~*~

  Slade had watched her sleep for most of the night. He liked to watch her chest rise and fall with ease and in a pattern. He enjoyed the consistency it brought. He had never gotten to know his victims. He didn't want to feel sorry for them or become attached to them. There was no need for any issues in the future. He had a history already, and that was enough for him. Who didn’t have a history, right? His previous kills had been fun; he enjoyed watching them squirm.

  The coworker of this woman had whined. He hated the weak, couldn’t stand to hear men crying. That made the killing almost less fun when a man couldn’t hold it inside. What was his name? Matt? He had not only begged for his life but shed tears, like a woman. Only the frail behave like that. Eventually he couldn't take hearing his incisive pleas any longer and kicked the chair out from under him. He watched him squirm for a glorious ninety-eight seconds. That was all the time he needed till Matt's legs stopped moving and his hands stopped fighting against the rope.

  He counted each of his victims last breaths. Precious, every last one of them.

  "Are you ready for some fun, Nadia?" Slade walked up to her. He had a grin that ran across his face that sent chills through her bones. She didn’t like where he was going with this and knew she was lucky if she survived.

  "I...I….Please Slade...No more…."

  "No more? But I haven't even done anything yet."

  "You've held me here and kept me chained to this table. It's felt like forever. It's been at least a day!"

  "You wimp, it's been twenty hours. It's Friday. Are you such a pathetic girl that you can't even handle being strapped to a table?" Slade's tone came across as frustrated. What did he expect her to be like? She didn't do this kind of stuff every day.

  "Please let me go. I'll never write another story about you again, I promise. I'll never talk about what you did to Matt or anyone else, I swear, please."

  "This isn't about what you write, little girl. This isn't about that at all. This is about what I enjoy, and I enjoy you for the moment. Now, come here, my pretty; it's time...