Page 48 of The Beast

Chapter Sixteen

The Obsidian’s lobby bar is packed—the after-work crowd gathered on leather chairs, their cocktail glasses catching the amber light. It’s the kind of scene I’d normally enjoy. Tonight, it just feels like yet another gauntlet I have to jump to get to Gabriel.

As Leo and I approach, Anissa’s behind the front desk with an array of Tarot cards spread face down in front of her. When she sees me, her lips twitch. Not a smile—but close. “You came back.”

“And I’ll keep coming.” I’m hoping for a reaction from her, but all she does is slide her gaze to Leo. “You’re, Leo,” she says, her voice shaking a little. “I’m Anissa. It’s really good to meet you.”

Leo’s brow furrows. “And you know me how? ”

“Well, one, you’re a Grimm, so there’s that. But mostly because he keeps pictures in his desk. All of you. His brothers, I mean.” She glances at me. “I clean his place sometimes.”

Leo goes rigid beside me, and I’m certain he’s seeing the same thing I am—Gabriel alone in the dark, pulling out photos of the family he’d abandoned. Grieving them while they grieved him.

“And no one knows this, except you?” Leo says. “Because you snoop?”

She lifts a shoulder, totally unrepentant. “He’s downstairs,” she continues. “He’s been different the last few days.” Her eyes flick to me. “Something rattled him.”

I tell myself that’s good. But what I feel is something closer to grief.

“We need to see him,” Leo says firmly.

Anissa reaches for the phone, then pauses, looking at me.

“That painting he just hung in his apartment—it’s you, isn’t it?”

My stomach tightens. “You spend a lot of time in his apartment?” The words come out more clipped than I intend.

Anissa grins. “I just told you I clean it. Plus, it doesn’t have a kitchen. Just a mini-fridge and a microwave, and a coffee maker. I bring his meals sometimes.” She shrugs. “And he keeps the door open a lot. Says he likes to hear what’s happening in the club.”

“The fighting,” I say quietly.

“The fighting.” Her smile fades. “He’s pretty fucked up, you know.”

“Yeah,” I say. “I’ve figured that out.”

Leo leans on the counter. “You seem to know pretty much everything about my brother.”

She laughs. “Don’t worry, I’m not fucking him.” She leans forward, her eyes shifting to me. “From what I know, he hasn’t been with anyone in years.”

I draw in a sharp breath, then look away, hoping I look casual, but knowing that I don’t. She nods at the cards spread out before her. “Pick one.”

“What?” I say. “Me?”

She shrugs. “Why not?”

Why not indeed. But I reach past Leo and flip the card two spaces from the end.

“Two of cups,” she says, then looks at me with a sweet little smile. “Yeah, that’s a good one.”

I just nod, pretending that I know what the card means—and feeling strangely optimistic now, too.

She sends a quick text, then nods toward the elevator. “Head on down to SB2. My dad will meet you.”

In the elevator, the descent feels endless. Leo stares straight ahead. “Photographs,” he whispers. “The bastard kept photographs.”

I don’t know what to say. So I just stand beside him, lost in my hopes and fears.

When the doors open, Travis is waiting, and his attention lands on Leo. “He knows you’re coming?”