Still Here

s t i l l h e r e (a lily dawn fbi suspense thriller—book 4) a v a s t r o n g Ava Strong Ava Strong is author of the REMI LAURENT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the ILSE BECK mystery series, comprising seven books (and counting); of the STELLA FALL psychological suspense thriller series, comprising six books (and counting); of the DAKOTA STEELE FBI suspense thriller series, comprising six books (and counting); and of the LILY DAWN suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting). NOT LIKE US (an Ilse Beck FBI Suspense Thriller—Book #1) and HIS OTHER WIFE (a Stella Fall Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book #1), and THE DEATH CODE (a Remi Laurent FBI Suspense Thriller—Book #1) are available as free downloads on Amazon! An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Ava loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.avastrongauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch. Copyright © 2023 by Ava Strong. 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 ded pixto, used under license from Shutterstock.com. BOOKS BY AVA STRONG LILY DAWN FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER STILL ALIVE (Book #1) STILL HOPE (Book #2) STILL AWAKE (Book #3) STILL HERE (Book #4) STILL MAD (Book #5) REMI LAURENT FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER THE DEATH CODE (Book #1) THE MURDER CODE (Book #2) THE MALICE CODE (Book #3) THE VENGEANCE CODE (Book #4) THE DECEPTION CODE (Book #5) THE SEDUCTION CODE (Book #6) ILSE BECK FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER NOT LIKE US (Book #1) NOT LIKE HE SEEMED (Book #2) NOT LIKE YESTERDAY (Book #3) NOT LIKE THIS (Book #4) NOT LIKE SHE THOUGHT (Book #5) NOT LIKE BEFORE (Book #6) NOT LIKE NORMAL (Book #7) STELLA FALL PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE THRILLER HIS OTHER WIFE (Book #1) HIS OTHER LIE (Book #2) HIS OTHER SECRET (Book #3) HIS OTHER MISTRESS (Book #4) HIS OTHER LIFE (Book #5) HIS OTHER TRUTH (Book #6) DAKOTA STEELE FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER WITHOUT MERCY (Book #1) WITHOUT REMORSE (Book #2) WITHOUT A PAST (Book #3) WITHOUT PITY (Book #4) WITHOUT HOPE (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 PROLOGUE "Are you sure you want to do this?" Mike asked, turning to his girlfriend, Emily. She peered up at him with nervous eyes, and as much as Mike wanted her to enjoy herself, he could tell getting on the water was only stirring her anxiety. Emily opened her mouth to respond when Mike’s best friend, Jason, nudged him. “Hey, don’t coddle the poor girl so much—she can do this!” Mike laughed Jason off but turned to Emily with a serious expression, letting her know she could still back out. The dock stretched out to the crystal blue sea with sandy beaches off to one side. They’d come a long way for this vacation on the US Virgin Islands, but Mike was well-aware that Emily had a fear of water when he asked her to come. Emily had nearly drowned as a kid, and she'd made huge leaps toward recovering from that trauma, so Mike didn't want to push her into anything. "I’ll be okay, Mike,” Emily finally peeped, glancing at Jason and his girlfriend, Sarah, as they made their way up the dock. “I don’t want to let the others down. I can do this.” "I know. I just want to make sure you're okay with it," Mike said. "Your dad will kill me if you end up upset for any reason." Mike gulped when he thought about Emily's dad giving him hawk eyes before they left for the trip. Mike had been dating that man's daughter for long enough to know the rules and letting Emily go on the trip had been a huge deal for them. She was normally kept under pretty tight lock and key, but she was going to be a second-year college student soon; even her strict dad knew it was time to let her go. Besides, everything would be fine. Mike was sure of it. Emily swallowed and straightened her shoulders, her blonde hair falling over them. She took a breath, like she was trying to look strong. “C’mon,” Mike said, holding out his hand, “I won’t let you go the whole time.” Emily smiled and nodded. With that, they continued up the dock toward their rental boat. Mike was the only one of the four who was certified to sail it, so he couldn’t let Jason get on first and do something stupid. The dock creaked beneath Mike's feet as he walked, his friends' joyful laughter ringing out across the shoreline. Seagulls screeched overhead, and waves crashed against the shoreline; back home, he found them annoying, but here, it was like a pleasant lullaby in his ears. This