Page 53 of Bird on a Blade

“Edie?” Charlotte’s voice is quick and panicky. “Shit, did the call drop?”

“I’m here,” I say quickly, letting myself lean into Sawyer. Hewraps his arms around me without a word. “I—I know what you mean, about Scott. I’ll?—”

“You should get out of that cabin before the PIs find you and go to the police.”

Too late for that.

“Really?” I make my voice light and joking. “I thought you were all about ACAB?”

“I don’t trust him, Edie.”

I sigh. “I don’t have any proof for the police,” I say. “But I’m going to leave, okay? I’m going to stay with my friend.”

“You don’t need proof!” Charlotte cries. “You’re a rich white lady! They’ll actually fucking listen to you! At least have them come check on you or something!”

I press my forehead into Sawyer’s chest, breathing him in, wishing I could tell Charlotte everything that has happened. “Fine,” I say. “I will.”

And then you’ll lie to Charlotte about what they say, too.

“You should leave,” I say, pulling away from Sawyer and walking over to the window on the other side of the room. The view of the forest is still tangled and wet after the rain. “Get out of town. Don’t let Scott see you again.”

“He’s not worried about me, Edie. He wantsyou.”

“I know he does.” My reflection ghosts over the forest outside. I look strange with my tousled hair and wrinkled, mostly-dry sweater. “And I’ll be safe, okay? I’ll go to the police. I promise.”

In the reflection, Sawyer comes up behind me, dark and imposing. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and presses his mouth to the top of my head.

“No police,” he whispers, so faintly I almost think I imagine it.

“I’ll let you know when I’m settled,” I tell Charlotte. Then I hang up and set the phone on the sill.

“No police,” Sawyer says, louder this time. Forceful.

“Of course not.” I turn to face him, to see his real face and not the transparent reflection in the window. “That was my friend Charlotte. The one who helped me get away from Scott. He’s—” I’m shaking as I draw my arms around my chest. “He’s coming for me.”

Sawyer’s frown deepens. His eyes turn black as night.

“He wants to kill me,” I whisper hoarsely.

Sawyer grabs my chin, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. In this moment, I see the monster of him.

“He will not kill you,” Sawyer says.

I let out a choking sob and fall into him, burying my nose in his neck. He holds me tight—almost too tight. I don’t care.

“Finish packing,” Sawyer says. “I’m not letting you out of my sight until this is over.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

EDIE

It’s dark by the time we get back to Sawyer’s place. He takes my suitcase for me and sets it down in his room with a finality that won’t be argued with. “You can sleep here with me.”

“Do you even sleep?” I ask, because I’m still not totally sure what he is, if he has the same needs as a human man. He just gives me a slightly irritated look.

“Yeah, I sleep. Same as I eat. Speaking of which—” He nods toward the kitchen. “How about you bring in the rest of those groceries, and I’ll make us dinner?”

I hesitate, just for a half-second, but he notices. “I know you’re hungry, after all that fucking we were doing.”

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