Page 94 of The Beast

Gabriel stares at me, his chest heaving, and I can practically see a beast clawing at the inside of his skin, fighting to burst out. For a long moment, I think he might actually apologize. Might admit he was wrong.

Instead, he turns and walks out.

The door slams behind him, and I’m left standing in the middle of my half-unpacked break room, shaking with anger and something that feels terrifyingly like grief.

“Bella.” David’s voice is gentle. “I’m so sorry.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” I sink back onto the settee, suddenly exhausted. “He did.”

David sits beside me, careful to leave space between us. “Do you want me to go?”

“No.” The word comes out fiercer than I intended. “No. He doesn’t get to chase my friends away because he can’t control his jealousy.” I draw in a long breath, then another. Then one more for good measure.

“I can’t keep doing this,” I finally say. “I can’t keep walking on eggshells, wondering when the next explosion is going to happen. I love him, but I can’t live like this.”

“So what are you going to do?”

I shoot him a half smile. “Good thing I have a permanent suite in a kickass Atlantic City casino. Any chance you want to hang out? We could snag Harper, then order pizza and drink wine.”

“You had me at pizza,” he says as we walk out together, and I try not to think about the man headed back to The Beast to spend a long night alone with his rage.