Looking around the large room filled with lights, shelves and steel doors leading to who knew where, all Naomi could think about was…

Did Sawyer make it inside?

There were different work stations set up, computers and laptops scattered around, along with latex gloves, tiny brushes, stacks of papers and tools she could only guess the function of. Large shelves lined the door she had tried to hold open for Sawyer, so it was possible he had gotten inside and was hiding between them.

Naomi wanted to glance back, to try and make out the shape of him in the shadows, but didn’t want to draw attention to Sawyer if he did happen to be there. Her top priority would be to distract Roy, and to make sure the man didn’t get suspicious.

Other than that, she didn’t really have a plan.

She already knew she was going to get an earful from Sawyer after all this was over, about running off on her own. It was a split-second decision, that much she had to admit. All those old guilty, ashamed feelings had flooded back, and suddenly, she hadn’t been able to just stand there in the hallway and hide.

I’m not a coward, she told herself, even as her stomach churned and her palms got clammier and clammier.

“So, what do you think?” Roy asked, waving a hand around the whole room. “We’ve gotten some upgrades recently, thanks to having David here. A famous name like his in the archaeology community tends to inspire generosity.”

Naomi conjured up a smile. Roy was still as nonchalant about David’s death as before, not that she had expected anything different. But it wasn’t as if she could say anything. At that moment, everything hinged on Roy thinking she actually enjoyed his company.

“Very cool,” she nodded, walking around and glancing at the items on the shelves.

Most of the things there looked like shards of old pottery, with pieces of bone mixed in. Among the more intact items were some bowls and different kinds of vases. The surfaces were rough and worn, and for a moment, she felt the urge to reach out and touch, to feel the history of it all beneath her fingertips.

But she knew better.

“Feel free to look around. I’ll go check on the statue, make sure it wasn’t damaged in transit,” Roy replied.

Naomi watched him walk over to one of the steel doors, and open up what looked like a temperature-controlled room, with all sorts of controls and buttons on one side, and the temperature of the space featured prominently on a small screen.

The box she and Sawyer had seen being delivered earlier sat on one of the shelves, no more than two feet in height. Now that was good for her and Sawyer, since they were planning to steal the thing. Lugging a five-foot hunk of rock out of here without being noticed would have been a problem.

Naomi still walked around, pretending to be interested in whatever was lying around, but her eyes were really glued to Roy and the container he was opening. She was finally going to see the thing that Verin had killed to get his hands on.

Roy carefully lifted up the top part of the container, revealing the rough shape of the statue. There was no detail on the face or head, but the curves of it told Naomi it had to be a statue of a woman.

The stone it was sculpted out of was light Blake, and looked to be chipped in places. Still, if it was as old as Melanie had said, it was in remarkable shape. There were small indentations were the eyes should have been, but other than that, the thing was featureless.

So this is what all the fuss is about, she thought, drifting closer to get a better look at it.

“Undamaged, I hope?” she asked, getting on her tiptoes to peek over Roy’s shoulder.

“Seems so,” Roy sighed. “Ladley, the guy that sent it over to David, is anxious to get it back, so now it’s my job to make sure nothing happens to it before it gets back to where it belongs.”

“So you’re not going to be working on it after all? What about the tests?” Naomi asked.

“Turns out, I’m no David,” Roy shrugged. “The statue along with the test results are to be sent back to Pennsylvania as soon as possible.”

Naomi was now barely even listening to what Roy was saying. Most of her attention was focused on the statue, as if she could learn its secrets just by staring at it. This was what Verin was after. This was important enough to kill David over – a hunk of old stone.

A deep, reckless urge built inside her. What if she just grabbed it, threw it on the ground and watched it shatter? Verin wouldn’t have any use for it then, unless his bag of tricks included being handy with superglue.

Taking a breath, she took a moment to put her petty anger aside. Destroying something that demon wanted – that might have been satisfying in the short-term, but foolish in the long-term.

Who knew what secrets the statue was hiding. Maybe it could be used against Verin? And more importantly, would breaking it even do anything? There had to be something mystical about it that made Verin want it.

She had a feeling the demon wasn’t just hunting it down to display it on a shelf somewhere. He had a reason. If only she could figure out what that reason was…

Naomi almost jumped out of her skin when Roy waved a hand in front of her face.

“Hello?” he asked. “You still here?”

“Oh, yeah,” Naomi smiled, shaking her head. “Sorry. I kind of have a lot on my mind.”

“I hope one of those things is whether you like Italian food or not,” Roy replied.

Dinner was the last thing on Naomi’s mind, but she hoped she managed to put on an excited face nonetheless. Looking at Roy’s soft features and light Blake hair, she couldn’t help but think there was a very different man she would rather go on a date with.

And hopefully he’s sneaking around behind the bookcases right now!

Naomi had to suppress a laugh at that. How was this suddenly her life? Sneaking around, lying, plotting to steal from the university she worked at… Not to mention, every idle thought she had had suddenly been filled by a certain former cop turned PI turned consultant that she just couldn’t figure out.

Sometimes, when he looked at her from the corner of his eye, it almost seemed like maybe Sawyer was interested in her, too. She had to remind herself that she was probably imagining things. Not that she would ever act on any of the non-PG thoughts creeping through her brain.

I’ve never been good at making the first move. And the last thing I need is to make things awkward with the only guy that can help me with all of this. Especially when I have to share an apartment with him.

“I love Italian food,” she blurted out, realizing she had been silent for just a moment too long.

“Great,” Roy beamed at her, oblivious to what was actually going on in her head.

And for once, Naomi was glad to have fooled a potential date with a bogus smile.

“So are you ready to go?” she asked, turning toward the door.

She could have sworn she spotted just a flicker of movement by one of the bookcases, but that might have been her imagination. Either way, she had to assume he was there. If he wasn’t, then that was that. But if he was, she had to be mindful of Roy not noticing anything was off when they got to the door.

Putting the top of the container back on and closing the door of the temperature-controlled room, Roy nodded.

“I’m ready,” he replied. “And I already have a great restaurant in mind.”

“Can’t wait,” Naomi smiled, even as another wave of adrenaline coursed through her.

They both started toward the door, with Roy getting closer to her with each step. When they reached the shelves, he flattened the palm of his hand against the small of her back, while he got out his key card with the other.

The gesture made Naomi’s skin crawl. It was amazing, really, how quickly she had gone from indifference toward Roy to being downright repulsed by him. Did comparing Roy to a certain wolf cast the man in an especially unfavorable light? Or was it just that Roy’s true colors were showing?

Either way, she made sure to smile at him and keep him engaged as they got to the door.

“I’m glad I got a peek at all this,” she said. “Your job is really interesting.”

Wow, that sounded so lame, she chided herself, but Roy seemed to be eating it all up.

“I can tell you even more about it now that we have some time all to ourselves,” he replied, sliding his keycard through the reader and opening the door.

Naomi awkwardly bumped shoulders with him, all but pushing him to go through first. He shot her a grin, probably thinking she just couldn’t keep away from him. His hand slid across her back as she brushed past him, holding the door open for her once he was through.

“Thank you,” she batted her lashes at him, taking a moment to push the door wide open so it would take some time to drift shut.

She followed Roy out of the basement, listening to the soft whoosh of the door creeping closed behind her. There was nothing more she could do. If Sawyer was in the room, it was all up to him now.

Good luck, she thought, biting her lip as she ascended the stairs behind Roy.