Mia swallowed. “Right.”
“Well, night, sweetie. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Dotty gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and headed to bed.
Mia nodded, her gaze remaining on the deep water outside. She needed to grab a cup of tea and do some thinking, and the deck seemed like a perfect spot for problem-solving. Hopefully, they could all heal here in this beautiful place.
A beautiful place where a murderer hid.
Seth Volk joggedthrough the forest, each step pounding away the tension of the day. Moonlight winked through the trees, weak but determined, even at the midnight hour.
A slight breeze cooled his bare chest. Growling, he wiped his right hand on his running shorts. The feeling of Mia’s soft skin under his thumb had haunted him all day. Beautiful and definitely lost, the former FBI agent’s scent wouldn’t leave his memory. She smelled like vanilla and lilacs—pure, wild, and sweet.
The woman had grit. The vulnerability in those deep emerald eyes had not only tugged at him but had also insisted he help. The one lesson Seth had learned without question in his life was not to help outsiders.
Pretty Mia was certainly an outsider.
She would be in definite danger if she stayed in his town. He’d warned her for her own safety and hoped like hell she followed his advice. His gut told him she wouldn’t.
When Lenessee had threatened her, Seth had almost jumped through the bars and strangled the asshole. An odd reaction, to be sure. Although he’d only known Mia for a few minutes, he’d easily kill Lenessee for hurting her.
When had he become such a monster?
He stumbled on the familiar trail.
Shit, when had he worried about questions like that? He’d been born a monster—or he’d earned the title in his teens. Either way, it was entirely too late to ask such a question. Entirely too late to even think about being with a sweet thing like Mia.
She deserved better.
The trail wound through towering pines and evergreens, their strong scent failing to banish Mia’s, which remained on his skin as if she’d claimed him for her own. Idly, he wondered about the man she’d killed. He’d never killed for a woman before. He’d kill for her.
With that disturbing thought, he sprinted into a full-out run.
Leaping over a rickety bridge spanning a small stream, his feet pounded dead leaves into moist earth. The wind picked up and brought the scent of rain—maybe hours away.
Footsteps echoed in the distance, and he shortened his stride to listen. Then he slowed to a stop, turning to view the trail. He smelled dark rum before his brother ran into view, his jeans ripped, and a scowl on his face.
Erik stopped and yanked branches from his shoulder-length blond hair. “What are you doing here?” he slurred.
“What areyou?” Seth asked quietly.
Erik stumbled against a tree and rubbed his gut. “I want to see where she died. Where she took her last breath.”
“You’re drunk.”
His brother snorted, bloodshot eyes blinking. “What’s new?”
Seth ran both hands over his face. “This isn’t smart.”
“What isn’t?” Erik wavered and regained his footing. “Me in the woods where Ruby was found? Or you in the woods where she died?”
“Either.”
“I loved her.”
“Bullshit.” The time for sympathy didn’t exist—and it was damn well time his brother grew up. They had enough problems right now and needed to get on the same page. “You fucked her, just like all the others.”
Erik lurched forward until they stood nose to nose—both tall, both broad. “You sound jealous, brother.”
“Disgusted, actually.” They shared height and their mama’s blue eyes, and that was about it. “This behavior is embarrassing the family as well as endangering everything we believe in. Knock it off.”
