pte

e over my shoulder, picked up my keys and opened my doo

my heart rate back to normal. "I was just doing a walk through with the

and brown eyes. Nothing about him screamed serial killer, but then I thought that about my other neighbors, so I was fairly certain

was telling me I was staring too long at the new man or if she wanted me to keep my knowledge of the apartment's former tenant to myself. Thus

then for good measure knocked a couple of holes in walls on the off chance things were hidden. The past few weeks s

w guy I was guessing they w

the building

here." Nicole added looking re

ng both of us. "I'm Steve Wallace, " he said holding

omething about the name that pinged on my radar, like I heard it before. But like his v

e in a bit. I'll try not to

the day anyway, " I told him smil

lightly sappy smile caused my gut to clench. There was only one other empty apar

ed trying not to

ohnson will be moving in n

tomach, but I managed to keep

ou'll be perfectly safe here." She opened the door to Noah's ol

ide by Nicole's news. He offered his own farewells and as I turned to head down the hall and out of the building, he followed Nicole into the apart

ift knew Brownie Oxford and Bonnie Brown were the same person. I knew he would watch a

uttered to myself. "Until then it will pr

was pretty sure he was playing a game. Given what I knew of him, I was betting that he would play until I did something t

the doors clicked shut I let the smile fall. Swift was moving in. I blinked as the elevator reached the main floor and the doors

use you were friends with your neighbors before, doesn't mean you have to be friendly with them all the time. You didn't even know the names of your previ

fastened and I backed out of my parking space, driving towards the exit. Admittedly, my fo

putting together a cake and couldn't. I shook the thought away. "I'm sure he'll come up with some other reason to say hello, " I

om and kitchen in my apartment and even if he drilled holes to spy, he would only see me making dinner and watching television. As the Brownie he knew didn't cook, seeing me cook

g wheel and my teeth clenched in

Dr. H

t could get me to Dr. Harding to get a dose. After things settled down and I was left to recuperate at home, I looked up the symptoms trying t

ould be considered unethical in medical circles, but I also saw the files the NCS kept on me. They didn't actually think of me as a person. It was clear Swift cons

ing would put whatever

f I was being miserly with the pills I would be getting close to the end. Smaller doses would not only have me suffering occasional bouts of stomach cramps, but my jaundice would have returned.

ion into more pleasant lines. It didn't make the thought of Swift as my next door neighbor any more comforting, but it did help kill off some of

rry and panic once home again." My Saturday schedule set, I piloted

ver was distracted. As a consequence, I always buckled up, never went more than five miles over the speed limit, adjusted my speed fo

drove like a p

ke he was trying to qu

due to injury, which didn't sound like a whole lot of fun, I didn't want to give anyone the opportunity to run tests or to create a new medical file on me. I could change my name, hair and clothing but Swift and Dr. Harding both knew of my past injuries and had

s also t

ook a job with a local consulting firm. I wasn't certain how that cover story worked as there was no way the case would be closed before his move in date, bu

s I pulled into my assigned lot. I saw it a week later at the shopping center where my favorite fabric sto

hem, catching two people, one male and one female, exiting the sedan. They froze when they saw me, and tried to play it off as I retrieved my bags an

e. Not only could I always spot Swift in a crowd, it would mark me as less of a priority. I knew when I left, the NCS would send someone to try and bring me back. I was, to thei

pe springs

for another day' and checked my mirrors as Swift taught me when looking for a tail. I smiled to myself, darkly amuse

various foster houses didn't let me create too many lasting relationships. Frequently leaving town with Swift, holing up to recover from injuries and losing one job afte

middle of nowhere, Swift was rarely more than an a few steps from me. At some point the lessons started. I wasn't certain if Swift decided I'd be less of a

m not certain

to use those lessons when hiding from him. I don't think he was able to stop himself from giving the lessons though.

mirror. "And there we are, " I said spotting what I was looking for. Three cars back

r. "And I'll get to see if it is the same two people as before." Confident the sed

to see how much Swift