3. Sage
3
SAGE
T hese UPS guys were relentless. Sage couldn’t remember the last time she ordered merch, but she supposed it was one of the packages of shirts or stickers that had been delayed. Squash slept through it. Of course, she did. Some guard dog she was.
Sage glanced at her watch. Just after four. Dang, what a terrible wake-up call—she had been peacefully napping on the couch.
She struggled to get off the couch and rolled to the floor. The perils of being wrapped tightly in a mountain of fluffy blankets.
“Coming!” she called when there was a second knock. She glanced down at her attire. Shorts, slippers, and one of her merch shirts, pale yellow with orange and pink squashes all over. It would have to do.
When she swung the door open she was faced with a tall man. He wore black jeans, boots—very practical for the rain that was trying to break through the clouds—and a simple gray T-shirt with an athletic jacket over the top. Maybe Columbia or Patagonia, no, it said Sentinel Security on the chest.
“Wait, you?” the guy asked. His voice was slightly deeper, but not by much. He had filled out and could grow a proper beard now, but she recognized him despite the years gone by.
So, Sage did the only rational thing and slammed the door in his face. “Go away.”
“Sage?” the guy said again.
Oh, she knew this guy, alright. It was no mistake. And based on the slight confusion on his face when he saw her, he was well aware of who she was too. She squeezed her eyes shut and balled her hands into fists so tight she thought her nails might cut her skin. She took a deep breath and held it, willing her heart to stop racing. “I said go away.” Sage managed to say it with only a small quiver in her voice.
“Afraid I can’t, Ma’am. Under the strict order of Lily. I am here to outfit your house with some new security measures.”
“Already have cameras,” Sage said, yelling at the door which was really unfair because the poor door had just been slammed so hard into the frame it had made the hanging photo next to it shake and go all crooked. Now it was being subjected to Sage’s screams. The old oak didn’t deserve the abuse.
“That’s what I am here to check out,” Leo said. “Among other things. ”
“Tell Lily I don’t need this,” Sage shouted as she walked to the couch. Squash was awake now and curious and about ready to walk off the couch and tumble down to the ground. Blind little fool.
The door opened and Leo Camaro strode in like he owned the place. “Lily said you’d be resistant but I assured her I would not be in your hair.”
Sage scowled. “I’m fine!” She already had her phone out, ready to call Lily. “I don’t need security anymore. False alarm.”
Leo looked at the broken window and the brick with crude messages written in marker sitting by the door. What? It was a good doorstopper.
“Clearly you have things totally under control,” Leo said, nudging the brick with his foot.
Sage knew she was beaten, but she had other solutions. “Yes, fine. I could use the help. Could you give me the number of your boss or manager or whatever? I’m requesting someone new.”
Leo rolled his eyes. Gosh, he really hadn’t changed. He was still that high school jock who thought every rule was more of a guideline to be bent.
“Look, I know you don’t like me but I am who you’ve got. Our security agency is very well established and booked out for years. It’s me or no one. And no one isn’t an option. So, it’s just me.”
“Glad to see your math skills have improved. Find me another warm body to fill your spot. It can’t be that hard.”
“I seriously doubt you have any idea how elite the agency is. We provide personal protection for politicians and celebrities. Heck, even visiting ambassadors and royalty. I literally went on tour with Journey last fall.”
“Well don’t mind if I stop believing that lie.”
Leo quirked a smile. “Funny.”
“I beg to differ,” Sage said. By the time she looked at her phone, Lily had already texted her.
LILY: I don’t want to hear it. I will not have my favorite streamer in any sort of danger. Do what they ask of you. I will compensate you for the hassle.
Sage groaned aloud and Squash poked her head out of the nest of blankets for half a moment before disappearing again.
LILY: Love ya!
Lily also sent a gift card for coffee. Darn that businesswoman. Clever how she failed to mention Sage’s childhood bully would be the guy watching over her. If Lily didn’t actually pay a decent amount of Sage’s income and if she wasn’t as no-nonsense and pushy, Sage might have half a mind to leave the sponsorship. But it wasn’t worth it. Not at this point anyway. And security wasn’t all that bad considering the strange things happening.
But Leo Freaking Camaro?
This was her house. Her home. Her domain. Sure, she wanted to suddenly become invisible, but this was no time to fall apart.
Sage leaned against the couch and looked Leo up and down. She was surprised to find him holding the brick, reading the crude messages.
“This what came through your window?” he asked.
“Yeah, probably just vandals. You know how kids get with a full moon.”
“There hasn’t been a full moon in weeks.”
Sage sighed. “Right.”
Leo smirked, clearly aware that Sage had caved. “Heard from Lily?”
Sage glared at him. “I’m going back to bed. Do what you need to do. Don’t mess anything up. Just check the cameras. They are just outside cameras, right?”
Leo nodded. “Looks like all you’ll need are some outdoor cameras and one in your driveway. I can monitor them from my own place.”
“Great.” Sage picked up Squash from the couch.
“What in the world is that thing?” Leo asked, pointing at Squash.
“My dog…” she said. “How many times have you been hit in the head? Dogs go ‘bark’ and cats go ‘meow’ in case you forgot.”
“That is not a dog. That is a creature conjured up by some eight-year-old’s drawing of what they think a dog might look like if they’ve never actually seen one.”
“Shut up. She’s just an old girl.” Sage petted Squash just as she made a noise that sounded a lot like a muddy squelch mixed with the wheeze of a smoker. Great.
“You have an alien masquerading as a rat.”
“Just check the cameras and go.” Sage kissed Squash’s head. “Don’t listen to that mean man.”
“No leaving just yet. Have a seat.” Leo plopped onto the couch and got comfortable. Too comfortable. Was he trying to frustrate her? Did their history mean nothing? Didn’t he feel the least bit awkward? Even sorry? Just a little?
“What could you possibly need?” Sage asked, fighting a yawn. The all-nighter and midday nap didn’t do much in the way of helping her relax.
“A few answers to some questions, but mostly I just need to go over the safety protocols,” Leo said in a tone that sounded like he’d done this a hundred times before. Bored. Formulaic.
How often did people need protection?
Sage stomped over to the couch opposite Leo and sat, crisscrossing her legs, snuggling Squash under her chin.
Leo grimaced. “Most people use pest control for rodents.”
“Her name is Squash.”
“Is that what happened to her?”
Sage did not need to hear the slander against poor little Squash (who, yes, was squashed by a golf cart when she was young but that was before Sage had adopted her but Leo did not need to know that information). “Just tell me what you need to tell me so you can get out of my hair.”
Leo dusted off imaginary hairs. “With pleasure.” He cleared his throat before asking, “Why thename change?”
“New identity of sorts,” Sage said.
Leo pulled out his phone and tapped on it for a moment. “I just sent you an email with a list regarding your safety concerns. This is not a bulleted list of arguments we must hash out. It’s not a discussion. I am informing you of the protocols and you need to abide by them if we are to both remain happy about the situation.”
“Glad to know we’re on the same page.” A terrible thought struck her. “Wait, you aren’t staying here, are you?”
Leo’s eyes widened a fraction. Good. He was uncomfortable, at least a little. “No, that won’t be necessary. Yet.”
“Yet?”
“Will you let me get to the list? It’s all explained there.”
Sage pulled out her phone and opened the email. It was a rather long list, but fairly logical.
1. Security cameras are to remain on, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and there are no circumstances in which they will be turned off. The feed goes directly to Agent’s secure computer.
2. New locks must be placed on the front and back doors. Agent is the only person to have the spare.
3. Subject is to allow Agent to share locations via phone app until the job is complete or threat is eliminated.
Threat eliminated? That sounded ominous. “Aren’t you just here to protect me from the big bad wolf, not, you know, track down the big bad wolf.”
“Yes,” Leo said. “In a sense. But it’s easier to provide proper protection when we know where the big bad wolf is hiding out.”
Sage was not convinced her “protector” had the mental fortitude to tell the difference between a wolf and a sheep. Everyone was prey to a guy like Leo. Everyone was weak and, therefore, inferior. Fitting that Leo found himself a job that put him in a position of power.
She hated being powerless. “Is the whole location-sharing thing necessary?”
“This is not a debate.” It was as if he’d been waiting for her resistance, the admonishment was practically hanging off his tongue.
“Whatever.” Sage continued reading.
4. Subject is not to deviate from the Calendar of events. Any updates and additions to the calendar must be sent to Agent at least 24 hours ahead of time.
5. Subject may venture out on solo expeditions, but only at the permission of the Agent. It is assumed agent will join the Subject on all outings unless otherwise stated.
6. When traveling, Agent and Subject will stay in adjoining rooms and adjoining rooms only. No exceptions.
7. When traveling, Agent will sit on the aisle seat of the aircraft. No exceptions.
8. Agent will handle all travel details, including (but not limited to) airfare, driving, car rentals, hotels, and other accommodations. Subject is to discuss preferences beforehand.
“Why ‘Subject’? Why not ‘client’ or person or just a name?” Sage asked.
Leo shrugged. “Subject is accurate. You are a thing we study. We get to know you better than you know yourself so we can anticipate danger and how you react to it. Then we can be looking for problems before you step into them. ”
She did not, in fact, understand any of this nonsense. But maybe that was why Leo was scowling at Sage so much. She was just a complicated problem to him.
9. Subject will provide the agent with a physical lock and passcodes to doors.
“I don’t have a key,” Sage said.
“What on earth?” He looked on the verge of diving into some sort of lecture so she cut him off.
“It’s this specialty key. Fancy and old.” She pointed at the thick door. “See? Fancy. Anyway, the doorknobs and locks are from like the late eighteen hundreds so it takes a special kind of lock guy to make a copy.”
“Lock guy?”
“To make a copy. Actually four. He’ll be done next week. So, I just lock it from inside at night,” Sage said.
“That is the most ridiculous?—”
“Hush, I’m reading.”
10. In the event that the Agent deems it necessary to have 24-hour surveillance of Subject, cohabitation must be accepted by Subject without complaint. Agent will make themselves scarce and not interfere with the subject’s day-to-day activities.
11.In any event, should the agent request to move the Subject due to security risks, Subject must acquiesce to the change of plan provided proper accommodation will be made for their work and life to continue as relatively as normal.
12. Accommodations may be granted by the Agent (within reason) to create an atmosphere of comfort, safety, and security.
“Oh great,” Sage said, pointing to the word accommodation. “ I have this terrible fear of elevators. Got stuck in one at the mall when I was twelve and now I break out in hives thinking about them. No elevators.”
Leo cocked his head as if he was deciding whether she was serious or not. “I think we can accommodate that little issue.”
Sage wanted to remind him that elevators were the smallest of issues here but kept her mouth shut and continued to read.
13. Subject must be aware and accept the fact that all Agents are trained and approved to conceal carry a firearm in each state and have all the proper licensing to carry on all premises.
“Any questions?” Leo asked.
“When can you leave?” Sage tucked Squash into the blankets, stood, walked over to the kitchen, and put the kettle on. She tried not to be embarrassed about the fact that it was nearing five in the evening and she was essentially wearing her pajamas. But hey, her castle, her crown. And in this case, her crown meant wearing fuzzy slippers.
“I’ll leave when I check out the cameras and get some answers from you.”
“I’m an open book,” Sage said, ignoring the fact that Leo sauntered into the kitchen and leaned against the counter like this was the most comfortable setting in the world. Sage fumed. She wanted to intimidate him. Make him squirm and feel all sorts of angry and flighty like she did right now. Instead, she just asked, “Tea?”
“I’d rather drink toilet water.”
“I can arrange that easily. Unlimited supply actually.”
“Are you always this welcoming?” he asked with a smile that almost seemed genuine, but there was malice lurking beneath it. A hint of “dead eyes” that let Sage know that this was not at all fun for him either.
“What do you want?” she asked, pulling out the jars of tea and settling on some chamomile. With lavender. What else could relax a person? Maybe a shot of Nyquil to knock her out.
“What is your sleep schedule like?” he asked.
Sage snorted. “I sleep when I’m tired?—”
“I’m really not looking for sass,” Leo said, rubbing his temple. “I’ve had a long day of traveling and I just want to go home and sleep.”
“I’m being honest. I don’t have a bedtime if that’s what you’re wondering. Every day looks totally different. I kind of go where the wind blows me, and right now it’s blowing me toward a cup of tea, extra sugar, and cream.”
“Are you allergic to anything?” he asked. “Medications, food?”
“Why is that part of your preliminary questioning?” Sage brandished a teaspoon at him with the force of a sword. “Shouldn’t you be out there getting that big bad wolf or whatever?”
“That is where you are mistaken,” Leo Camaro said it so lowly that Sage leaned in to hear. “I am the big bad wolf. And I’m on the hunt.”
Sage shivered. The dramatics were not necessary. “Didn’t know you were into nursery rhymes but carry on.”
Leo rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “You said you thought it was just a vandal.”
“Right.” Sage deflated. Of course, it wasn’t a vandal, not with the messages scrawled on the brick. But it was a nice thought. “Not allergic to anything.”
“Any idea who is behind this?” Leo asked in a tone much softer than he had used before. He had his arms crossed over her chest and he was still leaning back against the counter, looking far too at ease in her kitchen.
“No,” Sage said. “Honestly I don’t.”
“For some reason, I believe you.”
“How gracious.” Sage poured steaming tea into her mug. “Now check the cameras so I can get on with my life.”
“I sent you a text. Don’t forget to share your location with me before I leave or I’ll be forced to come back in and bother you some more.”
“Please don’t,” she said, already hitting the “share location” button. Why did it feel so intimate to have someone know your whereabouts at all times? It was like sharing a jacket and not giving it back. She wanted to make him feel that level of awkwardness, or more than anything see if he had the capability of feeling awkward, so she said. “I want you to share your location with me too.”
He scoffed and shook his head.
Interesting, Sage thought. So, there was a level of intimacy and strangeness about sharing something so simple with a near-complete stranger. She pushed. “Why not? I want to see if you’re off at the bar drinking the night away when you’re supposed to be babysitting me.”
Leo shook his head. “Glad we agree it’s babysitting, especially since you’re acting like a child.”
Sage stomped her foot, like a child. “Just do it. ”
“I don’t have to.”
“Rule ten states accommodations can be made. Per the Subject’s request. Right now, I am the Sub.” Leo wrinkled his nose and it took half a beat before Sage added, “—ject. Subject. Quit laughing.” Sage’s ears were burning. “Look. I am asking for accommodation or are you actually going to force me to make an official complaint.”
“Good grief you are a child. Worse, a zoomer.” He pulled out his phone.
Sage shrugged. “I am neither Gen Z nor millennial. I am that strange in-between place. Did you do it?”
Leo took an exaggerated bow. “Yes, Miss Moon. The accommodation has been met. Am I also to tie your shoes for you?”
“Now who is acting like a child?”
“Still you. Don’t you know sugar is bad for you?” Leo asked just as Sage was heaping yet another teaspoon of brown sugar into her mug. She made a show of dropping in the sugar. Of course, she was assigned the health nut guy. He probably thought strawberries had little viruses in the seeds and could block a colon or something. What next? A lecture about the perils of Cheetos? She did not need any more negativity in her life.
“Is there anything else?”
Leo sighed, staring at her tea as if it were poison. “I’m sure there will be. But now that we have made the official introduction?—”
“Reintroduction,” Sage said, cutting him off. She wanted him to know that there was no chance that she had forgotten who he was and what he had done.
“Right. Now that we have officially made contact and you are aware of the guidelines, I can go check the cameras.”
Sage turned and walked up the stairs, calling over her shoulder. “Do what you need to do and then leave me alone.”
“Whatever you say, kid.” The door slammed behind him.
Kid? Kid ? The guy was a handful of years older than her. Three if memory served her right. It was hard to forget the face of someone who humiliated you. Sure, it happened eight years ago, but it still didn’t mean her cheeks didn’t heat with embarrassment when she thought of it.
Pull it together, Sage.
So, the idea of her high school bully just waltzing around her oasis, her safe haven, her home, was not an ideal situation. But neither were bricks flying through her windows.
She rubbed her eyes and stretched. She needed to get out of her head. And the best way to do that was to jump into a game. She opened up Welkin Wall . It was the game she had been invited (and financed by LilyTech) to compete in. It would be the first competition she’d attend as a certified competitor, not a spectator.
She had just enough subscribers on her platforms to make her barely relevant, but enough viewership to provide her with just enough income streams too. And fans. People who genuinely enjoyed watching her play and her commentary. She did several streams a week. About half were her playing Welkin Wall , and the other half were cozy games that were more conducive to chatting and general commentary. Last livestream she had gone on a tangent about the best types of pasta and her subscribers ate it up (pun intended).
Sage put on her headset, trying to relax her jaw and muscles. Leo Camaro shook her up. And he shouldn’t have.
She logged into the game, gripping the controller with unnecessary force, and entered the game. She opted for a random team this time. There were pros and cons of team play versus individual play.
Welkin Wall was like any other first-person shooter, but the difference was the fact that gravity wasn’t a thing in this game. There were structures and figures and ways to attach the avatar to areas. Essentially, it was like a puzzle you had to play as well as a shooter game. And the fact that there could be a sniper targeting you at any angle—above, below, any side—was a unique challenge. It was like swimming in open water and a shark coming out of nowhere to get you. It was adrenaline in small doses.
Sage tried some new maneuvers and gameplay, still trying to find a way to attach to the armor of other players and bounce back. She tried (and failed) a few times and grew frustrated. So did her team. She got ribbed a lot by the other players and eventually threw off the headset and played solo for what felt like a few minutes. But a quick glance at the clock informed her that it had been two hours.
She leaned back in her chair and stared out the window. The fall colors greeted her, leaves fluttered by, and the sun was setting .
That’s when she heard the yelling.
“What the hell do you think you are doing here?” a deep, but familiar, voice rang out. “I’ll call the cops on you!”
“Me?” the other voice yelled. “You’re the one walking around here naked. I’m gonna call the cops on you!”
Ah. So, Leo Camaro had met the neighborhood nudist, Filbert. Yes—like the nut. Hazelnuts. Or in this case, just a plain pair of nuts flapping in the breeze.
Sage sprinted down the stairs, still wrapped in her blanket, Squash in one hand, and tore through the back door and onto the porch. Sure enough, Filbert was out on one of his nature walks, wearing just his signature yellow rain boots, and Leo was out walking toward the edge of the property.
“What is going on?” she yelled, running toward Leo. “Are you threatening Filbert?”
“Who?”
“Filbert.” She pointed to the very old (and very naked) man now walking toward them.
“I’ve always called them hazelnuts,” Leo said. Then he gestured wildly to the naked man. “And in this case, a good old-fashioned nut case!”
Sage shrugged. “He’s always been a free spirit. He walks this trail around here between the properties. It's all private land so when he uh?—”
“Forgets his pants?”
“Yeah. That.” Sage cleared her throat. “It’s not a big deal.” She grabbed Leo’s arm and pulled him back. It was a strange thing to voluntarily touch someone. It felt like electric shocks over her body. He took a few steps back .
“Look,” she whispered. “Filbert has some problems. Mr. Sato and I have called Adult Protective Services but they don’t do much. Filbert has some caseworker who comes by to make sure he’s okay and has groceries. Other than the occasional jaunt in the woods, he’s fine I guess. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“Look here kiddo—” Filbert yelled, brandishing a stick he’d picked up from where the forest was trying to overtake the backyard. “If you here are the one giving Sage problems, I will cut ya!” Filbert turned to look at Sage. “You alright? I’ll cut him down.” He swung the stick and nearly knocked his own head with it.
“Thanks, Filbert,” she sighed. “But I’m okay.” Despite seeing Filbert ( all of Filbert) often, it never did feel normal. “This is Leo Camaro. He is running security here.”
Filbert relaxed his grip on the stick. “So that’s why you were on the ladder?”
“Checking the cameras. Do you need me to take you back?—”
“Nope!” Filbert turned and started back the way he came, waving the stick over his head. “Getting breezy so I’m heading in.”
Sage closed her eyes and turned back to her house. Filbert was right. It was getting cold and her slippers were soaked from the damp grass and mud. The blanket wrapped around her did little to stave off the wind. And Squash was shivering.
“The hell was that?” Leo asked, taking a few strides to catch up to her.
“I just told you. That was Filbert. ”
“Well, I know that now!” Camaro said. His nose was slightly red, likely from the cold.
“How long have you been here? Seriously, how long does it take to check cameras?” she asked, walking into the house. She needed tea. And dinner. Her stomach grumbled and something told her that Leo would turn his nose up and make some snide remark about pizza bites. She didn’t need to give him another reason to think she was stupid. Or maybe she did. Then he’d leave and she’d get another agent.
She went for the pizza bites in the freezer and tossed them in the microwave.
“I’ve been here for almost two hours.”
“Huh, I thought you would have left a while ago.”
“Did you seriously not see me, quite literally on a ladder outside your office and bedroom window? I was fixing the shoddy camera work for hours. No wonder you’ve got some baddies on your tail.”
She slammed the freezer shut. “What is that supposed to mean?” She poured (as angrily as someone could) tea into a cup of ice. Then she had to wipe up her mess (because if one was to pour tea angrily it meant splashing it all over the place) which only made her more frustrated.
Leo rolled his eyes. “I just mean that you being completely oblivious isn’t exactly conducive to a safe environment.”
“And yet you stand here and make comments like that. Clearly, you are not picking up the signs of this rather hostile situation.” It took all her willpower not to throw her tea in his face .
“Relax,” he said.
Everyone knew that the word “relax” did the very opposite. You want someone wound up tight and crazy? Tell them to relax. Instead of telling Leo Camaro this reality of life, all she said was. “I am relaxed.” She was imagining what it would be like to magically triple in size and throw him out of her house by his shoelaces.
It was a relaxing two seconds of disassociation.
The ding of the microwave cut off whatever he was going to say.
She could almost hear George Sato admonishing her for being rude. “Food is what brings people together,” he’d say. Well, what if she wanted this guy out, huh? What then, Mr. Sato? Then George’s disappointed face flashed across her mind. Fine, George. You win.
Sage cleared her throat. “Do you want something to eat?”
Leo looked at her measly plate and then the cup of iced tea in her hand. “No thanks,” he said. Then he had the audacity to wrinkle his nose at her pizza bites. The monster.
Still, it was a relief. She didn’t want to share her meals with someone who couldn’t appreciate decadence when he saw it. And these pizza rolls were name-brand. Pure bliss.
“In the unlikely event that I will have to come stay with you, will you have a spare room for me to use?” Leo asked, eyeing the plate of pizza rolls like they were some amoeba trying to come to life.
It was her turn to scoff. “Give me some warning. Most of the rooms need airing out.” That was an understatement. Several rooms were essentially shrines and storage rooms. One of her favorites was what she and George called the “art room.” It was one of George’s favorite things to do: collect art. The uglier, the better.
“Well, hopefully, it doesn’t need to come to that. I have no desire to sleep with ghosts.”
“Yeah, same.” Her eyes lingered on his for a moment too long because he looked at her differently. Like she was a puzzle, and she didn’t want him solving her.
“Well, thank you,” she said instead of "please leave” like she wanted.
“Miss Moon.” His voice was deep and commanding, but there was a softness to it. “I don’t know how you are emotionally handling this whole situation right now, but I know that sharing your life with a stranger hired to keep you safe must feel awkward, especially with our rocky past. But please know that I will respect your privacy and this is only a precaution.”
Sage took a deep breath. “I don’t like any of this. I just want to be left alone.”
“I hear you.”
“But I’m fine,” she said. She took a swig of the tea and pretended it was the strong stuff to give her liquid courage. “Things are fine.” Maybe if she told herself that lie enough she’d actually start to believe it.
“If you were fine I wouldn’t be here. But for now, I’ll leave you to it.” Leo took a few strides to the door before he paused and turned back to face Sage, which was unfortunate since she had stuffed several pizza rolls in her mouth and was certain she looked like a troll consuming its plunder .
“Sage, it’s an odd name.”
“Mother was a hippy,” she answered. “She named her other kid Cherry.”
He shrugged. “That’s not so bad.”
“He hates it.”
Leo wrinkled his nose. “Fair enough. Where is he?”
“Prison,” she answered.
“Free-spirited?
“Icarus.”
“What about your mom?”
“High as a kite, floating around somewhere.” Sage hadn’t seen her since she was sixteen when Sage dropped out of high school.
“You seem pretty nonchalant about it.”
“I am.” For the most part. Sage had to be. But she was more annoyed than anything that she had to justify her detachment from her family to a complete stranger. She put on her brave face. “You see, I don’t find the past haunting me. If anything, it’s a pinprick in the fabric of my life and time just keeps pulling me further away.”
His face changed. “Some people prefer ghosts. At least you can face a ghost head-on.”
He was the ghost of her past. “Is that what you believe?” she asked.
“We all have ghosts that want our attention,” he said. His voice was sincere.
“Good thing I don’t believe in ghosts.”
Leo shook his head just a fraction, eyes boring into hers, all but saying “And yet I’m standing right here.” The moment passed and Leo laughed, exaggeratedly looking around him. “Yes. A good thingyou don’t believe in ghosts considering this haunted mansion you have.” Then he smirked and the momentary tension was gone.
“Leave my home alone. I like it.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
“Goodbye,” Sage said, walking up the stairs, pausing until she heard the front door close and his car pull out of the driveway.