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SAGE
It had been three days since I’d left. This time I wasn’t holed up in a shitty motel. I’d been on the move constantly, getting what I needed for the next step. After I had left Alex’s house, I went to my house and switched out my car for Lacey’s truck. Niko still had the spare key, but the original was still in the toolbox where I had put it a year ago. I seriously doubted they would even look in the garage. The last thing they expected me to do was use a massive, stand out truck to leave. Which was exactly why I’d done it.
Now, I was up north, staring at the Mackinac Bridge while sitting in the truck. It was bringing memories that made it difficult to push away. Being here used to be my favorite place. Now it plagued my nightmares. But the address I had found in Alex’s phone was in the UP. I looked it up on the map on my phone and researched the whole area. My bet was it was another house the society owned. Like the one I’d burned down, this one was in the woods in the middle of nowhere.
I had been keeping in touch with Kiara ever since I’d left. The first day, I told her everything that had happened in the past four months. How hard it was to pretend with Alex. How I almost lost sight of everything from the drinking. I even told her about Niko and how he helped me stay sane and kept my secrets.
Sighing, I looked away from the bridge and dialed Kiara’s number.
“Sage?” she answered.
“Hi. I just wanted to check in.”
“Where are you?”
“Still in Michigan,” I responded vaguely. I didn’t want Kiara to come meet me. I didn’t want someone else to get involved and get hurt if the plan didn’t work.
“I can help you if you tell me what you’re doing,” she pleaded.
“All I’m doing is researching,” I lied.
“You can do that from Chicago.”
“No, I can’t. Once I get the evidence we need, then I’ll come see you. We have nothing right now. Except my story.” What I’d done to Geo popped into my head. I had my own secrets to hide too. “And we have no idea who we can trust, even in Chicago. What if you tell someone and they bury it, or worse, hurt you?”
“It might be time to take that chance—”
“No,” I said more sharply than I intended. “We need to do it so that they don’t have a chance to get away with it. I got an address from Alex’s phone. I’m going to send it to you. Maybe you can find out who owns the land? That could be the start of a lead.”
“Sure, I’ll see what I can do. You’re not going there, are you?”
“Of course not. Not without knowing more about it,” I replied. In the last year, my lies had become second nature. If Kiara knew my plan, she would come to Michigan to try to stop me. But nothing was going to get in the way of what needed to be done. And I had to do it within the next few days for it to work.
“Okay, I’ll send you the address now. I’ve got to go. I’ll call back soon.”
After hanging up, I pressed on another number. The number I’d called and texted so many times I’d lost count. Yet Niko still hadn’t called me back. Worry had set in when his phone went straight to voice mail. Either something was wrong, or he was choosing them over me.
He was the one who’d told me to go ahead with my plan. I wanted him here with me, but I could do it without him. I didn’t want to. But I would. I had to. Because this was my only chance at surviving.
I glanced behind me at the snacks I’d bought for the next few days. The least amount of stops I made, the better. I only had one specific stop planned before I got to the house. The sheriff up there was in on it, and who knew how many others. I needed to stay off their radar. After I went over the bridge, it would take less than two hours to drive to that address.
Shaking off my fear, I put the truck in drive and made my way over the bridge.
* * *
I found it. The house wasn’t visible from the road, and I wasn’t about to just waltz up the driveway. But I knew exactly where it was. I drove down the road another two miles and pulled into a public parking area. A place where people parked when they went to hike, hunt, or enjoy the beach of Lake Superior. The truck would fit right in, and people kept their cars parked there for a day or even longer.
I’d marked this place on the map and knew this was perfect. The parking area was busy with summer tourists, and no one glanced my way when I parked. Just like the other house, this one was right on the water and away from any city. This public parking was the closest thing to civilization for miles.
Before I had lost signal, I wrote an email to Kiara and explained exactly where my truck was going to be parked. But instead of sending it, I scheduled it to get sent in two days. If Kiara got that email now, she would drive here as soon as she could. I didn’t want her to get hurt, especially if this lead didn’t come to anything. Two days was all I needed.
If I succeeded in finding what I was looking for, I could cancel the email. If I got caught, Kiara would have the information to find my truck and any evidence that I had gotten so far.
It was early morning, and the sun was already hot. I got out of the truck and packed my backpack with some snacks and water before heading toward the beach. I stayed near the tree line and walked in the direction of where the house was. Slowing my steps after walking about fifteen minutes, I scanned the trees for any sort of trail.
After a few more minutes, I spotted a small opening in the dense trees. It was easy to miss, and if I hadn’t been searching for it, I would have walked right by. I stepped onto the narrow trail and then froze.
My heart was racing like I had just run a marathon. For the last year, I had done everything to stay as far away from them as possible. Now, I was in their backyard. The last few days, I’d moved nonstop to make this plan a reality. There was no turning around now. Even though the terror that invaded every part of my body was begging me to flee.
I closed my eyes as I sucked in deep breaths. I could do this. After a couple of minutes, I forced one foot in front of the other. My eyes swept the area for any movements. I noticed a private property sign nailed to the tree next to the trail. I was getting close. I stayed on the trail, getting farther from the beach. Fear lit inside me when the house finally came into view.
It was smaller than the other house, and it didn’t have the grand elegance either. It was still large but looked old and decrepit. The outside was dark stone, and it seemed no one had done work on it in years. The porch wood was rotting, and the roof shingles were falling off. Two of the upstairs windows had large cracks in them. But I knew this was the right place when I saw bars. Although only one window upstairs had bars while none of the others did.
Staying between the trees, I stepped off the trail. I circled the house until I found a little spot that was perfect. There were views of the driveway and the entire front and side of the house. No one would be able to leave or come without me seeing. I was surrounded by thick bushes and was confident that I couldn’t be seen. Now it was time to wait.
There was a lone beat-up truck in the driveway. No other cars joined it as I sat for the next four hours. I was waiting for whoever was here to leave. I had used my debit card in a city right after I crossed the bridge. If they were watching my account, they should see that transaction soon. When that happened, they would call anybody in the area to go check it out, and that would most likely include whoever was in this house.
An hour later, a man rushed out, making sure to stop and lock the door behind him. My heart stopped. It was Eric. The same man who’d lived at the house I had burned down.
I ducked down even farther into the bushes as his truck raced down the driveway. Once the sound of his engine had faded away, I looked back at the house and waited to see if there was any movement. I’d learned from Niko that they never got together unless there was a ceremony. Eric was the only one who lived at the other house. I was almost positive there was no one else in the house.
But fear still kept me rooted in my spot. Tomorrow was the last night of a full moon for this month. August. If they were going to kill another woman, it was going to be within the next couple of days. I had circled the entire area, and there were no other cars anywhere. There was an open area in the backyard with tire tracks, but it was empty. There was no one else there. Except maybe there was. What if there was a woman locked in that house? I was going to find out. Along with any other evidence I could take without them knowing.
Moving away from the bushes, I ran to the front door. I peeked in the windows and saw no one. The bars on the window above me looked new and shiny. They must have been making this into their new murder house. The windows that didn’t have bars probably would soon. I gulped as I looked at the lock on the door. The copied keys from Alex’s ring were pressed tightly in my hand. I tried one key and let out a frustrated groan when it didn’t fit. If I couldn’t get into the house, this would all be for nothing. The second key didn’t work either.
When the third key slid in, I didn’t know whether to jump in excitement or run away screaming. Slowly, I cracked open the door just enough to see inside. No sound or movements. I slipped inside and locked the door behind me. My hands shook as I turned the key. The vivid memory of when I had escaped through the front door of the other house tore through my mind.
I had fought for my life to get out of that house, and now I’d just turned the key that could lock me in to another nightmare.
