“I don’t even need a ruse to get in this time,” Naomi remarked as Sawyer held the front door of his apartment building open for her. “How things have changed.”

“I’m not big on visitors,” Sawyer shrugged in response, following her inside and into an elevator.

“I don’t blame you or anything,” she quickly said. “It was a crazy story I showed up with, I know that.”

“Not so crazy now,” he commented, pressing the button for the ninth floor.

The elevator dinged as it started its ascent, and Sawyer was suddenly very aware of being in a small metal box with Naomi. Her scent was tantalizing, and he couldn’t help but sneak glances at her profile as he breathed it in.

“I don’t know if I properly thanked you for saving my life, but if I haven’t – thank you,” she said, looking up at him. “And thank you for everything you’re doing now. I’m sure most people would go running the opposite direction in your position,” she added, an odd somberness creeping into her tone.

“Running away from things rarely works,” Sawyer blurted out in response, in a rare moment of candor.

Naomi shot him a curious look, but the elevator doors slid open at that moment, saving him from having to explain exactly what he meant. They walked to his door at the end of the hall, and he showed her inside.

Once there, he quickly got rid of any bottles cluttered near the couch, and gestured for her to sit. She did, her expression admirably neutral. Would she still want his help once she found out how deep into the booze hole he had fallen?

“So,” he started, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch. “Demons are real, we both know it, and they’re evil shitbags. Now we’ve gotten the obvious out of the way.”

Naomi arched a brow at him, those piercing green eyes of hers sparkling with intelligence.

“I guess those are the major takeaways,” she agreed. “And you said you want to help me. How will that work? Do I hire you in an official demon-investigating capacity, or…?”

“You don’t need to hire me,” Sawyer replied. “And I think it would be best if you found some family to stay with too, like Melanie.”

“Excuse me?” she raised her brows at him. “You want to sideline me?”

“No offense, but you’re in way over your head with this,” Sawyer replied, studying her as she sat on his couch.

She no longer looked tired as her features tightened and a fire started to blaze in her eyes. Clearly he had struck a nerve in assuming she wanted to be out of harm’s way.

“You didn’t even know demons existed until I came to you,” she said. “And now I’m just supposed to what, run and hide and let the big strong man handle things for me?” she asked.

“You showed up to hire me,” he countered. “That’s how hiring people works – you have someone do things for you so you don’t have to get your hands dirty.”

“But you just said you won’t even take my money, so I wouldn’t be your client anyway,” she argued.

Sawyer threw his hands up in frustration. How had their conversation suddenly turned into an argument? His wolf whined beneath his skin, awakened by a deep protective instinct swelling in his chest.

“So what do you actually want?” he asked. “Because I’m telling you right now, I will not put a civilian in danger.”

“And what are you, then? I didn’t know retired private investigators didn’t qualify as civilians,” she shot back.

They both fell silent at that, with Naomi looking more than a little embarrassed. He had to admit she was technically right, but that didn’t change his view on things.

“I’m sorry,” Naomi shook her head. “A moment ago I was thanking you for saving my life and now I’m just being totally out of line. But I need you to know – stopping Verin is very important to me. And there is no way I am just going to hide myself away,” she stated, squaring her shoulders.

Sighing to himself, Sawyer mulled that over. It was obvious being involved was something Naomi was not going to budge on. And if he pressed any more on her staying out of it going forward, she might just go off on her own and do something stupid.

It would be better if I could have her somewhere where I can keep an eye on her…

“I get it,” he finally said. “So we work together on this.”

Looking slightly surprised at him acquiescing, she nodded.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” she replied.

All Sawyer had really agreed to was her not leaving town. He still had no intention of letting Naomi near any dangerous situations. But it was better not to argue about what their partnership really entailed.

Not when Sawyer had a lot of questions he needed her to answer.

Even after his chat with Tate, there were still a lot of gaps he needed to fill when it came to this case specifically. There were things that didn’t add up, and he wouldn’t be satisfied until he put the puzzle together.

“Let’s start from the beginning,” he said. “I need any information you can give me, even if you don’t think it matters.”

Nodding, Naomi pulled one knee up onto the couch and leaned forward, listening. It was strange, having someone in his private space again. Even Hill had never been to his place, and that man was arguably the closest thing to a friend Sawyer had in this town.

But Naomi didn’t feel out of place here in his apartment. It was as if she had been over a thousand times before.

“So, how do you know Melanie?” he asked, watching Naomi’s reactions closely.

“We’re coworkers at the university,” she replied. “I used to teach history, before I focused on publishing. Her expertise is Shakespearean literature.”

“And her husband was an archeologist,” Sawyer added. “They were attacked last night and you were called as an emergency contact of Melanie’s.”

Things seemed to be lining up as far as that went.

“Yes,” she replied. “Detective Hill called me, and I drove over. I only spoke to Melanie for a minute before she was taken to the hospital, but it was clear to me it wasn’t some burglary gone wrong that got David killed.”

“And how was that clear to you?” Sawyer asked.

This was the part Sawyer had been waiting to get to. How could Naomi have been so sure that what happened to Melanie’s husband was no ordinary murder?

“Well…” Naomi hesitated. “She told me a monster killed David. And I heard some officers talking about how…” she stopped for a moment, gaze wandering, before she turned back to him. “His skull had been crushed. And then I knew.”

“People bash other people’s skulls in all the time,” Sawyer countered. “Or are you saying only demons do that?”

Naomi shook her head, her hands resting in her lap now clenching into fists.

“He wasn’t hit on the head,” she said. “His skull was squeezed until it broke.”

Now that really got Sawyer’s attention.

“The officers said that?” he asked, but Naomi evaded the question.

“Why do I get the feeling I’m being interrogated?” she countered.

“Because you are,” he answered plainly. “Because your story doesn’t add up and I want to know why.”

“You’re more like a cop than I thought,” she scoffed, and it was clearly not a compliment.

“That makes sense, because I used to be one,” he replied, and she pursed her lips.

It wasn’t something he liked to bring up, but as he was asking her to be honest with him, it was only fair he do the same. From the look she was giving him, he got the feeling there was something in her past that didn’t exactly endear her to law enforcement.

“So, are you going to be straight with me? Because I’ve been straight with you,” he said, when the silence dragged on. “I can’t help you if I’m working blind. I need to know everything you know. How were you so sure Melanie wasn’t just traumatized when she told you a monster attacked David?”

Taking in a deep breath, Naomi kept her eyes squarely on him, her jaw locked and her posture ramrod straight, even as she fidgeted with the long sleeves of her shirt.

“Because I’ve seen the kind of monster that killed David before,” she said, making Sawyer lean back in his seat. “The night my family was murdered.”