Page 27 of Good Girls Beg

"It's her job," was all Hel said. His tone left no room for argument.

It's only for a year, I reminded myself. Partly so I didn't feel bad about wasting her time, and partly because getting used being taken care of wasn’t a good idea. When this was over, I'd have to go back to doing my own cooking, cleaning, and laundry.

Yay for being an adult?

"Over here is our media room.” Hel stepped back into the corridor and opened a door on the opposite side to the two bedrooms. This room was small and cozy, the walls and ceiling all painted black.

On one side of the room was a sectional, covered with dark cushions. On the other was a TV that took up the entire wall from the carpeted floor to the ceiling.

"I had this redecorated," Hel explained.

"You really like to watch your movies," I said. Lyra would love this. We could binge watch a bunch of shows in comfort. Would they let me invite her here? Would I if they did? She'd have lots of questions I wouldn't be able to answer. Not yet anyway. I'd have to wait and see how this panned out.

"I do like to watch when I have time," Hel agreed. "This space is soundproof, so you can really listen to them as well."

I could imagine him sitting on the couch, a glass of wine in one hand, some sort of expensive canapé in the other, watching an action movie. Would he prefer popcorn? He didn't look like a popcorn kind of guy, but he might prove me wrong. I mean, who didn't like popcorn?

"We have every streaming service available," he added, scooping up the remote and turning on the TV to show me a list of them all, including at least three adult entertainment channels.

"If there's anything you want to watch that you can't find on there, let me know. I'll have it organized."

"Anything?" I asked. "Even movies that aren't available anymore?"

"Even those," he said. "Everything has its price."

"I guess it does,” I said.

How much money did this guy have that he could make a promise like that? I thought back, trying to remember what, if anything, I'd heard about him.

Did he have anything to do with Egger Security? They protected the majority of the buildings in Saltgrave Cove. The logo seemed to be everywhere. The stylized bear, and the words 'protected by Egger Security.' That business must be worth a fortune.

"I can't promise I can give you the answer, but if you have any questions, go ahead and ask them," he said.

I was going to ask if it was that obvious, but clearly it was. I must have figurative question marks all over my face.

"Egger Security?" I asked.

He nodded. "Mine. Oak and Fade both work for me. Oak is a guard.” For some reason, Hel didn't seem happy about that. “Fade is my CFO. If you have any questions relating to money or numbers, he's your guy. He can do calculations in his head faster than a computer."

"A math nerd, hmm?" I said.

One of Hel's eyebrows twitched up. "Exactly. He could list every prime number between one and one thousand by the time he was three. He barely started high school and he was studying college-level math."

"And preschool-level behavior," I said with a smile.

Hel chuckled. “I hope the average preschooler behaves better than he does.” He turned the TV off and tossed the remote back on the couch. "I'll show you to your room. I know you'll like it." He seemed very sure of that.

I followed him up the stairs, past what looked like a bite mark in one of the railings, and over to a room with a view of the ocean.

I stopped in the doorway. My breath caught in my throat.

"Why does this look exactly like my bedroom?"

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TEDDIE

The air left my lungs.