****Just something different from my other story...this takes place after the end of Season 6...I don't own anything SOA but I love writing about them! Let me know what you think so far****

Kate sighed as she curled her chestnut brown hair into loose ringlets. She let one fall and it gently bounced off her shoulder before sliding down her back. She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, barely recognizing the woman staring back at her. Sure, she was beautiful, she had piercing green eyes that could seduce any man, flawless porcelain skin, red lips that rarely required any makeup and a body other woman would kill for. But this wasn't her. This woman was disgusting to Kate. This woman was Sage.

Kate often wondered how her life got so messed up and when. She had been raised by her grandparents, never knowing her mom. Her grandparents had passed away in a car accident when she was 17 and left her with barely anything. She had worked a few waitressing jobs hoping to eventually go to college but then met Carlos, that was her ultimate life ruining event. Carlos was so good looking and a smooth talker. He told her everything she wanted to hear. He spent money on her and promised her the world. Carlos was her future, so she thought, a gift to get her to the life she always wanted. Boy was she wrong. Since then she had been off and on with Carlos, they were always hot and heavy, not being able keep their hands off each other. But when they fought it was just as extreme, mostly on his end. If you met her now you would never believe that Carlos had been the only guy she had ever been in a relationship with. The only guy she had "really" been intimate with. Carlos managed to cheat on her a few times while they had broken up and even got another girl pregnant twice. So why did Kate keep going back? Even she wasn't sure. Probably because she had no money and knew nothing else. Definitely because she was scared of what he would do if she did leave. He had so much control over her she barely knew who she was anymore, making the woman in the reflection unrecognizable.

Now that she was 27 she found herself at her lowest point of her life. Carlos was so controlling he made her watch his two kids all day, who were 4 and 6. They were so bad and never listened to her and because Carlos disrespected her, they did too. She was never allowed to leave unless he gave her permission and he kept her on a strict allowance, requiring her to give him receipts of anything she bought. He was involved in a gang and she knew it. The charmer she had fell in love with was more of a con artist. His skills were in manipulating and hurting people and he was an asset to his "family". He had guns and knives and always displayed them, which made her nervous with the kids in the house. But she could never say anything. He had influence in the community and that was something that just made her feel more trapped. Anything she did would be reported back to him.

Carlos would work all day doing construction while she watched his kids, then he would come home and expect dinner and sex. After that she would have to get ready for her job. A job she hated, a job that made her hate her life even more. Carlos had found this job for her, he said that it was the only thing she was good at and the money would be really good for them. She really had no choice but to listen to him, because when she ever expressed her opinions she would end up regretting it and hurting, and it only got worse each time. She knew one day he would probably kill her and she didn't think anyone would even notice.

But he was right, it was the one thing she was good at. Even though she hated herself more for it. She could pretend she was someone else for the day, using her other persona to make a man feel good and forget about all of his problems even if it was just for a few minutes. Sometimes she actually felt like she was helping someone else. Most of the time she felt repulsed by the sick perverts and their requests. But she just tried to block it all out of her head and wait for it to be all over.

She sighed again and slipped her white lace mini dress over her head. She unbuttoned the first few clasps so her cleavage was peaking out just right and slipped her brown cowgirl boots on. She was going for the innocent country girl look today. That always got her a lot of customers. They loved that she looked younger than she really was, most of them thinking she looked about twenty. Her face was so soft and innocent, not showing an ounce of what she endured every day of her life. She put some eyeliner and mascara on before heading out to the chaos that was her life in the other room.

Carlos was sitting on the couch watching some inappropriate show on TV while the kids ran around in the same room. She looked at him, hiding her hatred inside.

"Carlos, can I have the keys? I'm ready." She asked him with the nicest voice she could stomach.

He glared at her, obviously pissed he would have to get up off of the couch. "You better make some good money tonight, our rent is due tomorrow."

"I will."

"Target the fat sloppy guys, they are the ones with the most cash."

She felt sick inside as he threw the keys at her.

"OK I'll stay until 8 then." She said as she walked out of the door. It was going to be a long night and she knew that she better come back with a lot or he would be really pissed.

She got into his car and the thought of driving away to some random new town crossed her mind. She wondered how long she could live without him finding her. With no money, clothes, family or anything she knew she wouldn't get very far. And with less than a quarter tank of gas she might make it one town over. Of course he would leave it practically empty, just another way he could control her.

She parked her car near the big house and looked around, making sure no one was outside watching her. It was always scary to walk in alone, especially dressed like that. There were always men coming here looking for women and you didn't want to run into a desperate one outside by yourself, she had heard one too many stories of that happening.

Kate grabbed the keys and walked towards the house. With every step she took she tried to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to do. It was easier just to pretend she was Sage and this was all a play she was acting in. She never told anyone her real name, hating that she even let Carlos call her Kate. He only really knew Sage too. Kate she kept locked deep inside, in a place where she didn't think she would ever be able to find her again.

"Sage!" Niki called to her from across the room as she entered.

Sage walked up to Niki just wanting to get right to it. She had a lot to do tonight if she was going to come home with enough money for rent.

"Yeah?" she asked Niki, a black haired girl with huge lips. The men loved her for one thing only. Sage didn't really like any of the other girls and never tried to get to know them.

"Collette's looking for you," Niki answered.

Great, she thought. Collette was her boss, a real bitch. She thought she was the best piece of ass in the house. And maybe she was, but who aspired to that? She ran her girls to the ground and didn't give two shits about what happened behind closed doors. Maybe she was a good business woman, but there was definitely a problem with keeping the girls safe that she seemed to ignore.

"She's upstairs," Niki told her when she noticed Sage wasn't moving.

Sage went upstairs, looking around to see how busy it was at the moment. She saw two men that looked like they were worth talking too, balding middle aged men, most likely with good jobs. As she neared the top of the stairs she could hear Collette talking with Nero, one of her business partners. He was very nice and always looked out for the girls. She felt good when he was in the house, almost safe.

"I'm really worried about him Nero, you have to get him over here, he's going to do something drastic," Collette was pleading with Nero.

"Girl, I can't make him do anything, he doesn't eat, sleep, sometimes I wonder if he even breathes."

Sage knew exactly who they were talking about. Jax Teller. He was another partner who had just lost his wife a couple of weeks ago. She had heard he had gone off the deep end and understandably so. She couldn't imagine losing someone you loved that much. She hadn't seen him since and she knew Collette wanted to get her claws into him now that he was single. She was old enough to be his mother. She was such a terrible bitch, his wife was barely in the grave. Sick.

Sage coughed to make her presence known.

"I'll be right with you," Collette said and closed the door to the office she was in with Nero.

Bitch, Sage thought. She's wasting my time now. Sage sat down on a chaise lounge that lined the hallway and waited for them to be finished. She couldn't tell what was being said but she could hear Collette whining and knew she would get what she wanted. She had been having sex with Jax when his wife was alive, without any regard for his family. Sage knew he was no saint either but she truly felt bad for him now.

After about 10 more minutes Collette's door opened and Nero walked out. He nodded and smiled hello to her and she smiled back at him. He looked exhausted.

Collette stood in the doorway with her hand on her hip. "You can come in now."

Sage went into Collette's office with no intentions of sitting. She wanted to get to work as soon as possible.

"I just wanted to talk to you because I have a client who is looking for an underage girl. Obviously I can't give that to him, but I figured you might be able to pass as one. So Friday make sure you tone it down before coming in and maybe try to dress the part. He should be really good for business if we can keep him, he owns a lot of local businesses."

"Sure Collette," Sage answered willing to do what was needed.

"Great, now get out there and make some money." She directed her.

Sage wanted nothing more than to scratch her face off but she just gave her a small smile and walked back out onto the floor to get to work.