Page 43 of The Beast

A man who’s actively trying to destroy the Father-free life I’ve been trying to build.

I stay in bed even after we finish the call, my phone still tight in my hand as the fragments of my life swirl around me like crazed swallows. A merger to save. A psychotic ex-boyfriend to manage. A father who may or may not have tried to commit murder.

And there I am, right in the middle of the melee. A woman who used to know exactly who she was and what she wanted, now drowning in chaos she can’t control.

And to top it off, this is the day I’m taking over management of the Monarch. Apparently, my day is going to be even more jam-packed than I’d planned.

Just another Wednesday in the Hart-land.

With a sigh, I start for the bathroom to shower and dress in my trustworthy-daughter-in-law mask. Then I stop, realizing I have one more call to make.

Leo answers on the second ring. “Bella?”

“Gabe’s losing it, I say without preamble. “He showed up at the gallery a few days ago. He took Caged and replaced it with this horrible painting of a butterfly with its wings being ripped off, and he was waiting for me.” My voice cracks, and I force the threatening tears back. “Just waiting there in the dark for me.”

“He was at the gallery?” Leo’s voice is like sharpened steel. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, no. But he—” I press my hand to my mouth, fighting back the sob building in my chest. “Oh, god, Leo. He’s going off the rails. And he’s fucking with the merger. It’s like he’s trying to keep me trapped under Father’s thumb.”

I draw a long breath, practically drowning in fear and fury and longing and loss.

“That stubborn son of a bitch.” Leo’s voice is tight with frustration. “Do you know where he is?”

“He’s got an apartment under a hotel called the Obsidian. He’s got a fight club down there, too. With a bar and a cigar lounge and who knows what else. I haven’t seen all of it. That part’s called The Beast.”

Leo chuckles.

“Yeah,” I say. “Apropos, right?” I draw in a breath. “Will you come? Can you try to talk him down? Because honestly, Leo, if he screws up this path to freedom, I just might have to kill the bastard myself.”

“Somehow, I don’t see that happening.” I can hear the smile in his voice, and it erases a bit of my overwhelming fear and longing and hatred and angst. “Just, please? Will you?”

“Yeah,” he says, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s the most beautiful word in the universe. “I don’t know if it’ll help, but I can try.

“Thank you.” I can barely push the words out against the flood of relief that surges through me so intensely that I have to sit down on the edge of the bed. “He’ll listen to you.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out. Ruby and I are in New York. We can be there in a few hours.” For a moment, only silence fills the line. “Sasha and Liam are at their Santa Barbara house, enjoying some time with the kiddo, but I’ll keep them updated.”

“Thanks. Have you seen him?”

“No. That night when I texted you—he never showed.”

I nod. Of course, he didn’t. He hadn’t come back for his family, not yet. He came back to torment me.

I draw a breath, then apologize for dragging Leo into the mess. “I didn’t know who else to call.”

“Are you kidding? This is about Gabe.”

Is it still? I ask, but the question is only in my head.