“Oh, those were me,” Claire said almost absently.
“What?” Mia blurted. Her stomach lurched, and she pivoted to throw up.
“Gross,” Claire said.
This was unbelievable. No wonder Rodney hadn’t talked about the local victims or Rocko Blunt. “You killed Blunt?”
Claire snorted. “Yeah. He saw me dump the nurse’s body and actually showed up at the station, trying to blackmail me. I’m surprised you didn’t suspect a wolf shifter. It takes a lot of strength to shove silver through a throat.”
“How can you be so evil?” Mia said, studying the woman. “You have five children.”
“Yeah. I should have six.” Hatred and something else glowed in the woman’s eyes. Insanity? How had Mia missed it?
Mia tried to edge to the side of the tree. She couldn’t outrun a wolf shifter, so she’d have to fight. There must be a rock somewhere close. “You kidnapped and killed three women in our area. Why did you leave them where you did?”
“Eh, I was trying to point the finger at Brother Jeremiah,” Claire said, shrugging. “I figured once you were dead, oncehekilled you, he could go to jail or be killed, and that’d be the end of it. Nobody would ever know it was me.”
Mia still couldn’t believe it. “This is shocking.”
Claire stepped closer, menace in every line of her thin body. “It may be shocking, but now you have to die.”
“Seth will know it was you.” Fear created a fissure through Mia.
“Will he?” Claire asked. “Your body’s going to be found near good ol’ Brother Jeremiah’s home, and I’ll be found beaten up and nearly dead. I mean, I took a bullet for you the other day.”
Mia gasped. “That’s right. You told me Seth said it was fine for us to go to Seattle, so long as you covered my back.”
“I lied.”
Obviously. Mia tried to find a weapon to use. There was nothing close to her. She’d have to fight the wolf shifter hand-to-hand, and she’d have to protect her baby. Determination drove away the fear as she set her stance. “Rodney shot at us, and you took a bullet. That’s why we didn’t suspect you.”
Claire laughed, the sound hysterical. “Yeah, I know. I meant to take it just in the leg, but the idiot hit me in the shoulder. He was supposed to kill you, Mia. You weren’t supposed to kill him. All this would have been over.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Mia muttered.
“That’s okay. I’ll enjoy killing you. You deserve it.” A look of madness covered the woman’s face.
Terror filled Mia, along with sadness. “Claire, you obviously need help. Please, let me get you help.”
“No, bitch. You’re the one who needs help. Seth will be okay after you’re gone. I’ll make sure of it.”
Mia had to keep her talking. “What about their vehicles? The three victims from here? You took them from their cars?
“Yeah. Those vehicles went off a cliff.” Claire smiled. “Now you die.”
“I don’t think so,” Seth said, walking out from behind a tree. Mia jerked as Erik came around the other side. She hadn’t heard them approach.
Claire’s jaw dropped. “I didn’t smell you.” She took a step back, her shoulders visibly trembling.
Seth nodded. “We’ve been working on that skill our entire lives. I shouldn’t have let you get away with killing Alice, should I?”
Claire retreated another step. “You can’t kill me. This was an eye for an eye.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Seth said, moving for her.
“Wait,” Mia urged. “You can’t kill her.”
“What?” he snarled, turning to face her.
