Shattered Souls of Innocence: Short Story

By Melissa Ohnoutka

Hailey Devlin and Patrick Roark survived their nightmare in “Faithful Deceptions.” But what about all the others? Will putting a man behind bars for his crimes really stop any of the suffering? The demand is still there. Therefore the horrendous cycle just keeps on going. Can anyone really hope to stop this madness? ....One man is determined to try.

Shattered Souls of Innocence is a Short Story prequel to “Target of Betrayal,” which will be released Fall, 2011.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melissa Ohnoutka
• Release date: Jun 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458152152

Melissa Ohnoutka

Melissa loves to write suspense in all genres. She is an active member of RWA and has served as Website/Publicity/Library committee chair for the Northwest Houston RWA chapter. Born and raised in Texas, she tends to dream big and believes good conquers all. Her husband and three kids mean the world to her. When not writing, she love's spending time with the family, camping, snow skiing, photography, painting and just goofing off around the house.

Book preview

SHATTERED SOULS OF INNOCENCE

By

Melissa Ohnoutka

Shattered Souls of Innocence

Copyright © 2011 by Melissa Ohnoutka

Cover art Copyright © 2011 by Melissa Ohnoutka

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from Melissa Ohnoutka

Published by Specter Publishing

Smashwords Edition 2011

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Acknowledgments

The love and support I receive daily from my family is what makes this dream of writing possible. Thank you for always believing in me. (Mom you're the best friend a girl could ever have.)

And a huge thank you to all my wonderful critique partners and writing buds. You kept me sane and pushing forward.

Thanks for reading Faithful Deceptions! Enjoy!

The Trial ~

How many ways, a pause followed as the man on the witness stand choked back a sob and collected his thoughts. How many times is it necessary to beg for someone to end your life?

The courtroom shuddered.

A collected gasp of disbelief and horror over the details already given.

The witness shifted uneasily in his chair. Painful memories etched the deep lines on his face like words on open pages of a book. And yet, he managed to continue.

When they tried to hang me, I thought it was finally over. He went very still, his voice breaking with the last few words. But they cut the rope at the last second. I remember falling to the cement, struggling to inhale. His head fell to his chest. The air was so foul. I didn’t dare look around. I’d learned quickly what death smelt like.

When they buried me alive, I counted myself lucky, considering what I’d seen and heard them do to the others. With his good hand, he wiped the sweat from his brow as his breath caught.

Mr. Marland, do you need a moment? The prosecuting DA, a petite woman with kind eyes, moved to stand in front of the witness—a move clearly meant to block the view of his tormenter and give the witness strength.

Patrick Roark took advantage of the brief break in Marland’s testimony to study the defendant.

Dwayne Anderson sat sideways in his chair at the defense table, his hands casually folded in front of him. Even after months in prison he looked like the good-old-boy-next-door. Nothing about this man revealed the gruesome crimes he and his brother, Dustin, had planned and carried out.

Marland cleared his throat twice drawing Roark’s attention back to him. Glass of water, he choked.

Certainly. The DA poured him a glass and handed it to him, having to close the man’s trembling fingers around the glass before letting go.

Roark wasn’t at all sure Mr. Marland would be capable of finishing. It was public knowledge where he’d been found and how they found him, but everything up to that