Page 58 of Taming Seraphine

My head bows, and I rest my chin on my breastbone. Of all the shit I’ve been through in the past five years, that was the worst. Until then, I was fighting to stay alive. If the police raided Dad’s house, I could explain that they were the bad guys, and I was the victim. If I’d been thinking straight, maybe I wouldn’t have been so gullible.

“It was a trick,” I tell him.

“What do you mean?”

“The first man I killed was really important. I didn’t know until afterward, when the handler left a note with his name, saying that everyone would come after my head if I ever told anyone.”

“What was his name?” I ask.

I shake my head. There’s no way a man like Leroi won’t recognize the name. Even if Dad didn’t talk about him all the time, his name was everywhere around town. The man I injected with poison owned a hotel, a casino, and a shipping company.

“Seraphine, I won’t be able to protect you unless I know who might want you dead.”

“His name was Enzo,” I rasp. “Enzo Montesano.”

Leroi stops breathing.

My stomach plummets. This is it. This is the moment Leroi decides I’m too much of a burden. He’ll cast me out without even offering me the apartment next door.

“Did you know him?”

“He was my uncle.”

The words hit like an icy fist, and I lurch forward, trying to spring out of Leroi’s lap. His arms tighten around my waist, holding me in place. I wriggle, my heart beating in triple time to Leroi’s gentle thrum, but he’s too strong.

Shit. I knew talking about the assignments would be trouble, but I never thought Leroi would be connected to anyone I killed. At any moment, he could wrap a hand around my throat and crush my windpipe, but his hold remains on my waist, gathering me back into his lap.

“You must hate me,” I whisper.

“I don’t,” he murmurs, his breath feathering my ear. “It’s not your fault. Capello and his sons risked your life by sending you to him as an assassin.”

“But he was your uncle.”

“Who would never have gotten into that position if he didn’t mess with an underage girl,” he growls. “Were you hurt?”

I gulp, and it feels like swallowing lead. “N-not really.”

“What does that mean?”

“He died. Killing him means that nothing he did to me counted.”

I’m still trembling when his grip loosens. Leroi is right about his uncle and all the others I killed. They deserved to die because they were predators. I should apologize for his loss, but I’m not sorry.

“Are you still going to help me?” I ask, my words halting.

“Yes.”

“Why, when I killed your uncle?”

Leroi sighs. “I can overlook a whole lot of shit. Rape isn’t one of them. Messing with underage girls is unforgivable. You cleansed the world of one more monster.”

“But the handler said that Enzo Montesano’s men would be looking for me.” I trail off, letting him fill in the gaps.

“Everyone thought he died of a heart attack. There was no mention of a girl.”

“I injected him with poison and smothered him with a pillow.”

Leroi pauses. “Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?”

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