Out of Reach (A Dylan First FBI Suspense Thriller—Book One)

By Kate Bold

Dylan First, brilliant psychologist, is haunted by the horrific discovery of her past: her mentor and father figure, a brilliant psychiatrist and professor, was secretly a serial killer. He is behind bars, but with everything Dylan thought she knew turned upside down, she feels lost when the FBI suddenly comes knocking: a new killer is using her mentor’s trademark signature. And they need Dylan to dissect his mind and stop him before it’s too late.

“This is an excellent book… When you start reading, be sure you don’t have to wake up early!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

Out of Reach is Book #1 in a new series by #1 bestselling mystery and suspense author Kate Bold, whose bestseller NOT ME (a free download) has received over 1,500 five star ratings and reviews.

A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the Dylan First series is a riveting mystery, packed with non-stop action, suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night. Fans of Rachel Caine, Teresa Driscoll, and Robert Dugoni are sure to fall in love.

More books in the series are also available!

“This book moved very fast and every page was exciting. Plenty of dialogue, you absolutely love the characters, and you were rooting for the good guy throughout the whole story… I look forward to reading the next in the series.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

“Kate did an amazing job on this book and I was hooked from the first chapter!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

“I really enjoyed this book. The characters were authentic, and I see the bad guys as something we hear about daily on the news... Looking forward to book 2.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

“This was a really good book. The main characters were real, flawed and human. The story went along quickly and wasn't mired in too many unnecessary details. I really enjoyed it.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

“Alexa Chase is headstrong, impatient, but most of all brave with a capital B. She never, repeat never, backs down until the bad guys are put where they belong. Clearly five stars!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

“Captivating and riveting serial murder with a twist of the macabre… Very well done.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

“WOW what a great read! Talk about a diabolical killer! Really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to reading others by this author as well.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

“Page turner for sure. Great characters and relationships. I got into the middle of this story and couldn’t put it down. Looking forward to more from Kate Bold.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

“Hard to put down. It has an excellent plot and has the right amount of suspense. I really enjoyed this book.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

“Extremely well written, and well worth buying and reading. I can't wait to read book two!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kate Bold
• Release date: Apr 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781094378442

Book preview

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O U T   O F   R E A C H

(A Dylan First FBI Suspense Thriller—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 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 jirakit suparatanameta, 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)

NOWHERE PURE (Book #8)

NOWHERE SOUND (Book #9)

NOWHERE SANE (Book #10)

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)

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)

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

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

PROLOGUE

When Mary Garrison pulled into her driveway, she was surprised to see that the house was dark.

Is Bill asleep already? she wondered.

That would be a shame. Although she was getting home pretty late, she’d been looking forward to dinner with him. She hoped to surprise him with fresh salmon—his favorite—and the new spices she’d found to sauté it with.

Well, it can wait till tomorrow night, she supposed.

And it would be worth the wait at that.

As she got out of her car, she took a look around the neighborhood where they lived. She really loved living here. The houses, each a repurposed Victorian or Tudor, were nestled between a row of trees and a strip of grass.

Even after all these years, Mary sometimes still couldn’t believe she and Bill lived in such a fine home. It was so much more elegant than a police officer and a nurse could possibly buy on their own. Her parents had bought this house years ago and handed it on to her when they retired and moved to Arizona.

So many years ago, she thought sadly.

Back then Mary and Bill had hoped to start a family here. They’d only had one daughter, who was now estranged from them and living far away.

I wonder how Lillis is doing.

It broke her heart to remember the bitter quarrel with Bill that had driven Lillis away. Mary still wasn’t sure which of them, Bill or Lillis, was really to blame.

Neither, surely.

After all, blame was never a good explanation for anything.

She shrugged off her twinge of sadness and walked toward the door. It was time to forget about such things. It was also time for her to forget all about her wearying day at the hospital, to try not to think of the endless stream of patients and their demands.

Leave work at the door, she always told herself.

Some nights that advice worked better than it did others.

She took a deep breath and centered herself. As she walked through the front door and closed it behind her, she tried to decide whether to call out and let him know she was here.

But if he’s asleep …

Then she felt a strange tingle—a sense that something was wrong. She decided to call out to him after all.

Bill!

There was no answer—no sound at all inside the house.

Mary started to climb the stairs, one step at a time, dreading what she might find. She knew Bill had been under a lot of stress lately. The life of a police officer was never easy. And Bill’s doctor had recently warned him about his health.

You’re a stroke or a heart attack waiting to happen, the doctor had told him bluntly.

Please, God, let him be OK.

But she already sensed that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

Bill!

She got to the top of the stairs and saw the door to the master bedroom. It was slightly cracked. She made her way to the door and pushed it open.

Then she saw him in the darkened room.

At first, she thought he was sleeping.

Then she thought he had passed out.

But nothing looked right.

She switched on the nearest lamp, and the horrible scene came into focus.

Her husband lay in the bed, half-naked and staring at the ceiling.

His throat was sliced open, and there was blood everywhere.

For a moment, Mary stood tottering with shock.

This isn’t real.

This isn’t happening.

Then her mind registered something very strange.

Strings.

What were they doing there?

Why were they hanging from a wooden frame attached to the overhead light above the bed?

Why were they tied to her husband’s arms and legs?

Suddenly the true horror of the scene overwhelmed her. The whole world spun around for a moment, and then she fell in a dead faint to the floor.

CHAPTER ONE

Dylan First sat at her desk staring at her computer monitor.

This can’t be real, she thought as she read the story in her news feed.

But there it was, written in plain language. A murder had been committed last night, and the details of that murder were searingly familiar to Dylan.

The victim, a middle-aged police officer, had been found dead in his bed with his throat slit. Strings had been tied to his limbs in an apparent effort to make him look like a marionette.

Just like Dr. Cameron’s murders.

But she was sure the murderer couldn’t be her one-time teacher and mentor. Dr. Cameron was safely behind bars, serving multiple life sentences in the Atterfield Penitentiary. In fact, the story even said so. The police seemed to think the killer must be a copycat.

This has got nothing to do with me, Dylan tried to persuade herself.

After all, she couldn’t control or predict the actions of some psychopath bent on following in the footsteps of the killer known to the public as the Puppet Master. Still, the very nature of the murder struck much too close to home.

And it had come at the very end of a discouraging day.

She was just wrapping up her day at the Sunbeam Clinic, where she’d been a therapist for nearly two years now. Her auburn hair was pulled back loosely, but stray strands were falling into her face. Her green eyes could radiate mischief, but today those eyes were just plain tired.

The Sunbeam Clinic was made up of a variety of professionals, including two psychiatrists and another psychologist like herself. The clinic also employed some licensed mental health counselors with varied types of training. They even had a Life & Relationship Coach whose credentials Dylan had never understood.

In the background, Dylan could hear the low murmur of voices and the gentle click of keys on a keyboard. She knew that the other therapists were seeing clients or typing up their own reports. She hoped they weren’t struggling like she was.

Dylan sighed and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. The day had been too long. Too many patients, too many cases. On some days, it felt as if the entire world was emotionally disturbed in some way—and too many people needed her to make everything better.

Dylan leaned on her desk, her head in her hands.

Why am I so tired? she wondered.

Why does it feel like there are no answers?

She knew she was too young—at twenty-six, way too young—to be feeling burnt out like this. This was not what she’d expected when she got her graduate degree. She had been an excellent student, and she’d never expected to be so utterly overwhelmed with this first job.

She’d wanted to do at least some small good in the world, to make a difference in people’s lives. As a child, she’d never really considered a career in therapy. In fact, she’d never given much thought to exactly what she wanted to be. All she’d wanted was to be the best at anything she chose to do. In college, she had originally envisioned herself staying in the academic world, carrying out research and writing books about interesting topics.

Dylan had finally found her niche as a sophomore. Her decision that year to become a therapist had come like a revelation. Everything had seemed to fall into place so well. It was as if the pieces of a puzzle came together in a way that seemed just right to her.

Her mentor, Dr. Charles Cameron, had encouraged her in this career, and she’d thrived under his tutelage and guidance until …

Don’t even think about it.

It’s too awful to think about.

But the news story had come as an inescapable reminder.

Dylan was struggling to push back horrible memories when a sharp knock came on the door, one she knew could only belong to Dr. Freedman.

Come in, she said.

Dr. Freedman, a short, balding man, entered with his usual brisk gait, closing the door softly behind him. He sat down, and Dylan knew that whatever he wanted to talk about was serious. He never sat unless it was serious.

As the head of the clinic, Dr. Freedman always looked well-groomed. Today he wore a dark charcoal suit with a white shirt and a red tie. His face held a perpetual smile, as if he were enjoying a joke that no one else got.

Tell me, he said softly.

Tell you what? she asked.

Come on, Dylan. I know you. What is it? What’s bothering you?

She looked at him, wondering which of a myriad number of topics he could be referring to.

Another patient just left us, he said with a sigh. Your third patient to leave this week.

Dylan nodded.

You must mean Cara Dunn, she said.

Dr. Freedman nodded.

Would you care to tell me what happened? he said.

Dylan held back a discouraged sigh.

Cara’s husband was having an affair. She was clinically depressed because of that. But … well, I couldn’t seem to help her.

Dylan expected Dr. Freedman to chastise her, but instead he gazed at her sympathetically.

Don’t tell me, I can guess, he said. You said you needed to meet with her husband too.

That’s right. But he seemed to be happy with their marital status quo, so to speak. He wasn’t interested in couples therapy, and …

Dr. Freedman finished Dylan’s thought as her voice faded.

And there really wasn’t anything you could do.

Dylan nodded.

I’m sorry about those two other patients, she said. I don’t seem to be doing my best work these days.

Dr. Freedman folded his hands together and smiled a kindly smile.

I’m not so worried about losing two or three patients, he said. That happens sometimes. What worries me is that you seem to be taking these sorts of setbacks rather personally. I can see that you’re discouraged.

Dylan summoned up the courage to say something she wasn’t sure she wanted to say.

I’m afraid I’m burning out.

Dr. Freedman didn’t seem the least bit surprised or dismayed.

You know, that’s not that uncommon for people in this field, he said. It’s just hard to accept. You think you can help everyone. You want to help everyone. But sometimes you just can’t. You can’t always help the ones that need it most. And sometimes the ones that need it most—well, your help isn’t really what they’re lacking. They need something you can’t give them.

She studied his sincere expression.

Maybe this isn’t what I should be doing, she said. Maybe I’m not cut out to do this work. Maybe I just want to go back to academic life.

Dr. Freedman shook his head.

No, no, no. Don’t think like that. You’re an excellent therapist. You have a gift for helping people. It’s hard for you to accept that sometimes you just can’t help everyone.

He fell silent. Dylan sensed that there was something else on his mind.

I’m not sure whether to bring this up, but … he began.

He lowered his eyes, then looked at her again.

Have you seen the news today? he asked.

Dylan nodded.

About the murder, you mean, she said. The killing that’s a lot like the ones Dr. Cameron used to commit.

That’s right. I’m sure that must come as a shock to you. Would you like to talk about it?

Dylan didn’t reply for a moment.

Then she shook her head no.

OK, then. I won’t push it. But just remember I’m always here. Call me if you need me.

Dr. Freedman glanced at his watch.

By the way, it’s about time for you to finish work for today. Why don’t you head on home and get some rest?

I’ll do that. Thanks.

Dr. Freedman walked out of her office.

As Dylan sat there thinking again about the murder, she felt a familiar sense of horror. Yes, the so-called Puppet Master had once been her mentor. Dr. Charles Cameron was the reason she had gotten into a good graduate school. He was the reason she’d become a psychologist.

More importantly, he had been her personal healer—a kindly paternal figure who had helped guide her out of the trauma of her father’s murder. Until he’d helped her, she’d suffered from a cluster of phobias and symptoms stemming from her PTSD. These had included a rare condition called entamaphobia, a terrible fear of doorways, because she’d walked through one to find her father’s bleeding body.

Dr. Cameron had gotten her past all that.

But in the end, Dylan had learned that he was also a grisly serial killer.

It was a terrible fact that she knew would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Dylan put on her coat and left her office, shutting the door behind her. When she stepped outside into the cold winter air, she pulled her collar close. She walked briskly into the parking lot, determined to get to her car, get home, get into a bath, and put this day behind her. She needed to wipe her anxieties away. Even if it took a bottle of wine.

It was cold, and she saw that a few flakes of snow were beginning to fall—the first of the winter.

She’d reached her car when a voice shrieked behind her.

YOU!

Dylan whirled, startled. She saw a hand held high with something shiny in its knuckles, coming right for her face.

CHAPTER TWO

Her mind rattled with shock, Dylan dodged the blow from the key held in a frenzied woman’s fist. She smacked the hand away and kicked at the woman’s legs, but her attacker was taller than she was, and stronger.

Dylan struggled to get away as the woman pushed her backwards.

YOU! the woman yelled. You killed him, YOU KILLED HIM!

Now Dylan’s back was against the car, but instead of striking again, the woman suddenly backed up and just stood there, tears running down her face.

Then Dylan realized who it was, and her heart fell.

Stephanie Liggett.

The survivor.

I’ve tried to stay away from you, to let you live your life, the woman said. "But today something inside me finally snapped. You don’t deserve to live at