Adam's Heart / Sunstone Press (ePub)

Adam Young, a builder and general contractor from Albuquerque, is addicted to opioids and alcohol. His marriage to Maria falls apart one day when he is the only one present to the SIDS death of their daughter, Ava. Although ruled a "crib death" by the medical examiner, Maria believes Adam was impaired and could have done more to save Ava. Will their marriage end? One Saturday, when Maria is away with her friend, Adam takes his seven-year-old son Lucas on an errand and runs his truck off the road, nearly killing them both. He is cited for DUI and goes with Lucas to the ER. They meet Dr. John Warnock, who treats Lucas's broken arm and talks with Adam about his DUI, his opiate addiction to prescription pain pills, and his alcoholism. Adam later goes to Dr. Warnock's office, and there, in the waiting room, he meets Lola Jenkins, a drug representative who is also a professional escort, cocaine addict, and part of a blackmailing ring. She lures Adam, and other doctors, into sexual escapades that are photographed for extortion by a gang also involved in child trafficking. While in detox, at the urging of Dr. Warnock, his friend Ryan takes advantage of Maria's grief and sleeps over at her house a couple of nights-until Maria regains her senses. When moving out of Ryan's apartment, where he was staying, Adam finds a pair of Maria's blue panties in Ryan's laundry, abruptly ending their friendship. Were her panties a trophy? There is hope for Adam's recovery, but the battle is not over. Pitfalls and twists keep his addiction on the edge of his search for a new life. Includes Readers Guide.