by Trisha Grace
The place where their skin touched felt so warm that Liam thought it might burst into flames.
Even if it did, he wouldn’t let go.
When he’d stopped Helena from pounding on the door, he had told himself that he simply wasn’t interested in seeing blood on the door. He had refused to dwell on how soft her skin was or how slender and delicate her wrist felt in his hand.
Liam couldn’t remember a time he had reached out to touch someone. Not in a fight or in an angry shove or outburst, but simply because he could—because he wanted to.
And when was the last time anyone hadn’t been disgusted by his touch?
“Fine.” Bobby nodded slowly. “You want to be on his side? Stay and watch him get thrown out.”
Helena stuck her chin out. “What makes you think your grandfather wouldn’t cut you off instead?”
She tugged her wrist from Liam’s hand, and he instinctively tightened his grip.
He was mindful of his strength, though. Her wrist seemed too breakable, and he didn’t want to hurt her. But because of that, Helena managed to slip her hand out of his.
Liam resisted the urge to grab at her hand. She wants nothing to do with you. She tried to run away from you. He’d never find out her reason for not shrugging off his initial touch because he wasn’t going to ask.
He didn’t have to.
He was the cast-off. He was the beast. Those were reasons enough.
The depressive thoughts in his head disintegrated when Helena cupped both her hands around his arm and stepped close to him.
She pressed her shoulder against his. “I’ll talk to Mr. Eolenfeld,” she said to him. “He won’t throw you out.”
Liam’s lips curled. How naive, and how incredibly adorable.
“You think you can get to the old man without me? No one will let you near him.”
Helena looked up at Liam. “We’ll find a way.”
We. She had chosen to include him.
Liam was busy trying to wrap his mind around that so he couldn’t respond to her.
“We will,” she said.
He almost agreed, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want her to be disappointed, and she would be. There was no way Edward Eolenfeld would acquiesce to her request.
But Liam couldn’t tell her that either. Not when she was staring up at him with that fierce determination. So beautiful.
“Fine.” Bobby clenched his fists. “You want to choose the beast? Stay here. Make sure you catalogue everything in this place.”
Helena rolled her eyes and turned back to Bobby. “I told you. I want no part—”
“Did Nigel tell you why he volunteered to do this?”
“Volunteered? You probably made him. In exchange for a continued place by your side.”
“He owes people money,” Bobby sneered. “And this time, if he doesn’t pay up, he’ll be going to jail.”
Her eyes slitted.
“Why did you think he agreed? That coward brother of yours coming here to deal with the beast.” Bobby took a long step forward, his angry glare never leaving Helena. “And I’ve never once lied to you, Helena.”
She dropped her hands from Liam’s arm. “How much does he owe?”
“Two and a half million.”
That didn’t sound like much to Liam, but Helena paled.
“Do you have that much squirreled away somewhere? How long would you need to save? How many expenses would you need to cut to come up with that?” A corner of his lips hooked back into an ugly smirk. “Do you need to take out your budget spreadsheet?”
Helena closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers against her forehead. Liam hated seeing her look so defeated. He could pay the two and a half million. It wasn’t much money to him.
“So, babe,” Bobby continued before Liam could speak. “You’ll stay here and catalogue everything. I’ll see how long you can stand being in the company of a beast, how long you can bear looking at that disgusting face of his.”
“And if I do that, you’ll pay off what Nigel owes?”
Liam didn’t like the idea of Helena being beholden to Bobby, but he couldn’t say he hated the idea of Helena staying.
“I’ll think about it.”
Helena rolled her eyes. “You are the worst human being.” She moved past Bobby. “I’ll go home and pack some clothes.”
“Oh, no.” Bobby strode forward and cut in front of her. “You set one foot out of this house and I’ll let your brother go to jail.”
Helena sighed slowly. “Then get out,” she said, her voice soft but saturated with anger. “Because your face is nauseating!” She spun around and stormed up the stairs.
So beautiful. Liam grinned when Bobby huffed and marched out the door.
Chapter 4
Liam didn’t realize he was smiling until he noticed Kelly’s wide eyes locked on his lips. She hadn’t moved from her spot. She didn’t even move to close the door behind Bobby, whose hands were too useless to do even that.
Liam cleared his throat and wiped the smile from his face.
Then everything went back to normal. Kelly dropped her gaze, and George mumbled something under his breath as he picked up his shotgun. As soon as they could, both disappeared from his sight.
Except things weren’t exactly normal.
Back in his old room was Helena. She’d defended him. She’d taken his side. She’d be staying here with him.
Why? A small, skeptical part of him couldn’t stop asking that question, couldn’t stop wondering if she had an ulterior motive.
Did she know about Shadow Corp.?
No. The company Liam and his half-brothers had set up was fully private. They owned the company wholly, and whatever investments they made were done through their other privately owned assets. They had even managed to keep any journalist from sniffing out their wealth. There was no way Helena could know.
So why?
He had one foot on the stairs when he noticed Helena seated on the highest step. Her arms were folded over her knees, her head resting on them.
“Having second thoughts?” he asked.
She must be. There was no way she was truly on his side.
“Are you trying to annoy me too?” Helena’s chest rose slowly as she lifted her head. “So, Master Black, what’s your name?”
He laughed once. “When you were snapping at Bobby that I have a name, you really had no idea what it was?”
The corner of her lips curled. Now that the doors were closed, the darkness had returned, but Liam was used to seeing in the dark.
“He didn’t seem to notice.”
“Bobby Eolenfeld is too self-obsessed to notice anything about anyone else.”
She laughed, the sound musical. “That’s true.”
Except for Helena, perhaps. Bobby had seemed concerned about her, until he got angry.
“What—” They started and stopped at the same time, then both gestured for the other to continue.
Liam smiled. The odd movement of his lips was slightly disconcerting. “Ladies first.”
“What’s with you and Bobby?”
The smile faded, and he clenched his teeth.
“You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”
Liam doubted she could see his face, but she seemed to have a sixth sense about his emotions.
He strode up the stairs and past her.
Liam didn’t want to tell her anything about his sordid past. He hated who he was. He hated how he came to be born. He had no say in any of that. Still, he had to bear the curse. He would have to do so for the rest of his life.
“You’re just going to walk away?”
Liam didn’t answer her. It was obvious what he was doing.
“Mr. Black,” she said, her tone gentle. “I’m sorry for what Bobby’s trying to do.”
“Why do you have to apologize for him?” he asked without turning around.
“I don’t know. I’ve been doing that my whole life. Apologizing for Nigel and Bobby.
”
He spun around to face her. “Who’s Bobby to you?”
“A parasite.”
The answer was enough to make him smile again
“A friend, maybe. A complication.” Helena pressed a hand to her face. “It’s complicated.”
Complicated? He didn’t like the sound of that. “You’re together?”
She sighed softly and got to her feet. “I don’t think I’ll ever get him out of my life. Not unless I cut Nigel off. Maybe not even then.” She walked up to him and reached out to rest her hand on his arm. “I’ll try to speak with Mr. Eolenfeld once he’s feeling better.”
“Everyone seems to think he’ll die soon.”
Helena pursed her lips.
Was that sadness in her eyes? It couldn’t be. Who would mourn a man like Eolenfeld? Everyone around the old man only cared about his money—and that was his own doing. He’d used his money to control and manipulate people. He deserved no pity.
“He’s one stubborn old man. Who knows what will happen?” She moved past him. “I’ll go back to my room. I need to figure out how to get some clothes and whatever I’ll need to stay here.”
“I’ll get Kelly to make you some dinner.”
“No,” she said.
“Don’t you need to eat?”
Helena shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t need to eat.”
She sighed heavily. “I don’t want to eat anything here.”
“Afraid I’ll poison the food?” he snapped.
“Yes,” she retorted in an equally annoyed tone.
“Fine. Then don’t eat.” Liam marched up another flight of stairs, went into his room, and slammed the door shut. He flexed and clenched his fists several times, resisting the urge to pound the walls. What was it about Helena that was so fascinating and annoying at the same time?
As intriguing as she was, Helena was dangerous. Her ties to Bobby made that clear. Liam should never trust her.
Helena’s eyes flew open with a gasp. She pushed herself up from the floor with a groan while whoever was outside repeatedly pounded on the door. “Okay. Okay.” She got up and trotted over while stretching her back. “I’m coming.”
She was twenty-five, way too old to be sleeping on the floor.
But she’d removed the linens from the mattress and pillows. She still had the pillowcases, but the bedsheets had fallen down after her and had been cleared away.
With the sheets gone, the brown spots on the old mattress were obvious. Then there was the musty smell—the same moldy smell that permeated the house. She couldn’t make herself sleep on that thing, so she decided to use the floor instead.
The wooden floor wasn’t in the best condition, but at least she didn’t get any splinters.
She drew a deep breath through her nose. Be patient. She wasn’t sure why she kept losing her patience with Master Black. All the Eolenfelds she’d come across had the emotional capacity of four-year-olds. She really should take the high road when it came to dealing with them.
Even if his last name wasn’t Eolenfeld.
Her father’s business might have failed. Her parents … well, she didn’t want to think about that too much. But her Aunt Beth had brought her up as best she could. She was loved and cared for—as Nigel would have been if he had allowed it.
“Brand new day,” she mumbled to herself. “Brand new start.” Today, she would be nicer to Master Black. She would be staying here for a while. A few days, perhaps. Or—judging by how stubborn Edward Eolenfeld was—even weeks. They didn’t have to be friends, but they could at least be civil.
She opened the door before the loud pounding chipped away all her patience.
A fist almost made contact with her head, but it thankfully stopped in time.
The old man who had hauled her back into the house dropped his hand. “You need to talk to Master Eolenfeld. Master Black won’t be pleased about people installing cameras to watch the front door.”
She stifled a yawn. “I’m sorry, but what?”
The old man stared at her as if she was an idiot.
“Bobby’s installing cameras?”
“He sent people here.”
“Of course.” Bobby would never lift a finger to do anything himself. “Now?”
“Yes,” the old man said, his tone exasperated.
“And what do you want me to do about it?”
“Call Master Eolenfeld. Tell him to send the people away.”
Helena laughed softly. “You think Bobby will listen to me?”
“I know he will.”
She shook her head. “Then you don’t know Bobby at all,” she said. “He won’t listen to me. He’s installing the cameras to annoy me. He’s trying to prove he’s serious about keeping me in the house.” Well, she knew just how to annoy him, too. The Eolenfelds might be rich, but they didn’t own the world.
More importantly, they didn’t own Amazon.
“Master Black isn’t going to be happy about this. Once he’s done with his exercise, he’s going to throw a tantrum.”
She ran her hand through her hair, smoothing out some of the tangles. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help, but Bobby isn’t going to listen to me. I know him. If I call and make a fuss about it, he’ll only fix up more cameras. You know how four-year-olds behave?” She waved it off. “I’m sure you do. You work for Master Black.”
That made the old man smirk. “I’m George. I’m the groundsman. My wife, Kelly, is the housekeeper.”
“I’m Helena Shaw, sister of the man who went scurrying away after my daring—albeit stupid—attempt to rescue him. But I’m sure you already know that.” Helena frowned. “So the cameras aren’t up yet, right?”
“Yes.”
Then this was her only chance to leave without Bobby finding out. “Excuse me.” She slipped past George and dashed down the stairs, her hand on the wooden handrail.
She pulled out her phone and switched on the flashlight to show her the way to the main door. She was almost there when Kelly jumped in front of her.
“Trying to escape again?”
Helena sighed. “No, but I need my tablet and laptop to work. They’re in my car.” Thankfully, she had the habit of bringing them along in case an idea struck her and she wanted to work on her illustrations. “I have to slip out before the cameras are up.”
Kelly shook her head. “You can’t leave.”
“I’m just going to my car.”
“The men will tell Master Eolenfeld,” George said and extended his hand. “If you give me your car key, I can fetch them for you.”
“It isn’t locked. I was in a hurry to rescue my idiot of a brother.”
George laughed and opened the door.
“Just grab the large tote bag on the passenger seat,” Helena said. “Thank you.”
He turned to Kelly, and a silent message passed between them.
Helena cut off the light from her phone.
She remained by the door and waited for George to return with her iPad and laptop while Kelly watched her like a hawk. “I’m not running away.”
“So you’re afraid my husband will steal from you?”
“I thought I was being polite by waiting here.” She stepped back into the living room and moved over to the black leather sofa, visible in the light coming in from the door. “This looks new.”
“It isn’t the Eolenfelds’. One of Master Black’s half-brothers bought it.”
“Master Black has half-brothers?” Helena ran her hand across the cool leather. “Why are all the curtains in the house closed?”
Kelly didn’t reply. She merely continued to stare at Helena as if she was an abomination.
Helena plopped onto the couch and waited in silence for George to return.
“You have a delivery, Miss,” George said when he came back into the house. Along with Helena’s bag, he was carrying two brown paper bags.
Helena jumped up. “Thank you. Thank you.” She sli
pped the tote bag onto her shoulder and took the brown bags from George. “Thank you Amazon Prime.” Without it, she would have to beg for supplies from Master Black, who certainly wouldn’t make it easy for her. “I hope the camera caught the delivery.”
“I think so,” George said.
“Good.” She probably shouldn’t stoop to Bobby’s level, but it pleased her to know he would be annoyed that his plan to make things difficult for her had failed.
“I guess you have everything you need.”
She smiled at George. “Except some fresh air.” And a new mattress with some fresh sheets. “Oh, there’s wi-fi here, right? Can I get the password?”
George took out his phone and tapped on it, then there was a ping on her phone. “There. Shared the password with you.”
“Very tech savvy.”
“Of course. With Master Black’s—”
“That’s enough,” Kelly said. “I’m sure Miss Helena has things to do.”
“I do.” Helena gave her phone a wave. “Thank you.” She grabbed the paper bags she’d set down and returned to her room.
After washing up in the spacious, but equally rundown, bathroom in her room, she changed into a comfortable army-green T-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants. She pulled her hair up in a messy bun, then took out her laptop.
Up until a year ago, she had been a freelance illustrator for children’s books. Then her friend Judith convinced her to illustrate her last gaming pitch.
The game, Flora, ended up becoming a great success. Once it became clear that the game was going to be a hit, it had been stolen from them almost immediately. She and Judith—especially Judith, since she had put in the most work—had been devastated. All their hard work had been taken from them in an instant, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it.
Doesn’t matter. Judith would make it work again. She made one game a success; she could do it again. And Helena would help her.
Judith already had another game in mind. This time, she wouldn’t be doing it for her family’s company. She and Helena had washed their hands of GS Inc. They were both freelancers now. This game would be wholly Judith’s creation, and Helena would do everything to help her friend succeed.
Helena pulled out the wooden chair in front of the small writing desk. She opened her laptop and put her AirPods in. She turned her music up loud to drown out any distractions before opening up the digital illustrations she’d drawn. She had been working on these drawings for a while, but she couldn’t help but feel something was missing in the male lead character of the role-playing game.
