by Laura Snider
“Back here.” Ashley’s voice echoed down the long hallway. “Come on back.”
Rachel found Ashley, Katie, and Forest all crammed in Ashley’s tiny office. It was cleaner than usual, though, with only a few stacks of documents on the floor.
“Hello there, Rachel,” Forest said.
“Hello,” Rachel said.
She didn’t meet his gaze. Not because he was unkind, but because she hadn’t learned to trust men yet. She was working on it, but her therapist said that she may never fully get there and that was okay. Men had done some horrible things to her.
“What do you have there?” Ashley said, nodding to the flowers.
“They’re for the house.”
After her release, Rachel had moved in with Ashley. Ashley had insisted, saying that she had a four-bedroom farmhouse with plenty of room to spare. Rachel wasn’t paying room and board yet, but she would soon. Once her civil suit against Isaac and her mother settled. As Isaac’s victim, she was entitled to compensation, restitution for all that she had endured. Isaac would spend the remainder of his days in prison, but Lyndsay had gotten off scot free. She’d known what was happening, was in a position to protect her daughter, but she didn’t. For that, Rachel intended to take every last dime from her mother.
“They are beautiful,” Ashley said.
“Now that you’re here,” Katie said, leaning back in her chair, “we need to talk.”
“Wait a minute,” Ashley interjected, “you were filling me in on Indigo Brown’s case.”
Katie now worked for Ashley as an investigator. Everyone in town had taken to calling them the dynamic duo because they were rarely seen apart anymore.
“We can talk about that in a minute. We need to discuss the mental health response team while Forest and Rachel are here.”
Forest had recently offered Rachel a job on the team. It would require her to get her psychology degree, but she didn’t need it when she started her job. She only had to be working toward it. She had plenty of real-life trauma experience anyway.
“Do you plan to accept the job?” Katie asked.
Katie would be on the team as well. The leader, in fact. But she would only work part-time. In the six months she’d been working with Ashley, she had discovered that she loved working from the defense side. Katie seemed surprised by this, but Ashley had told Rachel that she wasn’t the least bit shocked. Ashley had said that defendants were people with complicated stories. Once Katie got in there and started working with them, she saw them as people rather than defendants. But Ashley didn’t have to explain it to Rachel. She understood all too well.
“I will accept the job,” Rachel said.
And that was when the next stage of her life began.
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The story continues in Unforgivable Acts, be sure to check out the following excerpt.
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UNFORGIVABLE ACTS
AN ASHLEY MONTGOMERY LEGAL THRILLER
Ashley Montgomery has proven herself as a defense attorney, but her next case will push her to the limit.
The small town of Brine is in the grips of a methamphetamine epidemic. Ashley’s former client, Frank, is the county’s primary manufacturer, and at the center of it all. But when a fire erupts, burning down his entire meth lab, he disappears.
In the search for answers, Ashley Montgomery and Katie Mickey discover a trail of missing teenage girls that leads them to a tale of wealth, power, drugs, and death.
The thrilling third installment of the Ashley Montgomery Legal Thriller Series is here.
Click here to purchase Unforgivable Acts now
Unforgivable Acts, Ashley Montgomery Book 3
Click here to purchase Unforgivable Acts now
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to thank all the wonderful people at Severn River Publishing for choosing to publish my stories. Especially Catherine Streissguth and Amber Hudock who have spent many months answering my seemingly unending list of questions.
I also want to thank my content editor, Randall Klein, and my copy editor, Kate Schomaker. This book would be a complete mess without the two of you. Randall with your guidance on plot points, and Kate with your attention to detail.
To Stephanie Hansen, my amazing agent and all the good people of Metamorphosis Literary Agency, I am endlessly grateful that you took a chance on me. You receive thousands of manuscripts daily, all from other undoubtedly talented authors, yet you chose to represent my work.
A special thanks to Brooke Johnson Wright, DO, for all your assistance with the medical portions of this book. They would have been a disaster without your guidance. The book would also have a different name because it was you who suggested Undetermined Death to me when I was completely stumped on a worthy title.
Last, but not least, I want to thank my family. My sisters, brother, and parents, who have been at my side, encouraging me from day one. I especially want to thank my husband and our three children, H.S, M.S, and W.S, for bringing so much joy to my life.
About the Author
Laura Snider is a practicing lawyer in Iowa. She graduated from Drake Law School in 2009 and spent most of her career as a Public Defender. Throughout her legal career, she has been involved in all levels of crimes from petty thefts to murders. These days she is working part-time as a prosecutor and spends the remainder of her time writing stories and creating characters.
Laura lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, two dogs, and two very mischievous cats.