Dead inside, p.1
Dead Inside, page 1
D E A D
I N S I D E
(A Kelsey Hawk Mystery—Book 1)
K a t e B o l d
Kate Bold
Bestselling author Kate Bold is author of the ALEXA CHASE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); the ASHLEY HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising six books (and counting); the CAMILLE GRACE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising eight books (and counting); the HARLEY COLE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising eleven books (and counting); the KAYLIE BROOKS PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); the EVE HOPE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising seven books (and counting); the DYLAN FIRST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); the LAUREN LAMB FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); and the KELSEY HAWK MYSTERY series, comprising five books (and counting).
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Kate loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.kateboldauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.
Copyright © 2023 by Kate Bold. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Jacket image Copyright Smit, used under license from Shutterstock.com.
BOOKS BY KATE BOLD
KELSEY HAWK MYSTERY
DEAD INSIDE (Book #1)
DEAD RECKONING (Book #2)
DEAD TO ME (Book #3)
DEAD SILENCE (Book #4)
DEAD TO DAWN (Book #5)
ALEXA CHASE SUSPENSE THRILLER
THE KILLING GAME (Book #1)
THE KILLING TIDE (Book #2)
THE KILLING HOUR (Book #3)
THE KILLING POINT (Book #4)
THE KILLING FOG (Book #5)
THE KILLING PLACE (Book #6)
ASHLEY HOPE SUSPENSE THRILLER
LET ME GO (Book #1)
LET ME OUT (Book #2)
LET ME LIVE (Book #3)
LET ME BREATHE (Book #4)
LET ME FORGET (Book #5)
LET ME ESCAPE (Book #6)
CAMILLE GRACE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
NOT ME (Book #1)
NOT NOW (Book #2)
NOT WELL (Book #3)
NOT HER (Book #4)
NOT NORMAL (Book #5)
NOT AGAIN (Book #6)
NOT SAFE (Book #7)
NOT TODAY (Book #8)
HARLEY COLE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
NOWHERE SAFE (Book #1)
NOWHERE LEFT (Book #2)
NOWHERE TO RUN (Book #3)
NOWHERE LIKE THIS (Book #4)
NOWHERE GIRL (Book #5)
NOWHERE TO HIDE (Book #6)
NOWHERE CERTAIN (Book #7)
NOWHERE PURE (Book #8)
NOWHERE SOUND (Book #9)
NOWHERE SANE (Book #10)
NOWHERE TRUE (Book #11)
KAYLIE BROOKS PYSCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE THRILLER
LAST BREATH (Book #1)
LAST CHANCE (Book #2)
LAST WISH (Book #3)
LAST SHOT (Book #4)
LAST MISTAKE (Book #5)
EVE HOPE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
IN HIS BLOOD (Book #1)
IN HIS SIGHTS (Book #2)
IN HIS REACH (Book #3)
IN HIS MIND (Book #4)
IN HIS WAY (Book #5)
IN HIS THOUGHTS (Book #6)
IN HIS DREAMS (Book #7)
DYLAN FIRST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
OUT OF REACH (Book #1)
OUT OF TOUCH (Book #2)
OUT OF TIME (Book #3)
OUT OF BOUNDS (Book #4)
OUT OF LUCK (Book #5)
LAUREN LAMB FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER
SOMETHING KNOCKING (Book #1)
SOMETHING CALLING (Book #2)
SOMETHING WRONG (Book 3)
SOMETHING DARK (Book #4)
SOMETHING TO HIDE (Book #5)
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
The shrill scream brought John Gallant out of his trance—a blood-curdling scream that could only mean death.
He had been staring out into space, half-watching his daughter, Kimberly, as she waved at him from the small tea cup that was going round and round in front of him. The afternoon had become chilly, and even though he had told her to keep her jacket on, she was waving it around like a rodeo cowboy. The whole ride had a mesmerizing effect on him, and it had taken only a few minutes for him to lose all focus and stare at the colored tea cups swishing around in front of him.
The scream quickly shattered all that, and he instinctively ducked and turned to where it was coming from. In the distance, a crowd of people had begun to run in various directions, and soon enough, the first scream was joined by a second and a third.
John shuddered. He had heard that scream before, back during his tour in Iraq, when his recon mission had been ambushed and the casualties included soldiers and civilians alike. It was the kind of scream that pierced through the air and somehow found its way inside him, grabbing every nerve fiber and tugging until he could feel his head explode.
“Daddy!”
Kimberly’s voice barely registered amid the chaos that had begun to overcome the North Dakota Winter Fair, and it took him a minute to calm his senses and let his body switch to autopilot. He glanced toward the stage to see the cause of the terror—in the midst of the light-hearted ice sculptures was a woman frozen in time. She was more than frozen in time; she was frozen in ice.
Quickly, he jumped the small fence that separated the spectators from the riders and snatched Kimberly from the moving cup as it slowed to a stop. Grabbing her hand, he quickly led her out and towards where his wife was waiting.
Samantha Gallant was already running to them. “What the hell is going on?” she yelled, frantic fear in her eyes as they darted around, taking in the stampede of festival visitors running towards the exits.
“Take Kim to the car and wait for me there,” John shouted over the commotion. “If I’m not out in twenty minutes, drive home.”
“John!” Samantha shouted after him as he raced away. “John!”
John ignored her and picked up the pace, weaving between the crowds running against him. He pulled out his Glock and badge, making sure they were visible, and scanned the crowd, trying to make sense of what everyone was fleeing from. In the distance, a dozen or so yards away, the festival security was surrounding the ice sculpture display stage, and a tarp was being pulled over one of them.
Moving to the flank of the crowd, he rushed towards the stage, his eyes darting back and forth as he studied the crowd for anything out of place. By the time he reached the displays, two security guards had made their way to intercept him.
“Move!” John yelled, holding his badge, and rushing past them before they could register what was happening. “Keep everyone back!”
Jumping on the stage, he slowed down and took in the stage master’s expression. Dread, fear, terror…any of those could describe the man’s look. His hands held the tarp tight, bright white at the knuckles, and he shook like a leaf.
John put a hand on the man’s shoulder, startling him. “What’s going on?” John asked.
"I put the tarp back on as quickly as I could, but…." The stage master let go of the tarp and shook his head, taking a few steps back before dropping to his knees. John grabbed the tarp and pulled it aside. He dropped it immediately, taking a few involuntary steps back when he saw the display beneath.
Enclosed in the single, large block of bloody ice, a woman stared at him with dead eyes and a frozen scream.
CHAPTER ONE
“Screw this!”
She knew she should wait for backup. She knew this was the type of behavior her boss w ould use to get rid of her once and for all. You can’t have a small-town girl besting everyone else in the big-city precinct, after all. And she knew she was putting her own life in danger.
She knew many things, but knowledge didn’t matter when a child was in danger.
Kelsey Hawk loved her job, but she cared more about what the job actually entailed—serving and protecting. Protocols didn’t protect, and bureaucracy didn’t serve. She pulled her 40 caliber pistol from its holster, crouched, and made her way toward the run-down ranch house across the field.
“If I get fired for this, then so be it,” she muttered.
Keeping to the tree line, hoping the shadows cast by the setting sun would hide her, she moved with expert precision toward the east side of the house, her eyes never leaving the front door.
It had taken her three months to find the bastard, and she would not let protocol stop her from finally bringing him in.
A small shed gave her a few seconds of shelter, and she took the time to scan the house from a closer vantage point. The paint was peeling off in numerous areas, and the roof needed a lot of work. The patio showed signs of a termite infestation, but the one thing that stood out was the newly installed windows. From where she sat, they looked double-layered, meant to keep noise out.
Or keep noise in.
Three months.
She had been assigned to missing persons less than a year ago, and it had taken a lot of legwork and long nights to finally figure out the logistics of how the Carlone family was smuggling its victims into and out of New Jersey. Kelsey had been able to narrow it down to one man, Oscar Solasky, a small-town black market smuggler who had moved up into what he considered “merchandise,” and she was certain she could have found him faster if not for the red tape slowing her down.
She cursed the FBI when it came to acting fast.
A shadow moved swiftly across the window, and Kelsey hid behind the shed. Taking a few deep breaths, she looked back the way she had come. There were no flashing lights, no certainty that her warrant was on its way, accompanied by the SWAT team she needed to get Oscar into custody.
It’s all down to you, Kels.
Kelsey closed her eyes tight, trying to forget the pictures she had been shown. It was horrific to look at pictures of dead bodies, victims, but nothing prepared you for those who were taken and kept alive for… fun. The images would haunt her until the end of her days.
Files, interviews, statements, CCTV footage, DNA evidence, gossip, circumstantial evidence—it all ran rapidly through her head like she was flicking through microfilm slides. It built the case in her mind; they only needed to get him—Oscar. Yet, that wasn’t her focus. All she could think about was his method of working. The FBI’s red tape made them slow, too slow on one previous occasion to stop him from…
No, not this time! No matter what happens to me.
Kelsey counted back from ten, waiting for the adrenaline to kick in. Once she was sure she was ready, she gave the horizon another look—she was on her own. If she waited any longer, she would miss her window of opportunity.
Kelsey gave the house one final sweep before breaking from her hiding spot and rushing toward the back at a low crouch. Once she reached the east wall, she pressed her back against it and slid towards the window. She didn’t expect it to be open, but it gave her a pretty good view of what was inside.
A woman was tied up, gagged, and lay in a fetal position in a corner of the room. An open door revealed a second spacious room with a table, and a man sat with his back to her. The thinning hair and tattoo across his nape were all Kelsey needed to confirm her suspect. Oscar had no idea what was coming.
Sliding towards the back, she kept her ears open for the sounds of anyone else. She had scouted the house for a good hour, waiting for backup after she had called in her location. It was obvious no one was coming, or if they were, they were taking their sweet time. She often wondered if the Carlones had someone on the inside stalling things.
If they did, then Oscar would be gone already.
That didn’t change the fact that it was still a possibility, and the chance someone might still warn her suspect made Kelsey even edgier. She had to move fast.
Carefully climbing up the back patio, bracing herself for the creaks that might give her away, she edged toward the back door, almost shaking with fear. She had not felt this way before, but she had also not come this close to a psychopath. A thin barrier of wood separated her from the face of evil—to read about him was one thing; to face him was quite another. Kelsey took one final breath—time was not on her side.
Her hand was barely on the knob when the door flew open, and a body slammed into her, taking her by surprise and knocking the wind out of her. She fell to the ground hard, the heavy weight of her attacker still on top of her, fists slamming into the side of her head. She was back in Mikkisula, Missouri, again, only nine years old, and Rachel Barlow stood over her laughing. Rachel had punched her repeatedly until Kelsey had the good sense to lie down and not get back up. The humiliation and fear caught in her throat, but she didn’t cry; she stifled the tears, holding them back. She would not lie down and take what others gave anymore.
The world around her swam, and on instinct, she lifted her knee to throw the man off her. There was no humiliation here, only pure terror.
A loud holler of pain followed the attack, and she could feel her knee connect with the soft tissue of the man’s groin. His weight fell off her, and she quickly jumped to her feet and lunged at him. She reached for the gun on her hip, but she hadn’t seen him grab a branch. It connected with her wrist—there was no crack or snap, but there was a bright flash of pain. She fumbled the gun and dropped it to the ground. Another swing of the branch, and she brought her injured arm up to block it. This time there was a crack as the dry branch splintered in two.
Raw determination replaced the pain in her arm as she lunged forward again, surprising Oscar. He swung at her with a meaty fist, but she was too close, and the inside of his arm caught her dully on the temple. Kelsey brought her knee up again, a tactic that had worked so well the first time that it deserved a second shot, and as soon as he bent forward a little, she slammed the palm of her hand into his nose. Another crack—an intensely satisfying one.
Oscar glared at her, blood streaming from his nose, red fire in his eyes. He had meant to murder the young girl in the house, and the look in his eyes told Kelsey he would happily add another to the menu. He took a confident step forward, unaware of the half-branch in Kelsey’s hand.
She stood tall to face him, and as soon as he moved to strike her again, she brought it up to his chin, snapping his head backward and snapping away her fear of the man. Oscar tumbled backward. Kelsey was too well-trained to stop now. She fell on him. He didn’t have it in him to fight back, and in a quick motion, she had Oscar Solasky pinned to the ground with his arm around his back.
“Oscar Solasky,” Kelsey breathed, the ringing in her ears intensifying, “you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent.”
As she continued through the man’s rights, Oscar tried to wiggle out from under her, and she pressed a knee against his shoulder, forcing another holler of pain out of him. She cuffed him, pulled him to his feet, and pushed him towards the house.
“You have no idea what you’re doing!” he screamed at her. “You’re going to die for this! Your whole family is going to burn!”
Kelsey sighed, her relief flowing freely. “My whole family’s already dead,” she breathed, slamming him into the door frame on their way in, the sound of bones breaking making her smile slightly. He could do nothing to hurt her.
“My nose!” Oscar screamed.
“Sorry,” Kelsey replied, “just wanted to make sure.”
She forced him into the room where the woman lay and threw him into a corner. One look at his whimpering face assured her he wouldn’t be trying anything stupid. Kelsey held the gun in one hand and used the other to untie the terrified woman bound on the floor.
More trauma. Kelsey had been through trauma, and now this woman had too. Her only hope was that the woman would not become as messed up as she was.
