HELL AND BACK BY Natahsa Madison: Excerpt Reveal & Teasers

BLURB

 
Meeting him was a fluke. Dating him was a mistake. Watching him become a drug addict put me through hell. Running was my only option.

***

I’m running from my demons and when I find out she’s trying to escape her past, I know what I have to do.

One broken cop. One woman fighting for her life. A fragile love.

Sinister secrets that threaten to tear them apart.

They’ve been to hell. The hard part will be finding their way back together.



Releasing October 31, 2016
 
 
 
 

PRE-ORDER TODAY

 
 
 

EXCERPT

 
I  pull up in my driveway looking over at the house.  What I see pisses me off. 
Here  she is in a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, hat and glasses pushing a brand new
lawn mower.
I  make sure I check my temper before I walk over.
Right before I cross the street the little girl on the front porch stops
me mid step.
She  looks like just like her mother, just a smaller version.  She is sitting on a plastic little table,
that they probably just bought, coloring.
I  make my way over to her right when the lawn mower goes off
“I  told you I would cut the grass.”  I try  to sound casual, but the blood in me is boiling, it must be ninety-five degrees  outside, and she’s wearing enough clothes for  a trek across the frozen tundra.
She  looks up “I also said I got it, and I would be doing it myself.” The little
girl from the porch makes it to her mother and hides behind her, yanking on her
pant leg.
 
The  fearful look that she gives me is just like her mother’s.  I crouch down, getting eye-to-eye with her  and say “Hey there, beautiful. What’s your name?” 
She doesn’t reply, and  instead she lowers her gaze so she is looking at her feet. “I’m Jackson,” I
reach out my hand, but drop it when I know she won’t take it.
  I gesture behind me, as I say “I live in that  house right over there.  I used to know  your great grandma.”  I’m trying to draw  her into a conversation with me, but nothing I say engages her.
“It’s  ok baby, you can tell him your name.  Nan  used to make him cookies, so you know what that means, she must have really  liked him.”  She rubs her daughters
shoulder.
“I’m  Lilah,” she says in barely a whisper.
“That  is the most beautiful name in the whole wide world.  You’re lucky to have such a beautiful
name.”
  She smiles at me, right as a car  back fires. She yells and puts her hands to her ears. 
Two  things happen at the same time, her mother grabs her and runs toward the house,
and I vow to protect them.
“Wait,”  I rush after them and make it right to the door before it’s closed in my
face.
  I stand there inside the house and  watch them rushing to the corner and hide.
Two  broken girls protecting each other against some monster of the outside
world.
  I walk up to them “It’s ok, it’s  just a car, it was nothing but a car.”
“Lilah,  baby it’s ok, it’s ok.  I’m here.  It’s ok baby girl, were safe.” She is trying
to comfort the little girl who is sobbing quietly in her mother arms.
  “No one is here baby.”
She  looks over at me, our eyes meeting for one minute before she lowers them again.
“Look  it’s ok, it’s just Jackson.  There is no  one here, baby.”  She rocks Lilah back
and forth. Her back against the wall while she soothes her baby girl whose sobs
are slowly stopping, her eyes closing.
“What  can I do?”  I’m now sitting in front of  her not sure how to even start to dissect this.
“Nothing,  you can’t do anything for us,” she kisses Lilah’s head. “No one can.”
I  ignore that last part not sure how to talk about this now. 
“I’m  going to go outside and finish cutting the grass, then I’m going to go pick up
some food for us.
  Does she like pizza?”
“Jackson,  I don’t know what relationship you had with my grandmother, but I don’t need
your help.
  We will be fine.  Please, it’s ok, you can leave.” She rests  her head on the the wall closing her eyes, the defeat of the day leaving her
body.
“I’m  going to go outside and finish mowing the lawn so Lilah doesn’t have to go
outside anymore today.
  Then I’m going to  pick up pizza for myself.  You won’t have  time to cook, so I’m going to pick one up for you.  I want to eat with you guys, but I’m not  pushing myself on you either after today.   Now I don’t want to fight with you or even discuss this, so just nod  that you understand?”
She  looks into my eyes, but nods yes.
“I  can pay you for the pizza?  I have money.  I don’t need a hand out,” she says while trying to push herself up to go get  fucking money. 
If  she weren’t so scared of things I would punch the fuck out of something right
now.
  “I don’t want your money, now or  ever.  I have no doubt you can take care  
of yourself.  Consider this a  housewarming present.” I get up going to the door not even giving her a chance  to say anything else.
“She’s  never had pizza before, so can you just get us plain cheese.”
I  don’t say anything afraid of what will come out of my mouth.  I nod and walk out the door, closing it
quietly so as not to wake Lilah.
I  close my eyes exhaling the breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding.
“She’s  barely holding on while fighting for her life.   She has demons, they both do.  Whatever
happened to them, it’s in there deep.
  The  both of them are so scared, you can practically see the fear coming off of  them.”  I look over at Brenda who is on  her porch watering her plants. “Tread lightly, Jackson, or better yet walk away  if you aren’t going to do anything about it.”
I  don’t have a chance to respond she walks into her house closing her front door  softly, leaving me fighting my own demons.
 
 
About Natasha Madsion
 
When her nose isn’t buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she’s in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It’s a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn’t listen to her…
 

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