Nowhere Sound (A Harley Cole FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 9)

By Kate Bold

In the wake of tornadoes ripping through Oklahoma, victims of a serial killer turn up in the rubble. FBI Special Agent Harley Cole is dispatched to small towns to find out: is this killer chasing the storms? And will she have to ride headlong into danger to stop him before he strikes again?

“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
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NOWHERE SOUND is book #9 in a new series by #1 bestselling mystery and suspense author Kate Bold, whose bestseller NOT NOW (a free download) has received over 600 five star ratings and reviews.

A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the HARLEY COLE 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.

Future books in the series are now 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
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“Kate did an amazing job on this book and I was hooked from the first chapter!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
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“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
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“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
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“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
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“Captivating and riveting serial murder with a twist of the macabre… Very well done.”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
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“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
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“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
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“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
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“Extremely well written, and well worth buying and reading. I can't wait to read book two!”
—Reader review for The Killing Game
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• Language: English
• Publisher: Kate Bold
• Release date: May 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781094330969

Book preview

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N O W H E R E

S O U N D

(A Harley Cole FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 9)

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); the DYLAN FIRST FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER series, comprising five books (and counting); and the LAUREN LAMB 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 i am adventure, 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)

LAUREN LAMB FBI SUSPENSE THRILLER

SOMETHING KNOCKING (Book #1)

SOMETHING CALLING (Book #2)

SOMETHING WRONG (Book #3)

SOMETHING DARK (Book #4)

SOMETHING TO HIDE (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

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

Zac paused on the threshold of broken glass, his body going rigid as a police siren screamed in the distance.

Come on, said Tre, making an impatient pawing motion with his hand. He had already advanced two paces into the dark interior of Edison’s Electronics, one of the numerous retail shops that composed Onacona’s downtown area—and the only one that religiously stocked the latest video games and gaming consoles. Tre had a cousin who could fence those items and cut the two teenage boys in on half the profit, which meant this little adventure could be worth thousands or even tens of thousands for each of them.

They were hardly the only ones taking advantage of the tornado that had ripped across Oklahoma, ravaging oat and canola fields before turning its fury upon the small town of Onacona. Dozens of others—some in pickups, others in vans and SUVs—had navigated the telephone-pole-strewn road for a chance to make a quick buck while police were busy helping pull survivors from collapsed houses and clear debris from tornado shelters.

And there was plenty of money to be made, oh yes, which was why Tre had insisted on getting to the electronics store so quickly. To beat commuter traffic, he had joked.

Despite these pecuniary motives, however, Zac remained rooted to the ground, mesmerized by those shards of glass that gazed up at him like broken teeth, winking in the pale moonlight. The beams of the other looters’ flashlights danced around him, cutting through a cloud-covered night that was as dark as pitch.

Are you coming or what? Tre whispered, casting an anxious glance up the street. It’s only a matter of time before we have company!

But Zac was not listening. He was lost in his own thoughts.

He’s a deadbeat, just like his father, he heard Grandma Lois confiding to his mother just a month ago as he came back from school. He had crept to the window and listened, first angry and then sad as he eavesdropped on the two women talking in the kitchen while they peeled potatoes.

All this sneaking around with his school friends? the old woman had continued. No good will come of it.

Listening to her, Zac had known what she really meant: No good would come of him. Because of good old talkative Grandma Lois, Zac knew he had been an unplanned pregnancy. He had never even met his father, though he had a pretty good idea the old man was serving hard time for grand larceny.

He also knew his grandmother hadn’t wanted his mother to keep the baby. Yet here he was.

Yes, he thought, here I am, following in my old man’s footsteps, just like Grandma Lois said I would. Maybe she was right all along.

A cackle of laughter erupted behind Zac. It sounded like some of the looters were drinking.

Turn back, he told himself. You haven’t broken the law yet. Go home, forget about this whole harebrained plan. Isn’t that what your mother would want, anyway? For you to be home with her, where she knew you were safe?

They’re defacing the memorial, Tre said in a soft, wondering voice.

Zac turned and gazed down the street, watching with a mixture of curiosity and horror as several figures sprayed graffiti on a marble statue of a man riding a horse, his sword pointed as if to charge into battle. It was sobering how quickly a tragedy could bring out the worst in some individuals. Most responded the opposite way, eagerly sharing resources and helping one another recover from the storm, but there were always a few bad apples.

Come on, Tre said, clapping Zac on the arm. If those crazies don’t get here, the cops will. I’m your ride, and I’m not leaving empty-handed, so you might as well help speed this along!

As if to underscore the danger, the police siren sounded again, rising above the jargon of competing car alarms. It was close and getting closer by the second.

This threat was enough to galvanize Zac into action. Praying that his mother would forgive him, he stepped over the broken window and, with a crunching of glass, into the electronics store.

Zac had only been inside Edison’s Electronics once before (just long enough to conclude their prices were far richer than he could afford with his part-time job gathering wayward shopping carts in the parking lot of the local grocery store), but he had an excellent memory and could have drawn the interior of the building in careful detail.

Which made it even more shocking how thoroughly trashed the place was.

Zac had grown up in New York and only recently moved to Oklahoma, so he was not used to the destructive weather from which tornado alley derived its name. He felt as if he had stepped into a war zone. Shelves of DVDs lay toppled like dominoes, their movies scattered about the room like leaves; shreds of paper, the tattered remnants of posters, clung to the walls; rolling tables lay drunkenly on their sides. Even the monitor at the front desk had been ripped from its place and thrown to the ground, the frayed ends of wires sticking out from it like torn roots.

Zac stared in shock at the detritus, unsure how to make sense of what he was seeing.

Tre shoved a duffel bag into his arms. Why don’t you make yourself useful and fill this up, huh? Some of these movies are new releases. We can get fifteen, twenty bucks apiece, easy.

Zac nodded woodenly and crossed the carpet, plastic crunching underfoot. A strange, sulfurous smell lingered in the air. Outside, amidst the sirens of ambulances and police cars, he could hear shouting as several more looters moved in.

A shiver of fear ran through him. Focus, he told himself as he stuck his flashlight between his teeth and began cramming movies into the duffel bag. Remember, this isn’t for you. It’s for Mom.

His mother was living off food stamps, every spare cent from her two jobs—one as a waitress at a truck stop diner, the other as a graveyard clerk at a liquor store—eaten up by a mortgage for a house she never should have bought, a house whose mold problem— conveniently hidden from her at the sale, which she had rushed through in her eagerness to lock in such an exceptionally reasonable deal—had cost tens of thousands of dollars just so they could make the house habitable.

He needed to do something to start helping her out, and dropping out of school to get some factory job so he could spend the next decade of his life paying off her mortgage—well, that was just a tough pill to swallow, especially when he had an opportunity like this. He might only make a few grand tonight, but a few grand was nothing to sneeze at.

Besides, Tre had connections. Maybe this could be the start of something bigger.

Grandma Lois’s words echoed in his mind: A deadbeat, just like his father.

And so what if he did become like the father he so despised? At least he would provide for his family. His mother deserved that. After all, she had sacrificed practically her whole life for him—being ostracized by her family for the pregnancy, losing her job due to health complications, seeing her dating prospects dry up overnight. She could have been bitter, could have blamed him, but instead, she had only ever had one singular focus.

To give him the opportunity to have a better life than the one she’d known.

She wouldn’t like knowing what he was doing, but that didn’t change the fact that he owed her. He would do what he had to do for a few years, just long enough to get them back on their feet, and then he would get a normal job and start living the life his mother had dreamed he would have.

But first he had to pay her back—even if that meant following in the footsteps of the father who had never even taken the time to learn his name.

He heard a shout, and he glanced down the street to see a trio of figures—two men and one woman—carting TVs from an outlet mall and into the back of a waiting van. The woman had a baby planted on her hip and a cigarette clamped between her teeth, and she was moving her arms about like a police officer directing traffic.

She slapped one of the men on the arm and pointed down the street—straight at Edison’s Electronics.

Realizing he didn’t have much time left, Zac hefted the half-full duffel bag and shuffled toward the back of the store. He pictured the layout of the store from his previous visit, creating a mental image and searching the shelves for the highest value items he could carry in the bag.

DVDs were small fish. He was after something bigger.

iPhones. Cameras. Laptops.

As he picked through the chaos, slashing left and right with his flashlight, he caught movement toward the back of the store: a tall figure who was holding something in his hand. A walking stick, maybe, or a club.

Probably just another looter, he thought even as a shudder ran through his body. If I leave him alone, he’ll leave me alone.

He wasn’t sure whether this was actually true, but he prayed it was with all the faith of a child closing his eyes tight in bed, hoping that if he ignored the strange sounds in his bedroom, no danger could possibly arise.

Creeping forward, keeping a wary eye out for the figure he’d glimpsed, he was startled to hear a plastic crunch underfoot. He looked down to see he was standing on a video game package. There was a whole heap of them beside him, spilled out from a toppled shelf.

New video games.

His heartbeat kicked up a notch. This was what he’d been looking for.

Excited, he grabbed the edge of the shelf and pulled, but it would not budge.

Tre! he called again. Give me a hand with this, would you?

This time Tre’s face appeared over a counter, looking annoyed. Figure it out, man. I don’t have time— He froze as his gaze landed on the heap of games. A slow grin spread across his face. Not bad, rookie. Not bad.

Tre vaulted the counter as lightly as a gymnast and stooped to pick up one of the games.

These have got to be, what, sixty dollars a pop? he said in a wondering voice, as if mesmerized by the game. There must be a hundred here! What’s that come to?

Six grand, if you’re right.

Six grand! Right here, lying at our feet!

It was Zac’s turn to lose his patience. Come on, man. Are you going to help me lift this or what?

It was not the police that worried him now, oh no. The police might arrest him, but as much as he hated the thought of seeing the inevitable disappointment on his mother’s face (and the triumph on Grandma Lois’s), a far more immediate danger was on his mind.

Glancing over his shoulder, he could see flashlight beams dancing along the street, moving ever closer to the store as the looters descended like vultures on a kill.

And then, of course, there was the man he’d already seen in the store, the man with the club. What if he wanted the store to himself? What if he didn’t want to share with two teenage boys? Was that what the club was for?

Tre moved around to the opposite side of the shelf and grabbed hold. Zac, snapping out of his reverie, counted aloud, and together they righted the shelf. As soon as it was upright, Tre descended on the pile of games with unabashed greed.

Bring the bag over here, would you? he said, talking so fast that his words began to blur together. We’re gonna be rich, man! What’d I tell ya? Rich!

As Zac shoveled games into the bag, he told himself to think about how much of a difference the money would make for his struggling mother. He reminded himself about his deadbeat father, who’d never done a thing to provide for the family.

I’m twice the man he’ll ever be, he thought, trying to regain his confidence. He stole for himself, but I’m doing it for Mom. I’m doing it for us. That’s a concept he never understood.

No matter how much he tried to reassure himself, however, the hairs on the back of his neck still prickled, as if sensing someone was watching from the darkness, regarding the two boys with malevolent intent.

Lost in these thoughts, he didn’t notice the ring until it had been staring at him for several long moments. He stopped what he was doing, his muscles suddenly going slack.

What are you waiting for? Tre demanded. That bag ain’t full! We’re gonna pack it ‘till it’s bursting, and then— He froze, noticing the ring.

Hey, he said, I didn’t know this place had jewelry! He reached for the ring, not seeing what Zac had seen, not