Beast (Happily-Ever-After: The Illegitimates Book 1)

by Trisha Grace

  “Oh?” Aunt Beth glanced over her shoulder. “Then you definitely have to check out my photos. I just came back from India.” She opened the velcro strap and pulled out her camera. Her attention was on the camera’s screen as she strode back.

  Her aunt moved around the coffee table and sat on the arm of the couch. She angled the camera’s screen toward Priscilla, looking as if she wanted to show her friend the photographs she’d taken.

  Without warning, Aunt Beth rammed the heavy piece of equipment into Priscilla’s face. “Run!” Aunt Beth gave Priscilla a shove while Helena—taking a page out of Liam’s book—jumped onto the coffee table and hopped down on the other side.

  Helena sprinted over to the door, then glanced back when she heard Aunt Beth curse.

  Priscilla had her hands on Aunt Beth, her fingernails digging into her aunt’s skin.

  “Go!” Aunt Beth shouted when she noticed her hesitating.

  Helena couldn’t make herself take another step. She couldn’t run and leave Aunt Beth behind. All the guilt of not going with Nigel to check on her parents came crashing back on her. The screams from that night played in her head, and Helena froze.

  Only when Priscilla pushed Aunt Beth to the floor did Helena jerk out of her daze.

  She wasn’t a kid anymore. She could fight.

  Priscilla lunged toward Helena, and she jumped out of the way.

  Helena curled her fists as Liam had taught her and turned, swinging one arm while the other hand guarded her face. Her fist landed square on Priscilla’s jaw and kept going. Punch through your target, Liam’s voice played in her mind.

  Helena pulled her hand back up in front of her face and braced herself for a fight.

  But there was no need.

  Priscilla’s head rolled back, and she collapsed to the floor. She was completely out.

  “Who taught you how to punch like that?” Aunt Beth went over to her backpack and dug out a roll of black tape.

  “Why do you have that in your bag?”

  “This is an essential when you’re traveling. It fixes everything.” Aunt Beth nudged Helena forward. “Grab her hands.” Helena did, and her aunt wrapped layers of tape around Priscilla’s wrists.

  “You’re probably going to cut off her circulation.”

  Aunt Beth looked at her. “Do we care about that?”

  “No. Not really.”

  Aunt Beth nodded and continued until she was happy. She bit down on the tape and tore it off. “Good for everything.” She moved to Priscilla’s legs and did the same to her ankles. “Do you want to tell me who this woman is?” she asked, once a thick layer of tape was secured around Priscilla’s ankles.

  Helena threw her arms around Aunt Beth. “Thank God you knew something was wrong.”

  “I could see it clearly in your eyes.” Her aunt laughed once. “I guess all those years of annoying the hell out of your mother paid off.” She ran her hands down Helena’s arms. “Are you hurt?”

  Helena shook her head.

  “I’m going to call the cops, then you’re—”

  The door to her apartment opened, and Aunt Beth threw the roll of tape at it.

  Liam caught it and frowned at them.

  “Liam.” Helena jumped into his arms. “How did you know I came home?”

  “Eolenfeld parasites.”

  Helena frowned, but Liam wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at the unconscious Priscilla on the floor. “I did that.” She grinned. “One punch to the jaw can knock a person out.”

  Liam sighed as his lips curled, then he pulled her in for a kiss.

  “Hello, boys. I’m Helena’s favorite aunt.”

  Helena broke away from Liam’s kiss with a laugh. “Aunt Beth, you’re my only aunt.”

  “Which makes me your favorite by default.”

  She took a step back and noticed the rest of the guys. “So, I figured out who my stalker is.”

  Aunt Beth cut in between Helena and Liam. “Are you the one who taught her how to punch like that?”

  Liam’s mouth opened, but he didn’t say a word.

  Helena chuckled at his reaction. “You’re not in trouble.” She turned to Aunt Beth. “Yes, he did.” At the reminder of that, she looked down at her hand.

  It was as if her brain finally remembered that she’d punched someone, and the pain kicked in.

  Helena shook out her hand, and Liam frowned.

  “Did you break something?” He took her hand and gently ran his thumb over her reddened knuckles.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Aunt Beth grabbed her phone. “Introductions will have to wait. I’ll call the cops.” She pointed at Trevor. “You—go sit on her or something. One of you get these two their own room.” She tapped on her phone. “Maybe someone who knows what’s going on should speak to the operator instead.”

  Chapter 26

  “Killian found me,” Elias said, answering Aunt Beth’s question about how the brothers found each other. “We were playing the same game online, became friends, and started chatting. We both talked about how we were kind of mistreated because we were illegitimate children born to mistresses. Turns out we were more alike than we knew.”

  While waiting for the police, Liam’s brothers filled Aunt Beth in who Priscilla was and how they had found out Helena was coming home.

  Since Liam’s brothers had taken over the explanation, Helena called Judith and Edward to assure them that she was safe.

  Priscilla regained consciousness before the police got there and began shrieking and writhing around.

  None of them seemed to know what to do.

  Liam was thinking about taking Helena into her room, away from Priscilla, when Aunt Beth got up and went into the kitchen. She returned a few moments later, a cast iron skillet in hand. Then, before anyone could stop her, she swung it against Priscilla’s head, ceasing the awful noise.

  Everyone was stunned. Everyone except Trevor, who smirked. Elias stood up and clapped, and Aunt Beth bowed. She put the cast iron skillet on the coffee table, but they didn’t have to use it again.

  When the police got there, Priscilla was still unconscious and had to be carried out.

  Liam had remained by Helena’s side while the police took her statement. Since the police didn’t specifically bring it up, none of them mentioned their trip to GS Inc.

  Helena put her hand on Liam’s leg, drawing his attention back to the conversation around them. “Then you two decided to find others?”

  Liam covered her hand with his. His thumb grazed her still-red knuckles. He wished he had gotten here earlier so she didn’t have to defend herself, but he was glad she was able to.

  Elias nodded. “We knew there were others out there. We found Liam next. His mother was an actress, so the affair got quite a lot of attention.” He pointed to Cassian. “Then he found us.”

  Cassian brought an ankle to his knee. “My mother thought I should get to know my family. The Eolenfelds have no interest in knowing an illegitimate child, so …” He shrugged.

  “Yeah.” Elias put his hand to his chest. “We feel so loved.”

  Cassian grinned. “These idiots are family.”

  Aunt Beth laughed and continued digging into her food.

  Elias made a kissy face at Cassian. “Then Cassian’s mother gave us the name of another of Frederick’s mistresses, and we found Trevor.”

  “So, what are your plans moving forward?” Aunt Beth put down her utensils and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “The food’s really good, by the way.”

  Elias jerked his chin toward Cassian. “He knows all the best restaurants in town. He dates a lot.”

  Helena looked over at Liam. “That restaurant was really fancy.”

  Cassian shook his head. “When he asked if there was a nice place for lunch, I thought he wanted to take you.”

  Helena laughed softly. “Thanks for the flowers, by the way. I’m sorry I left them in Pris …”

  “I’ll get you more.”

&nbs
p; “I didn’t tell him to do that, by the way.” Cassian said. “That was all him.”

  “And the barrage of instructions he gave to the manager,” Trevor added with a shake of his head.

  “Instructions?” Aunt Beth frowned at Liam. “You’re not getting people to watch over my girl, are you?”

  “Not the way you’re thinking,” Helena said. “Liam just made sure I’d feel safe with the food being served. The manager even changed my drink after I went to the bathroom. He brought me a new glass and filled it in front of me after assuring me that he filled the pitcher himself.”

  “And your friends didn’t think that was weird?”

  Helena shrugged a shoulder. “I said I’d had a bad case of food poisoning.”

  Aunt Beth laughed once without humor. “I guess that was true.” She scanned the place. “Nigel sent me an email that he and Bobby were going to Mexico for a couple of days.”

  “He didn’t tell me anything.”

  Aunt Beth waved it off. “So,” she turned back to Liam, “Plans moving forward? Are you going to continue living in that rundown mansion?”

  “I haven’t actually thought about where I would live,” Liam said.

  Aunt Beth’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like a man without a plan. Especially when said man wants to marry my niece.”

  Helena gave his leg a squeeze. “Aunt—”

  “I have plans for us, just not for myself.” Liam patted Helena’s hand. “I’ll find a new place, probably build a new house.” He smiled at her. “We can design it together.”

  “And in the meantime?” Aunt Beth asked.

  Liam grinned. “Helena’s promised to let me sleep on her couch.”

  Aunt Beth wasn’t amused. “Building a house or finding one takes time.”

  Elias shrugged. “We have properties all over. Liam can move into any of them. Plenty of space if they want to move in together.”

  “Or,” Trevor said, “you guys can just continue to stay in the hotel suite.” He folded his arms across his chest. “So that won’t be a problem.”

  Aunt Beth’s lips hooked back into a smirk. “You have a strong support team.” She sipped at her coffee.

  “I’ll take care of her.” Liam lifted Helena’s hand and kissed her palm before turning back to Aunt Beth. “I promise you that.”

  “Okay.” Aunt Beth put down her cup. “One more thing, then, before I give you my blessing.” She leaned on the table. “Let me see the ring.”

  “Aunt Beth!”

  “It’s on the way.” He pulled out his phone and slid it over to Aunt Beth to show her an email with an attachment displaying the ring. “Cassian has contacts.”

  “My mother’s contact.” Cassian looked over at Helena. “I assure you I didn’t introduce him to a jeweler that I bring my dates to.”

  “Like you would know where your secretary bought the jewelry,” Killian said, and Elias laughed.

  “When did you get the ring?” Helena asked.

  “I had time.” He grinned at her surprise. “I’m not asking you to say yes now. I told you, I can wait. You take as long as you need.”

  “Don’t make him wait too long,” Aunt Beth said, nudging Helena’s arm with her elbow. “You have my blessing.” She returned the phone to Liam. “Because I like that you make her brave, that you make her stand up for herself.” She leaned over and gave Helena a peck on the hair, then stood and grabbed her camera. “Let me take a photo of you guys.”

  “It’s late.” Aunt Beth checked the time on her watch. “You guys should leave.”

  Liam didn’t want to leave Helena. He wouldn’t mind sleeping on the couch, but he didn’t want to make a bad impression on Aunt Beth. He stood and leaned over, giving Helena a peck on the cheek.

  Aunt Beth swatted Helena on the arm. “You go, too. You have a perfectly good hotel suite waiting for you. I’m going to take your room.”

  “You can take the guest bedroom,” Helena said, and Aunt Beth made a face.

  “I’m not going to sleep in Nigel’s bed. How many times has he thrown up on that thing?”

  Helena sighed. “I’m going to need to get a new bed before Judith moves in.”

  Aunt Beth’s brows rose. “Judith’s moving in?”

  “Yeah,” Helena said. “She’s having a bit of a crisis.”

  “You’d better start finding a place soon, Liam.” Aunt Beth set her camera down after checking through it. “Because Helena will have no place to stay for a while.”

  Helena frowned, then her eyes widened. “You’re staying? How long?”

  “At least the next six months. I’m having a gallery exhibition.”

  “Really?” Helena threw her arms around Aunt Beth and pulled her in for a hug. “But I thought you hated exhibitions like that.”

  Aunt Beth shrugged a shoulder. “I missed you. I thought I should stay for a while. Longer, if I have to be here for a wedding.” She winked at Liam. “All right now. I had a long flight. Get out of here—all of you.” She moved over to the door and opened it. “I—”

  Her aunt’s smile faded. “I thought you were going to Mexico with Nigel? Where is he?”

  Helena got up and came over to them. “Bobby.”

  Bobby stepped into the apartment. “My grandfather told me what happened.” He stopped when he saw the crowd in her apartment. His gaze landed on Liam, then jerked back to Helena. “You said you cared about me.”

  His brothers turned, and everyone stared at Bobby.

  Helena sighed. “What is this about?”

  “Do you?” Bobby asked.

  Helena glanced over at Liam.

  “You’re afraid of hurting his feelings?” Bobby stepped forward. “I have feelings, too.”

  Liam stood and crossed over to Helena. “There’s something I want you to know.” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Bobby warned off Ronald and the others at GS Inc. He warned them to stay away from you.”

  He might not like Bobby, but he couldn’t deny that Bobby had protected Helena when he wasn’t even in the picture. And he wanted Helena to know that. He couldn’t hide it from Helena. She deserved to know.

  Helena’s eyes widened, and she turned to Bobby. “How did—”

  “You complained to Nigel. I heard you talking to Judith about what you saw one of the guys do to … I can’t remember her name.”

  Helena licked her lips. “You never said anything.”

  “We never do. Not about Richie. Not about this. Not about my family.” Bobby shook his head. “Do you or do you not care about me?”

  “I do. I said I do—as a friend.”

  Bobby nodded once. “Then leave him. Leave him and I’ll go into rehab. I’ll make sure Nigel goes and stays there too.”

  Liam stepped away from Helena, and Cassian shook his head while the others’ eyes widened.

  He knew his brothers probably thought he was giving up.

  He wasn’t.

  Standing here now, watching Bobby and Helena, Liam wasn’t jealous of the years they had together, of the entanglements between them. He was grateful.

  Helena had been safe and protected, and Liam couldn’t thank Bobby enough for that.

  Helena looked over at Liam again. “You don’t have anything to say about this?”

  “You know how I feel about you.” He peered over at Bobby. “I also know what he’s done for you. Whatever you decide, I just want you to be happy.” It hurt to say that aloud. It hurt to know that there was a chance he could lose her.

  From the couch, Aunt Beth gave him a thumbs-up.

  “Ask me again,” Helena said.

  Liam arched a brow.

  Aunt Beth threw a small pillow over at him. “Ask her to marry you.”

  Liam’s lips curled. He dropped down on one knee and took her hand. “Helena Shaw, will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest man on earth?”

  “Yes.” She beamed at him. “Yes.”

  Liam got up and kissed her.

  “Funny.” Bobby marched
over, and Liam swung Helena behind him.

  Chairs scraped across the floor as his brothers all got to their feet.

  “You trying to be cute?” Bobby asked.

  Helena stepped out from behind him. “I’ll marry him because Liam would never—never—hold anything over me. He’ll never force me to do anything I don’t want to.”

  Bobby rolled his eyes. “Because he’s too much of a coward to fight for you.”

  “Because he’s brave enough to let me go—even if it would break his heart. Because he truly loves me.”

  “I—”

  “You asked me if I care about you. Now let me ask you—do you really love me?”

  “Of course I do.” Bobby clenched his fists. “You know I do.”

  “Then let me go. Let me be happy.”

  “I won’t do that because I’ll fight for you.”

  “So would he.” Helena stepped forward, and Liam moved along with her. Not because he didn’t want Bobby close to her. He just didn’t want her close when Bobby looked so angry. He’d already seen him hurt Helena once.

  “But he would let me go,” Helena continued.

  “You’re asking me to let you go to prove I love you. I lose either way.”

  “I’m sorry, Bobby. I really am. I’m grateful for all you’ve done for me.”

  Bobby strode up to her, and Liam stepped forward when Bobby raised his hands. With his eyes locked on Liam, Bobby cupped Helena’s face. “I can’t stay and watch, so goodbye.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  Dropping his hands, Bobby turned to look at Liam. He didn’t say a word, but Liam understood.

  Liam nodded. He would protect Helena. More than that. He would make sure she would be able to protect herself.

  Chapter 27

  Helena drew in a deep breath when Aunt Beth squeezed her hand.

  “Are you ready?”

  Three months. It had been three months since Helena met Liam, and she was in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. She was in a beautiful white gown, a bouquet of pale pink tulips in her hand.

  “Do you want to run?” Aunt Beth smiled at her. “I could probably flirt with the limousine chauffeur and convince him to get us out of here.”