With Mr. Tall, Dark, Handsome and Wolfy by her side, Naomi felt her heartbeat slowly return to normal. But everything else still remained markedly not normal. So, she had just been visited by the same demon that killed her parents. She’d known it the moment his mask of a face came off.

Now that’s enough to knock a girl on her ass.

The face of the monster she had seen that night had been burned into her memory. And there was no doubt in her mind – it was Verin who she had witnessed murdering her father.

And going by what he had said while wearing his very convincing Hill-mask, Verin also remembered her. Just the thought of that sent a shiver down her spine. It had seemed like the demon had been almost glad to see her again.

That can’t be good.

Her personal issues and fears aside, though, there were a lot of practical things to take care of. And the first step was to make sure Melanie got somewhere safe. Obviously, Naomi’s apartment no longer qualified.

At least I have him on my side now, she thought, looking up at Sawyer.

Naomi didn’t even want to think about what could have happened if he hadn’t suddenly turned into a believer. It was pretty difficult to wrap her head around the fact that it turned out Sawyer had a friend with first-hand demon experience.

It seemed the world kept getting smaller and smaller.

“Okay, so…” Naomi gathered her thoughts, running a hand through her hair. “We have to get Melanie out of here. The further away the better. But can she even leave? Is she still a suspect in David’s murder?”

Sawyer rubbed that chiseled jaw of his, eyes narrowing.

“I’ll make a call to the real Hill and find out,” he said. “You find out if she has family she can stay with,” he added, shoving a hand into his pocket and walking to the hallway, away from the living room.

Naomi sat back down next to Melanie, placing an arm around her shoulders.

“Mel,” she said, making the woman look up.

Wiping away her tears, Melanie squared her shoulders.

“It’s not safe for you here,” Naomi explained. “There’s no way to know if Verin will come back or not, and clearly he knows where both of us live. Do you have somewhere to go, someone else to stay with?”

“David’s parents are flying in today,” Melanie replied. “They already asked me to come with them when they leave. They want to have the funeral in New Mexico, so David can be put to rest near his home.”

“Is that something you would want to do, to stay with them?” Naomi asked.

“I think so,” Melanie nodded. “They understand what I’m going through. And here, everything reminds me of…” she trailed off, wiping her face again.

“David,” Naomi nodded, knowing all too well what Melanie had to be feeling. “That is totally understandable.”

“But that creature,” Melanie started, looking at her with watery eyes. “I don’t think any place is safe from him.”

Footsteps made them both look up. Sawyer had reappeared from the hallway, holding his cell phone in his hand.

“I talked to Hill,” he said, looking at Melanie. “It’s pretty much confirmed you are no longer a suspect. The blood spatter on your clothes suggests you were not directly involved, and there’s no way you could have inflicted those injuries on David without some sort of tool or blunt object, and nothing like that was found in or around the house.”

“So she can go to New Mexico?” Naomi immediately asked.

“As long as she doesn’t leave the country, we’re good,” Sawyer nodded.

“Mel, I know you’re scared, but I think this is what’s best for now,” Naomi said. “And if what you told Verin about that statue is true, he has no reason to come after you.”

“It was the truth,” Melanie quickly nodded. “Ladley sent over the statue, and David thought some additional testing was necessary.”

“About that,” Sawyer interjected, rubbing a hand down the back of his neck. “Did your husband make any conclusions about the statue? If this demon is so interested in it, there has to be something special about it. And if we can figure out what, maybe we can figure out what Verin’s next move is.”

“David was the archeologist, not me,” Melanie shrugged. “All he told me was that it was very old. Like, Shang Dynasty old. He thought it might have been used for some sort of ceremony or ritual, but that’s all I know.”

“And it’s at some lab?” Sawyer asked.

“Yes,” Melanie replied, frowning. “David must have forgotten... We were both so scared.”

“So Verin doesn’t have it yet,” Sawyer commented, locking eyes with Naomi.

“But you can’t actually be thinking of getting in that thing’s way,” Melanie protested, looking from Sawyer to Naomi like the two of them had to be insane.

“No, don’t worry, we just want to know what he could be up to, or if we should warn the university security. We’ll be safe, and we won’t get in Verin’s way,” she nodded, throwing a look Sawyer’s way that was meant to convey ‘let’s not talk about this in front of Melanie anymore’.

Sawyer must have gotten the message, as he backed off.

“Right. We just want to understand the situation,” he said.

“When are David’s parents arriving?” Naomi asked, changing the subject.

“Umm,” Melanie replied, looking around until her gaze landed on a clock above Naomi’s ruined bookcase. “Shit, less than an hour,” she said.

“It’s okay, I’ll get you to the airport. But we might need to get some of your stuff from the house first. Do you think you’ll be up to that? I can go inside and pack something up for you, if you want.”

“Yes,” Melanie nodded. “That would be great. Thank you. And you, whoever you are,” she turned her eyes to Sawyer.

“Sawyer,” he replied, giving her a quick nod.

“Thank you.”

“All right then, let’s get going,” Naomi said, getting up from the couch.

“And I’m coming with you,” Sawyer interjected.

Naomi just shrugged. She wasn’t about to object, not with Verin on the loose.

Let’s just hope we don’t run into him again.

* * *

An hour later, Naomi was sitting in her car parked across from the airport, watching Melanie ride away in the car David’s parents had rented. Naomi knew having Melanie away from Tempe and with David’s family was for the best, but a part of her was still heartbroken she couldn’t be there for her friend when Melanie really needed her.

Maybe going after Verin is how I can help her, she told herself, glancing in the rearview mirror.

Sawyer was parked right behind her in his SUV, having followed her and Melanie from Melanie’s house to the airport, never more than a car behind them. Just being able to see him tailing them had made Naomi feel braver.

But she wasn’t sure what to make of it all yet. She hadn’t had an opportunity to really discuss what his help entailed, or what her part in it all would be. Letting out a long breath, Naomi took a moment to let it all sink in.

Finally, she had confirmation she wasn’t crazy. Her parents had been murdered by something supernatural. But having the same creature show up, murder her friend’s husband and terrorize Melanie was more than a steep price to pay for that knowledge.

When Naomi glanced at the rearview mirror again, she was surprised to see that Sawyer was no longer behind the wheel. She almost jumped when she caught him in her peripheral, standing beside her window.

She rolled it down, something inside her clenching as he leaned forward, his eyes glued to her face.

“We should probably talk, and your place isn’t the best option. Meet me back at my apartment?” he asked.

“Okay,” Naomi nodded.

Sawyer didn’t say anything else, just went back to his car, climbed in, and started the engine.

Guess he’s saving all his words for later.