One Last Breath by Sarah Sutton (speld decodable readers txt) 📗

Epilogue

Tara turned onto Tenth Street as she balanced a coffee tray in one hand and clutched a bag of bagels and John’s favorite breakfast sandwich in the other. She had woken up early. John was still asleep, and she had decided it was about time she did something nice for him.

She looked down at her hand gripping the brown paper bag––at her ring sparkling in the morning sun––and a warm feeling spread throughout her body. They had only been engaged less than twenty-four hours and Tara was still in awe. All this time, she had worried that John was feeling too distant from her, but in reality, he was just trying to find a time to propose. Tara knew now she had not made it easy for him—the trips to New York, her mind always on the case or her father.

She wanted to enjoy this moment, to soak it up for all it was worth. John was right. She deserved to live in the moment––to take a break from all that her mind constantly worked to solve. She not only owed it to herself, but also to her relationship with John. She had just finished a case. For now, she had a slight break from work. And finding out who Mackenzie James was could wait. She wanted to enjoy this little bit of time with John as much as she could.

Tara pushed the large turnstile door of her apartment building and walked over to the mailboxes, placing her coffee and paper bag onto the floor. John was usually the one to grab the mail, but since they were both home late last night, neither of them had. She unlocked the box with her apartment number and pulled out a few pieces of mail. She looked through them quickly. They were mainly junk, and one electricity bill, but she stopped on one last envelope. It had no return address, but it was handwritten and addressed to her. She wasn’t expecting anything, and Tara rarely received a letter in the mail unless it were a bill or something of that sort. She ripped it open. Inside sat a piece of folded paper. One edge was ragged, as if had been ripped out of notebook. She unfolded it, and for a second Tara lost her breath as she stared down at two words scribbled across the page. STOP DIGGING.

Tara looked around her. It seemed like a sick joke, but she knew no one could’ve put it in her mailbox. It had Tara’s address on it. It was clearly mailed, and Tara’s blood went cold. It wasn’t her father’s handwriting, and she only knew of one other person that could’ve sent it: Mackenzie.

Tara folded the piece of paper and placed it back into the envelope as her mind raced. She knew it could only have been sent for one reason: desperation. Mackenzie James was hiding something, something terrible, that she wanted to lie dead forever.

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

ONE LAST UNVEIL

(A Tara Mills Mystery––Book Three)

ONE LAST UNVEIL is book three in the FBI mystery series by debut author Sarah Sutton.

A true-crime podcaster is found brutally stabbed to death in her home after walking her child to the bus stop. At first, all fingers point to those closest to her. But when a friend and fellow podcaster digs into her obsession—a cold case laid to rest for fifteen years—and later turns up dead, local police realize that a serial killer dubbed the Silent Stalker could be striking again for the first time in years.

With the FBI called in and no leads to follow, they quickly realize they need a brilliant mind to crack the case: FBI Agent Tara Mills. But Tara is reluctant at first. The case reminds her too much of her mother’s, when it’s revealed that the victim’s daughter—a selective mute––lost her mother at the same age as Tara. But Tara is compelled as she realizes it is only a matter of time before he strikes again. As she peels back each layer, she falls deeper into the darkest depths of her mind and into the nightmares she had tried so hard to escape.

Meanwhile, Tara digs deeper into her past, obsessed with revealing the mystery woman visiting her father in prison, which leads to a shocking discovery. As she battles her own psyche and more victims go missing, Tara realizes that the key to solving it all could be what she finds most triggering: her connection to the victim’s daughter. As she takes a path she fears to travel, deep into the depths of her mind, she unveils a truth she never expected.

Book #4 in the series will be available soon!

ONE LAST UNVEIL

(A Tara Mills Mystery––Book Three)

Sarah Sutton

Debut author Sarah Sutton is author of the TARA MILLS mystery series, which includes ONE LAST STEP (Book #1), ONE LAST BREATH (Book #2), and ONE LAST UNVEIL (Book #3).

ONE LAST STEP (A Tara Mills Mystery––Book One) is available as a free download on Kobo!

Sarah has always been fascinated by the mystery genre and loves to write suspenseful books with complex characters. Sarah would love to hear from you, so please visit www.sarahsuttonauthor.com to email her, to join the mailing list, to hear the latest news, and to stay in touch!

BOOKS BY SARAH SUTTON

TARA MILLS MYSTERY SERIES

ONE LAST STEP (Book #1)

ONE LAST BREATH (Book #2)

ONE LAST UNVEIL (Book #3)