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“You are going to stay with Sibley.”

“No, I can’t. She doesn’t want me to stay with her. You know, after a few minutes, we’re just going to be arguing. I’ve done enough to add to her anguish. She should be with someone else.” I shake my head, but even as I do, I know it’s a lie. No one is better equipped to look out for her than I am.

“Primal, when are you going to open your eyes?” Justice demands, shaking his head.

“Open my eyes to what?” I ask, looking around the room. It feels as if everyone is in on a secret I don’t know.

“Nothing, just stay with her,” Corbin repeats his order.

I know I can’t go against what he’s saying. Doing so would be a clear challenge. It’ll be fine. I’ll keep my distance from her while making sure she doesn’t do anything that could get her into trouble.

I’ve worked security before. I can do it again.

Sibley has stayed in the room with Arely nearly the entire time she’s been here so far, and I’ve been standing right outside the door like a stone sentry.

Every once in a while, I catch the edges of what she says, though I’m trying my best not to listen in. More often than not, it’s about me, and I have to force myself not to keep listening. I don’t want to invade her privacy.

I expect the same hatred I saw oozing from her outside her house to persist. So far, that’s not what I’ve heard.

Maybe I don’t have too much to repair when it comes to the friendship. Yes, that’s what this is, a friendship.

Friendship.

I snort and shake my head.

How could that be?

But maybe that’s what we can be.

Though what Justice said during church keeps popping into my head about opening my eyes.

Just as I start to convince myself that the reason I’ve been so concerned about Sibley is that we are friends, Abel and Coby come out of the back with a small tablet.

“Is she still in there?” Abel asks, a look of pure determination on his face. He’s all business right now.

“Yeah, I haven’t moved, and neither has she.”

“We need her out here now.”

“What’s going on? Have you found something?” My eyes drop to the tablet in his hands. “I want to know what I’m about to expose her to. If there’s a way to shield her even a little, I have to try.”

Abel presses his lips together for a second before he pulls up the screen and shows me several still screenshots of the same man. I don’t recognize him, but he definitely looks out of place. All the screenshots show him lingering near the shop.

It’s not so much that he’s dressed or looks out of place compared with the other people around him. It’s more about the way he’s standing. As if he were looking down at the people around him. He has an air of royalty. Old. Rich.

I would bet a shit ton of money that this man isn’t just a typical human but something more. Something powerful.

“I don’t know him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in town.”

“That’s what I thought. Now, we just have to see whether Sibley recognizes him. Then we can focus our efforts.” Abel nods once and looks at the door behind me.

I didn’t want to disturb her, but unfortunately, I don’t have much of a choice.

I knock on the door before I slowly push it open. Sibley is sitting next to Arely, holding the woman’s hand.

“Hey, can you come out here for a sec? There’s something we want you to see.”

Sibley nods, but she gulps hard. She’s genuinely worried about this, even though she’s trying to convince everyone it’s nothing to worry about.