casey stayed at the Crawfords' place
most of Sunday afternoon, and she and Matt went back to her house
to begin cleaning up. While the damage wasn't as bad as it had
appeared at first sight, it was nonetheless a tedious chore. She
was both angry and frightened that someone had invaded the privacy
of her home and rifled through her personal belongings. By the time
the day ended her nerves were shot.

Monday was a little better. The city council
meeting was set for seven that night, and she was anxious to have
the vote on the city hall issue over and done with.

Perhaps then she could get back to normal.
Still, if the vote didn't turn out as she hoped, she knew she would
be very, very disappointed. Her tormentor, whoever he was, would
have gained exactly what he wanted.

Which only brought her around to why. Why was
someone so set on building a new city hall that he would slash
tires, abduct her cat, vandalize her yard and ransack her home?
What was in it for him? Matt thought it was for money. But perhaps
that wasn't it at all. Maybe she had been the intended target all
along, the city hall issue only a ruse.

Around and around her mind roiled. Her
temples were throbbing when she pulled a small bottle from her
desk, dumped a couple of aspirin into her palm and swallowed them
with a glass of cool water.

She had just eased her head back tiredly when
a knock sounded at the door. Todd Austin walked in.

"All set for the big meeting tonight?"

"I'd better be." She smiled wanly. "Besides,
I don't have much choice, do I? Much as I hate to admit it, though,
I hope we don't have another stalemate on our hands."

Todd wandered over to glance idly out the
window, his hands in his pockets. "It'll be close, all right," he
agreed. "I did a little unofficial checking and it looks like it
could go either way. So--" he turned and lifted his brows "--looks
like everything's riding on you."

Angie didn't say anything. The last time
she'd spoken with Steve Jackson, he'd indicated he would support
the renovations, but there was always the outside chance he had
changed his mind. If the council was indeed split down the middle
once more, she would have no choice but to cast the tie-breaking
vote.

"Well," she said quietly, "we'll just have to
wait and see, I guess." She looked across at him. "You'll be there,
won't you?"

Todd nodded. "I do need to pick up a few
reports I forgot at home this morning, though." He paused. "I don't
suppose you could give me a lift? My car's in the shop till
tomorrow afternoon. We could grab some dinner on the way back."

Angie checked her watch. It was nearly
four-thirty. "I can give you a ride home and back, if you like. But
I'll have to say no to dinner." She hesitated. "I'm meeting Matt
Richardson here in about forty-five minutes."

"I see." His expression seemed to tighten.
"He's staying for the meeting?"

"Yes." There was an awkward silence while
Angie scanned his face anxiously. Then he seemed to relax.

"No problem," he told her. "We'll be back in
plenty of time."

Angie collected her jacket and satchel, then
stopped briefly by Georgia's desk to tell her she was leaving. When
she and Todd neared her car, he asked, "Mind if I drive?"

With a shrug she handed over her keys. She'd
been a passenger often enough in Todd's car to know that he was a
capable driver.

The car was hot and stuffy from sitting in
the sun all day. Rolling down the window, she enjoyed the feeling
of the breeze cooling her face as Todd pulled out into the flow of
traffic.

She frowned, though, when she happened to
observe that his grip on the steering wheel was so tight his
knuckles showed white. Beads of perspiration dotted the grim line
of his lips.

"Todd?" Her voice was sharp. "Are you all
right?"

He didn't seem to have heard her. "You're
going to vote for restoring city hall, aren't you, Angie?"

"If it comes to that, yes." Her tone was
puzzled. "But you already know that, Todd."

"I wouldn't if I were you." His eyes narrowed
to pale slits. "No, Angie, I think you're going to have a change of
heart. You'll vote for a new building... with the right
incentive."

At first Angie found his words
incomprehensible. Then, in spite of the heat of the day, she
suddenly felt as if the temperature had plunged below zero.

There was a feral gleam in Todd's eyes, a
harshness in his voice she'd never heard before.

"You," she whispered, stunned. "You're the
one who slashed my tires, who broke into my house—it was you!" A
burning rage replaced the icy numbness in her veins. She balled her
hands into fists on her lap. It was all she could do to stop from
hurtling herself at Todd's throat.

"Don't forget about the cat. You'll never
find her, you know. I dumped her halfway to Seattle." His laugh was
bitter. "I had to do something, didn't I? I had you right where I
wanted you till you got it in your head you wanted to renovate that
damned old building. But I wasn't worried. I could have talked you
into anything— anything—until he came along!"

"Who? Matt Richardson?" The car veered around
a corner. She gasped when her shoulder bounced painfully against
the door.

Todd's lips curled. "Damn him, anyway!" he
swore, viciously.

Angie stared at him, her mind reeling. Surely
he wasn't saying he was jealous. There was more to it--much more.
"I don't understand, Todd. Why... why did you do all those terrible
things? What difference does it make to you whether or not city
hall is renovated?"