Chapter Twenty-Four Sage
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sage
The night has finally come. I’ve worked hard to mentally prepare myself for what this means, but now that I’m mere hours away from helping murder someone, reality is setting in. I don’t have cold feet, but I am nervous.
As I mentally prepare, I have a full-blown fashion crisis over what to wear to help commit a murder. “Okay, leather feels like I’m trying too hard. Denim? Too chill! Maybe a hoodie? People distrust hoodies.”
In the end, I pack three outfits. You know, options.
Whenever the idea of backing out crosses my mind, I remind myself of everything Travis has told me about Eli. He’s stalking me. He found out where I am staying, and he traveled all the way here without letting me know because he wants to hurt me.
God, if he could do this to me, imagine who else he could do this to!
There’s a strong chance I might not even be the first woman who’s caught his interest like this.
Maybe there are dozens who came before me, and plenty who will come after.
What we’re doing is a service to countless other women who might fall victim to him.
Travis and I both dress in all black. He’s wearing the sexy cat burglar outfit I saw him in once before, leather gloves and all.
I’m careful not to say anything to disturb him as he gears up.
I’ve been with him long enough to know that he has his ritual, and I don’t want to do anything to mess that up today.
Ultimately, I decide to put on a pair of black leggings and borrow one of Travis’s black long-sleeve shirts. It’s oversize, but if anyone were to see me in it, they wouldn’t think I was wearing anything other than my boyfriend’s shirt. Definitely not a kill suit.
Travis moves swiftly through the house, gathering everything he needs, and I can feel the tension radiating off him. He’s in the zone preparing for this. I watch him, studying his movements. His dedication is admirable.
“Are you ready?” Travis asks me when the SUV is all packed and ready to go. I stand up and nod, following him to the garage, where we both climb into the car.
The trunk is loaded with bleach, plastic wrap, tarps, zip ties, and plenty of cleaning rags. We drive in complete silence. I don’t turn on the radio, and I keep my eyes glued to the dark road ahead as Travis seems like he is getting lost in his own mind.
Even though knowing what he’s thinking is impossible, I assume he’s going over the plan countless times, searching for any weaknesses. I do the same, but I get sidetracked thinking about different scenarios of how this could go wrong.
When we pull up to the diner near the motel, my heart drops in my chest. This is it. Phase one of the plan to find Eli and kill him.
“You know the plan?” Travis stops the car and looks at me, his eyebrow raised as he studies my face.
“Check in online and wait. I’ll order a drink. It’s quick and inconspicuous. When he shows up, lure him away.” I take a deep breath and steel myself for what I’m about to do.
“I’ll be waiting around the restaurant.” He stares at me as I hesitate to open the door and leave. “Everything is going to be okay. I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.”
I smile at him and leave the car. Travis drives away, leaving me standing in front of the diner alone. I take a picture of the bright neon sign, making sure it’s aesthetic and good enough to match the rest of my grid.
I check out the pictures. Okay, if I die tonight, at least this lighting is insane.
The LakeHouse is adorable, which makes this an obvious hot spot for tourists and travel influencers alike. I head inside and take a seat at the bar, ordering a watermelon mojito from the server.
While I wait, I take a couple of cute selfies, ignoring the people glaring at me while I do. Nobody likes people taking selfies in public, something I am all too aware of as an influencer.
When I’m done, both pictures are on my Instagram story. I refresh it constantly, looking for any sign of Eli liking the images, as he usually does. This time, instead of messaging me about them right away, I notice that he sees the Instagram story but does not comment.
A few minutes after my mojito arrives, I start sipping on it and stare straight ahead while I wait. Soon enough, someone sits down beside me, and I look to my left to see Eli.
My heart beats rapidly in my chest. It’s really him.
This whole plan actually worked, and he saw the picture and came to the diner.
I force myself to look away because Eli doesn’t know I know who he is. He has a faceless Instagram account, and if I make it known that I recognize him, it’s bound to raise his suspicions. So I do what most women probably do when they see him—I ignore him.
And by ignore, I mean act like I’m deep in thought about solving climate change via TikTok dances. Convincing, I know.
“Excuse me,” Eli says as he leans on the counter and stares at me nervously. “Do I know you?”
I do my best to paint a clueless look on my face as I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I don’t think so.” I pause, then shrug. “Well, I have a YouTube channel, so maybe you’ve seen some of my videos?”
Eli snaps his fingers and nods. “That’s exactly right. I follow you on Instagram, actually.”
“Oh really? That’s so cool. This is kind of funny. I’ve never been recognized in public before.” I laugh and do my best to sound flirty. I force a wide smile on my face as I turn the barstool, letting my entire body face him. He looks down at me with a smile, raising an eyebrow at my outfit.
“I have to say, I’m a little more used to seeing you in the dresses and bikinis.” He laughs and blushes, looking down at the menu in front of him. “It looks like you’re about to do a heist or something.”
“Well, maybe I am.” I lean forward and smile, biting my lip softly. “There are some priceless artifacts around here that my little fingers need to grab. But you have to promise not to tell on me.”
“Of course, you have my word,” Eli says, crossing his heart. “And if you’re ever looking for any extra crew members, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
As much as I don’t want to do this, I look him up and down with a hungry smile as I reach out to squeeze his arm. His mouth hangs open as he flexes his muscles under my grip.
“I am always looking for some muscle,” I say with the most annoying giggle I have ever made. “I might just have to take you up on that offer.”
Eli is clearly at a loss for words, because he doesn’t say anything right away. The tips of his ears turn red, and I look down to see his dick straining against his pants. He quickly readjusts himself, but not before he sees me noticing. He laughs nervously, and I scoot even closer to him.
My hand lands on his thigh, and a shiver runs down my spine. I lean in to whisper in his ear, letting my breath graze against his neck, “It would be a shame to let that go to waste.”
He backs away and widens his eyes as he looks me up and down. “Are you serious?”
I nod, biting my lip with a coy smile. “What can I say? I kind of have a thing for strangers.”
Eli clears his throat and readjusts himself once more in the seat, looking over his shoulder at the door. “I’m staying at the motel right down the street.”
“Then what are we still doing here?” I stand up and grab a twenty-dollar bill from my pocket and slam it down on the counter. Eli jumps to his feet and follows me to the door.
When we’re outside, we walk around the building to where I know Travis is waiting. I turn around and walk backward with an eager smile on my face, my eyes falling to the bulge in his pants.
“I don’t think you can wait to get to the motel, can you?” I bite my lip and stop in front of a parked car. “I might need to take care of that right now.”
“Here?” Eli laughs incredulously, looking around nervously. “I’m sure I can wait a couple of minutes.”
“Why not now and at the motel? I can’t wait another second to taste you.” I walk toward a dark corner of the parking lot.
Eli is hesitant, looking at the darkness, then back at his car. I know what he’s thinking. The things he needs are in the hotel. If he really wanted to do me harm, he needs me there.
“I like things a little naughty,” I whisper, inching closer and pressing my hand to his chest. His breath hitches in his throat, and I know he’s exactly where I want him. “Trust me, it’ll be fun.”
I turn around and walk quickly into the dark corner, not bothering to look back at Eli, because I know he’s following.
He mutters something under his breath about not believing this is actually happening.
He jogs to catch up to me, and I stop just before we reach the dumpster.
From the shadows, Travis gives me the universal “ready” signal—which, in his case, is an enthusiastic thumbs-up like we’re about to do a trust fall at summer camp.
I nod back like this is totally normal and not, you know, kidnapping someone next to discarded cheeseburger wrappers.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Eli says, closing in on me. “Believe me, I’ve had some fun with your pictures, but I never imagined you’d be this filthy.”
I don’t take my eyes off him as I lean my back against the wall of the diner, beckoning him to come closer. Travis moves behind him as quietly as a mouse, a syringe in hand.
“Tell me about all the things you’ve fantasized about doing to me.”
Eli moves closer, pressing a hand against the wall beside my face. He thinks for a moment, opening his mouth to give me whatever filthy answer is on his mind. But before he can say a word, the needle sinks into his neck and his eyes close as the drugs take instant effect.
Eli collapses on the ground, and I stare at him with a scowl on my face. I wish I could wash off the feeling of his breath on me, and I can’t wait for the rest of this plan to unfold.
“You did good,” Travis says, smiling at me. That little bit of reassurance is all I need.
He hardly needs my help loading Eli into the trunk of the SUV.
With Eli in the car now, all I can think about is the possibility of him waking up and scrambling across the car, grabbing the steering wheel, and sending all of us crashing to our deaths. Travis doesn’t say anything as he heads directly to the crematorium he owns.
I’m surprised at how secluded it is when we arrive. Travis told me it was far from the road, and he was right. It is a cemetery—there are hundreds of small gravestones for pets on the lot—and it feels eerie. The building is completely obscured by heavily wooded area.
Travis unlocks the door and brings out a stretcher to load Eli onto while he’s still unconscious. I help him strap Eli’s limp body to the metal before we roll it inside.
I stand back and let Travis take the reins once we’re in the basement. He checks the ties before ripping Eli’s clothes off entirely so he’s naked in front of us.
Travis is focused—more so than I have ever seen him before. While he moves, there’s a faint smile on his lips, showing that he is deriving pleasure from this. Before arriving, I tried to prepare myself for what I’d see. But standing here now, I can hardly believe it.
It feels like I’m sitting in a movie theater watching something unfold on-screen. It doesn’t feel real. I know that it is, and I know that I had a hand in this. But I can’t force my brain to register this as something actually happening to me.
My body feels light as I watch Travis work. I forget where I am, what I’m doing, everything that has led to this. My throat goes dry, and every hair on my body stands up. It’s like I’m having some kind of out-of-body experience.
When Travis is done carefully inspecting everything, he sits down on a stool while he waits for Eli to wake up. Neither of us says a word to each other.
It feels like ages before Eli’s eyes slowly open, and he looks around the room, trying to remember what happened. Both Travis and I watch as the memory of him running into me, having the meet-cute he thought he orchestrated himself, runs through his mind.
Now he’s here, tied up and vulnerable. He looks just as afraid as he probably wanted me to feel. A flicker of excitement runs through me at the idea.
“I bet you’re wondering where you are,” Travis says, forcing Eli to look at him.
Eli tries to say something through the cloth stuffed in his mouth, but he can’t.
“Remember Sage? The woman you flew all the way to Lake Lure in the hopes of meeting. Is that where it was going to end, Eli? Were you only going to run into her at the diner and tell her how big of a fan you are? Or did you plan on luring her back to your hotel room and tying her up? I bet it feels really awful having the tables turned so suddenly.”
Travis stands up and grabs a knife he placed on the table beside Eli. Eli sees it for the first time, realizing that this is the end for him. He squirms against the metal stretcher, screaming into the cloth that stifles every sound.
My heart thuds against my chest as Travis traces the knife along his body. It’s delicate, almost tender, as it scrapes against Eli’s chest and lands right above his heart.
“Did you think you could take what’s mine?” Travis leans in closer, almost pressing his mouth to Eli’s ear as he speaks in a hushed, chilling voice. “I’m going to enjoy this more than any other kill.”
Eli screams again, his eyes bulging as he pleads with Travis to let him go.
Travis’s eyes don’t leave his as he plunges the knife into his chest. Eli goes still, the muscles that had been tensed and squirming on the stretcher suddenly limp.
Blood pools around the knife and drips onto the metal table below him.
My mouth hangs open as Travis looks at me with a grin. “It’s over.”
It’s over. His words echo in my mind as I’m trying to process everything I just witnessed. Honestly, between Eli’s corpse and Travis’s unnerving crime scene confidence, I’m not sure which one disturbed me more. Probably Travis. Eli at least had the decency to pass out before things got weird.
The realization of Eli being gone settles in, and a sense of relief washes over me.
On top of that, I feel empowered. He was going to hurt me .
. . possibly kill me, but now the threat is gone, thanks to us.
In an odd way, Travis and I will forever be connected.
As I look up at him through my lashes, I feel that connection buzzing between us, growing stronger by the minute.
Travis reminds me of an avenging angel, my dark knight who will kill for me. There is something so primal about him right now. I don’t know if it’s that thought or the adrenaline pumping through my veins, but I suddenly have the urge to jump Travis’s bones and show him just how grateful I am.