Hard Times Gets Better

By Alton J. Jones

About the Book
Cordell Allen is an ordinary guy living an ordinary life… at least that’s what he thought leaving the gambling hall on Christmas night. When he takes a shortcut through an alley he knows so well, his life is about to change. Is it for the better? Or just another invitation to hell?
Welcome to Hard Times Gets Better. A suspense/thriller that will have you wanting to read more and more, page after page of action packed reading. It’s very hard to put down once you get your hands on it. Author Alton J. Jones hopes you enjoy it.
About the Author
Alton J. Jones grew up in Clermont, Florida. He had a normal and decent life. When he’s not trying to figure out how to start or finish a book, he enjoys fishing, hunting, gardening and volunteer work. You never know what might happen if you have a dream — follow it. It just might come true, as Jones’ did.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RoseDog Books
• Release date: Feb 12, 2024
• ISBN: 9781480973015

Book preview

Chapter One

It was cold as hell, December 25th, the year 2009. As I put my hands deeper in my pockets, I hit something. Something hard. Oh, and then I remembered my bottle of gin. Boy, I sure could use a drink. I had forgotten I had bought it. The lady in the bar was so busy trying to beat me out of an extra five, and with us arguing I said the hell with it, and gave her a ten dollar bill and ran out of the store. What the hell, it was Christmas. Now as I pulled it out of my pocket, I stopped walking, popped the top, and took me one long drink.

Man, man, man. I loved that burning sensation. There’s nothing like Seagram’s gin on a cold night like this. Shit, what the hell. Half a bottle left. I’ll drink this before I get home to Teena. Speaking of Teena, she’s going to be mad as hell. No presents this year. Nothing but a hard-on from the gin. I always promised that girl, when I get on my feet I’m going to buy us a house in a good neighborhood. But every time I got a job or saved a little money, I blew it at the gambling hall. That was my downfall. That’s why I’m walking home. Spent my taxi fare.

Oh well, tomorrow’s another day. I’ll just go out to the labor pool and make a few dollars. Hell, cut through this alley and two more blocks and home sweet home, baby. I should have known better than to take this route home for safety reasons. I mean, I would not want to hit the pot one night and have to walk home through this alley. I guess I better finish up this bottle. Teena hates me drinking.

Chapter Two

As I took it back out of my pocket and unscrewed the top, I heard voices up ahead. The voices were getting louder. Oh, problem. Just a couple of bums fighting about who finished off the last drink. And then that’s when I heard it. Gun shots. What the hell? I jumped behind the dumpster, spilling most of my gin, but I did not care. I was just trying to get out of the line of fire. I wanted to see the new year come in shaking like a leaf. I eased my way out from behind the dumpster.

Turned up the rest of my gin bottle and looked around to see if the coast was clear to come out. I could hear sirens in the distance. I better get out of this alley, I thought. I started running. Don’t want to go to jail on Christmas. But all of a sudden, I stopped on something or someone. What the hell? I looked down and there it was. A dead man’s body lying in a pool of blood. Shit, why did I have to be the one to run into this kind of stuff tonight? More sirens getting closer. Okay, calm down. It’s just a body. Damn right, a body I don’t want to get framed for killing.

As I looked around, I spotted something that looked like a grip. As I walked closer to the item on the ground, I noticed that it was a suitcase. Was this what they were arguing over? And why did he or she leave it behind? So many questions. More sirens. I better get the hell out of here now. Grabbing the suitcase by the handle, I started out of the alley walking fast. Damn, what was in there? It was heavy as bricks.

Chapter Three

Well, once out of here, I’ll take a look inside. It got to be a bunch of dirty clothes. After all, you did find it in an alley, and you don’t find good things in alleys—remember the body?

Baby, I’m home. As I walked through the front door, the delicious aroma of Christmas dinner hit me. The first good thing about Teena is she knows how to make love. The second thing is she can cook her fine ass off.

Cordell, is that you honey? I’m in the kitchen. Come on in.

In the kitchen I could see Teena bending over, putting something into the oven as I just stood there looking at that round, pretty ass. My penis instantly came to life, and I said to myself for the ten thousandth time, I don’t deserve this lady, for I have put her through too much crap. Scratching my head to run this thought away, I said again to myself, better get this over with.

Yeah, it’s me, Boo, throwing the towel on the table. She ran to my arms; her first words were, Oh, baby, I missed you.

What did she see in me? No matter what I did to screw up her life, she always came back to me. Damn, was I just blessed, or was she just crazy?

Oh, sweetheart, she said, "what did you get your Boo for Christmas? Come on honey, I’ll