Page 80 of The Beast

Chapter Twenty-Four

The drive takes almost an hour.

Gabriel is silent behind the wheel, his jaw tight, his eyes fixed on the road. I watch the city give way to industrial sprawl, then to empty stretches of nothing—warehouses, abandoned lots, the kind of places people go when they don’t want to be found.

“How long has Leo had him?” I finally ask.

“Since last night.”

“Has he talked?”

“Not yet.” Gabriel’s hands flex on the steering wheel. “Leo’s people softened him up, but they’re waiting for me.”

Softened him up. My stomach turns, even as another part of me—darker, angrier—thinks good.

“What are you going to do?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer right away. When he does, his voice is flat. Completely devoid of emotion. “Whatever it takes.”

I should be horrified, but all I can see are the bullet holes, burns, and scars that mar the man I love. All I can think of is how close he came to death. And about the lies that broke the man I loved.

“Good,” I say quietly.

Gabriel’s head turns sharply, his brow furrowed.

“Bella.”

“I’m not the girl you left behind.” The words come out harder than I intended. “Five years changes a person. So does grief. So does being accused of murder by the man you love.”

The silence that follows is thick with everything we haven’t said.

“I know,” Gabriel finally says. “You have sharp edges now, too.” His voice drops. “I hate that I put them there.”

“You didn’t. Life did. My father did. The men we’re about to see did.” I stare out the windshield at the empty road ahead. “You just made it worse for a while.”

It’s not absolution. We both know that. But at least it’s honest.

Gabriel reaches across the console and takes my hand. After a moment, I twine my fingers with his.

For now, that’s enough.

The location is a warehouse on the outskirts of the city—nondescript, industrial, the kind of place that could be anything or nothing. Leo’s waiting outside, leaning against a black sedan with his arms crossed.

He straightens when we pull up, his eyes moving from me to Gabriel. “You brought her.”

“She’s good at getting what she wants when she puts her mind to it.”

I’m not sure, but I think Leo almost grins. “I know the type,” he says, turning to look at me. “And you’ve earned it.”

“How’s Dekker?” Gabriel asks.

“Scared. Angry. Not talking yet.” Leo pushes off the car and heads toward the warehouse entrance. “But he will.”

Inside, the warehouse is what I expected—vast concrete floors, exposed beams. Basically, an industrial skeleton. Leo leads us through a maze of corridors to a room at the back. The door’s closed and there’s a guard stationed outside. At least I assume he’s a guard since he’s got a holstered gun.

“Ruby’s in there with him,” Leo says. “She’s good at reading people. Says he’s close to breaking.”

Even though I know that Ruby and Leo’s business has a Black Ops vibe, it’s still a bit of a shock to learn that Ruby’s in there for the purpose of getting info from a guy probably tied to a chair.