It's Not About You Read Online Free PDF Page B

using it.  
    So began my Tuesday morning with a call on my one to ten shift. I picked the phone up and looked at the face. With a groan I answered it. "Yeah?"  
    "Grace?" George sounded a bit irritated. "Why isn't the store open?"  
    Okay that woke me up. I sat up in bed. "I don't know—is Sam not there?"  
    "No. And I can't get her on the phone either."  
    "Do you have your key?"  
    "Yes." He snapped a bit and I just chalked it up to him being mad. "I knew this was going to happen…"  
    Well, I'm glad someone did. "George, I'll   be there soon as I can. And keep trying to reach Sam." I disconnected and immediately dialed Sam's number. It went straight to voice mail. That was never a good sign because that meant it was either off or the battery was dead.  
    After a quick shower to wake up, I called the local precinct and asked for Lt. Kevin Taylor .  
    "You mean Sergeant Taylor?"  
    Sergeant? Wow. Geez. Moving up in the world. "Yeah. Is he in?"  
    "Just a moment. I need to tell him who's calling."  
    "Grace Murphy."  
    I counted to six before he picked up. "Grace? What is it?" He knew if I called him at work it was because of a problem.  
    "It's Samantha Browning. Her boyfriend's been beating her up again. Coming to work with bruises, and she mentioned last night how he hated having to wait on her."  
    "Grace you know I can't—"  
    "Kevin, she's not at work. She was supposed to open up the coffee shop this morning and she's a no show. You know how much she loves that place."  
    There was a pause. "Grace, how come you know this? Did George call you instead of me?"  
    Oh. That's right. Kevin didn't know I had a job. I never did make it over to the station to fill out that order—which was another thing I needed to do. "I'm managing the Trade In Beans location by my house. Anyway," I continued before he could say anything. "I'm heading over to Sam's house—"  
    "Grace, don't. Not if it is Eddie beating up on her."  
    "She's only a few blocks away. I just took a shower. Meet me there?"  
    "This is so not regular, Grace. But I'll be there. Just don't go in before then, understand?"  
    By the time I was dressed ten minutes had gone by. I left Kyle a note—he was up and working out—and headed to Sam's.  
    I knew Sam before I started working at Trade In Beans . She was Tanae's age and they'd gone to school together. Sort of. That is when Sam was in school. Her dad was pretty much out of the picture and her mother had terminal cancer. So Sam worked and lived to take care of her younger sister and visited her mother regularly.  
    What I didn't know was how bad it really was until I pulled up just as Kevin did. The yard was nearly bald with little to no grass in front. And what there was looked more like weeds than anything else. The half-started flower beds were overgrown with more of that weird looking weed and the curtains were all closed.  
    Kevin got out of his car and held up a hand. I was used to seeing him in his uniform, but he was dressed in a suit and the car was his own. He looked good. But Kevin had always looked good, from the first day we met when I was still married. The Prick always accused me of having an affair, and the truth was I never did. But if I was ever going to—it would've been with Lt. Kevin Taylor.  
    He held up a hand which was an indication for me to hang back. He went up the porch steps and knocked. "Hey Sam? You home? It's Detective Kevin Taylor."  
    Detective?  
    Kevin made detective?!  
    Well damn…I didn't even know that. I knew he'd been studying to take the exams and he was close to passing, but no one told me he'd actually pulled it off. Well, Detective Hottie!  
    When no one answered he pulled a radio from his belt and said something into it. Then he moved around the back of the house. He was gone for a while and I stood outside of my car like an idiot because I wasn't leaving till I knew what was up with Sam.  
    He came back around with the radio to his