A Matter Of Justice (Grey Justice #4)(12)

“I’m interested as to how you chose your prey and why. Care to enlighten me?”

“I would think that’s obvious. Killing an unsuspecting, untrained person is boringly easy. Taking out skilled killers requires extreme talent. I wanted to impress you, and I did.”

“Why? You have no need for money.”

“Nor do you, and yet here you are.”

“Touché.” He leaned forward and spoke softly. “But, you see, I don’t have to explain why I’m here. You, however, are interviewing for a position within my house. You are required to answer the question.”

“Of course.” She shrugged. “I enjoy the work.”

“You enjoy taking people’s lives?”

“Some people’s, yes. But what I enjoy the most is the chase.”

It was a typical answer, and he found himself a bit disappointed. He had expected something less mundane. The woman was difficult to read—one of the many things she had learned from Reed.

“You already have an interesting life. You’ve attached yourself to a man who can give you anything. What more could you want?”

Not by any flicker did she indicate she knew of whom he spoke.

“This is the life I am meant to have. It’s what Father wanted for me.”

Though it jarred a bit to hear her refer to Reed as her father, he reminded himself that they were both playing a game. Irelyn Raine was not only a skilled killer, she was a gifted player.

“Yet, if my memory serves me correctly, you weren’t very good.”

“I believe I’ve demonstrated how much I’ve improved. Besides, you know our father never was one for compliments.”

So she would play that card as well. That was good. He had quite a few cards himself to play.

“You do have a particular set of skills I could use.”

“Such as?”

“We’ll get into that after you’ve proved your proficiency.”

“I haven’t done so already?”

“No.”

“What skills do you want me to show? And how am I to do this if I don’t know what you’re looking for?”

“You’ll know, don’t worry about that. My biggest drawback is in the area that concerned Hill, too.”

“I’ve improved.”

He liked that she didn’t deny that there had been problems. “In what way have you improved?”

“In every way that counts.”

“Be specific,” he snapped.

“Very well. I don’t allow emotions to get the best of me. Back then, I was a bit, shall we say, volatile. Father worked hard to rid me of useless sentiment. It finally took.”

“That’s good to hear. And you are willing to prove yourself again?”

“Of course.”

“I won’t be easy on you…not like he was.”

By not even the slightest facial twitch did she reveal that she took exception to his statement. Sebastian knew what she had endured. Hell, he’d gone through most of it, too. All the training and discipline had been meticulously documented. Reed had been a stickler for detail. Everything, including the final day of her time here, had been recorded.

He had found the recordings when he had taken over Hill House and had been surprised not only by their sheer volume, but also the fastidious manner with which Hill had them stored. There was no doubt they were treasured memories. Then he’d realized it made sense. Reliving those moments had been an indulgence. Their father had rarely taken any time for himself. Recording his training methods had most likely been one of his few entertainments.

“Why didn’t you return whilst Father was still alive?”

“I was more useful to him where I was.”

“Then why come back here? You could be beneficial to me as well where you were. Or you could be independent. Sell your skills to the highest bidder, keep all the money for yourself.”

“My ties with Justice have been severed. We were beginning to bore one another. And the answer to the question of why I want to come back here is simple. I like the community.”

Interesting that she had admitted breaking away from Justice. His intel had told him so, but he hadn’t been sure. He would want, at some point, to revisit the reason behind that, but first things first.

“Provided you pass the fitness and skill tests, I’ll take you on a probationary basis.”

“How long?”

“Until I’m satisfied.”

“I can give you a month.”

For several long seconds, he held her gaze. She never blinked, and her expression never changed. She was quite determined, but so was he.

He would give her this concession, but only because it suited him. “We’ll meet again in a month. If, after that time, I’m satisfied, we’ll negotiate terms.”

“Very well.” She stood and waited for further instruction.

“You’re staying at the Savoy?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll send over details for your testing.”

“I had thought to stay here.”

“Not yet.”

She gave a solemn nod and walked out the door. He was once again struck by her beauty. She could have been anything—actress, model, and possibly the wife of one of the wealthiest men in the world. Instead, for reasons he wasn’t completely sure of yet, the sinfully beautiful and multitalented Irelyn Raine had just agreed to be his newest assassin.