Last Mistake

L A S T M I S T A K E (A Kaylie Brooks Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book 5) 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 seven books (and counting); the KAYLIE BROOKS PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); and the EVE HOPE 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 ozrimoz, used under license from Shutterstock.com. BOOKS BY KATE BOLD 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) 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) CONTENTS 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 EPILOGUE CHAPTER ONE Kaylie Brooks stepped off the airplane, shivering in the bitter cold of a Midwest December. But even if she'd been somewhere warm, she didn't think anything could thaw the icy dread that had lodged in the pit of her stomach. Zoe Anderson had been murdered. Zoe, a close connection of the Brooks family, who had done Kaylie a favor and tried to mediate the situation between her and the aggressive, powerful, Palm Beach clan. The Brooks family was out for her blood. They would stop at nothing. And yet, she had no idea which of them had been behind this. She pulled the woolen hat further down over her honey blonde hair, tugging her jacket around her as she walked into the terminal building. The sequence of events played itself out in her mind. She hadn't stopped thinking about everything, from the very first moment she'd set eyes on the handsome Brett Brooks while on a trip to Florida. Their whirlwind romance and - in hindsight, far too hasty - marriage had followed. Moving to Palm Beach as a newlywed, Kaylie's life had quickly become a nightmare as she'd learned how toxic the family's hold over him was. Also, there was the little matter that had raised its ugly head of her husband being a psychopath who had killed before, and then killed again. Kaylie had solved the crime and narrowly escaped being murdered herself. Brett had been jailed for life, but recently, they'd had news that he'd committed suicide while in prison. Details were sketchy, and Kaylie had asked that his family be informed of any news first, so she had no idea of what the latest developments might be. The Brooks family had hated her already, blaming her illogically for Brett's imprisonment. But after that bombshell, their hatred escalated to a serious feud. Kaylie had been attacked by someone they'd paid to beat her up. She'd had graffiti and threats scrawled on her front door. They wanted her to leave town, get out of Palm Beach and their lives, forever. But Kaylie was stubbornly refusing to do that. She was still living in Brett’s home – now legally her home. After completing her training, she joined the local police, using her psychology degree to become a police profiler. Then, she'd made a mistake. She'd decided that the best way to end these threats would be to engage with the Brooks family. And she had decided the best way to do it