Page 61 of The Beast

Chapter Nineteen

He shouldn’t be there.

Gabriel stood in the recess of a service alcove that was conveniently located where he could stay mostly hidden but still see the door to Isabella’s suite. He’d been there ever since he’d followed her father’s angry march through the casino to Isabella’s door. And even from across the hall, he’d heard the bastard’s shouts.

He told himself he didn’t care what Sterling had said to her behind that closed door. Whatever vitriol her father wanted to dole out, Isabella deserved.

But that satisfaction curdled into something else as the minutes ticked by. Something that felt uncomfortably like concern.

He told himself he was here for intelligence. To observe. To gather information that might be useful in his campaign against the Harts.

He was a goddamn liar.

Her door flew open, wrenching him away from his thoughts as he watched Sterling Hart storm past, face purple with fury, fists clenched.

Gabriel felt a twinge of dark satisfaction. Whatever had happened inside that suite, Sterling wasn’t winning.

But had he hurt Isabella?

He pushed the worry down. Bella wasn’t his problem. Not now. Not anymore.

He told himself that, and here he was, lurking near her door, seemingly unable to walk away.

She was still inside, probably alone now. Probably shaking. Probably trying to put her armor back together after whatever her father had just done to her.

He should leave. There was nothing to gain by staying. Nothing except⁠—

The door opened again.

Harper emerged first, her face tight with worry. David Mercer was at her side, also worried, though he hid it better.

Gabriel stepped out of the shadow as they passed.

“Harper.”

She spun around, eyes wide. David moved instantly, putting himself between Harper and Gabriel.

“What the hell are you doing here?” David’s voice was low and dangerous. Not the smooth businessman Gabriel had seen at the engagement party. This was something rawer. More primal.

Interesting.

Gabriel ignored him, his focus on Harper. “I need to talk to you.”

“She doesn’t have anything to say to you.” David didn’t move. Didn’t back down. “And you need to stay the fuck away from Bella.”

“This doesn’t concern you, Mercer.”

“Everything about Bella concerns me.” David stepped closer, and Gabriel saw something in his eyes that he recognized. Something that went beyond friendship. Beyond the engagement he’d believed to be nothing more than a business transaction.

The man was in love with her.

The realization hit Gabriel like a fist to the gut. Of course he was. Of course, this handsome, wealthy, safe man was in love with the woman Gabriel had spent five years hating. The woman he still dreamed about, still woke up hard and aching for, still wanted so badly it made him sick.

And she’d been with him—probably fucking him—for five years while Gabriel rotted in his self-imposed grave.

Five long years when he’d craved her—and all the while, she’d been building a life with someone else.

The jealousy was irrational. He knew that. She’d been the one who’d announced his death based on the teeth and blood and ring the authorities had found by the cabin, all planted by him.