Chapter 15 #2
As I settle into a corner of the massive sectional, Ruby disappears into the kitchen for coffee, and I sink into the cushions, letting myself feel, just for a moment, how exhausted I really am.
The penthouse is filling up now. Leo by the windows, still on his phone. Harper beside me, her hand on my arm. And in the corner, quiet and watchful, stands a man I’ve only met once before.
Alexander Grimm.
He’s the most polished of all the brothers—impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit that probably cost more than the annual budget of a small nation.
His dark hair is swept back, his face composed into an expression of perfect neutrality.
He has the kind of stillness that makes you nervous without knowing why.
I’ve heard rumors that he gives Gabriel a run for his money as to who’s the most dangerous Grimm brother.
Looking at him now, I believe every whisper.
He catches me staring and offers a slight nod. No smile. No warmth. Just acknowledgment. Then his gaze slides away, and he goes back to watching. Taking it all in. Filing it away for later.
I suppress a shiver and turn back to Harper.
Ruby returns with a tray of steaming mugs and settles beside me, tucking her feet underneath her. Leo finishes his call and joins us, dropping into a chair across from the sectional.
“Liam wanted to be here,” he says, reading the question on my face before I can ask it.
“But Sasha’s exhausted—the baby’s been fussy all week—and he didn’t want to leave her alone.
Apparently, the army of baby-related staff isn’t sufficient,” he adds with a grin.
“Guess my big brother’s a softie for his little girl.
But he’s on standby,” Leo adds. “If this goes sideways, he’ll be on a plane or chopper in a heartbeat. ”
I look around the room, and something loosens in my chest. I’m not alone. Gabe’s friends and family are here, and not one of them believes that I tried to kill him. They’re on my side. They’re rooting for Gabe and me.
More than that, they’re actively helping me get him back.
Not the Gabriel who exists now—cold and vengeful and consumed by rage—but the man he used to be.
Hell, yes, he had an ego and a temper. But this fury that now drives him—that isn’t him.
I want to excavate his cutting wit. His sharp mind.
His way of looking at the world as if he could see straight through to the truth of things.
My father broke him. I’m certain Father was behind it. I want proof. I want to hand Gabriel proof and then stand back and watch the shit storm. And then I’ll be the one smiling the widest as my father rots in jail.
Because I’ll have my Gabriel back.
Please, please let me have him back.
Ruby settles closer to me on the sectional, her voice dropping. “How are you really doing? And don’t say fine. I’ve known you too long for that.”
“I’m...” I stare into my coffee. “I’m a mess. And a goddamn fool.”
I take a long sip of coffee, wishing it were more of a whiskey kind of blend.
Or, hell, just straight whiskey. “He hates me,” I whisper.
“And instead of being sane and getting the fuck away from the entire Grimm family, I’m here, still loving him, and desperately hoping that I’ll stumble across a magic wand that will put his goddamn head back on straight.
” I bang the heel of my hand against my temple. “Clearly, I’m pathetic. And a fool.”
Ruby’s smile is gentle. “Love makes fools of us all. Trust me, I know.”
I think about Leo. About everything they went through before they found their way back to each other. “When did you get so wise?”
“Three days ago. A sale on wisdom at . I grabbed a few pints.”
That does it. I actually laugh.
She grins. “I’m not saying this is going to work out the way Leo and I did. But if there’s even a chance that the man you love is still in there under all that pain and rage...”
“I have to try.”
“You have to try.” She squeezes my hand. “And if it doesn’t work—if he’s really too far gone—at least you’ll know. At least you won’t spend the rest of your life wondering.”
Across the room, Leo lets out a sharp whistle, making us all jump. He’s been making calls, pacing by the windows, and now he settles into a chair, his jaw tight, his whole body radiating barely contained frustration.
“I’ve been piecing together what Gabe’s been doing for the past five years,” he says.
“For one thing, he owns the Obsidian under about a hundred layers of corporate rigamarole. As for the operation in the basement, well, The Beast is just the tip of the iceberg. He’s built an entire network—fight clubs, underground gambling, information brokerage, bars, and cigar lounges.
Pretty much anything potentially shady you can dream up, he’s got a finger in it under that name you told me,” he says to me.
“Lyon Savage. He’s not into any sort of prostitution, but he’s into pretty much everything else.
It’s all there, along with hefty payoffs to the authorities, so it doesn’t get shut down.
Bottom line—the Beast is just one slice of Gabe’s very big pie. ”
Harper’s eyes widen. “Well, shit. He’s not just sliding into a new lifestyle, is he? I mean, he’s not thinking, “Hey, an underground empire sounds like the catalyst for a jolly good income stream, right?”
Leo chuckles. “Actually, from what my people have dug up, it’s pretty damn lucrative. But no. The information he pays the most for is very focused.”
He looks at me, and my gut curdles. “Me.”
He nods. “You. Your father. He’s certain your father arranged his death. And he believes you were complicit.”
“Believes,” I repeat. “Not certain?” Maybe it’s silly, but I’m grasping tight to that tiny bit of hope.
Leo shrugs. “Honestly, who knows. But it makes sense to me. He’s been focused on the money.
The properties. The businesses. Thus, the fucking with your dad.
I don’t think he’ll hurt your father himself, but he’ll joyfully raze the Hart businesses to the ground.
Because your father without his reputation and power? That’s punishment enough.”
“He wants to hurt me, too,” I whisper, then feel a tear slide down my cheek as Leo nods.
I wipe it away, then tilt my head up so that my eyes meet Leo’s. “I hate him,” I say. “I hate him for believing for even a second that I could hurt him.”
“No,” Leo says. “You don’t. But you wish you could.”
I nod as Harper pulls me close, stroking my hair as Leo shoots me one more sympathetic look, then turns back to the group.
“Gabe’s a fucking genius, you all know that.
Brilliant and strategic. He could always see twelve moves ahead, right?
” He glances around the room, and everyone nods.
“But this doesn’t feel like strategy. It feels like obsession.
Stealing a painting? That’s an unnecessary risk.
Showing up at the engagement party. Actually, taking Bella to his home? ”
“So what does it all mean?” Ruby asks.
“First, that he’s running on fury.” He looks directly at me again. “But he loves you. So this is killing him.”
“He hates me.”
Leo shrugs. “One coin, two sides.”
“But this is Gabe,” Harper says. “I mean, I get why he’s upset. But he’s gone off the rails. Gabe would never in a million years believe that Bella would send someone to kill him.”
“Except someone did come to kill him,” I say quietly. “He was shot and left to die. That changes a person. The last thing he heard was probably that I betrayed him. And I don’t know if he was hallucinating or what, but he swears I was there, too.
I hug myself, stifling a shudder.
Leo turns to me. “If I thought you’d done that, I’d kill you myself.
But I don’t think it. And he wouldn’t either if his head was on straight.
Whoever tried to take him out set a pretty convincing stage and fucked him up good.
So I get what he’s doing. But that doesn’t mean he gets to keep doing it. ”
“The question is whether he can still hear reason.” From his corner, Alexander speaks for the first time, his voice low and smooth as silk. “Or whether he’s too far gone.”
Everyone turns to look at him.
“Gabriel had a mean temper and a fierce sense of loyalty to the family. Father used to play on that. Push him hard. Have Gabe be the one who did the family’s dirty work. We all know that. And we know that Gabe did what Father asked.”
Alexander pauses, taking a sip of whiskey as his eyes rake over us. “But we also know that in the family, he was always the one who held things together. When Father was at his worst, Gabriel was the buffer. The strategist. The one who kept the rest of us from falling apart.
His eyes lock on mine now. “I think you’re the one who kept him from becoming what Father was.” He draws a breath. “And all that shattered when something shifted, and he believed—truly believed—that you’d betrayed him.”
“But I didn’t,” I whisper, tasting my tears.
“Moot at this point. Because if Gabe’s lost his grounding—if he’s become what Father always wanted him to be—then talking him down may not be enough.”
“But it has to be enough,” I say, my eyes still locked on Alexander’s. “You can’t hurt him. You can’t cage him without breaking him. But I can’t give up on him.”
For a moment, I see something flicker in Alexander’s dark eyes—respect, maybe. Then he simply nods. “In the end, we’ll do what we have to and hope you get him back. That we all get him back.”
“Okay, then.” Leo stands, rolling his shoulders as he looks at me. “Ready to go talk some sense into my brother? Who knows? Maybe today’s the day we get him back.”
“You’re coming with me?”
“Hell, yes.” His expression is grim. “He might not let you in alone. But I’m betting he won’t keep me out. If he does, we’ll find another way in.”
Ruby pulls me into another hug. “Go get your man,” she whispers in my ear. “Or at least knock some sense into his thick skull.”
Harper squeezes my hand. “I’ll be here when you get back. With wine. Lots of wine.”
Even Alexander unfolds from his corner, crossing to stand near the door. “If reason fails,” he says to Leo, “call me. I speak his language.”
I’m not entirely sure what that means. I’m not sure I want to know.
Leo and I take the elevator down and step out into the Atlantic City evening. The sun is setting over the ocean, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple. It’s beautiful—the kind of light Gabriel would have loved to capture on canvas, back when he still believed in beauty.
Back when he still believed in me.