Kindle Edition
Amazon
Category:
Action/Thriller
ISBN-10: 1537710435
Type: Fiction
Pages: 368
Copyright: Dec 12, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781537710433
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
Book 3 in The Mission Field Series
After losing her younger brother, Natalie Andersen sinks from recreational drug use into hard core addiction. Friendless, disowned by her parents, and now homeless, Natalie is easy prey for a ruthless drug dealer who forces her into prostitution.
As Daniel recovers from his bout with prescription drug dependence, his deceased friend's sister is fighting her own battle with addiction. After losing her younger brother, Natalie Andersen sinks from recreational drug use into hard core addiction. Friendless, disowned by her parents, and now homeless, Natalie is easy prey for a ruthless drug dealer who forces her into prostitution. Natalie's only hope for escape is in the God her brother believed in, but she can't imagine He would listen to the prayers of someone like her. She doesn't know that God is putting together an unlikely team of misfits who won't give up on her. Sweet, pastor's daughter Mindy wants to be Natalie's new best friend. Tough, former gangster Resha can't stand the thought of any woman being exploited. Daniel and Kevin just want to keep Mindy and Resha safe. The four young people are soon swept into the dangerous world of drugs, violence, and corruption in high places.
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
It felt good to be free.
Daniel had been clean for a week now. Seven days, four hours, and twenty-six minutes without a pain pill.
Even the damp, dreary weather couldn’t smother the hope that was rising in him as his feet pounded out a strong, steady rhythm on the sidewalk. His blond hair flapped in the wind and warm blood pumped through his muscles with every step, energizing him. The brisk winter air filled his lungs, and he felt alive for the first time in weeks. It was almost like being born again, again.
After several days of misery, his withdrawal symptoms had finally subsided. As the drug-induced fog dissipated, the insidious, condemning voices that had tormented Daniel became less insistent and easier to ignore.
Surprisingly, once the excruciating pain that racked his entire body faded, the skin graft on his arm had begun to hurt less than it had when he was taking the pills, and the headaches were becoming less intense. The longer he went without medication, the less stiff his arm and fingers became. Sometimes he could almost forget that a bullet had ripped through his bicep two months ago.
Except for the relentless depression. It weighed heavily now that he didn’t have the pills to dull the grief of losing his best friend. Internet research advised exercise as a remedy for depression, so Daniel returned to his former pursuit of fitness. Maybe the exertion would also help his body sweat out any traces of the narcotic left in his bloodstream.
After a disastrous attempt at jogging last Saturday, he'd tried again after church on Sunday and was able to trot for a short time before his depleted strength gave out, forcing him to slow to a walk. Encouraged by the small improvement, he went out again Sunday evening, jogging the entire block this time. With the increased activity, his appetite returned, and the food gave him energy to work harder.
On Monday, Daniel was coherent enough to think of wrapping an Ace bandage around his healing arm before he ran. The elastic kept the jostling to a minimum, and he'd managed two short runs again that day, increasing his distance to three blocks. Nothing like what he used to do, but his efforts were already paying off. Breathing came easier each time, and he looked forward to regaining his former speed.
Yes, it felt good to be free.
Tuesday evening was bitterly cold, and a damp fog hung in the air, but Daniel was determined to stick to the schedule he'd set for himself. He was on the home stretch of his second run, about a block from his apartment, when a dark sedan pulled to the curb just ahead of him.
Daniel paid no attention until the car door opened and a female voice called, “Danny!”
He gritted his teeth. He hated being called Danny. Turning, he saw a scrawny girl climb out through the passenger door.
Natalie.
Daniel wasn’t happy to see his late friend’s sister. He’d never cared for the drug-addicted girl, and her haggard, hungry appearance made him uncomfortable – she reminded him too much of himself not so long ago.
Even so, a vague memory of being embarrassingly rude to the girl while he’d still been on the pain pills compelled him to wait for her. He jogged lightly in place while Natalie approached.
The driver’s side door opened, and the driver sauntered around his car toward Daniel, an eerie figure in the mist. Daniel stopped jogging and waited warily, studying the tall, light-skinned African American man who sported a small mustache and cold, dead eyes.
“Danny, this is Dre,” Natalie told him.
Her repeated use of the despised nickname didn't endear her to him, and it certainly didn't boost his confidence in front of the mysterious stranger.
The man's insincere smile matched his eyes for coldness as he stuck out a hand adorned with chunky gold rings. “Hey, how you doing?”
Daniel took the hand automatically and was repelled at the way the other man tried to intimidate him with a crushing grip. He refused to react, and a moment later, Dre dropped his hand, narrowing his eyes.
Dre’s oily smile didn’t fade, though. “Natalie tells me you're ready to upgrade to something better than pain meds.”
Without looking Natalie's way, Daniel kept his tone civil but firm. “Natalie tells you wrong.”
Dre's phony smile broadened. As if Daniel hadn't spoken, he grabbed Daniel's hand again and pressed a small packet into it. “Well, here's a little free sample for you, my man. Give it a try. When you need some more, get in touch with Natalie here. She knows where to find me.”
Daniel's fingers closed involuntarily over the packet and he felt his thumb caressing the contents. His scalp prickled with cold sweat as his heartbeat accelerated. The voices were there again, wheedling, cajoling.
Daniel's mind formed a desperate, wordless prayer, and suddenly there was another Voice, strong but gentle, reminding him of a Bible verse from 1 Corinthians – “But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
“So what's the way out, Lord?” Daniel prayed frantically. “You better tell me quick!”
A single word came to him: Run.
Daniel threw the packet onto the ground and bolted. As he sprinted toward home, taunting laughter followed him. He couldn't tell if it came from Dre or the voices.
Maybe they were one and the same.
If Daniel had looked back, he would have seen Natalie make a desperate lunge for the packet he had discarded. He would have seen Dre drag her up by her hair and snatch the packet from her hands before he drove away, leaving the sniveling girl crumpled on the sidewalk.
But Daniel did not look back.
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