Where was she! That was one of the things he liked so much about her, Candace was a creature of habit. She stuck to a schedule, it made it easy to track her. Made it easier to anticipate where she was going to be. Every day she had come to work this week, she’d left promptly at 5 o’clock. It was now after 6:30 and she hadn’t left yet. He might have worried he missed her, but her car was still out front. Of course, so was the meathead’s.

Could they be having a meeting? No, Candace wasn’t important enough to have a meeting with. That was another of the things he liked about her. People looked right through her, just like they did him. That’s what made Candace and him special. They were invisible.

He’d tried looking in the windows, but they were either covered, or he couldn’t see Candace. He’d stood in front of the door earlier, after most everyone left. He wouldn’t have known which desk was hers except for her purse on the corner of it. Still, he couldn’t see her. She was the only important thing there. He would just have to wait and follow her home. Where else was she going to go? She always went straight home, except on Thursdays when she stopped at the grocery store. She bought too much food for one woman. She ate too much too, he’d put a stop to that. She needed to lose weight, but not too much, not enough that people would start to see her.

She was his, and she’d always be his. He’d make sure of it.

She needed to learn the rules, and the first rule was sticking to the schedule. No surprises.

Surprises always led to bad things.

He closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and took a deep breath. She made him want to do things. Bad things. Things that would make her cry. Things that would make her scream.

Make her bleed.

But she’d learn, soon enough.

It was time for her next punishment.