First Word

She looked down at her usual clipboard and when Derek stepped forward to shake her hand she ignored it. “Cocaine, huh, booze … what else?” Derek noticed the rebuff but forced a smile, hoping to charm her for future purposes. After seeing she would be unmoved, he responded with hesitation: “Sex addiction.” Ms. Fisher nodded, “And…” “Nothing.” “Says here you’re also a pathological liar.” “Huh?” “Your first evaluation,” she flatly responded. “Oh.” “Go on in. Your bags will be in your room. How are you as far as detox?” “Huh?” “Detox,” she repeated with irritation in her voice. “Oh, um, fine.” “Hmm,” she studied him. “We’ll wait and see about that. After you detox, expect orientation to begin.” “No, I’m clean,” refuted Derek. “Uh-huh,” she wrote something down. “What did you write?” She looked up and went to the door, opened it, and waited for Derek to enter. Derek still wanted to know what she wrote. He dropped it and looked up at th...

The following excerpt is taken from the forthcoming Thriller titled The Abused by Michelle Gamble. Release coming in Spring 2020. For more information, visit 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com).   17 Stanley Lentwood stared down at the rose garden. He noticed the crazy lawyer Finley Sullivan walked all around the hedges in a nervous pace. Stanley wondered if Finley’s drug use had damaged his brain. Just then a knock came to the door. “Come in.” Robert Scoffer opened the door with his usual bravado and strolled into the room with his cool confidence. Stanley turned and took a seat in front of the sofa. Robert just dropped down to the sofa. He appeared bored and put out that he had to do therapy. “So you going to give me some of that God crap?” asked Robert. “Pray for me … all that?” Stanley looked at Robert puzzled by his sudden comment. “Why would I do that?” “Eh, I went to this therapist once with Lynn—” “The woman you conned.” “Yeah, t...

Three months later Frank had become a complete drug addict. OxyoNtin was but one of his drugs du jour. After enjoying the incredible numbing effect of OxyoNtin, Frank easily moved to heroine after they busted a runner coming up Highway 5 to make a delivery. Frank initially swiped just a little and found he loved the instant high and the sensation of caring about nothing. At first, he thought he could handle it. He would only inject the junk at night or on weekends, but a casual dalliance soon got out of control.

The Abused is a psychological thriller about nine addicts who go to rehab only to have one of them start murdering the others. The novel is set to release in Fall 2016.  Reader discretion is advised. Some of this content may be profane and not appropriate for readers under the age if 18. 19             Merry was standing quietly looking out her office window at Kevin who was running the track. A lot of addicts started doing heavy exercise to not only detoxify their bodies, but also enjoy the endorphins that felt much like a good high. Merry smiled to herself and let her mind entertain how Kevin used to get his “rush” from fucking her. Then she quickly pulled her thoughts back to the moment as she watched her ex-husband round the second turn. He looked good, she thought. A knock on the door distracted her. “Come in.” In walked Stanley Lintwood. He looked serious and uptight like he al...

The Abused is a psychological thriller about nine addicts who go to rehab only to have one of them start murdering the others. The novel is set to release in Fall 2016.  Reader discretion is advised. Some of this content may be profane and not appropriate for readers under the age if 18. 16             Stanley Lentwood stared down at the rose garden. He noticed the crazy lawyer Finley Sullivan was walking all around the hedges in a nervous pace. Stanley wondered if Finley’s drug use had damaged his brain. Just then a knock came to the door. “Come in.” Robert Scoffer opened the door with his usual bravado and strolled into the room with his cool confidence. Stanley turned and took a seat in front of the sofa. Robert just dropped down to the sofa. He appeared bored and put out that he had to do therapy. “So you going to give me some of that God crap?” asked Robert. “Pray for me … all th...

The Abused is about eight addicts who go to rehab and one starts murdering the others. The complete novel will be available this summer in an eBook-exclusive release by 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com).  15             After coming out of detox, Kevin was shaken. He had detoxed on his own many weeks before arriving at rehab. He wasn’t really gay. He just liked sex and gender didn’t to matter to him. He thought of himself as more sophisticated than the average guy.   He had never had enough money to go to school, but he had been good with engines and machines and managed all right. When he met his former wife he should have felt lucky to have this educated, beautiful woman want him, but he was arrogant. He thought she was lucky. He bragged to his buddies how this poor desperate chick wanted him. He had always been good with women, acting like their best friends and listening to boring dra...