Page 6 of Sage

Shaking herself up like that had done a mental reset and Sage suddenly remembered that there was one place she could go.

Marco's.

At this point, no one except Hans knew that he was dead. To her knowledge anyway. Most of the precinct should have expected him to take time off after the death of Alana.It’sperfect!Sage couldn't think of any reason that her plan wouldn't work out well in her favor. Even better, the area was becoming familiar to her, so she was able to figure out that the turn off to get to his house was just up ahead. Sage hated herself for knowing this information, but had to give her intuition major credit for getting her going in the right direction. Otherwise, she would have been forced to continue driving until she ran out of gas and she doubtedthatwould land her at a shower instead of in the middle of nowhere.

Tough chance.

Marco lived in a semi-secluded area, his closest neighbor was about a mile away. It was like living in the cottage, only this was much nicer. Sage had spent plenty of time stalking around outside his home, learning his strengths and weaknesses, to prepare herself for when he finally made his way to Brighton Forest.

Sage parked Troy's car in the ditch down the street and made sure to eliminate any trace of her existence inside. She considered setting it on fire for a hot minute, but then reconsidered as she realized that would only bring more eyes watching the area. If she needed to get away, it only made sense that she would be able to use one of Marco's newer, less trashy cars.

She continued perusing her thoughts, trying to decide on her next move while she slowly trudged up the hill to get to the front steps of Marco's home. "I really need a shower, a snack, and hopefully I'll be able to find some cash lying around," Sage told herself.

When she finally reached the front door, Sage reached up and grasped the knob.Locked, damnit.

Of course that was to be expected. Why would an officer of the law leave his home vulnerable to villains, such as Sage, to squat in? Sage started to dig around the rocks in the planters that lined the sidewalk, her gut instinct telling her that he was the type to have one of those rocks with the secret compartment to hide a spare key.

Found it.

The holy grail fell out easily onto her hand. Perhaps she had given him more credit than what he deserved because that was too easy. Sage hurried to the front door, unlocking it and then securing it tightly behind her, making sure to keep the key in her possession so that no one else would have easy access to enter the home. Once inside, Sage started giving herself the grand tour. She had never been inside, she had only watched him from the exterior.

The home was modern; simple black and white with colorful accents in a subtle touch that had clearly been provided by Alana. As Sage walked past the fireplace, she ran a finger over the mantle. Spotless. Not a single speck of dust to be found, but the dried blood that encrusted her fingertip reminded her of the original mission.

???

While taking a shower, Sage continued having flashbacks of moments shared between her and Hans.

His hands running up and down her thigh.

The hand necklace he would give her when she was being more of a brat than what he wanted to endure at the time.

His soft lips.

She raised her now clean fingers up to her lips as she imagined Hans pulling her in close to steal a kiss. The more she thought about him, the greater her desire for a release took over.

She had been caught off guard and unable to think about anything else.

Sage stuck her head out of the shower, glancing around the room to see if there was anything that she could use to assist her, when she realized that the showerhead was detachable from the wall. She messed around with the various settings until she found the perfect one for getting the job done. She had just removed the showerhead from the rack when-

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The phone from the other room startled Sage, causing her to drop the showerhead as water sprayed everywhere. "Oh my God, stop!" She was unsure if she was lecturing the shower or the phone, but she managed to shut the water off right at the same moment that the phone stopped ringing.

Who the hell still has a landline?The voicemail had triggered and once it beeped, a man's voice began to speak.

"Marco, it's Charles, the craziest thing just happened and I really wish you would pick up. The weird guy, Hans, filed a report about all this wild stuff that had happened. It involved that girl, Gretta, who I guess goes by Sage, now. You know, the one he had been looking for all these years? Anyways, can you believe he tried to convince me that you're dead? Come on, man, don't make me believe that to be true. Call me back as soon as you get this."

Charles.

Sage squinted her eyes, glaring at the image of him in her head and the things he had tried to do to her when they were young. She of all people would be the first to admit that peoplecan change, but not this bastard. She couldn't believe they gave him a uniform and a badge.

And then it clicked: Hans called the police. "They are going to be looking for me," she whispered.Damnit, Hans. Why?

Why did he call them?

"Oh perhaps because you kidnapped him, tortured him, killed his friend, you know… The usual reasons that people tend to involve the cops," the angel on Sage's shoulder had to pipe in.

"Shut up," the devil took a moment to stand up for Sage. "He wouldn't have paid her any attention had she not done those things."

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