“You don’t love her.”
“She doesn’t love me either,” Erik said. “We’re friends. We’ll make a good partnership, and someday, I’ll be the Alpha of their pack since Emily doesn’t want the job. At all. It’s the best solution for everybody involved, especially you and our current pack.”
Seth didn’t like it. “At least we have time to figure out if it’s the right path.”
“We have a lot of time,” Erik agreed. “Em’s dad could have hundreds of years left in him yet, so we’ll just see what happens.”
Seth genuinely liked Emily, and he loved his brother. He wanted them both to be happy. He’d have to figure something out. He turned and looked as the sun came up over the mountain, glittering pink and gold across the peaceful lake. It was hard to imagine that somebody had dared to come and shoot at him and his brother in his territory. “We have to figure out who that was last night,” he said.
“I’m on it.” Erik ran a hand through his hair. “I have scouts out, and we’re reaching out to any of our sources in the other packs. It may not be anybody in our sweet little coalition of Stope Packs, you know. It could be outsiders.”
“I’m aware,” Seth agreed. “Many packs outside ours have been waiting to make a move now that Dad’s gone.” It was a little insulting that they wanted to make a move against him. “I’m surprised they shot at me so blatantly, though.”
“They could have been shooting at Mia.”
Anger spiraled through Seth until his ears heated. He’d demolish any threats to his mate. “We need to figure out who and why.”
“I will,” Erik said. “I promise.”
A car engine sounded down the way, and Seth paused in fixing a bullet hole near the door. “We’re getting company.” He padded to the other side of the deck and watched as a green SUV rambled over the potholes. “Wonderful,” he muttered. Without looking back, he walked down the stairs and around to the front of the house just as Kurt Colbey pulled to a stop. The FBI agent stepped out of the car and reached in for a container holding two lattes.
“It’s a little early for a visit, don’t you think?” Seth stuck his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans.
Colbey flicked his gaze to Seth’s bare chest. “If I recall, Mia does some of her best work early in the morning. I brought the case files for her.”
“That’s all right,” Seth said as Erik came up on his side. “I’ll make sure Mia is to work on time today. I mean before she heads to Seattle for her new job.”
The front door opened behind him, and he caught his mate’s vanilla and lilac scent before she walked up. “Kurt, what are you doing here so early?” she asked.
The agent smiled, his teeth a perfect row of white pearls. Were those caps or what? Seth could take care of them with one good punch. Instead, he remained still with Erik doing the same.
Colbey stood straighter. “I brought your favorite latte, and I thought we could go over the files to get you caught up before Lionel Strobe arrives.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing Lionel again.” She tilted her head. “How did you find out where I live?”
“It’s a small town, Mia,” he muttered.
That was true, and Seth had plans to make it even smaller. He turned toward her. “I will take you in about an hour. We have a little more work to do on the back deck.”
“Why don’t you go do that?” Colbey said.
Mia looked from one to the other. “All right, boys, enough. I want to shower, and then I’ll come into the office and meet with you there, Kurt.”
The agent looked down at the lattes and then shrugged. “All right, fair enough. But I should let you know that I’ve already talked to the Seattle PD and let them know that you’ve retained your job with the FBI, which has transferred you to my unit here in Lost Lake, at least for the pendency of these two cases. The FBI has happily brought you back into the fold.”
Mia blinked. “Excuse me?”
“That’s right, Mia,” he said, his tone way too intimate. “You don’t have to be a shrink in Seattle. You’re now a full agent again, and I already gave you your badge back yesterday. Now it’s official, and all the paperwork has been submitted, dotted, and signed. It’s what you wanted.”
Mia’s eyes brightened even more. “You now believe that Delaney had a partner?”
“No,” Colbey asserted. “But I do think somebody is copying his kills, and that person has tracked you here. The woman in the dumpster was a message to you, I think. It’s creepy, but we have to consider the possibility.”
Seth slightly jerked his head toward Erik. Being a deputy wouldn’t cut it, but he had another plan. “Meet the new sheriff of the county. You’ll keep him informed of any developments in the case.” He didn’t phrase it as a question.
Colbey lifted one eyebrow. “We’ll see about that—after I interview both of you about Pete’s death. The FBI has taken that on as an active case, and from the witnesses we’ve already managed to speak with, we have a pretty good suspect.”
“Who?” Mia asked.
