“I won’t,” he vowed with all of his soul.

  When Mia’s cottage finally came into view, his heart froze and his lungs seized. He was unable to so much as utter a gasp. Twinned blazes of fire roared out her front windows, licking the rooftop. Where in the hell was the sheriff? Why weren’t there any emergency vehicles at the house? The pressure in his chest felt similar to a heart attack as he tore down the remainder of the road, slamming his breaks behind her Camaro in the driveway. Tendrils of smoke streamed beneath the front door. He sprinted around to the backside, finding the deck empty and the sliding doors to the house closed, but untouched by fire. The kitchen was filled with a haze of smoke.

  Mia’s lifeless body lay in the center of it all.

  A roar stuck in his throat as he leaped toward the sliding doors. The metal handle was hot and refused to budge. He snagged one of the iron patio chairs and launched it through the plate door, shielding his face as the glass exploded everywhere.

  Time ticked by at an agonizingly slow rate as he scooped her off the floor and headed back through the broken shards of glass. There wasn’t time to check for a pulse. The house was quickly going up in flames.

  As he cleared the back steps in one long stride, more windows exploded behind them. He raced a safe distance away, laying her down on the damp patch of sand along her shoreline. His heart galloped into his throat as he looked down on her lifeless body and prepared to administer CPR. If she was dead, he may as well be too. Before he could check for a pulse, her eyelids fluttered and she let out a series of deep, raspy coughs. Eyes the color of rich chocolate focused on his. “Ben? What happened?”

  Since Matt had left Shady Oaks to Gavin and Gwen in his outdated Will, it was decided that Mia and Gwen could stay in the former Hughes home until her house was repaired. The fire chief assured them the structure of her cottage remained intact, but most of the smoke-damaged interior and its contents would need to be replaced. Ben vowed to have the county’s incompetent sheriff removed from office for not responding to his request. Sheriff Perkins hadn’t even bothered to respond to the fire call, and had sent one of his deputies instead. The lazy son-of-a-bitch could’ve been responsible for Mia’s death if Ben hadn’t arrived in time to save her himself.

  Perched on the edge of a leather sectional in the updated great room, hair wet and shoulders slouched, Mia stared out the window at the dark lake. The FBI t-shirt he’d loaned her hung on her narrow shoulders, several sizes too big, and his sweatpants were rolled and fastened around her waist with a bungee cord Gwen had spotted in the house’s garage. As he poured her a cup of coffee in the adjacent kitchen, he decided she looked far too young. Too defeated.

  His stomach turned steely hard when he thought of how close he could’ve been to losing her. If he hadn’t sped to her house, hadn’t seen the message when he did, he might’ve been too late.

  He attempted to throw her a reassuring smile as he brought her the cup, and lowered at her side. “I figured you’d want something to settle your nerves.”

  With slow, heavy blinks, she took the mug from him and wrapped it in her slender fingers. “Did Gwen get settled in?”

  “She claimed your parents’ old bedroom. She liked the ‘sick’ flatscreen and the jet tub in the bathroom.”

  “I absolutely hate what Matt did to this place,” she muttered, eyeing the grand fireplace encased in cement. “My parents and Gigi must be rolling in their graves.”

  Ben agreed the space was cold and sterile in contrast to Sarah’s decorating tastes when they were kids, but it still held potential. The pitched roof in itself had been a brilliant addition to the once basic home. “You could easily fix it up to make it feel cozy again.”

  “I guess that will be up to Gwen to decide.” A small laugh fell from her lips when she gazed down on the steaming mug. “It blows my mind to think Shady Oaks now belongs solely to my sixteen-year-old. Passing my family’s legacy to them was probably the only decent thing Matt ever did.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about Gwen’s reign just yet. The Will included a clause stating there would be an executor appointed if his children were underage at the time of his death.”

  “Yeah—his scumbag father. Dr. Martin already convinced the court I wasn’t fit to run this place after Liz took me to the specialist in Massachusetts following Gavin’s death.” Tears slipped down her cheeks as she turned to him. “I understand why you keep running away from me, Ben. My life is utter chaos.”

  Agony deflated his chest like a metal claw. He despised himself for letting her believe he’d given up on her. For wasting all those years when they could’ve been together. “Both times I left…they had nothing to do with you. Not directly, anyway.” He took the mug from her and set it on the iron coffee table before gently sliding her into his lap. “I’ve wanted to explain myself to you, but the timing had to be right. I never wanted to hurt you.”

  “But you did.” She heaved in a stuttering cry. “You broke my heart. Twice.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry.” Tears welled in his eyes as he framed her face in his hands. “I’m so damn sorry, Mia.” He kissed her soundly then, unsure if it was because he wanted to comfort her or himself. She tasted like salty tears and the mint ice cream Liz had served to the two Martin women when they’d first arrived at the resort. She still faintly smelled of smoke, reminding him that no matter how many times he’d lost her before, he’d been dangerously close to losing her for good. He released her mouth to wipe her tears with the pads of his thumbs. “You can’t understand how much I hate myself for hurting you.” More than ever before, he wanted to be a better man. He wanted to be her knight in shining armor, and be able to promise that everything would finally be okay. “When I left with my father…the night after the boating accident…he was in a hurry to get out of town. He’d always been an evil son-of-a-bitch, roughing me up whenever he was angry, but that night, when I tried to tell him I wouldn’t leave, he clocked me a good one in the face.”

  “Oh, Ben,” she gasped, clutching one of his arms. “I always knew something wasn’t right with your dad. You should’ve told my parents. They would’ve done something.”

  “He wouldn’t have let them.” He stroked her cheek, pleased when she leaned into his touch. She wasn’t as upset as he’d expected her to be, even though he deserved her anger. “Anyway, he’d changed. My gut told me something much darker was at play. After we moved to Louisiana, he became extremely paranoid, thinking the government was coming to get him. He’d babble on about murderers and aliens…whatever was headlining the news. He taped the windows shut, wouldn’t let me leave the house after dark. Before long, I started to fear he’d done something to Bella.”

  “Oh my god,” she whispered, shaking her head over and over. “No. No.”

  He buried one hand in the thick of her hair, holding her broken expression. “That’s why I had to stay away from you. I couldn’t stand the thought of telling the girl I loved that my old man may have murdered her sister.”

  More tears slipped down each of her cheeks. “You really think he could’ve killed her?”

  “Not any more. But back then…I confronted him about it. He went ballistic, said the aliens had taken her, and asked who’d sent me. I’d never been so afraid of my old man. I ran away, finished high school early while squatting in an abandoned house, and joined the Marines. My old man was special ops in the Army, and had gone off the grid by the time I got out of the service. My mom was going through some shit of her own, and moved out to California to be closer to me. She’d been mostly absent from my life, so it was weird. Then one night she confessed she’d known all along there was something seriously wrong with my old man. She knew he’d been abusing me, knew he was crazy as hell. She said he came back from the war a different man from the one she’d married. He suffered from night terrors. She once woke in the middle of the night to find him holding a knife against her throat, thinking she was the enemy. That’s why she divorced him and turned a blind eye, ran off to start a different family. Only she couldn’t shake the guilt of leaving me with him, and turned to drugs. I was angry, told her I wouldn’t be in her life until she got clean. She wouldn’t listen. Wasn’t strong enough, I guess. Last time I talked to her, I blew her off.” His fists clenched. “I was so angry. She wanted to make me dinner. We never talked again, and she OD’d years later.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mia whispered.

  “When Liz told me about the benefit, I’d already planned to come back to Shetek because I’d heard about Patricia Foster, and suspected my old man had returned to kill again. I interviewed some of the locals, including hookers, because that had always been his thing. I figured if he was in the area, I’d hunt him down and turn him in. Then I ran into you at the benefit, and my whole plan went to shit. I decided it was a bad idea for us to get involved, considering what I thought I knew, so I tried to stay away. Then I ran into you here the next morning, and it was game over. I didn’t want to leave you again. Partly because I knew I had to protect you from my old man, or whatever monster might be out there, and partly because I’d decided I was going to marry you.”

  Her lips parted with a silent gasp. “You did?”

  Nodding with a distant smile, he feathered his fingers over her lips. He planned to propose to her once he nailed the bastard who’d tried to kill her. In the meantime, he intended to kiss her senseless and make sweet love to her until either she passed out from exhaustion, or the sun rose. “Until I saw that email that popped up on your phone while your mom was in surgery, and I realized my half-assed investigation wasn’t enough to protect you. I returned to California to finish my degree, and applied to the FBI. I had to get a better look at the facts before I acted on my beliefs that my father was a killer. When I heard you’d married Matt, I became a hundred percent dedicated to working my way up in the bureau. I used my connection with Shetek to get involved with Bella’s case along with those of Patricia and Terri. Then several years ago, I received word that my father died. He’d killed himself and left a note that was full of insane theories on how the government had been injecting him with alien blood while he was overseas. Turns out he wasn’t a murderer, he was just schizophrenic.”

  “Ben.” She gathered his hands in hers and kissed his knuckles. “I’m sorry for all he put you through. I can’t imagine what it was like, thinking your own dad had hurt your friend. But…do you still think he could’ve killed Bella and those girls?”

  “I considered that theory for a time. It would’ve made sense that whoever took Bella might’ve been someone other than Matt and Nicole’s murderer. Bella and those other women were never found. And Matt and Nicole’s bodies were burned. The added violence would indicate a more intimate murder—as if they’d each meant more to their killer.” He leaned back and dug into his pocket, producing the folded piece of paper he’d printed at the lodge while she’d been in the shower. “I came to your house as soon as I’d received this. Now I’m pretty confident my father couldn’t have murdered all these women. Neither could Darrin Tribeau. Whoever wrote this is claiming responsibility for all the missing women and Matt.”

  He passed her the sheet of paper, watching her beautiful eyes widen more with every word she read. With a trembling hand, she thrust the paper out between them. “What the hell is this?”

  “If I hadn’t gotten to you in time, it would’ve been your suicide note.”

  Her red-rimmed gaze narrowed. “I don’t understand.”

  “Whoever killed those women and Matt planned to kill you too—right after they framed you for everything they’d done.”

  She frantically scanned the note again. “This is just…hold on. Crass little bitch. I’ve heard that term used before.” Her back stiffened and fear crippled her expression as she met his gaze. “Oh, god. Ben. I think I know who wrote this.”

  Mia sat in the passenger’s seat of Ben’s rental, fingering the contents of her purse with increased anxiety as Ben and his partner approached the front door of the lake’s second biggest mansion. Ben had been furious when she’d refused to stay behind with Liz and Gwen, but she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to watch the arrest play out in real time.

  Her mind raced as she tried to connect all the dots, tried to recall all the times she should’ve known something was off kilter. She was angry she hadn’t seen the truth much sooner. It was frightening to know there’d been a murderer in her life for so many years, and she’d never suspected a thing. And the son-of-a-bitch had tried to blame her for his evil deeds, tried to kill her.

  She’d been relieved that Gwen and Liz were at the store when her cottage had been set on fire, relieved when Gwen had sobbed inside her arms as they watched the firefighters extinguish the flames. It was the first time since the miscarriage in which Mia had seen her daughter show any extreme emotion. Although they’d both lost many of their personal possessions in the fire, including Mia’s beloved paintings of Italy and her children, Gavin’s memorabilia that had been thoughtfully packed away by Liz a few weeks after his funeral remained untouched on a shelf in the garage.

  A breathless gasp tumbled from Mia’s lips when something sharp pressed to her neck. She opened her mouth, prepared to yell. Before she could make a noise, a hand wrapped over her mouth.

  A deep, scratchy voice in the backseat behind her ordered, “Scream, and your boyfriend dies.”

  It was far too similar to the night of Bella’s abduction.

  She knew that voice.

  And all at once, she remembered.

  “Scream and you’re next.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Ben checked his smart watch as Eva continued to pound on the front door. The lights were on, but when he’d walked around the perimeter, he hadn’t seen any movement inside. Where the hell was Sheriff Perkins? When he hadn’t answered his phone, Ben had left him a message, instructing him to meet them there. He glanced back to where his SUV sat beside Eva’s rental sedan in the darkness, still angry that Mia had insisted on coming along.

  “Fuck this, I’m going inside,” Ben told his partner.

  “Without a warrant?” Eva’s dark brows rose. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  “This needs to be over. I’m done letting this asshole hurt Mia.”

  As he reared back, ready to kick the door in, she clamped a hand over his wrist. “Don’t let your feelings for her muck this up, Ben. If you want to bring this man down, we need a clean search and arrest.”

  He turned away from her, jamming his fingers through his hair and sucking in deep breaths of the lake’s sultry air. She was right. He needed to get a grip and control his anger. Most importantly, he needed to be closer to Mia, to personally ensure she was safe until the bastard was behind bars where he belonged. “I’m going to take Mia back to Shady Oaks, and get her settled in for the night.” He moved away from the house, adding, “I’ll meet you back at the motel. Maybe we can come up with a solid reason to request a warrant.”

  “Be careful!” Eva called after him.

  When he neared the SUV, his senses prickled with fear. Why couldn’t he see Mia in the passenger seat? He sprinted the remaining distance and flung the passenger door open, frantically searching the interior.

  She was gone.

  Details of a tan uniform and dark boots came into Mia’s groggy focus, followed by Sheriff Perkins’s dopy face. Her muffled cries of relief heated the gag inside her mouth. She’d woken to a dark room that smelled like stale lake water. She was all alone, hands and legs bound together. But the nightmare was over. She was being rescued.

  “You’ve become too goddamn reckless!” the sheriff roared, eyes focused on something above her. “That FBI agent is onto you—told me to come meet ‘im so we could haul you in for questionin’! Who knows how many other people have realized you’re behind all of this? How do you know this place is safe? I can’t protect you any longer if you’re going to continue to act like a fool!”

  Mia’s stomach upheaved. No. No. No. The sheriff was dirty. She struggled against the restraints, desperate to escape.

  “Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy helping me take care of those women,” her former father-in-law’s voice grumbled from somewhere in the dark.

  Eyes wide and glazed, she drew in a sputtering breath. When Matt’s father had pressed a knife to her throat inside Ben’s SUV, the part of her brain that protected her the night of Bella’s disappearance finally released her memories.

  He’d been there.

  She’d remembered the deep roll of his voice.

  She’d seen her sister’s lifeless body, rope entangled around her neck. Bursting into frantic tears, she’d bent down to tend to Bella, only to discover her head had pierced a boulder. There had been so much blood.

  Then Matt’s father had slapped his hand over her mouth, and warned her to stay quiet. Her mind had slipped into a cold, dark place. A safe place, where none of what she’d witnessed was real.

  Dr. Martin, grandfather to her children, had killed Bella. And he was standing behind her.

  The sheriff whipped his head back and forth. “Except you fucked up royally when you used the accelerant on Nicole and your boy. You’re lucky I came up with the idea of framing this one.” Upper lip curled, the sheriff eyed her like she was a painting on display. “She’s a knockout, but she doesn’t fit your usual type.”

  “This isn’t about that. She was supposed to die in that fire. I can’t let the job go unfinished.”

  “Then what’re you waitin’ for?” The sheriff withdrew the pistol from his hip.

  Mia screamed into her gag, trying to use her bound feet to scoot away. Her heart roared in protest when she slammed into a cold wall of concrete. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She wasn’t ready to die. Gwen needed her. Ben too. They’d both been through too much grief, too much loss.