Chapter 13

Mark frowned when all Sage kept doing was whispering no repeatedly, her eyes not moving from the headstone. What the hell was going on? What did she mean she had killed them?

Maybe bringing Sage here wasn't the best idea because Mark suddenly remembered how distraught she was the previous day. She had begged to go with him and leave CalJac's, to which he denied her and commenced their first official fight. He squatted down and placed his hands on her shoulders, beginning to rub them, trying to calm her down the best way he could.

"Darlin', this isn't your fault…"

"Yes it is." How the hell was she supposed to tell him her horrible discovery?

Now Mark was getting fed up and got to his feet, pulling her by her upper arm to stand, thankful she hadn't fought him. "I've had enough of this. You can't blame yourself for this…"

"Oh Mark, you don't understand…" Sage sobbed, pulling away from him to wrap her arms around herself, once again facing the headstone. "If you only knew the truth, you would probably kill me right here and now."

Mark was officially staring at Sage like she'd grown three heads, eyes narrowing. "What are you-?"

"It was me." Sage whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment and wiped her tears away that just kept falling, not believing this was happening. "M-Mark, the person who…that night…the roads were slippery and...God I'm so sorry! I'M SORRY!" She screamed, gripping her hair in her fingers tightly and shook her head, not believing she was dating her victim's family…his BROTHER!

His heart nearly stopped when Sage began rambling, though he caught most of what she said. "Sage…" Mark's breathing had increased tenfold, not moving to take a step toward her because he wanted her to finish what she was trying to tell him. "W-What are you trying to say darlin'?"

This was a very messed up situation and Sage felt like running as far away from this man as she could, trembling from head to toe. "I-I'm the one who…who hit them that night…" She watched as the realization dawned in his green eyes and stumbled back when he took a step forward, scared out of her mind right now. "I-I didn't mean to do it! The roads were very slick, it was pouring down rain and I couldn't see! I looked down for one second because my cell phone rang and…storms terrify me! I-I didn't answer it, it was only one second and…I hit them. I didn't even see the car go off the road because…I hit my head on the steering wheel…" Sage touched her forehead with a shaky hand, the events of that night flooding back to her. "I swear to you, I swear to god I didn't know you were related to them! If I had known, I never would've applied at CalJac's and I never would've started dating you! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

"Stop saying sorry." Mark ordered in a low calm voice, staring back at her with bewildered eyes, trying to register everything she just said.

He had dated and slept with the driver who had hit Glen's car, the one person he had wished dead for the past four years. Here she was, standing before him crying uncontrollably and looked scared out of her mind. Mark couldn't believe this and raked a hand through the top of his head since he'd pulled his hair back in a tight braid prior to leaving Sage's place. Never did Mark think in a million years he would actually come face to face with the person who had destroyed not only him, but his mother as well.

"Mark…"

Holding his hand up, Mark stopped her from talking, hating the sound of her voice cracking and didn't know what to do. He was falling in love with the person who ended Glen's life, even though it was an accident. The police investigation proved the car that hit Glen had lost control due to the tire marks on the road combined with severe weather going on. His heart bled and was torn between taking Sage in his arms and ending everything with her.

Mark had no idea what to do.

Sage didn't blame Mark for being upset with her, but she hoped he believed her when she said she had NO idea who he was prior to interviewing for the job. She found the article in the paper and answered it. Investigating Glen Jacobs's family wasn't on Sage's top priority list, not when she was trying to forget that fateful night completely. The fact the two men had different last names was also a factor because Sage very well couldn't go around assuming everyone in the city was related to Glen Jacobs.

"I-If there was anything I could do to change that night, I would do it in a heartbeat. It's given me terrible nightmares for the past four years." Sage admitted quietly, lowering her eyes to the ground and stood where she was instead of running away like she probably should've. "I-I don't blame you for hating me. If it makes you feel any better, I have lived in hell ever since that night happened and I can't seem to escape it."

"I never said I hated you, Sage." Mark stated, staring back at her and couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. "I'll admit I've wished death upon the individual who hit them that night and killed my family. Any normal human being would. But I never expected it to be you…" He trailed off, glancing back at the headstone and knew this had to be a sign.

This had to be a message from Glen telling him it was time to move on. Mark had felt restless for the past four years, having grilled the police station countless times, wanting to know the name of the person who hit his brother. The police didn't tell him anything, said it was confidential and since it was an accident, there was no need to reveal the information. Mark had nearly gotten himself thrown in jail because he lost his temper toward the chief of police, who decided to give him a break because of the way Mark chose to mourn his deceased family.

"How can you stand there and say you don't hate me after what I did to you and your family?" Sage demanded in a cracked voice, the guilt crashing over her intensely and almost made her knees buckle. "I-I'm a murderer, Mark…"

"Stop." Mark ordered, shaking his head and slowly took a few steps toward her, frowning when she moved away from him. "Sage, I'm not gonna hurt you, darlin', I promise."

"You should want to kill me for what I did." Her heart was breaking into pieces because Sage was falling in love with this man and now it was all ruined. "I-I know I would deserve it too…"

As much as Mark wanted to agree with her, he couldn't, his shoulder slumping in defeat. "No you don't." He watched as her head snapped up to stare at him, shock filtering in her sapphire eyes. "Sage, what happened that night was an accident. Nothing more." His voice had shifted to a calm soothing tone, needing to calm her down as he took a few hesitant steps toward her.

Sage went to say something only for Mark to press his finger against her lips, quickly closing the distance between them. The tears hadn't stopped and Mark grabbed her upper arms, forcing her to stay where she was, pulling her close to him. He didn't do it rough; just firm enough to where she couldn't run away from him, knowing was terrified right now. If it was anyone else, Mark would've killed them without thinking twice, but Sage was more than just another person to him…much more.

"Look at me." He whispered, dipping his head and claimed her lips as soon as she obeyed, releasing one of her upper arms to grip her chin in his strong hand.

A soft gasp escaped Sage when Mark kissed her, not expecting it and instantly returned the gesture, feeling his hand move from her chin to wipe away tears with the pad of his thumb. Sage cupped his handsome face and slid it up to grab the back of his neck, pouring everything into this kiss, telling him silently how she felt. Growling softly, Mark's arms wrapped around her waist as his muscular hands slid down her back to her jean covered ass, squeezing it. Sage squealed against his lips when her feet suddenly left the ground as Mark hoisted her up with his hands on her ass, instinctively wrapping her legs around his waist, the kiss never breaking.

They were kissing right in front of Glen and Nova's grave, both lost in their own world and to anyone else it would've looked seriously wrong, but neither cared at the moment. Mark couldn't hate her and felt as if he could breathe for the first time in four long years, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. He'd finally found the missing piece in his life and knew it was a gift sent from his brother, this beautiful angel in his arms.

When Mark finally broke the kiss, he had a smile on his face and felt Sage press her forehead to his, holding her close to him. "I'm sorry, Mark…" She whispered, surprised by the smile on his face and wondered if that was a bad omen considering what she just revealed to him.

"I'm not." Mark turned with her still in his arms to stare back at Glen's headstone, nodding. "Everything happens for a reason, Sage. What happened was a horrible accident and you lost control of your car. It was bad weather, hell I remember that storm and I didn't know Glen had been out driving with his pregnant wife. Had I known, I would've tried everything in my power to stop him and made him call for help." Emerald locked on sorrowful sapphire and Mark ran a finger down her cheek as more tears fell, brushing them away with his soft lips. "Please stop crying. What happened wasn't your fault and, call me crazy, but I believe you when you say you didn't know who I was." He was a reasonable man and very understanding when he wanted to be or the situation called for it.

This was definitely one of those circumstances.

"CalJac's…" It suddenly clicked with Sage as she closed her eyes, finally understanding why the business was named something that unique. "Was he…?"

"My partner, yes." Mark confirmed, slowly setting her back down on her feet and kept his arms wrapped around her, kissing the top of her head. "We started CalJac's together some odd years ago; I forget how long we've been around. Gotta be past ten years now, the paperwork with the exact year is in the files. Our grandfather died and left us a nice chunk of money, so we decided to open up a business together."

"What made you two decide to make it a tailor/jewelry shop?" Sage had always wondered that and finally got to ask him, her tears slowly subsiding, feeling a wave of peace wash over her. "Sorry, I'm just curious…"

Mark nodded, deciding it was time to leave as they both walked away from Glen and Nova's gravesite, heading back to the Titan. "Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of tailor and jewelry shops for men around the city. We spent two weeks after getting the inheritance from granddad, trying to figure out what kind of company to open up. Glen was the one who suggested the tailor suits and I added the jewelry because…well, men need accessories too." It was reasonable enough and he remembered how Glen had laughed him to hell and back for the idea, but ultimately they had decided to combine their ideas together and made a very successful business.

"It's a very cool concept, when my friend told me about the article, I'd never heard of CalJac's. Then again, it is mostly for all men, though you do sell some bridal sets for both men and women, which I think it's great." Sage stated, feeling a little more relaxed now that she was certain Mark wouldn't hurt her, their fingers laced together. "I like the name of the shop too."

Mark chuckled, stopping in front of the Titan and pulled something from one of the saddlebags, handing over bottled water. "That was actually Nova's idea." A sad smile crossed his face as he took a long swig of water, his throat no longer feeling dry. "Glen and I were arguing about what to call it because we couldn't come to an agreement. Glen was very stubborn, more than me, and Nova finally just suggested why not take the first three letters of our last names and combine them. We were gonna do JacCal's, but Nova said it didn't sound right. So we ended up with CalJac's."

"Yeah, I definitely agree with her that JacCal's doesn't sound right. It's not smooth like CalJac's and doesn't sound as professional." Sage smiled as Mark helped her straddle the Titan instead of just lifting her up, scooting back just a little to get more comfortable. "She sounded like a smart woman."

"She was." Mark agreed, reaching his hand out to run his finger down her cheek. "You remind me of her in a way. She was smart, funny and beautiful, all of the qualities you possess, darlin'." He sighed heavily, glancing back across the way at the headstones where his family lay resting peacefully. "I think they sent you to me somehow, someway."

Sage raised a brow as Mark turned to face her, tilting her head slightly. "What do you mean?"

Mark simply smiled and waved her off dismissively. "Never mind, you ready to go?" He wasn't surprised to see her nod and leaned down to brush his lips against hers again before mounting the Titan, firing it up. "Your place or mine?" He called over the engine, looking over his shoulder at her while slipping his shades back on.

"Yours!" She shouted, not wanting to be away from him, especially after everything she found out and discovered. "Can we go to my place first so I can grab some clothes?"

Mark nodded, having heard her request and felt her arms wrap around his waist before it took off from the cemetery. 'Thanks brother.' He thought, placing his hand over Sage's when she began rubbing his chest up and down, not wanting her to worry anymore.

Neither saw the pair of cold eyes watching them roar away as the figure stepped out from the tree they'd been hiding behind out of sight. So Mark had someone in his life he actually cared about and possibly…loved. First, Sage would have to be punished because of her new boyfriend, who she thought was absolutely perfect. After that, Mark would come afterwards and revenge would finally be in their grasp. Glancing at the headstones of Glen and Nova, the figure swept away with a growl, heading out of the cemetery toward the city.