He blanched. “Don’t look at me like that. I made a huge mistake with Ashlynn, and then I tried to atone for it all those years. I did a lot of good.”
“Then you came back here and killed two more girls,” Mia hissed. It was just a coincidence that he used available silver—to kill wolf shifters. The man had no clue. “One of your victims was pregnant, and one wasn’t even old enough to vote.”
Pete’s shoulders sagged. “It’s not my fault.”
Right. Mia carefully scooted to the edge of her seat. “Why me, Pete? Why did you call me in?” A rock settled in her stomach.
He sighed. “I figured you’d find a suspect, and we’d make it stick. An outsider from DC would give credibility to the case. Also, well, you weren’t exactly at top form. Still aren’t. I didn’t think you’d figure it all out. Not really.”
“I didn’t,” she admitted. “If you hadn’t been shot, I’d never have been in your closet.” She peered up at him. “Why would you come back to Lost Lake?”
“I still feel her here,” he said quietly. “Ashlynn. When I decided to retire, I thought I’d be closer to her here.” He shook his head. “The picture in the closet was dumb, but I couldn’t let it go. Couldn’t lethergo. That picture has been with me my entire life.”
He really was sick. Mia pressed a hand to her stomach. “The Barnby brothers were a perfect setup.”
Pete nodded. “Yeah, and they just disappeared. It was perfect. They’re still gone, and we could’ve pinned the whole thing on them.”
“They’re actually dead,” Mia said, watching him carefully. “Seth and Erik killed them for coming after family. Like me. You know Seth will rip out your heart if you hurt me, right?”
Pete scowled. “You’ve been on one date with the guy and you think he’ll kill for you? Right.”
She tilted her head. “Yeah. I really do.” She sighed. “Then Alice was shot and killed.” Well, shot and stabbed, but Pete didn’t know that. “I thought she’d killed Ruby and Mandy.”
“It was perfect,” Pete lamented. Then he steeled his shoulders. “All right. Get up. I promise this won’t hurt.”
She didn’t move. “All the suspects are dead, Pete. What’s your plan here?”
“Seth,” he admitted. “Or Erik. Not sure. Either way, one of them will be arrested for your murder, which will look suspiciously like the other deaths. Guess we were wrong about the Barnby brothers, as well as Alice.” A tear leaked down his roughened skin. “I’m really sorry about this.”
“Me, too.” Gathering her strength, she lunged across the coffee table.
Seth heardthe gunfire just as he burst through the front door in wolf form, his senses bright, and his fury raw. He’d listened through the line just long enough to catch what was happening, and then he’d shifted into wolf form to travel faster. Colors and smells hit him so quickly he skidded to a stop, his claws leaving deep wounds in the wood. Mia and Pete wrestled on the floor, magazines and newspapers scattering. The smell of blood, lilac, and vanilla threw Seth into a frenzy.
Growling, he jumped into the fray, sinking his fangs into Pete’s neck. He lifted the man, dragging him away from Mia.
She scrambled back on her butt, her legs working furiously to propel her. Blood spurted as she moved.
Pete screamed, his gun hand lifting.
Seth knocked it away with one paw, growling and snarling. Driving his fangs even deeper, he dragged his prey over the wooden floor and out into the sunny day.
Pete screeched like a wounded animal, his legs and feet thumping over the porch and down to the overgrown yard.
Seth leapt into a run, and several of Pete’s bones audibly broke as they hit the ground. His shoes tore free, along with the bottom section of his pants. He screamed and cried, but Seth didn’t stop, the animal inside having taken over completely. Within minutes, he reached the place of his mother’s death. There, he dropped Pete like a sack of raw potatoes and backed away, snarling and growling. Wanting to kill but allowing nature to take over.
Pete clutched at his bleeding neck, trying to shove parts of his throat back into place. He sobbed and crab-walked back until his head hit a tree, his eyes wide and panicked. Then he forced himself to sit, his head wobbling on his neck. The smell of death was all over him—as was the stench of terror. A sensation he’d probably caused in too many people, so many helpless women, and deserved to feel himself.
Seth stretched open his mouth wide and called for wolves. Real ones. Then he stretched out his neck and shifted, going from wolf to man in slow motion. Letting Pete see just what he’d unleashed.
Blood gurgled out of Pete’s mouth, and his eyes widened. He pissed his pants and cried, snot mixing with the blood. “I didn’t know,” he croaked, air flowing through his wounds.
“You do now,” Seth said, watching him tremble and futilely try to keep his lungs working.
“I loved her,” Pete croaked.
Seth stared impassively. “Too bad. You’re definitely not going where she did in death.”
Pete shuddered several times, fighting the pull, his life slowly leaving his body. Finally, he stopped moving, his eyes glassing over. His injured hand fell to the ground, and he slumped into a lump of nothingness.
