Last Breath

LAST BREATH EMMA LAST SERIES: BOOK ONE MARY STONE Copyright © 2023 by Mary Stone Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum This book is dedicated to the dreamers and misfits who dance to the beat of their own drum. Your differences make you beautifully unique and precious. Don't hide them. Let them shine. CONTENTS Description Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 What’s Next? Emma Last Series Acknowledgments About the Author DESCRIPTION Welcome to the deadliest show on Earth... When the Ruby Red Spectacle Circus rolls into town, chaos and death follow in its wake. At first, the accidents seem coincidental, but as the body count rises, it becomes clear that a killer is lurking within the big top’s shadows. Smoke and mirrors concealing love and hate. After a third performer turns up dead, the newly formed FBI Violent Crimes Unit in Washington, DC is called in to investigate. For FBI Special Agent Emma Last, the case is a chance to prove herself to her new SSA—and a welcome distraction from the ghosts who’ve invaded her life. As Emma delves deeper into the twisted world of the circus, she begins to see things that can't be explained. And when the animal rights activists outside the fairgrounds grow increasingly aggressive, the team must protect the performers from both outside threats and their own dark secrets. Secrets worth killing over. When the investigation takes a sinister turn, Emma knows she's not the only one haunted by ghosts. With each shocking revelation, she's forced to confront the terrifying truth...someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the circus's secrets buried. By turns thrilling and jaw-dropping, Last Breath is the first book in the exciting new FBI mystery series from bestselling author Mary Stone—where you’ll realize the show must go on...no matter the cost. 1 The lingering stink of popcorn, cotton candy, and salted peanuts was swallowed by the sweet smell of blueberry muffins, but Kyle Perkins had no trouble resisting the lure of Cookie’s fresh-baked goods. He’d done his carbo-loading over the past few days and was happily burning it away with this morning’s workout. Mornings like this were Kyle’s favorite. The world was peaceful, despite containing residual energy and odors from the previous night’s festivities. Beyond Cookie’s trailer, the peak of a bright-red tent sliced into the horizon, casting a dark shadow across the pavement as the sun rose behind it. Signs proclaiming Spectacles and Marvels! and A Plethora of Pyrotechnics! and Strongman Shoulders Chevrolet! pointed the way toward the circus act areas. Even with those distractions, Kyle found a sense of ease and comfort in his lifting regimen. Thirty-three down. The Ruby Red Spectacle Circus strongman brought the weight up again, ensuring the motion of the hundred-pound barbell remained smooth through the arc of his arm curl. In his other hand, he held the day’s first protein shake, a double-chocolate-almond concoction that would soon serve as his breakfast appetizer. As always, the glass remained steady in his hand. That was the test. Thirty-four down. It wasn’t enough to just lift the weight. The muscles needed to be isolated from the rest of his body. Thirty-five down. Behind him, the kitchen trailer’s old stove rattled the wall, overworked and struggling. Not for the first time, he thought about how nice it would be to have a fridge or stove in his own camper. He’d never set foot outside that cozy space for anything but workouts and performances if that were the case, especially on cold January mornings like this. Maybe one of these days… Thirty-seven down. His stomach grumbled, as it usually did around this time. The straw of his protein shake tempted him. No. Routine was everything. No eating or drinking ’til you’re done, Strongman Perkins. Not a sip. From the other side of the trailer, a performer was crying as she left the kitchen area. Maybe the fortune teller, Esther, but maybe not. Grief still hung heavy in the air since they’d lost Penelope and Dennis so suddenly, and Kyle imagined that had to be why she was still distraught. Losing Penelope had shocked him, too, and it still did. She’d been a serious athlete and deserved a hell of a lot more than a cheap-ass billing with the Ruby Red Spectacle Circus. No, she’d been of an elite breed like him, devoted to her training and her craft as a trapeze artist against all obstacles and distractions. She’d just been trying to make a decent life for herself after being dealt a losing hand. It still didn’t feel real. A safety line had allegedly snapped, plummeting Penelope to the dirt- and straw-covered asphalt. Kyle worried no one had checked the lines as they were supposed to nightly. Like so much of the circus’s equipment, however, they were probably ten years overdue for replacement. Forty-one down. Gritting his teeth against the ache building in his right bicep, he refused to stop. He eyed his protein shake, noting a tremor in the liquid as he exhaled a cloud of breath through his chapped lips. It seemed like whoever was in charge of those safety lines should’ve been fired, but no one claimed responsibility, and he hadn’t heard of anybody leaving the circus. Even the damn police had labeled it an accident and washed their hands of things in