There’d never be a body. Mia held out her hands to the wondrous heat. “We don’t even know if this latest body is connected to either Delaney or the recent kills back east.” It could be completely unrelated.
“I know.” Seth sped through the storm.
She returned to the thought of Jeremiah having known Seth in high school. “What’s your plan for the schools? It sounds like human and shifter kids coexisted just fine.”
“My plan is to separate the schools and have one just for Lost Lake once we buy out all the humans. I want to go to the other packs, have them do the same, and then we can compete in sports against each other.”
Wow. He’d thought this out quite a bit. “That might be a way to bring the packs closer together with some good-natured rivalries.”
“Exactly.”
She sometimes forgot how smart he was behind that deadly façade. She had to figure out who’d discarded the poor woman in the dumpster at Lost Asylum before Seth did and simply killed the murderer.
If this case was like the other murders, then the FBI could take it over. Unfortunately, she didn’t have many friends left with the agency. The last thing she wanted to do right now was call her ex-boyfriend with Seth in the vehicle. This was a situation she’d never thought to find herself in.
Even though the day was dismal, amusement bubbled up in her. What would Kurt think if he found out that wolf shifters existed? An interesting thought, to be sure. “Thank you for dropping me by the station.” There had been two deputies who worked for Pete—both human. Maybe they could get more information from the state police.
“Sure,” Seth said. “But I’m not kidding. I don’t want you involved in this.”
That was unfortunate because she was definitely going to pursue the matter if it was related to her earlier cases. “I have to get this guy.” No matter what it took.
“Baby, I’m the killer in the family. How about you just stay safe?” Seth drawled in what she’d privately termed his full-on Alpha mode. “I promise I’ll find the murderer and take out any threats to you.”
“The law matters, Volk,” she muttered.
He didn’t answer, which was an answer of its own. They rode the rest of the way in silence, each lost in their thoughts until they finally pulled up to the brick building that served as the sheriff’s station. Nobody had been elected to replace Pete. While Seth had mentioned that perhaps Mia should be interested in the job, she had bigger things to worry about right now. She jumped out of the truck.
“Wait a minute.” Seth cast a look toward several vehicles in the lot. “I don’t recognize these.”
“Me, either,” Mia said, ducking her head against the punishing rain and hurrying toward the door. Had the news outlets gotten hold of this already?
She shoved open the door with Seth on her heels and then stopped short. “Kurt,” she breathed, stepping back. “What are you doing here?”
Special Agent Kurt Colbey smiled, all charm and straight teeth. “Hi, Mia. We were headed this way to investigate Pete’s death. He was my mentor, too.”
Mia’s head reeled. “Pete was killed in a hunting accident.”
“Maybe,” Kurt said, his blond hair ruffled and his brown eyes tired. “On the way, I heard about the body found in a dumpster. I think it’s the same guy I’ve been tracking, so the FBI is taking over the case for now.” His grin widened. “How would you like your old job back?”
Behind her, enough tension rolled off Seth that her entire backside warmed, and her clothes finally dried.
Chapter4
Kurt Colbey would look fantastic with his entrails draped around his neck.
Seth studied Kurt over Mia’s head, instantly gauging how quickly the man could become a threat to her and how fast Seth could get between them if necessary. It wouldn’t take long. But by the look in Kurt’s eyes, the last thing he wanted was to hurt Mia.
Seth stepped closer to her, and she jolted, probably not with enough movement that anybody else noticed, but Seth sure as hell had. He took the hit to the gut and forced his mind to take over. Gently, he reached out and wrapped his hand around her nape. She jerked again, and he felt it to his soul.
“Excuse us.” He twisted his hand slightly and prodded her toward the nearest office.
“Wait a minute,” Kurt said.
“No.” Seth ushered Mia inside and shut the door. He released her, the blood pounding between his ears so fast he could hear it.
She instantly turned to face him, her still-wet tennis shoes squeaking on the old, wooden floor. Pink crept up from her neck. “What are you doing?”
He leaned back against the door and studied her. Her pupils were wide, her shoulders back, and her lips were still pale from standing in the rain earlier. He had to fight his baser instincts to keep from just taking her home and wrapping her in a warm blanket, and he wasn’t certain how long he could do so. At some point, he’d just take over. Period. “I’m making sure you’re okay,” he said. “What’s going on?”
