Thank you to all of you who took the time to read this!!! I am really glad that you all like it simply because I really wanted to continue it and was a little unsure if I should at this point last week...
I hope you enjoy this chapter and to keep you up to date, I'm looking to have new chapters out once a week.
Brennan breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled her car into it's parking space and killed the engine. It had been a long day and she wanted nothing more than to slip into some cozy pajamas, pour a glass of wine and catch up on some reading. Her building sat on the other side of the parking lot beside an old carriage house. The walk from her car to the main door was annoying when the weather was cold or rainy but tonight, it was clear and the cool clean air felt good in her lungs.
Only, tonight the area surrounding the main door was darker than usual. Much darker. For some reason, neither of the outdoor lights were burning, though they were on a timer and should have switched on at dusk. It was probably a temporary power outage that had them off schedule. Fortunately, she had a small flashlight on her key chain which gave enough light so she'd at least be able to fit the key into the lock. As she moved toward the door, something moved in the bushes behind her. Her heart slammed against her chest, but when she turned, she saw that it was only a cat she'd startled from the bushes. Brennan had never been one to back down from a fight, but the constant thought of this murderer had her rattled. She'd learned from past experiences that underestimating these lunatics only got her into trouble and she wasn't willing to do that to Booth anymore.
Reaching the door, she noticed a small package propped up against it. She stopped in her tracks. The package was probably perfectly harmless, but no one ever left packages outside. What if it had been delivered by the same man who'd left the note on her windshield? He knew what kind of car she drove. Maybe he also knew where she lived. He could be here now, lurking somewhere in the shadows and watching her the way he'd obviously watched her that night in the park. She couldn't see him but it was almost as if she could feel him. Her heart was pounding so loudly that if he was anywhere near, he could surely hear it. Probably even smell the fear. A killer. And her only defense against him and his knife were her skills and the keys that had begun to shake in her hand.
And there was really nowhere to run.
Brennan made a dash for the door. So far, so good. But her hands were shaking so badly that she had to try twice to get the key into the lock while holding the flashlight for the maximum amount of light. Finally she was able to turn it. The door swung open and she rushed inside, giving the package a small kick along the way so that it slid across the tiled floor of the foyer. Once inside, she fell back against the door causing it to slam shut. Quickly she retrieved her mail, picked up the unassuming package and all but ran for the security of her apartment. After throwing the deadbolt on the door and emptying her hands onto the island the separated the kitchen from the living room, she moved to the sink and filled a glass with tap water, letting the cool stream trickle over her fingers and hands. Turning back into the room, she leaned against the counter and debated whether or not to open the little white box that mocked her from across the space. Procrastinating, she drank every last drop from the glass, the finally stopped and crossed the room to pick up the box.
It weighed only a few ounces. Nothing too dangerous could come in a package that small. Slowly, she lifted the lid and peeked inside. A cookie. A damn heart-shaped cookie. And she'd practically had a coronary over it. Booth had definitely ruined her for work on the crime beat. She almost laughed aloud as she took the cookie out of the box, but the sound caught in her throat. Beneath the cookie was a note on the same sort of paper that had been given to Booth. The cookie slipped from her hand and fell to the cool ceramic floor, crumbling into a thousand pieces. Fishing a stray latex glove from her pants pocket, she picked up the note, holding it between the folds of the glove with two shaking fingers.
Hello, my beautiful Temperance. I've been watching you wracking
your pretty little head everyday just thinking about me.
Know that I am thinking of you as well…
"Damn him." She pushed the toe of her boot into the cookie crumbs as if she was putting out a lit cigarette, the way she'd like to grind his head. How dare he try to suck her into his twisted life? She couldn't let him turn her into a shivering mass of nerves. She'd already spent too much of her life like that, fighting the demons that lived in her nightmares, remnants of a life she barely remembered and had fought too hard to overcome.