Page 45 of The Beast

But he doesn’t say that. Instead, he picks up the remote and goes straight to a streamer airing Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Figures.

I sigh, then head to the door. I pause once to look back, but he’s absorbed by Belle. Or pretending to be.

Fine. Whatever. I’ve gotten used to things not being easy.

I text Harper on my way to the elevator. Grimm penthouse. The gang’s assembling. I need you.

Her response comes before I hit the lobby. Already on my way. Elliott called me. He’s stuck in London, so I’ll be him.

No surprise there. She’d been one-third of The Trio growing up—her, Gabe, and Elliott. And even though they’ve all sworn they were just friends, I always suspected Harper had been a little in love with Gabriel back then. We all were, weren’t we? Before I became the one he chose.

Twenty minutes later, I’ve walked off my David pissiness and am stepping into the Grimm penthouse. It’s exactly as I remember—sleek, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Atlantic. Dark hardwood floors, furniture that costs more than the gross national product of a small nation, and art on the walls that⁠—

Whoa.

I stop. Stare.

There’s a LaBete original hanging above the fireplace. One of Gabriel’s earlier pieces. I’ve never seen it before, but I recognize his style. The bold strokes that aren’t yet as confident as they’d become. The dark palette with hints of light, as if the artist was staring into a bright future hidden behind a wall of gloom. I swallow, wondering if when he’d painted that, Gabe had been thinking of a future with me.

Leo catches my eye, his mouth curving into a slow grin. “I saw Gabe painting once—never bothered to tell him, but after that day, I paid attention. Even bought a few from local dealers, but Gabe never knew.” He points to the canvas. “I hung that one here the week after Gabe died. That’s when I told the rest of these clowns and our dad about his secret identity,” he adds, pointing to his brothers.

“Pretended to die,” I say, with an edge in my voice.

“Touche,” Leo says with a nod. “Anyway, I wanted it to be a fuck-you to my father, but the bastard went and landed in a coma, so he still hasn’t seen it.” Leo shrugs. “But no way am I taking it down. Gabe belongs here.”

“Yeah,” I say. “He does.” What I don’t add—though of course Leo knows it—is that I appreciate the quiet fuck-you to Elias Grimm and the secret tribute to the brother Leo thought he’d lost.

I don’t realize that I’ve moved across the room until I reach out, and my fingers lightly brush the canvas.

“You look like hell.”

I turn to find Ruby Ryder beside me. Well, Ruby Ryder-Grimm now that she and Leo are married.

I’ve known Ruby since elementary school. I was one of the girls who “belonged,” and she was a scholarship kid. She may not have grown up with money, but she was surrounded by it. Raised by her grandmother, who was a housekeeper for Reed Cosmetics, she ended up being besties with Sasha Reed—now Liam Grimm’s wife.

Ruby and Leo met in school, then fell in love and fell apart. Not in the usual way of young love, but in that horrible, brutal way that seems to follow the Grimm name.

They’re blissful now, though, and that gives me hope. What also gives me hope is that Leo and Ruby now run some sort of security-related, secret, badass, Liam Neeson in the Taken oeuvre, kind of business.

I don’t know the details, but considering someone who was not me tried to kill the eldest Grimm brother, I figure we’re chasing some badass people. And that means I want all the badasses I can muster on my side. Not just to keep Gabriel safe in case his would-be killers try to finish the job, but to keep me safe, too.

Because Gabriel thinks I’m one of that ilk. And that’s something I never, ever could have imagined before.

“Earth to Bella.”

My chin jerks up, and I refocus on Ruby. “Sorry. I keep zoning out. All of this is just surreal.”

“I know. I’m so sorry. Except I’m not. I mean, sweetie, he’s alive.” Before I can respond, she pulls me into a fierce hug, then pushes me back, her assessing gaze raking over me.

“You need coffee.”

“And that’s why I love you.”

The door opens behind me, and Harper slips in, slightly out of breath. She crosses straight to me and pulls me into a hug without a word. When she releases me, her eyes are bright.

“I still can’t believe it,” she says. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up.”

“I know. Me too.”