Saving Grace (Available in paperback and eBook-SAMPLE)

Chapter 1

I thought I would go ahead and upload the first chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. I will have another chapter for you sometime next week. "Forgive" will be updated on Tuesday. :)

The phone rang, piercing the silence and shattering the sleep it had taken Matt hours to find. Swearing under his breath, he opened his eyes and glared at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was a quarter after three. He'd been asleep little more than an hour. He swore again, gritted his teeth, and turned on the light. Snatching up the phone, he growled, "You have some nerve calling at this time of the morning. It better be good."

"Hello, Matthew."

Matt groaned inwardly. Only one person called him by his given name and that was the Chief of Police, Reese Fletcher. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, sir," he apologized quickly.

"That's quite alright," Reese assured him. "I know it's late-or early I should say. I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important." He cleared his throat. "I have an assignment for you. This one is personal for me."

"How so, sir?" Matt asked.

"It involves my niece," the chief responded. "She was attacked. Some sick bastard jumped her as she was leaving work. He hit her a few times and cut her face and chest. His plan was to kill her, but he wasn't able to follow through. Another man came to her rescue. Before the bastard ran away like the coward he is he told my niece it wasn't over, that he would finish what he started."

The thought of someone hurting a woman made Matt sick to his stomach. "Is she alright?"

"She will be fine," Reese replied. "I'd like to talk with you and go over some things. Is it possible to meet at the hospital, say eight-thirty?"

"Eight-thirty is fine," Matt said.

"Room 308," the chief said. "I will see you there."

Matt hung up the phone, turned out the light, and laid back down.

Shortly before eight-thirty, Matt stepped out of the elevator and made his way up a long corridor. At the end he turned left and saw two uniformed officers standing outside room 308. As he approached them, he reached into his back pocket and retrieved his ID and badge. He opened the leather case and raised it to eye level. "Chief Fletcher is expecting me."

One of the officer's studied the badge and ID. "Go on in, Mr. Bolton."

Matt opened the door and entered the hospital room. He found Reese standing beside the bed, talking to his niece. The chief was average in height with broad shoulders, gray hair, and hazel eyes. He had a reputation for being tough yet fair. Those who knew him spoke highly of him. He was a man you would want in your corner when times got rough.

"Good morning, Matthew," he said quietly.

"Good morning, sir."

"Come and meet my niece."

Matt moved toward the bed and gazed down at the woman lying there. His breath caught in his throat. The chief hadn't told him she was pregnant. His eyes scanned her face. Her cheek was covered with gauze, her left eye was swollen shut and turning black, and her upper lip was fat.

Anger rose within him, twisting his stomach in knots. At that moment, he would have given anything to have the psycho who did this to her standing in front of him. He would teach him a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. Taking a deep breath, he let it our slowly. Despite her injuries she was beautiful. She had shoulder length auburn hair, warm brown eyes, and high cheekbones.