Welcome to my stop on the Punished blog tour! I have a great excerpt from the book to share with you - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour, click on the banner above.
Punished (Dark Road #2)
Author: Krys Fenner
Genre: YA Psychological Thriller
Release Date: June 2015
Description:
Hope springs eternal for everyone except Bella Kynaston. She survived
the rape, but making it through the trial is another deal all together.
As lies come forward, more questions arise leaving Bella to suffer more
punishment than she believed she deserved. Sometimes ending it all seems
like the only answer. Will she find the peace she so desperately seeks
if the pain permanently ended?
Jeremiah believed he’d done the right thing, even if the timing hadn’t been ideal. The only way to protect Bella was if he stayed out of her life. Or so he thought. When Bella starts dating David, Jeremiah thinks David could save her. As it turns out, things progressively get worse. Could Jeremiah be the solution? If so, can he get to her in time? Or will he suffer the worst punishment of his life and lose her forever?
Jeremiah believed he’d done the right thing, even if the timing hadn’t been ideal. The only way to protect Bella was if he stayed out of her life. Or so he thought. When Bella starts dating David, Jeremiah thinks David could save her. As it turns out, things progressively get worse. Could Jeremiah be the solution? If so, can he get to her in time? Or will he suffer the worst punishment of his life and lose her forever?
Three words and they shattered another piece of his heart. The girl he loved sat on the kitchen floor and cried. Jeremiah stood in the hall helpless to comfort her the way he should. The privilege no longer belonged to him. He swallowed to wet his dry throat, but it made no difference. God, help him. He couldn’t stand by and do nothing as his father crouched down beside Bella and failed to pull her back to the present. “Dad?”
“Jeremy, now isn’t a good time.”
“I might be able to calm her down.”
“You sure?” Jamar stood.
Not as much as he’d like to be. Before all confidence completely departed his body, Jeremiah nodded and padded over to Bella. Slowly he sat beside her. Positive she wouldn’t bolt, he hesitated to rest a hand on her back. Her shirt rode too high and her jeans settled too low. A strip of plastic gauze played peek-a-boo from her pants. He dared not think on it too much; otherwise his focus would be deterred. Tenderly he rested a hand on the upper part of her back.
Bella flinched under his touch. Jeremiah snapped his hand away. He waited a moment and eased his hand on her back again. They repeated this back and forth movement three more times. She stilled and he started gentle circles.
Her tears subsided. Bella wiped at her face. “Why? Why did he do this?”
“It’s called a psych-out. Your testimony is the only thing that puts him in that alleyway. If he can keep you from testifying or scare you into recanting, then the rape charge pretty much goes away.”
“I can’t do this. I can’t face him. I can’t testify.” Bella rambled all three statements together; she’d become difficult to understand. The shaking returned and more tears rolled down her reddened cheeks.
Jeremiah hadn’t lifted his hand from her back. He continued to make small circles across her shoulders. It was all he could do.
With a quick nod to his son, Jamar crouched down in front of Bella. “Of course you can. I’ll be there to support you the whole time. As I’m sure your parents will be too.”
“Oh God!” Bella hiccupped a sob. “No, no, no. I can’t... not with them there. They can’t hear it. I don’t want them to hear it.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to the prosecutor. See if he can petition for a closed courtroom, if that will help.”
“Closed courtroom?” As if a weight had been lifted, the tension in her shoulders eased.
“Yes. Most trials are open to the public, but some can be closed so that only those with a direct interest in the case are allowed.”
A bit more relaxed, Bella stood. “Yeah, I’d be okay with that.”
“Good. I’ll talk to the prosecutor Monday.”
Jeremiah stood. He’d successfully calmed her down. With his presence no longer required, he backed out the doorway and disappeared into his room. Surely she’d noticed he was there, but hadn’t uttered one word in his direction. Of course she’d ignored him. He’d destroyed the beautiful relationship they’d had. If he was her, he wouldn’t have said anything to himself either.
“Hey. You all right?” Amanda sat on the bed beside him.
“I’ll survive. Is she still talking to Dad?”
“Yeah. They’re discussing the note she got and the trial. Thought I’d check on you. How come you didn’t stay in there?”
Jeremiah rubbed the top his head. “She doesn’t need me in there. I would’ve just been in the way.”
At the age of 16, Krys Fenner fell in love with
Psychology and Creative Writing. At that time she wrote her first short
story dealing with sexual abuse and forgiveness. Psychological issues in
her family filled her with the desire to help others using her own
experiences. So in 2004, she earned an Associate of Arts in Psychology.
And while her sister is the one with dreams of becoming a Psychologist,
Krys Fenner returned to Creative Writing. She is currently working on a
Bachelor of Arts and plans to continue on to a Masters degree, where she
can major in her first love (Creative Writing) and minor in her second
(Psychology).
Author Links:
Author Links:
Tour Wide Giveaway:
(1) signed paperback copy of Destroyed & Punished;
(1) e-copy of Destroyed & Punished;
(1) T-shirt (winner will have option to select Destroyed or Punished design, size, and colour)
Open to US & CAN only!
Thank you for being a stop on the tour! I loved and hated writing this scene. One of those moments in the book where your heart just bleeds for the characters.
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