Sawyer’s wolf was not happy as he stared down shiny new metal doors, at least several inches thick. Part of him had known something like this might happen, and that he could fail in getting that statue. But now that he was actually faced with that possibility, it was hard to not let his frustration take over.

“What do we do? Do we try and get a keycard? Maybe someone has left theirs in their office…” Naomi trailed off.

“We can’t just start breaking into one office after another,” he replied. “That’s a surefire way to get ourselves caught.”

Glancing over at Naomi, it was easy to see she was just as disappointed as he was, if not more. This was personal to her, in a way he could never understand.

“Hey,” he said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure something out.”

She nodded at him, her heart still beating fast from all the excitement. They stood there for a moment, with Sawyer having a hard time letting go of her. It was as if the casual touch had connected them somehow, and even his wolf was calming down, purring deep in his chest.

But that purr turned into a growl a split second later when a muted voice reached his ears. Seeing him tense up, Naomi looked around, her head whipping from side to side. She couldn’t hear it yet.

“What?” she asked, eyes widening. “Is it him? Verin?” she whispered.

“No,” he replied, grabbing her hand instead of her shoulder, and pulling her back up the stairs. “Someone is coming.”

As quickly and as quietly as he could, Sawyer made a dash for the first floor hallway, with Naomi trailing behind. He kept her hand in his, her skin warm and soft, not letting go until they were tucked away behind a wall in the first floor hallway.

The voice he had heard grew louder, accompanied by a thudding of steps, as Naomi caught her breath beside him. Pressed against his side, he could hear her blood pumping. That combined with her heavy breathing filled his mind with all kinds of scenarios, none of them appropriate for the situation they were in.

He glanced over at her, her cheeks flushed, a bead of sweat on her forehead, and suddenly all he could think about was what it would feel like to kiss her. Naomi’s eyes widened, and for a foolish moment, he actually thought that maybe she was thinking the same thing.

But no. She was just finally hearing what he had heard.

“That sounds like… Roy,” she mouthed, peering toward the edge of the wall.

Sawyer cursed under his breath, inaudible. She was right. The voice did sound like Roy. Just when Sawyer had hoped he would never have to see that weasel again…

It seemed the man was speaking on his phone, with long pauses and no one else’s voice mixed into the conversation. Sawyer nodded at Naomi, confirming she was right. But that also meant they were pretty much screwed.

If Roy was there, it was probably to go work on the statue. And that put another wrench in their already failing plan to steal the thing. As tempting as knocking Roy out from behind and running off with the statue sounded, he knew Naomi was unlikely to go along with hurting anyone.

Either way, he didn’t want to risk Roy recognizing him, and connecting the whole thing back to Naomi.

Just as he was about to gesture to Naomi that they better get out of there, she caught him off guard, dashing past him and all but skidding around the corner. Sawyer was just a split second too late in grabbing her, his fingers clenching around air as he attempted to pull her back.

Fuck!

Hadn’t she promised to stay out of danger? As a former cop, and a PI, he should have known better than to take her on her word… But that was exactly what he had done. His wolf side had taken such an immediate liking to Naomi, it must have clouded the judgment of his more cynical side.

Or maybe I’ve just gotten rusty at this whole thing…

Every fiber in Sawyer’s body wanted to follow her, but he knew he couldn’t. Roy would probably not think too much of Naomi showing up at the university, but neighbor Tom trailing behind her might raise eyebrows, and ruin the impression she came into the building alone.

So, he gritted his teeth, keeping his senses sharp as he listened to her footsteps as she caught up to Roy.

“Hey,” she said, slightly breathless.

“Naomi?” Roy asked. “I’ll call you back later,” he added, ending whatever phone call he had been on. “What are you doing here?”

“Well…” she hesitated for only a moment. “I forgot my memory stick in my office, and I have this new article I wanted to work on. But I’m actually really glad I ran into you.”

“Uhh,” Roy stuttered. “And Mr. Whiskers?”

“Oh, she’s doing a lot better,” Naomi replied.

There was a second of silence, where Roy must have wondered why Naomi would be wandering around the halls in the archaeology department, but Naomi quickly filled the quiet.

“I was kind of hoping I would run into you,” she said, and Sawyer could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m sorry about ditching you at the coffee shop like that. I had a great time chatting with you.”

It seemed she was getting better at lying by the second. Sawyer couldn’t see her body language, but just the tone of her voice was more convincing than it had been before. Then again, high-pressure situations tended to bring out hidden talents in people.

“You did?” Roy asked, sounding pleased.

“Of course,” Naomi replied with a small laugh. “So, you decided to come in and do some work after all?”

“I would have preferred dinner with a beautiful woman, but examining priceless artifacts will do in a pinch,” the man said.

Fists clenched at his sides, Sawyer had to consider if he was imagining the smugness in Roy’s voice because of how the guy was hitting on Naomi, or if Roy really was as slimy as he suspected.

Either way, listening to the two of them flirt had not been how he thought this evening would turn out. He had to grit his teeth and take a deep breath to quiet the growl inside him. Not being able to see her and Roy interact only made things more difficult.

Was she touching his arm as she laughed at his cheesy compliment? Was he letting his eyes wander over those delicious curves of hers? Sawyer had never considered himself an especially jealous man, but it seemed Naomi was opening up all sorts of sides to him he hadn’t expected to discover.

“You must be excited to find out the results of the tests,” Naomi said.

“Sure,” Roy replied, but he didn’t sound all that convincing. “It was more David’s idea, though. But I promised the dean I would finish what he started, so here I am.”

“Is that who you were on the phone with?” Naomi asked.

“Yeah. So unfortunately, I’m going to have to go and look over those results before I can get out of here. Are you still up for dinner? It will be a little wait, though.”

“That’s all right, maybe I can hang around while you work, and then we can go eat?” she replied.

“Sure,” Roy replied, the eagerness in his voice only adding to Sawyer’s annoyance. “Maybe I can even give you a little peek at the statue.”

“Ooh,” Naomi giggled. “Exciting.”

“All right, follow me then,” Roy said, accompanied by the sound of two pairs of footsteps.

Sawyer leaned forward, glancing at the hallway from behind his wall. Both Roy and Naomi had their backs to him as they walked over to the first door to the basement. Only Naomi was gesturing with her hand pressed behind her back, wiggling her fingers as if that was supposed to mean something.

If you’re trying to say I should follow you, I’m already on the same page, he thought. Leaving you alone with Roy in some basement? Yeah, that’s not going to happen.

Slinking out from behind the wall, Sawyer kept his steps as soft as possible as he slowly trailed behind Roy and Naomi, watching them disappear behind the first set of doors.

“I’ve never even been to the basement before,” Naomi was saying. “Now that’s some high-tech stuff,” she remarked a moment later.

“David lobbied to have it installed,” Roy replied. “You can only get in with a keycard.”

Waiting quietly at the first set of doors, Sawyer listened to Roy slide his card through the slot in the keypad. Then there was a small beep, followed by the sound of doors whooshing open.

Peeking through the slit in the double doors he was hiding behind, Sawyer saw Naomi fall behind Roy, letting the man go inside first. When it was her turn, she pushed the door as open as it went, reaching back to keep it that way as she entered.

Sawyer waited for as long as he could, only passing through the first set of doors when the second door was about to close. At the last moment, he slid his fingers between the door and its frame, making as little noise as possible in the process.

He had no idea what the floorplan was like beyond the door. Was it just a big open space where he would be visible as soon as he entered? Or was there something there to hide behind?

But, he knew he had to act either way. Getting ahold of that statue before Verin did was important, he just knew it deep in his gut.

All right, here goes, he thought, gently pulling the door open.