Page 86 of Deadly Obsession

Another thing I’ve never experienced. When my second-grade class had a field trip to the Bronx Zoo, I was home with a bruised eye and busted lip. I missed too many days at school by my father’s hands, and when they threatened to call Child Protective Services on my parents, Percy dug up dirt on the principal and threatened to expose him. The school backed off, but I was pulled out of classes the next year.

Lance and I were homeschooled by Mom until we reached high school, and Percy realized I could be recruiting my peers for the QBM.

Normalcy.

It’s not something I’ll get anytime soon, but Sage is the closest thing I have to experiencing it.

The sun has set when I arrive at the penthouse. All the lights are turned off, and it’s eerily quiet inside.

My heart kicks into gear, thinking the worst.

“Sage!”

My feet move faster than my brain can think as I run through the kitchen. The living room is dark and silent, so I head to the bedrooms, opening doors and checking for Sage while calling her name.

My phone is in my hand, ready to call Jax to have soldiers deployed to search for her but when I return to the living room, the lamp on the table next to my armchair turns on.

“Hello, Elias.”

Sage stares back at me, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

“What the fuck?! You scared the shit out of me. I thought someone had taken you. I thought Chase…”

“Sit down. We need to talk.”

Oh.

Fuck.

This isn’t good.

My stomach sours and my mouth dries as I slowly sink to the couch adjacent to her.

Fear isn’t something I’m accustomed to but the way Sage glares daggers at me, I am literally concerned for my life.

“Did you break into my phone?”

Shit.

“Don’t lie. I know the answer.”

I swallow hard. “I… I did.”

“You deleted the Madam app?”

“Fuck yes I did.”

She closes her eyes, uncrosses her arms, and fists her hands in her lap.

“You had no right—”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

“Because that app is dangerous. Men could find out your true identity. They could become obsessed with you—”

“Obsessed like you?”