Page 25 of Taming Seraphine

“You have no vehicle, no means of hiding your tracks. No support staff and no understanding of the consequences of your actions. It’s only a matter of time before you get caught.”

She gasps as though insulted and turns her head to stare out of the passenger-side window.

I doubt that I’ve talked any sense into her pretty little head, but I already have a plan to turn her into someone else’s problem. Like her brother’s.

We pull into my building’s parking lot and make our way back to the apartment. Instead of entering through door 101, I take her to 102.

She follows me into the empty space, her gaze wandering from left to right.

“This is the apartment next door to mine,” I tell her. “I own both units on either side of mine, plus the three below. That way, I can live in the center of town and not worry about the neighbors overhearing or seeing anything that could get us arrested.”

Her lips part, but I cut her off.

“You can stay here for as long as you like.” I gesture to the open space. “Decorate it however you want. I’ll give you a card with an allowance, you can go back to school?—”

“I’m twenty-one,” she says.

“Or college,” I say, hiding my surprise. “You can start a new life here with your brother.”

She bows her head, her hands clenched into fists.

“That’s what you want, isn’t it?” I close the distance between us. “To be reunited with Gabriel?”

Seraphine’s chest rises and falls with rapid breaths. “You’re sending me away?”

“I’ll be right next door,” I say, not knowing why I’m appeasing this little killer. “You’re going to need space for when Gabriel returns.”

Her eyes search mine, and I can see the wheels in her mind skidding on ice toward a precipice.

Finally, she asks, “Are you making me sleep on the floor tonight?”

“You can stay in your room,” I say.

With a nod, Seraphine heads to the exit. I follow, already planning on sleeping with one eye open and a loaded gun under my pillow.

NINE

SERAPHINE

I lie in bed, my gaze fixed on the patterns of sunlight on the ceiling.

It’s just as expected.

Leroi is ditching me along with his promise to help me find Gabriel.

Maybe I wanted to leave him at first, but he’s already the best thing that happened to me in five years. Now, he’s slipping through my fingers and I can’t convince him to let me stay.

I only stabbed that man in the eye to make him stop leering. Leroi slit his throat while he was unconscious. Yet he claims I’m the one who doesn’t know what they’re doing?

Leroi is a hypocrite.

I curl my hands into fists, letting my fingernails dig into my palms. His rejection hurts worse than the collar. Maybe I should have killed him when I had the chance. I thought he was different. Perhaps even a little like me. Pressure builds up behind the backs of my eyes, and I squeeze them shut. He’s just the same as Dad—kind one minute and casting me out the next.

Shit. I should have known better than to let down my guard, but I have no other options. I’ll keep Leroi alive until I find Gabriel, and then I’ll carve pretty patterns into his flesh and watch him bleed.

Until then, I can’t move into that empty apartment. Leroi’s presence is the only thing keeping away the intrusive memories. My mind is calm when I know he’s near. Without him, every moment would descend into that twisting turmoil of screams.

My eyes snap open.

---