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"I'm proud of you, hell girl," I praise her, gently patting her head.

Somehow her habit makes her seem even smaller and daintier, the top of her head barely reaching the middle of mychest. I'd gotten so used to her around me all of the time that even our size differences had become a moot point.

Though she's tiny compared to me, her personality is a force to be reckoned with, making me completely forget I'm dealing with a bite-sized human.

She's justmySisi.

I'm trying my best to keep a comfortable distance should anyone see us. Still, the sight of her joyful smile as she enthusiastically tells me how she's wanted to do that for the longest time only makes my heart beat faster.

"I've never really resorted to violence before," she sighs, "mostly because they had strength in numbers and I knew that I may have hurt them once, but the next time they would ensure they paid me back in spades. But now…"

She looks up, her lips parting in such a stunning smile, I'm having a hard time not to ask her to let me fucking paint it and immortalize it forever. "That felt so good," she exclaims, jumping up and down in a happy dance.

"Hell girl." I stop suddenly, and she turns to me, tilting her head and looking worried.

"This," I tell her as I place two fingers at the corners of her mouth, tugging them down in a neutral position. "I'll have a hard time concentrating if you keep on smiling, so please, hold it off until we're done," I instruct her, my tone serious.

She starts chuckling at me before shaking herself, a sudden serious expression on her face as she nods.

"Understood," she replies, even though her lips are quivering with unreleased laughter.

The minx.

35

SISI

Vlad can't help his sly smile every time he looks at me, and for all his protests that I shouldn't tempt him further, he sure does a good job of eliciting that response from me.

As we head to the administrative buildings, I realize that the convent is quieter than I'm used to. Especially since it's not quite curfew yet.

There had been the not so welcome meeting with Sofia and Carlotta who just had to spew their venom at me. But for the first time I'd given them what they deserved, even though it was reckless for me to do so.

But when they'd said I was bad luck I'd just snapped, years of being called that to my face made me forget about everything but revenge.

In all honesty, I'd expected Vlad to chastise me slightly for going off plan, but instead he'd just said he was proud of me, his expression full of so much support that I almost melted on the spot.

Still, I can't stray from the plan again until we finish with Mother Superior.

And so as we enter the building that houses her office, Vlad's skills in lock picking have a chance to shine.

"And that's another skill to add to your arsenal," I note, amused.

"You'll see, hell girl. There's few things I'mnotgood at." He winks at me, the door sliding open with a minimal push.

"Show off," I mutter just as he motions me inside, intoningladies first.

The office is very simple, with a desk, a chair, and a few drawers.

"According to what I've observed, she only comes to the office every Tuesday and Thursday, so that means we have plenty of time to search without fear she'll show up," he says as he opens one drawer, taking out the files.

We start sorting through everything in the office, but most of the documents are administrative papers from Sacre Coeur or from one of the orphanages.

"This is mostly donations." I sigh as I finish with one drawer.

"Nothing on my side either," he comments as he shuffles through the papers, his eyes quickly scanning for keywords.

Sometimes I forget I'm dealing with someone who's not quite human. In the time it has taken me to go through one stack, he's gone through three.