Page 7

Charles Kinsey had no idea what to do with his life when he'd been eighteen. His dad kept bitching at him to get a job and be something, but he hadn’t found anything that sounded interesting. Then he'd watched a documentary about air traffic controllers and been hooked. He studied hard, doing everything he could to become a controller.

There was so much power in the position, and he liked the power. That he got to decide who landed safely and who didn't was thrilling. When he'd been hired, it had been the best day of his life. He loved his work. One thing he really liked was how he ran simulations and made up stories about people on the planes. Sometimes, when he decided a person on one of the planes was bad, he would let it crash.

It had all been for fun, not real life. In public, he kept that part of himself hidden. Other people wouldn't understand. Sometimes, bad people just had to be gotten rid of.

Then, that horrible woman had ruined everything. She didn’t understand. He had to get her to realize her mistake. He loved being in control, telling pilots where to land and what to do. But that woman hadn’t realized what he meant. Well, Kaminski had also screwed him over. The bastard had turned him in, and then he had to go see that woman who told his bosses he wasn't fit to work. Ugh, it pissed him off so much.

When he'd been put on leave, he'd thought about going to that woman's house to confront her, but he'd stayed cool and not tracked her down. He could have figured out exactly where she lived and taken care of her. He could control his emotions. He’d proven it by not killing her.

He loved San Diego but couldn't afford to stay in this city without a job. He had to get his job back. It wasn't fair that the psychologist had failed him. There wasn't anything wrong with him, and he shouldn't have failed her stupid assessment. That stupid bitch grading was just as bad as the woman from work.

He knew what he was doing and was much more capable than most. He had to show that psychologist that he wasn't a total mess and deserved to have his job back. Once she understood, she would correct her mistake and help him get his old position. Then everything would be back to normal, and he could once again have the control he deserved.

He had a plan for making her see that he was okay for work, but he needed one more thing for his plan to fall into place. His ex-girlfriend's dad had a cabin that he'd been to once before when they were dating. The dad didn't use the cabin often, so it sat empty most of the year. Charles needed to locate the cabin and make sure he could use it. Once he had the cabin secured, he would take the psychologist there and make her see his logic. She would change her evaluation of him and get him his job back. That was the only option available. She had to see it, or she would see it once he proved to her how stable he was.

He would spend the weekend finding the cabin and preparing it for their arrival. He needed something to keep her from running. It was weird, but sex toy shops sold restraints. Surely, he could find something there. It was weird that he'd never purchased any restraints, but he'd seen them in the shops. He'd wanted to buy them before, but his ex hadn't been into that. The thought of having the doctor tied up and at his mercy made his body tingle with anticipation.

Once he had his old job back, life could go back to normal. He craved normalcy and routine. If he could just get back to what was normal, then everything would be okay.

He parked close to the store, which was around the corner from a great pizza place that was across the street from the zoo. It was a weird place for the sex shop. At least, he thought so. The shop shouldn't be so close to where kids went. He sat in his car for a moment, watching mothers with their toddlers. He needed that. Maybe not the toddler, but a woman.

Before anyone got suspicious of him watching people, he headed into the shop. Buying the restraints was embarrassing, but since he needed to pay cash for the items, he couldn't buy them online.

He'd finished shopping and was on the way back to his car when he saw the woman who'd ruined his life walking arm in arm with a man into the pizza shop. His blood boiled as anger ramped up. He should confront her, tell her that she'd messed up. He was perfectly fine and could do the job she’d barred him from.

He took a step toward the pizza place, then paused. If he confronted her here, she might not understand. He needed time to prepare what he wanted to say to her that would get her to listen. If he went after her, he would get in more trouble. Later, when he had her undivided attention, he would make her understand.

Plus, if he grabbed her now, the guy would get in the way. He would have to make sure that man wasn’t around. The last thing he needed was someone fighting to keep her away from him. Maybe he would have to kill the guy. He didn’t want to, but if some jerk got in his way, he would do what he had to so he could get the results he needed.