by Trisha Grace
Elias crossed his arms. “Don’t worry about your things. We’ll come back and get them for you if you need them. Or you can just buy new clothes.”
“Have you seen the closet?” She sighed as she looked around the room.
The last couple of minutes had been crazy. She’d been having a nice dinner with Liam before someone threw something through the window. Suddenly, it felt as if her life was in danger. It was no longer just obscene sketches. It felt as if the stalker wanted to truly hurt her.
Elias grinned and shrugged. “I’m just glad he’s leaving.”
Helena licked her lips. “Elias, tell me the truth. Did one of you guys break the window to get Liam to leave the house?”
“What?” Elias’s brows rose, then he laughed. “We should’ve thought of that.”
“Elias.”
“No.” He curtailed his laughter. “We didn’t do that. I swear. Unfortunately, this is all on your stalker.”
She nodded slowly.
“It’ll be okay,” he said.
“Yeah.”
He took her bag and cocked his head to the side. “Come on. Let’s get you downstairs. George and Kelly will stay with you while I help Liam. I’m sure he has no idea what to pack.”
“Just go.” She extended her hand for her bag. “I’ll be fine.”
“I won’t be if he finds out that I left you alone.” He took two steps, then spun around to her. “Helena,” he said in all seriousness. “Please don’t hurt my brother.”
Helena swallowed.
Elias frowned. “You look as if it’s inevitable.”
She licked her lips. “I don’t want to.”
“But you will.”
She sighed. “I just …”
“If you do leave him, what his crazy mother didn’t accomplish, you will.”
Helena sucked in a breath through her mouth. She didn’t want to hurt Liam, but hearing Elias say that seemed to cement her concern.
She would end up hurting him. She had no intention of leaving him, but he might not want her around. Not with all her entanglements with the Eolenfelds.
“Excuse me.” She brushed past Elias and headed down the stairs. It was a miracle that she managed to stop herself when she got downstairs because all she wanted was to keep running.
“Hey, you okay?” Elias asked as he hovered in the doorway. Though he and his half-brothers were allowed in and out of the mansion whenever they wanted, none of them had been in Liam’s bedroom before.
Liam, however, wasn’t concerned about that. He stared at the clothes he’d placed on the bed. “I don’t have a bag.”
Elias grinned. “I have my gym bag in the car.”
“And I don’t have a car.”
“I’ll drive you guys, or you can take my car if you want.” Elias and his brothers had taught Liam to drive, but he’d never gotten his license. Liam would actually have to step out of this godforsaken place to do that.
“I can’t. I’ve never driven on the road.”
They’d only ever practiced driving around the grounds, leaving deep ruts in all the lawns. George had been annoyed, then just gave up and let the grass die.
Elias shrugged a shoulder. “Then I’ll drive.”
Liam ran a hand through his hair.
“Hey, you’re not freaking out now that Helena isn’t here, are you?” Elias stepped into his room.
“I’ve never been outside.”
“You’ve got to start somewhere.” Elias sat down on the bed. “My question is, are you sure you want it to be with Helena Shaw?”
Liam frowned at him. “If you’re going to start on—”
Elias nodded slowly. “I’m happy for you. I really am.”
“But?”
“But I’m worried. You look as if you’ve fallen completely for her, and you’re … inexperienced.”
“So?”
“People don’t fall in love in a few days, Liam. I’m worried about what will happen if she leaves, if you guys don’t work out.”
“You think we won’t work out.”
“No.” Elias stood. “I want things to work out. I just feel like I should warn you. This isn’t the eighteen-hundreds. People don’t meet once and then get engaged. Helena seems nice, and I love that she makes you so happy. I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I could hear you laughing during dinner.”
Liam shot him a glare.
“I was in the living room. Killian and I thought we should hang around in case you screwed up and needed someone to smooth things over.”
“You think I’ll screw this up.”
Elias sighed. “Liam, I’m just worried. Maybe, just maybe, try to pull back a little. Though I think I’m saying this a tad too late.”
“Did she say something to you?” He glanced out of the door. “Where is she? Did you leave her alone?” He took a step toward the door.
“Relax. I left her with George and Kelly. George has his shotgun with him.”
Liam nodded once.
“And she didn’t say anything. I did.” He made a face between a scowl and a sheepish smile. “I think I freaked her out.”
“What did you say?”
Elias’s ugly expression returned.
“What did you say?” Liam tried but failed to keep the anger from his voice.
“Something along the line that she would break you if she left.”
Liam closed his eyes and sighed.
“She didn’t have the best of reactions when I told her not to hurt you. I like that she makes you happy, but her reaction didn’t give me much confidence.”
“Leave me alone.”
“Okay,” Elias said. “I’ll go check on her and get you my bag.”
Liam sat on the bed and ran his hand through his hair.
In the rush of everything that had happened, he was only concerned about getting Helena to somewhere safer. Somehow, he didn’t think he would actually be leaving.
“Are you okay?”
He jerked his head up at Helena’s voice.
Helena moved over and sat next to him. “I saw Elias leaving.”
“He’s going to get a bag for me.”
She nodded once. “We don’t have to leave.”
“That’s the problem, Helena. I’m willing to do anything for you, but that’s just stupid.”
Her brows twitched. “If you don’t want to leave, we won’t.”
“But you will.”
Helena blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“Once you’re done doing whatever you need for Bobby, you’ll be leaving.” Liam got up and moved into the bathroom. He splashed water on his face.
Helena’s reflection appeared in the mirror. “I’m sorry, Liam.”
Liam spun around. He couldn’t help himself, but he ached to touch her, especially when she looked so tortured.
So he did.
He trailed the backs of his fingers along her jaw. “I’ll break when you leave, Helena.”
Helena looked up at him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He shook his head. “I cannot do that to you. I don’t want you to stay because you’re afraid it’ll hurt me,” he said. “I know what Elias told you. I won’t hold you captive like that.”
Helena gave a strangled laugh. “Of course you won’t.” She dropped her gaze. “I don’t have to leave to hurt you, Liam. I’m going to hurt you by staying, too.” She blinked, and a tear fell.
“Helena.” He drew her face up and brushed away the tear making its way down her cheek. “Don’t cry.” He tugged her against himself. “I can’t stand seeing you cry.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Liam gritted his teeth. He wanted more than anything to ask her to stay with him. He didn’t want her to leave, but he couldn’t ask that of her. He wanted it to be her choice. He wanted her to have a choice.
“I’m sorry my life is so tangled up with the Eolenfeld. I wish it wasn’t. I wish I could—”
Liam frowned and leaned back so he could look at her. “
I don’t care about your links to the Eolenfelds.” The words tumbled out of him before he could process them, but he meant every word. “I know I get jealous over Bobby, and I was childish about you seeing Edward Eolenfeld, but I’m more than willing to deal with them for you.”
Helena blinked, and more tears fell.
Liam groaned and brushed at her tears. “You’re breaking my heart, Helena.”
She sniffed and pressed her face against his chest.
“Are you wiping your tears on my shirt?”
She sniffed again. “Maybe.”
He laughed softly and stroked her hair.
“You’ll change your mind.”
“About what?”
“About my entanglements with the Eolenfelds.” She tipped her head back and looked at him. “They’ve put you through enough. You shouldn’t have to deal with them ever again.”
“I don’t care if it means I get to have you.”
Her tongue darted over her lips. “For now. That may change some day.”
Liam replayed their conversation in his head, and his lips curled back in spite of his efforts to stop them.
“What’s so funny?”
“It sounds as if you’re afraid to lose me.”
She tried to step away from him.
Liam wasn’t going to allow that, though. He kept his arms around her, holding her captive. “Is that it? Is that why you freaked out when Elias asked you not to hurt me?”
“It isn’t funny.”
He grinned and shook his head. “No, it isn’t.”
“Then stop smiling.”
He laughed and tugged her back against his chest.
She knocked her fist against his chest.
“I need to teach you how to punch right.” Especially since she had a stalker after her.
“Stop laughing.”
He shifted her away from his chest and ducked his chin. “Helena, if I have to deal with a thousand Bobbys to have you in my life, I’ll do so willingly. I’ll just be a thousand times more jealous.”
She laughed softly.
“But I’ll work on that.”
Her gaze roamed over his face. “Elias is wrong,” she said. “You won’t break, not without me. Not because of me or anyone or anything”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“You’ll be happy with me, that’s most definite.”
“You weren’t that definite about it a few moments ago.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“I’ll definitely be happy with you.”
She grinned and nodded. “But you wouldn’t break without me.” She grew serious. “Bobby’s mother tried to break you. You didn’t. Bobby tried to make you into a beast. You aren’t. Your mother, from what I surmise, was cruel to you. Yet you’ve inherited none of that toxicity.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do,” she replied with no hesitation. “You’re not the Beast. I’m not Belle. You don’t need a Belle to complete you. You are complete without me. You just need to start believing in yourself.”
Liam was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to respond to her.
“If there ever comes a day when we end up hating each other, you’ll survive it. The way you’ve survived everything.”
“I can’t bear the thought that we would end up that way.”
She nodded slowly. “You know, Aunt Beth’s always been a go-getter. She was the one who encouraged me to get a scholarship, to pursue what I wanted to do. Everything brave about me, I inherited from her.”
“I like her already.”
“You would. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
Liam’s heart warmed at Helena’s words. She didn’t just not mind being around him, she wanted to show him to someone she loved.
“Whenever I need to be brave,” she continued, “I always think what-would-Aunt-Beth-do.”
He brushed his thumb along her lower lip. “Your stalker?”
She shook her head. “You.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Because …” she whispered. “It scares me to think I might end up being just another person who brought hurt into your life.” Vulnerability softened Helena’s gaze, and the moment felt so intimate.
“And what would your Aunt Beth do?”
“She’d work hard to make sure that didn’t happen.” Helena wrapped her arms around his waist. “And I will. Promise you’ll tell me if I’m hurting you. Promise you won’t close me off if I ever do anything to hurt you.”
This isn’t the eighteen-hundreds. Liam hadn’t lived out in the real world, but he wasn’t a complete hermit. He had seen the world through his computer, and he understood what Elias was trying to tell him.
But Liam didn’t care. He didn’t care that the real world was one where it was perfectly fine to jump in bed with someone but so difficult to utter three simple words. That wasn’t who he was.
Maybe he was naive. Maybe he was inexperienced in love.
But he didn’t care.
“I love you, Helena. And I’ll make sure I spend the rest of my life working to make sure we never end up hating each other.”
She looked back at him with wide eyes.
He couldn’t say he wasn’t disappointed that she didn’t say the words back, but he understood. “Should I apologize for saying that?”
She smiled and shook her head. “I …”
He gave her a peck on the hair. “We should go.”
“Liam.”
“I don’t mind. I can wait.” Liam glanced over at the door. Sitting in the doorway was a gym bag. “Let’s get out of here.”
Helena put her hand into Liam’s and got out of Killian’s white Tesla. Elias and Killian got out from the front seats. All three of them scanned the area before Liam put his hand on her back and led her toward the towering hotel.
Killian had made several detours to ensure that they weren’t being followed.
Perhaps it was the adrenaline rush subsiding. Helena was exhausted and had dozed off on Liam’s shoulder several times on the ride here.
She was still in her peach dress, except now she was wearing Liam’s suit jacket over it and had swapped out her heels for her trusty white sneakers. She yawned again as they entered the lobby.
She probably should be more worried and alert about her surroundings, but she was certain she was safe.
“Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Black.”
Helena blinked at the woman standing before her. She wore a black pencil skirt and a jacket along with a white shirt. She had a name tag with the word ‘Manager’ printed above her name.
“I’m Belinda Wells.” She smiled brightly at them. “And I’ll be your personal manager for your stay here.” Belinda didn’t appear fazed by Liam’s scar. “Would you like someone to bring the bags up?”
“No,” Liam said while scanning the lobby.
There were two men nearby. Both took one look at Liam and scurried away.
“This way.” Belinda walked ahead of them, leading them away from the lobby. “Here are your keycards to the presidential suite.” She turned and handed the small envelope to Helena. “If there’s anything you need, you can contact me directly. My business card is in the envelope along with the keycards.” She stopped when they got to the elevators and looked over at Killian and Elias. “Mr. Ross and Mr. Parker, these are the keys to your suite.”
“No one is to know we’re here,” Liam said. “I don’t want anyone else coming up to our floor.”
Belinda nodded. “The only other room is taken by Mr. Ross and Mr. Parker. No other keycard has access to that floor. Only room service personnel, all of whom have been vetted by Mr. Foster.
“Also, none of your names were used in the registration. The rooms are registered under aliases.”
The elevator dinged and the door opened.
Belinda stepped aside for them to enter the elevator. “Mr. Foster mentioned that Mrs. Black may have some dietary restrictions?”
&n
bsp; Elias and Killian turned to her.
“I … umm …”
“It’s okay,” Liam said and slipped his hand under the jacket. “I’ll handle that.” He hooked his hand around her waist and pulled her closer.
“Yes, sir.” Belinda stepped back and let the elevator door close.
“So professional,” Helena said when the door closed.
“She deals with VIP customers every day.”
She looked over at Liam. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be better once we get to the room.”
That was when Helena remembered what Belinda said. “Did she say ‘presidential suite’?”
“Yeah,” Killian said. “We’re in the one opposite you guys.”
“How much are you paying per night? It must be expensive.”
Liam shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”
Elias nodded. “Trevor will just deduct it from his salary.”
Helena licked her lips. “Wait. Wait. We don’t need to stay in a suite. Any room will do.”
Killian tipped his head to the side as he studied her. “You didn’t tell her?”
“Tell me what?”
Instead of answering her, Killian looked over at Liam. “You really didn’t tell her?”
“She knows what I do.”
Elias laughed and clapped. “That would be most people’s pick-up line.”
Helena frowned at them. “What are you guys talking about?”
“Don’t worry about the cost of the room, Helena.” Elias draped his arm over Helena’s shoulders. “He’s kind of rich. We all are.”
Liam shifted Helena to his other side, putting himself between her and his brothers.
“Really?” Elias shot him a glare. Liam glowered back.
“Seriously?” Helena turned to Liam. “So the clothes were not bought with the Eolenfelds’ money?”
Liam’s brows drew together. “Of course not.”
She sighed and nodded. “Good. Because it’d be a little difficult to be all righteous in front of Mr. Eolenfeld when I have a closet full of the clothes bought with his money.”
“On that note.” Killian leaned forward. “What do you think about a prenup?”
“What do you think about having your face smashed in?” Liam asked.
“If we’re going to fight, I choose Trevor to represent me.”
Elias smacked Killian on the shoulder with the back of his hand. “I’m right here.”
