Butterfly Madness [Loving in Silver 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Online Free PDF Page B

that made him want to squirm. “Been more calls for you today than any other I can remember.”
    “Who were they from?”
    She handed him a stack of the sticky notes she used for messages, and then dismissed him without another word or look. Man, he’d gotten off easy this morning. The woman’s tongue was like a scouring pad. Going into his office he closed the door and went to his desk. As he sat down he went through the messages, noting that most of them were from the owner of the liquor store. Marge was demented. Shaking his head he picked up the phone and called Ned Taylor to see what he needed. Marge, in her usual manner, hadn’t written out any kind of message. It was an irritating habit and made him wonder if he really shouldn’t replace her. Yeah, right, as soon as he hired someone to tell her she no longer had a job.
    Chickenshit, Grayson told himself with a chuckle as he listened to the ringing go on and on. Knowing Ned as well as he did, he knew the man wouldn’t have called him so many times if it hadn’t been important. Grabbing his hat, he left the office without a word to Marge. If something had happened to Ned, the woman would be gone.
    The front of the liquor store was locked, as he had expected it would be. It didn’t open until noon, but Ned started his day early down in the store. He couldn’t see inside because the blinds were still pulled down. Going around to the back he saw the door had been broken into, the frame splintered. His mouth tightened. He had warned Ned that he needed to get a steel door with a reinforced jamb installed. The man was cheap, though, and couldn’t be reasoned with. According to Ned he had a perfectly good door, there was nothing wrong with the jamb that was in there, so he wasn’t going to spend the extra money to replace something that didn’t need replaced. Pulling his pistol from its holster he pushed the door back gently.
    “Hey, Ned!” he shouted. “Are you in there?”
    No answer. Grayson moved down the narrow back hallway, peering into the storeroom as he went. No one, just cases of liquor stacked neatly. He sniffed as he smelled an unpleasant blend of different alcoholic beverages. Moving on after glancing in the office and seeing nothing but a paper mess, he went into the sales area. Nothing was neat there. Broken bottles and liquid were everywhere. The place reeked. He picked his way around, moving down the three aisles, checking for any sign of Ned. It would be just like the man to confront someone in his store.
    Grayson found Ned in his tiny office when he looked in there again. The elderly man was sprawled on the floor behind the huge oak desk, a bloody wound on his head. His cell phone was in his hand. Cursing, he kneeled on scattered papers and checked the man for a pulse. He had one, but it was faint. Pulling out his phone he called for an ambulance first, then a deputy.
    “Hold on, old guy. We’ll get you some help,” Grayson told the unconscious man in a gruff voice. Ned was like many in the community, someone he had known his entire life. He was cheap, he was rather surly on his good days, and downright mean on bad ones, but the man would help out his neighbor without even blinking. Beneath the worn and faded clothes, and the boney little chicken chest, beat a heart of gold. He might not have wanted to spend his money on new clothes and a new door, but he would have given it all to someone who needed it. Losing Ned would be losing a part of Silver. “Hey, I hear the ambulance already. They’re making damned good time today. You’ll be at the hospital in no time.” There was a moan from the man. “Don’t worry about it. You won’t have to pay the bill.”
    The paramedics came in the back of the store. He got out of their way to let them do their job. Cherry Preston, his newest deputy, came in behind them. Her face was grim as she surveyed the damage with a sharp, intelligent gaze.
    “How’s Ned?” she asked with obvious