A moving and evocative exploration of grief and guilt in the wake of one family’s devastating loss
When former DC journalist Abigail Wolff attempts to rehabilitate her career, she finds herself at the heart of a US army cover-up involving the death of a soldier in Afghanistan—with unspeakable emotional consequences for one family. As the story of what happened comes to light, Abigail will do anything to write it.
The more evidence she stumbles upon in the case, the fewer people it seems she can trust, including her own father, a retired army general. And she certainly never expected to fall in love with the slain soldier’s brother, Gabe, a bitter man struggling to hold his family together. The investigation eventually leads her to an impossible choice, one of unrelenting sacrifice to protect those she loves.
Beyond the buried truths and betrayals, questions of family loyalty and redemption, Abigail’s search is, most of all, a desperate grasp at carrying on and coping—and seeking hope in the impossible.
Praise for Kimberly Belle and The Last Breath
“Painstakingly emotional…will surprise readers to the very end...it’s so worth it!”
—RT Book Reviews
“Belle’s engaging debut brings the reader into [an] emotionally tangled world.”
—Booklist
“Belle’s a smooth writer whose characters are vibrant and truly reflect the area where the novel is set.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“The Last Breath will leave you breathless. This edgy and emotional thriller will keep you guessing until the very end.”
—New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf
“Powerful and complex with an intensity drawn out through each page, The Last Breath is a story of forgiveness and betrayal and one I couldn’t put down!”
—New York Times bestselling author Steena Holmes
The Last Breath
The Ones
We
Trust
Kimberly Belle
To the women and men who risk their lives every day for our country,
and for the people who love them.
Contents
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Part Three: The Space Between
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Acknowledgments
Questions for Discussion
A Conversation with the Author
There’s a thin, fragile line that separates us all from misfortune. A place where life teeters on a razor’s edge, and everything boils down to one single, solitary second. Where either you will whiz past the Mack truck blissfully unaware, or you will slam into it head-on. Where there’s a before, and then, without warning or apology, there’s an after.
For the past three years, I’ve rewound to those last before moments, moments I was still blissfully unaware I was about to be blindsided. I’ve tried to pinpoint the very spot when tragedy struck. It wasn’t when Chelsea took her last breath, though that was certainly a tragedy. No, the tipping point was somewhere in the days leading up to her death, when her story was barreling like a deadly virus across the internet, snowballing and mutating and infecting everyone it touched. Infecting her with words I wrote and sent out into the