Page 16 of Sage

“How do I know?” Sage was hesitant. “How do I know I can trust you?”

“I went into the woods alone for you. I didn’t report it to Marco,” he started. “In a way, Charles is Marco right now. It’s the same situation as before, only this time we are in a house, and not in the woods. And neither of us are trapped in a cage.”

The mention of the cage sparked Sage’s creative mind and all thoughts were suddenly away from Charles, and on to something a bit more salacious.

“Hans?” A devilish smirk crossed her face.

“Sage?” He wasn’t sure what was going on with her, but he could tell by the shift of energy in the room that he was in for the long haul.

Chapter Eleven

Hello Old Friend

The week had passed slowly, but once Saturday evening arrived, Hans kept a steady watch on the clock. It took forever, but finally he was buttoning his shirt, rolling his sleeves up, and pushing them back to his elbows.

When he and Sage had returned to the Sunset Lounge to pick up their keys before going their separate ways, Sage had stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Why don’t we meet up again next Saturday night?” Sage had inquired.

“Where do you want to go?” Hans should have said no but there was something about her that had him addicted. He was still riding the high from the night before.

“It will be a surprise, but dress nice,” she said with mystery in her voice. Before Hans could respond, she was blowing him a kiss and ducking into Marco’s car.

Hans tucked half his shirt into his pants and stared at himself in the mirror.I can’t believe I’m doing this.Staring at himself, he couldn’t decide if he looked better with his shirt tucked or untucked.

Untucked.

He swiftly went to his closet to select a tie from the rack.Red, blue, or black?Hans shifted his body to look into the mirror attached to his closet door, holding each one up trying to make a decision as to which one looked better.

Black.

Flipping his collar up, he put on the tie and cinched it up as tight as it would go without cutting off his oxygen. Looking at the floor of his closet, Hans also selected a pair of black dress shoes to complete his ensemble. Unsure of whether or not he was about to have the time of his life or wish he was dead.

A few moments later there was a knock at his door.

She’s here.

Hans looked back into the mirror, and roughed up his hair, giving it a bit of an edgier look.Damn, I need a haircut.

He made his way toward the door, grabbing everything he might possibly need for the night ahead of him. As he opened the door, taking a hit off his vape, he realized that the person standing there wasn’t who he had expected.

“Hey stranger.” A woman from Hans’ past stood there, a goddess in all black. Her dress sat low revealing the perfect amount of cleavage while there were slits up both sides of the skirt, exposing her tattooed legs beneath her fishnets. The woman’s hair was long, wavy, and the color of blood. She looked like a woman of the night, a vampire.

“Marcy.”He choked on the vapor he had just inhaled.

Hans had first met Marcy a few years back on a case that he had been working on. During that case she went from being in one of the happiest relationships he had ever seen, to going through a messy breakup. He and Alana had broken up aroundthe same time, so he and Marcy had come to confide in each other. Even though Marcy seemed numb to the overall situation, it ended up being too much for her to stay in town.

The last he had heard, Marcy had opened up her own little funeral home somewhere in New York and had found success living her dream. Marcy was the first person who Hans had felt comfortable opening up to about Gretta aside from Alana or anyone who had known both of them personally. She always remained positive that he would one day find the answers he was searching for. She had no idea what he had discovered.

“What are you doing here?” It had been years since they had previously spoken.

“You didn’t think Sage was going to show up here and risk being seen did you?” Marcy’s sapphire eyes pierced his soul.

“Oh, you know Sage, too?.” Hans rolled his eyes at the realization Sage had clearly been following him around a lot longer than he originally thought.

“We’re old friends.” Marcy winked at him. “Of course, I had no idea the two of you knew each other, let alone the fact that she was the one you had been searching for all these years. I do feel like had that tiny detail been shared we could have avoided this entire disaster.”

Everything clicked with Hans. “Sunshine, the girl who had left you… That was Sage?”

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