Oh, God. “It’s Pete,” she whispered, her stomach clenching so hard she could barely breathe. She turned to run, barreling through the cottage and throwing open the front door.
Pete stood there, bandage over his shoulder, gun in his hand. He sighed. “I really wish you hadn’t come here, Mia.”
Chapter38
Mia slipped her phone into her back pocket and then held up both hands. “Pete?”
He gestured her inside with the gun, following her when she retreated. “Sit down.” His gray hair was mussed, and his belly bulged in the light blue scrubs he’d obviously borrowed.
She sat on the sofa, still reeling. “I don’t understand.”
He slammed the door, his gaze and aim not leaving her. “Why?” His voice rose, and his eyes glittered. “Why did you come here?”
“I was getting you some clothes,” she whispered, her body shaking. How was this possible?
He made a noise, one of frustration, and paced by the coffee table. “Everything was perfect. Just perfect. And what now?” He gestured widely with the weapon.
If she rushed him, she’d have to take him down fast. She gulped. “You said you’ve had a hunting cabin in this town for years. It was more than that, wasn’t it?”
He nodded, his hair standing on end. “Yes. My family spent summers here, and I kept the cabin to hunt and fish throughout my life.”
Okay. She couldn’t think. “You knew Ashlynn Volk.”
“Tryne,” Pete snapped. “Her name was Ashlynn Tryne, and we were in love. I left for college, and she got married. Damn near broke my heart.”
She wed Seth’s biological father. Did Pete know about shifters? “Then she had Seth, and her, um, husband died.” Mia’s phone was still on. Was Seth listening, or had he started to come for her? She had to get Pete into handcuffs before Seth arrived, or Seth would kill him. “Then you came back?”
Pete nodded. “Yeah. I never stopped loving her. I came back, and we dated, but she also dated a few other people. Then I had to go back to the city. I promised to return for her, and she sent me a letter saying that she was marrying Benjamin Volk, and that he’d be a good father to her boy.”
Mia watched the gun. “A letter, huh?”
“Yeah. That was in the days of letters,” Pete said quietly. “I was on a case by then and couldn’t leave right away. She got married again, and I tried to forget her. Tried to get past it. I heard she had another kid, and it about killed me. I stayed away for as long as I could. But one year, on vacation, I was in my hunting cabin. I went out for a walk, and there she was.”
Mia couldn’t breathe. “You fought.”
“I’d been drinking,” Pete admitted, sounding as if he were actually relieved to be able to talk about it. “I tried to kiss her, told her I still loved her, and she pushed me away. Said she loved her husband and that he was what she needed.” He shook his head. “I lost it. Shoved her into a tree, and she broke her neck.” Tears filled his weary eyes. “Snapped like a twig. I didn’t understand it. It happened so fast.”
Mia drew in a breath. Did a broken neck kill a shifter? If not, Ashlynn would’ve healed herself. She had two boys by that time who needed her. “Why the silver?” Her voice was hoarse. Did he know about shifters?
He shrugged. “She’d driven up there, around the mine, in a mine truck. I found the silver in there, stamped with Volk Mining, and I just did what I had to do.”
Mia gagged. How had she not known Pete at all? She’d trusted him with her life—more than once. “What you had to do? Make the crime look like some psychotic bastard committed it?” When Pete didn’t answer, she continued, her entire body chilled as if she’d just emerged from ice. “The other women? The ones from Seattle?”
“Having more deaths than one, all ritualistic, pointed any case in the direction of a nutjob serial killer.” He threw up his hands at her stunned silence and then quickly lowered his gun hand again. “I’m not a serial killer, Mia.”
She barked out a laugh without any humor. “You’ve killed multiple women, Pete. That’s the very fucking definition of a serial killer.”
Sweat dotted his brow.
“Ruby and Mandy?” she pressed, needing to hear it all.
He set his stance, his gun hand steady. “Ruby cleaned my house, and I told her to stay out of the closet. Even locked it. One day, I forgot, and she saw the picture. The stupid girl challenged me about it. I didn’t have a choice.” He gulped. “Then I came back one day and found Mandy crawling out of a window. She’d been retracing Ruby’s steps and broke into my closet. Brat.”
Mia paused. “Wait a minute. Mandy’s temp indicated she was killed while we were at the ball in Seattle.”
Pete preened. Actually preened. “Yeah, about that. I might’ve pulled a fast one with the tech out there that night. It was almost too easy, and everyone just took my word for it.”
Mia stared at him. He’d killed all of these women because he’d wanted to do it. She’d bet her life that he’d killed in DC, as well. A guy like him didn’t just stop.
