Page 170 of Taming Seraphine
He shakes his head. “Never liked the boy. Always fucking things up and bruising the Lolita.”
Lolita.
I tamp down a rush of fury and focus on my next move. That contemptuous word erases my last shred of loyalty. It never registered that Anton didn’t abuse me because I was a willing participant in my own moral destruction.
Seraphine wasn’t.
She fought against her captors with everything she had, including her teeth.
However I look at it, Seraphine and I were both tools that were sharpened to Anton’s specifications. It was Seraphine who exposed Anton’s true evil. I have to erase him from existence. It’s the only way she can truly be free.
“So, you’re the only one who knows I have Seraphine?” I ask, keeping my voice light.
“Yeah. Sam’s never getting her back. She belongs to me.”
Our eyes lock for a tense heartbeat before we both reach for our guns. Anton’s reflexes have been dulled by the special blend, so I shoot first.
His eyes widen, he falls to his knees, and his pistol slips from his fingers. A wet patch blooms across his shirt, just over his heart.
He stares up at me, his eyes wide, his mouth opening and closing in a soundless gape. The man I thought I knew was only a facade. Despite my newfound loyalty to Seraphine, my chest twangs with a pang of regret.
This mess needs to be cleared up before she comes upstairs looking for me with a knife.
SIXTY-SIX
SERAPHINE
I lick chocolate off my fingers, trying to calculate the amount of time it would take for Leroi to walk upstairs, tell his father that he’s busy, and come back. Five minutes, if they’re arguing. Ten, if they’ve gotten into a conversation.
Concern taints the deliciousness of the Belgian waffle I drenched in melted chocolate, strawberries, bananas, and marshmallows. Much of it is already gone, washed down with gulps of coffee.
My gaze skims Leroi’s thoughtful gift of new art supplies, complete with extra red pens to make the blood more vibrant, but I can barely concentrate because he’s taking too long. Besides, I thought his dad was dead?
I take another huge bite. If he doesn’t return by the time I’ve finished this waffle and licked the plate clean, I’ll sneak upstairs and see if he needs help.
Screw that.
By the time I’ve chewed and swallowed my mouthful, I’m already upstairs ringing the doorbell holding a metal skewer in one hand and a broken plate in another that I’ve fashioned into a shank.
Leroi doesn’t answer, so I press my ear on the door to listen for any movement. Hearing nothing, I walk to Miko’s apartment next door and keep ringing the way Rosalind’s sister did yesterday.
Minutes later, the door creaks open. Miko peeks out through puffy eyes, his red hair standing up at all angles.
“Sera?” he croaks. “What’s up?”
“Leroi’s not answering.” I flick my head toward the door. “Do you have a spare key?”
Miko rubs his eyes and yawns. “What? No. Um... you’d better come in.”
He shuffles aside, letting me into an apartment that’s the polar opposite to Leroi’s. It’s smaller, with computer equipment stretching over an entire wall, while the others are lined with shelves filled with action figures still in their boxes.
I glance over my shoulder, letting the door swing shut behind me. My fingers close around my makeshift weapons, and I fold my arms over my breasts. I’m only wearing a thin nightshirt, and it’s spattered with melted chocolate.
Miko lowers himself into a leather gaming chair with a footrest that’s reclined all the way backward. If I wasn’t so worried about Leroi, I’d wonder if that was his bed.
“Can you call him?” I ask.
“He’s not answering.” He stares down at his phone and sighs. “Take a seat.”