In His Mind

I N H I S M I N D (An Eve Hope FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 4) 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 ten books (and counting); the KAYLIE BROOKS PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); the EVE HOPE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); and the DYLAN FIRST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER 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 ArtMari, used under license from Shutterstock.com. BOOKS BY KATE BOLD ALEXA CHASE SUSPENSE THRILLERTHE 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 THRILLERLET 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 THRILLERNOT 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 THRILLERNOWHERE 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) KAYLIE BROOKS PYSCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE THRILLERLAST BREATH (Book #1)LAST CHANCE (Book #2)LAST WISH (Book #3)LAST SHOT (Book #4)LAST MISTAKE (Book #5) EVE HOPE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLERIN HIS BLOOD (Book #1)IN HIS SIGHTS (Book #2)IN HIS REACH (Book #3)IN HIS MIND (Book #4)IN HIS WAY (Book #5) DYLAN FIRST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLEROUT OF REACH (Book #1)OUT OF TOUCH (Book #2)OUT OF TIME (Book #3)OUT OF BOUNDS (Book #4)OUT OF LUCK (Book #5) CONTENTS PROLOGUECHAPTER ONECHAPTER TWOCHAPTER THREECHAPTER FOURCHAPTER FIVECHAPTER SIXCHAPTER SEVENCHAPTER EIGHTCHAPTER NINECHAPTER TENCHAPTER ELEVENCHAPTER TWELVECHAPTER THIRTEENCHAPTER FOURTEENCHAPTER FIFTEENCHAPTER SIXTEENCHAPTER SEVENTEENCHAPTER EIGHTEENCHAPTER NINETEENCHAPTER TWENTYCHAPTER TWENTY ONECHAPTER TWENTY TWOCHAPTER TWENTY THREECHAPTER TWENTY FOUREPILOGUE PROLOGUE Maci Trent stared through the billowing shrouds of steam at her engine as it hissed and popped. Her hopes, much like the fluid gushing steadily from the busted radiator, were quickly draining. She was handy enough to change her own tire if she got a flat. She regularly checked and changed the oil herself. As she stared at her engine with a sinking heart, she knew that her only option was to wait for a tow truck. The roadside assistance representative assured her that a truck would be there to retrieve her and her vehicle in two hours—three hours, max. She gave him her coordinates again, hoping she wouldn’t be difficult to spot on the two-lane, back-country highway where she’d broken down. When the rep hung up, the silence around Maci expanded for miles. She looked uneasily at the sun as it descended through the lower quadrants of the afternoon and hoped the tow truck would get there quickly. As soon as night fell, she would be a lot harder to find. Maci found the emergency flare in her trunk. There was only one, and she wasn’t sure she knew how to use it. She set it carefully on the passenger seat of the car where she wouldn’t lose it, then fished a pen and notebook out of her glove compartment. Might as well get a little work done while there was still light, she thought. Seating herself comfortably on the trunk, she opened the notebook and began to pen lines across the first blank page. The magic of California lies in the varied stones and tumults of its landscape. Between the mountainous cold of Desolation Wilderness to the north and the baked expanse of Death Valley in the south, one finds forests and vineyards, mountains and lowlands, rivers and deserts. California is a natural wonder unto itself. Is it any surprise, then, that her peaks and valleys, the golden veins beneath her lush green skin, called writers like Muir and Steinbeck to their feet as much as to their pens? Even now, as I sit atop my smoking wreck, I can’t help but feel…Maci’s words faded to a halt as her pen ran dry. She shook it in frustration and tried a few scratches in the margin of her page, but no ink came out of the nib. She spat a few colorful curses and hurled the pen away from her. It landed in the scrubby grass a few yards off the highway shoulder. Maci stared at the spot where it fell for an angry minute, then hopped off the trunk with a huff and walked out to retrieve the pen. Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to