Downing some aspirin, Sawyer washed it down with coffee as he sat behind his kitchen table, his short, dark hair still wet from his shower. He had texted Hill to see how the Clement investigation was going, but hadn’t heard back, which bothered him more than he would have liked to admit.

But he was just a consultant now, so he couldn’t expect to be always kept in the loop. He had made his peace with that, or at least so he had thought.

Who am I kidding? I haven’t made peace with anything, he thought, shaking his head as he threw a glance at his living room table, filled with empty bottles again.

But before he could sink down a hole of self-deprecation, there was a buzz at his door. Frowning, Sawyer got up from his chair and strolled over, pressing the button to the intercom.

“Yeah?” he asked gruffly.

“Um, hello,” a female voice echoed out. “Is this Sawyer Blake? The private investigator?”

Sighing, Sawyer pressed the button again.

“I’m not an investigator anymore. Have a good day,” he said, cutting off the woman’s rushed ‘wait’ when he released his finger.

With his website saying the business was closed and the telephone line for Blake Investigations disconnected, Sawyer had hoped these kinds of mix-ups wouldn’t happen. And how did this woman get his private address, anyway?

What little he’d heard of her voice made him want to hang onto the call, but that had to be the hangover talking.

It didn’t matter. She would have to find another guy to take pictures of her husband and his secretary, or whatever the reason for her visit was. Sawyer already had his day planned out – a run in the woods, and then a trip to the liquor store.

It was becoming routine by now, but hey – if it worked, it worked.

The intercom buzzed again, and again, and then a third time, but Sawyer just ignored it. The consultant gig was enough to pay his rent and keep him just the right amount of busy. Sawyer didn’t need complications in his life, and if this lady really needed help, she would find someone else.

So he sat back down, sipping what was now lukewarm coffee, and read the news on his iPad. Staying away from the crime section, he focused on the sports scores instead, and told himself he was doing the right thing by staying out of the private investigation business.

Who needs a drunk for a PI, anyway?

But he stilled in his chair when someone suddenly knocked on his door.

“What the…” he muttered to himself, perking up his ears.

A single heartbeat thudded on the other side of the door, faster than normal, and Sawyer walked over. It was fast, nervous, like a trapped bird’s. He felt an odd desire to soothe her nervousness, despite wanting her nowhere near his damn door.

“This better not be who I think it is,” he called out, standing near his door.

“Please, just hear me out,” a female voice that was familiar to him now said.

It still sounded damn good.

“How did you get inside the building?” Sawyer asked, frowning to himself.

“I told your neighbor I was your girlfriend,” the woman replied, a hint of guilt in her voice.

Sawyer sighed to himself. What was the point of locks when his neighbors just let anyone walk in? He didn’t get any visitors, and now all of a sudden a girlfriend shows up? Then again, he wasn’t friendly enough with his neighbors to expect them to know what kind of visitors he would or wouldn’t have.

“Please,” the voice said, and Sawyer could easily identify the note of desperation in it.

Perhaps it was that all too familiar anguish that made him crack the door open, or perhaps he felt stupid talking to a door… Whatever the reason, he now came face to a face with a stunning blonde, wringing her hands in his hallway.

His wolf perked up at the mere sight of her, even as he tried not to stare at her pretty face. She looked just like she sounded and once again, Sawyer got to wrestle with the urge to make whatever troubles she had go away as fast as he could.

“Thank…” The woman started to say.

“I’m not an investigator anymore, lady,” he cut her off.

The woman blinked at him for a moment, and for just a split second, he felt bad about being so terse. But he reminded himself it was not his job to deal with everyone else’s problems anymore.

“My name is Naomi Moore,” she said, giving him a brief smile and sticking her hand through the open door.

Reluctantly, Sawyer reached out and shook it, noting how soft her skin was. His wolf almost leapt out of his skin at the contact, and he willed the beast to back down. Had it really been that long since he had touched a woman that a handshake was all it took for his wolf to jump on its hind legs?

“Sawyer Blake, but you already know that,” he said dryly, pulling his hand away.

“Look, I know you shut your business down, and I’m very sorry to bother you at your home like this, but I really need your help,” she replied, looking at him with her doe eyes.

Sawyer studied her for a moment. Her blonde hair was shoulder-length, glossy, but looked to be unbrushed. Her nose was straight and narrow, her cheekbones prominent, and there seemed to be bags under her emerald green eyes.

Dressed casually in jeans and a slightly wrinkled white button-up, she managed to look modest, despite the way her amazing curves filled out her clothes. And she also looked exactly like someone who had not slept the previous night.

It didn’t do anything to take away from how gorgeous she was, but as a man who used to get paid for noticing things, Sawyer took note of her slight state of dishevelment.

“I can give you the numbers of other investigators in the area that I know are…” Sawyer started to say, but she shook her head.

“You’re the best,” she insisted. “I heard of your reputation even before…” she trailed off, glancing away for a moment before looking back at him. “And I know that you’re a shifter,” she added, watching for his reaction. “And that’s important.”

Sawyer arched a brow at her. Naomi looked like someone who could only bring trouble his way, but that also meant he found her intriguing. A distraction, maybe? Sighing, he opened the door and gestured her inside. They both came to a stop at the edge of his living room.

“And why is that important?” he asked, crossing his arms.

Naomi was tall herself, standing at around 5'9", but she was dwarfed next to him. That must have caught her eye as well, as she looked him up and down, seeming somewhat awed by his 6'5" frame. Sawyer had to almost physically restrain himself from the desire to cover the distance between them and see how much smaller she looked when he towered over her, ready to grab her in his arms.

“Because what I need help with… It might seem a bit out there,” she admitted, wrinkling her nose. “But as a man that turns into a wolf…” she trailed off, a slight blush on her cheeks.

It wasn’t exactly a secret that Sawyer was a werewolf, so he wasn’t shocked Naomi knew about it. Most people just didn’t bring it up so blatantly. Shifters had integrated into human society well enough, but many people still felt awkward bringing up the topic of people being able to turn into animals at will.

“Out there,” Sawyer repeated, earning a nod from Naomi. “Like, alien abduction out there? Because I cannot tail a space ship.”

Who would have guessed it would be a crazy lady that showed up uninvited and lied her way to my door? he groaned internally. And of course she had to be gorgeous.

“I’m not crazy,” Naomi said, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Isn’t that what crazy people say?” Sawyer countered.

That seemed to miff her some.

“Look, my friend’s husband has been murdered,” she started, and Sawyer threw up his hands.

“Whoa, now. That sounds like something the police should already be handling, unless you’re asking for me to help you get rid of a body,” he said.

Now it was Naomi’s turn to cross her arms as she glared at him. Unluckily for her, she didn’t manage to look very intimidating.

“The police are handling it,” she replied, an edge to her voice. “But they don’t know what they’re dealing with.”

“And you do?” Sawyer questioned.

“Yes,” she squared her shoulders. “I think a demon killed Melanie’s husband,” she stated, staring him right in the eye.

Sawyer sighed to himself. That was out there, all right. He had to give Naomi points for originality, at least. He could honestly say it was the first time someone turned to him for demonic problems.

And people wonder why I quit being a private investigator…