Page 112 of Taming Seraphine

“So, what?” I raise my chin, refusing to see his point.

“You don’t think before you act,” he snarls. “That’s why I leave you behind. How did you stay controlled enough to perform so many assassinations without getting yourself killed?”

“They were just pictures on a screen, not people I wanted dead,” I snap back. “And don’t change the subject.”

He huffs a laugh, but the sound carries no warmth, and his eyes narrow into slits. “You little brat.”

“What was the point of saving me and helping me get revenge if you keep me locked up like some kind of damsel?” I resist the urge to stamp my foot. “It’s not giving me any closure.”

Leroi’s eyes soften, and the tightness of his muscles relaxes. He reaches out and cups the side of my face, his thumb tracing a gentle line across my cheekbone.

“You want to hunt?” he asks, his voice less harsh.

I nod.

“Stalking your prey requires patience, control, and stealth. If you rush at your targets like you did with Pietro, you will get yourself killed.”

“It won’t happen again,” I say.

“It’s why I plan on training you out of your recklessness.” Leroi drops his hand and steps away, pulling back his warmth.

My heart drops at the absence of his touch. He thinks I’m a liability just because I’m not cold and contained like him?

“Do you regret saving me?” I ask.

“Of course not,” he says, his features a blank mask.

“Because you act like I’m a burden sent to ruin your life of perfection and control.”

The corner of his lips lifts into a tiny smile, and his hands slide to my shoulders. “You’re brave, determined, and strong. I don’t know anyone who could survive what you did and still be standing.”

My cheeks heat without my permission, and I glance away. Compliments like that are like honeyed poison, and remind me of Dad. He made me feel like I was the light of his life. At least until the moment he thrust me into a life of darkness.

Men spout bullshit every day. I heard it on missions, in the twins snarled threats, even in the cold compliments of the handler. They say whatever is needed to get what they want, then they spit you out the moment you’re not needed.

“Seraphine,” he says. “Look at me.”

“What’s your endgame?” I ask.

“What do you mean?”

“You have to be helping me for a reason. What is it?” I fold my arms over my chest.

He stares down at me for several heartbeats until my insides twist and squirm. I hold his gaze, my features hardening. If he thinks I’ll cower, he can guess again. I’ve suffered far worse than a man’s scrutiny.

Leroi rubs his brow. “Any man who mistreats women and children deserves to die painfully, but killing them isn’t enough. These bastards live rent-free through the minds of their victims, and I can’t tolerate that.”

“What does that mean?”

“I want to erase the memory of what Capello and the others did to you, so all parts of them die,” he says.

My breath shallows. “That’s all?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did my dad hurt you, too?”

He shakes his head. “I never knew the man.”

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