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Charles

C harles.

Why is he here? What does he want? Fuck, Marcy’s car is out there, he’s going to know someone is here.

Hans stood there, quietly, continuing to stare through the peephole, praying to the Gods that Charles would decide to give up and leave.

He made a mental note that he should also plan to call the person in control of his case to have a bullshit conversation and potentially snag some information on what the plan could possibly be.

After about five minutes of waiting, Charles looked down at his watch and wandered off.

That was weird.

Hans watched until he saw him drive off down the road and made sure that there was no one else poking around Marco’s property. He quickly backed away from the door and hurried over to the girls, taking his place next to Sage once more.

“It was Charles.” Sage’s eyes grew wide and a fear crossed her face that Hans hadn’t seen in awhile. “Are you okay?” Hans’ concern grew.

“H-he was h-here?” Sage started to stutter. “That means he saw Marcy’s car and knows that something is going on. He’ll be back.” Hans sat there, trying to develop a plan in his head while the two women went into a state of panic.

“We’re going to have to figure something out,” Marcy spoke up. “Otherwise you’ll get caught and end up going to jail.”

“Or worse,” Sage interjected. “It’s Charles, there’s no way that he wouldn’t try and get into my head first.”

“I’ll kill hi-” Marcy started to respond but Hans interrupted her.

“First off, no, you won’t.” Hans looked over at her and raised his eyebrow. “Second of all, between the two of us, we aren’t going to let anything happen to you, Sage. You just need to stop being so fucking stubborn and let us take the lead on this.”

Sage rolled her eyes and Hans knew that she was struggling with the idea of relinquishing control over the situation.

“You can trust us.” Hans placed his hand on her leg. “I’m going to give Charles a call here in a bit and see if I can casually get information from him so we at least have a timeline to develop a game plan.”

“That’s good.” Marcy nodded in agreement. “For now, I suppose I can find a hotel somewhere and we can hide out there.”

“Good plan.” Hans stared off into oblivion while he thought of the best-case scenario for Sage.

“I know it feels risky, but I think you should stay here. Gather up the things you might need and then we can all meet back this afternoon.” He looked between the two waiting for one of them to either agree or disagree.

“I’m fine with that,” Sage chimed in, glancing over at Marcy who appeared anxious. “Hey, everything is going to be okay,” she assured her. “Remember, I’m a pro at killing people if I need to.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of, Sage.” Marcy’s voice was stern. “I don’t want us to leave and come back to an absolute massacre.”

“Don’t worry,” Hans cut in. “The plan is solid, no one will be dying today.” The energy in the room shifted and became so quiet that you could almost hear a pin drop and know its exact location.

Did Hans actually believe the words that were flowing from his mouth or was he just trying to remain positive to keep the spirits of Sage and Marcy lifted?

“Let’s make a plan to all meet up for dinner.

I will stop and pick you up, Sage.” Marcy broke the silence.

Hans stood up, wrapping his arms around Sage and he placed a soft kiss against her forehead.

He was surprised when Marcy continued, “Mister Cop-With-a-Vendetta interrupted a very important conversation we were having earlier. It would be nice if we could all have a chance to revisit it.”

Hans and Sage looked at each other and shrugged, as far as they knew the conversation had been completed with everyone agreeing that this was what they wanted.

Hans found it odd that she was hinting at the fact that it had not concluded, but agreed that at least a few things needed to be solidified.

“Yeah, of course, Marcy.” Hans sauntered over to the kitchen so he could grab his wallet and keys off the counter. “Ready?”

Marcy stood up and kissed Sage on the forehead, almost mimicking the way that Hans had and squeezed her tightly. “Please be safe. I could never forgive myself if anything came between us again.”

“The only thing coming between you-” Glares from both Sage and Marcy stopped Hans dead in his tracks from finishing his less than corny joke, though it did cause Marcy to lighten up her mood a bit as she chuckled and shook her head at him.

“Boys will be boys.” She grasped Sage by the hand before letting go and heading to the front door. Hans watched as Marcy dug through her purse to find her car keys before she removed her purse from the coat rack next to the front door.

“I’ll go out first.” Hans had already devised a plan to make sure that they were able to sneak out without being caught. “That way, if someone is out there, it will be easier for me to talk my way out of it.”

“Will it though?” Marcy challenged him.

“Your girlish figure won’t do anything for you in this case,” Hans verbally pushed back at her.

Their friendship was clearly picking up where it had left off and with a new relationship in sight, it was a good thing that the other person involved was someone he knew he could trust with his life.

Someone who understood what it was like to love a woman as chaotic as Sage.

Love . That was a concept Hans didn’t know he was capable of ever feeling again.

At least not since Alana. Was that what this was ?

Did he love Sage? So many questions were racing through his head.

He was beginning to feel overwhelmed with his emotions and it left him silent as Marcy began to back out of the driveway.

“Hans?” Marcy’s concern and refusal to let him be a prisoner of his own mind broke through the thoughts. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m not sure.” Hans was monotonous and his gaze traveled to the trees and tall grass passing by in a blur. “Eventually things will be fine, though.”

The silence remained intense for a few more minutes before Marcy broke it once more by releasing a stressful sigh.

“What’s wrong, Marce?” Hans was grateful for the pressure to be taken off of him.

“I don’t want to see her get hurt,” Marcy started to explain. Without listening Hans had his response locked and loaded.

“I don’t want to see her get hurt eith-”

Marcy cut Hans off. “By you.”

The pressure was back on.

Hans raised a brow and looked down toward his lap, searching for the right words - any words at this point - that would help reassure her that Sage was in good hands between the two of them.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I’ll be the first to admit it.

I know I should have been stronger in my previous relationships.

” He knew that if anyone would understand that, it was her.

“I’ve been through enough loss in my life that I know that I can’t lose her again.

Even if it means sharing her with someone who can provide in the areas I lack, and vice versa. ”

“Yeah, well, she’s a handful, it will probably take both of us to tame the feral gremlin.” Marcy laughed.

“Ah, but that’s the side that makes her who she is.” Hans reminded her. “We just need to make sure she remains less… stabby.”

Deep down, Hans knew that Marcy had a valid point. If this relationship was to remain successful, he was going to have to grow up a little and stop living in the past.

Marcy dropped Hans off, confirming the plans for the evening before she continued down the road on her mission to find a hotel room for her and Sage. Hans made his way up the stairs and glanced down at the vacant apartment that Mrs. Jones once resided in.

“Have a slice of apple pie dear, unless you’re allergic.

” Mrs. Jones handed Hans a plate with a slice of her warm apple pie.

Hans had always heard of the Jones’ Farm and knew they were famous for her apple pies, but he had never had the opportunity to taste one for himself.

He sat the box he was carrying down next to him and graciously accepted her ‘welcome to the apartments’ gift.

“Thank you, I’m Hans.” He didn’t want to be rude.

“Oh, I know who you are.” Mrs. Jones smiled. “You’re that hot new detective all the girls at the salon keep going on about.”

Hans’ cheeks flushed, he couldn’t believe that people were talking about him, let alone the new position he had accepted. Of course, with Acadia being a smaller town, he already knew who the ladies were who were suddenly infatuated with him.

“Well, that’s good, because I already know who you are, too,” Hans shot back at Mrs. Jones, feeling like he was finally meeting the town celebrity.

He took a bite of the apple pie and it melted in his mouth, hints of cinnamon and nutmeg causing his mouth to water.

“This is the best pie I’ve ever had.” He couldn’t get over it and was feeling sad that he had never prioritized it sooner.

“If you’re still selling them, I’d gladly sign up for a pie a week. ”

Mrs. Jones chuckled and a sadness came over her face. “I’m glad you like it, but these are nothing like they used to be since I don’t have the farm anymore, and I don’t have the space for a pie business.”

Hans patted her on the shoulder. “Oh, that’s okay. I do appreciate you for making me feel welcome!”

Mrs. Jones smiled, a twinkle flickered in her eye. “You’re welcome, dear.” She started to turn and head back to her apartment. “I’ll let you get back to your unpacking, but if you would like to come down about five o’clock and I will have a lasagna ready so you don’t have to worry about dinner.”

“ Thank you, I’ll see you then.”

???

Once Hans was comfortably back in his apartment, he started to pace back and forth in front of his bedroom mirror, letting his emotions spiral for the first time. The loss of Alana. Discovering his best friend was still alive.Guilt for what he thought of as betraying Alana.

You idiot, you started falling for Sage before you tried to remove her from this world which was only a couple of weeks after Alana’s passing. You didn’t even allow yourself to mourn Alana’s death before taking on the next piece of ass.

He stopped, unsure of who the person was that was looking back at him from within the glass of the mirror.

Did I ever love Alana?

The reflection in the mirror took on a new shape and without even thinking, Hans’ fist met the glass, shattering it into the tiniest of shards all over the bedroom floor.

He shook his hand as he returned to his current reality, carefully removing the shards of glass that were sticking out of his knuckles.

Fuck.

Blood slowly trickled down his hand and started to drip onto the floor. He wandered into the bathroom so he could wash his hand and find some gauze to wrap it with.

Get it together man, now isn’t the time to need a grippy sock vacation. He took a deep breath and stared at himself in the mirror, his reflection returning to normal as he wound the gauze around his hand to stop the bleeding.

Bzz. Bzz.

Hans reached into his pocket with his uninjured hand and pulled out his phone.

Bzz.

Hans bit his lip as soon as he saw the name on the caller ID.

Charles.

“Hello?” Hans’ voice came out hoarse.

“Hans, it’s Charles. We need to talk.” Charles was being mysterious. Was he about to share his experience over at Marco’s with Hans? “Meet me at The Shake Shack in twenty minutes,” Charles demanded aggressively.