Bad Nerd Falling (19 page)

“
Graham, this is my
cousin, Ben.” Tia indicated him.

“
It’s nice to meet you,
Ben.”

“
Thank you, Graham, it’s
also nice to meet the man who fathered Vlad.” Ben’s tone remained
circumspect.

Graham turned to Vlad. “You know my
son?”

“
He’s had our back in
plenty of combat situations. Vlad doesn’t let you down,” Rex
answered in his radio announcer’s voice.

Ben and Derek both nodded. It was
obvious they respected him. Vlad’s cheeks suffused with
color.

The guys all grinned at making him
blush, and she expected there would be ribbing later. “It’s what
being a team means,” Vlad rumbled.

Graham smiled. “We’re proud of him.”
Maria moved under his arm and he wrapped her close.

“
Yes, we are.”

As if reading the situation quite
clearly Ben stepped forward and she was certain Vlad was relieved.
“We have work to do,” and he looked pointedly at the two SEALs and
Vlad.

Vlad released her, then bent down and
kissed her another time. “Like you heard, we have work to
do.”

“
Why?” Helena stared up at
him with huge eyes.

“
We have a meeting with
Aleksi and Dad.” He tapped her nose in the most affectionate
gesture yet before he repeated the process with first his mother
and then Tia who wrinkled her nose at him.

The men left rather abruptly so that
she, Tia, and Maria were all staring after them.

“
Did we miss something?”
Maria turned to stare at the door.

Jorge, who must have been hanging out
in the storage closet, snorted. He dumped a large assortment of
supplies on his bench.

“
What was that for?” She
shoved some hair off her cheek.

“
Of course you’ve missed
something.” Jorge stacked some pipets into a drawer. When he didn’t
clarify his remarks, the three of them converged on him.

He managed to escape but he sadly
shook his head. “Think about it. Rurikstan is a small, but
extremely wealthy nation.”

“
Yes, and?” Maria kept
glancing at the door.

“
And that means we’re a
tasty morsel to others who are looking for wealth.” He stared at
them like they weren’t very bright.

Tia and Maria didn’t seem to notice,
but she bristled. “Explain, Jorge.”

“
They’re all concerned
that we might become appealing to terrorists and the like.” Jorge
gestured toward the doorway.

Maria’s eyes grew huge. She dropped
onto a stool as the blood rushed out of her face. “That’s why Vlad
is home.”

“
I gather he came home
because he’s finished his training. Now he’s ready to do what was
always intended for him.” Jorge popped some bacterial loops into
another drawer.

“
What was always intended
for him?” Maria’s voice sounded far away.

He explained about de Leos warriors
and terrorists and the like and Helena had no idea what he was
talking about. Her companions at least had the sense to ask
questions. Jorge’s patience was legendary, but even he started to
fray around the edges by their lack of comprehension.

“
I don’t know for certain,
but I’m guessing Prince Aleksandr shaped Vlad into the epitome of a
warrior. Since all the tendencies were there, it was in Rurikstan’s
best interests to have a highly trained soldier on hand when the
fighting begins.”

“
You think there’s going
to be fighting?” Tia was now as pale as Maria.

She kept her cool only because all her
synapses ceased firing properly. Her thoughts turned sluggish and
mushy.

“
If terrorists want our
wealth, definitely.” Jorge sounded very sure of his
facts.

“
Jorge, how do you know
all of this?” Tia’s voice hit the squeaky range.

“
Because I enjoy military
stuff. I’ve been watching ours for a while now. The first thing
Aleksi did when he became prince was start overhauling our
military. That was wise. I’m guessing he’s aware of the things that
are going on.”

“
What things?” Tia
asked.

She was thankful because she couldn’t.
Maria didn’t appear any better off.

“
The usual. The different
strengths and weaknesses of each branch and how to shore up our
defenses. We’re not a big nation. That means we need allies. I’m
guessing Prince Aleksandr realized that as well. That’s why he sent
Vlad all over the world to be trained.”

The thought of Vlad touring the
world’s militaries was scary and disconcerting. Jorge mentioned all
this so matter-of-factly. Yet it made her a little
crazy.

“
I don’t want my son doing
this.” Maria fixed her stunned gaze on Jorge.

Jorge sent her a wry look. “It’s a
little too late for that.”

Helena’s heart clenched.
“Why?”

“
Vladimir Wellington is going to go down in
Rurikstan’s history as our best and most useful weapon.”

Chapter 15

When he knocked on Helena’s door that
evening he wasn’t in the least bit surprised when DuBois opened the
door. “Figured you’d answer the door.” As greetings went it
probably lacked something.

“
You’re late,” DuBois
greeted in turn.

“
Yeah, had to figure out
accommodations for some buddies.” Vlad entered the apartment and
groaned as soon as he breathed in the fragrant air.

“
She’s making roast beef,
mashed potatoes and all the fixings.” DuBois verified. “I’ve been
smelling that roast all day.”

“
Worked from
home?”

“
Yeah. It’s been
torture.”

Helena left the kitchen and lifted her
face for his kiss. He liked having this woman meet him with supper,
a warm smile, and hot kisses. If this was how married men lived, he
was ready to sign up. “You’re late.”

“
Your buddy already
mentioned that.”

“
Where are the guys?” She
peered around him.

“
We found them a place to
stay. Actually, Tia pulled rank and settled them in the
palace.”

“
Oh, so they’re eating
there.”

“
Yes.”

Helena smiled again. “Tia pulled rank?
How did she do that?”

Behind her, DuBois laughed.

Vlad grinned. “Tia outranks everyone,
except Aleksi.”

“
She outranks him, too,”
DuBois overrode.

“
Formally speaking, Aleksi
is the supreme sovereign of the country. But everyone knows a
female can sway his vote.”

“
Everyone knows Tia can
sway him. If you have her ear, you’re golden.”

Helena eyed DuBois. “You sound a
little bitter.”

“
I’m not.”

When both he and Helena raised their
brows, DuBois looked a little chagrined. “Okay, maybe I am, a
little. He’s the prince, has a gorgeous, amazing princess, and
I’m…”

“
Going to eat roast beef,
my special mashed potatoes, and work on mastering your latest
masterpiece,” Helena finished for him.

“
Okay, so maybe my life
isn’t so bad.”

“
If you’re not interested
in that roast beef, by all means, go pout. I’ll be happy to eat
your share.”

“
I
said
I’m happy.”

Helena’s throaty laughter halted their
escalating disagreement. Both of them turned to watch her reenter
the kitchen and lift a pot lid. She poked at the contents then
resettled the lid. “We should be ready to eat in about ten
minutes.”

That spurred them into action. DuBois
worked on setting the table while he worked to stay out of his way.
Helena set the steaming roast and a knife and platter in front of
him. He deduced that she wanted him to slice it. Even though he had
never done this before, he was pretty handy with a
knife.

In addition, during his growing up
years he had watched his father perform this very task and that
served him well now. With careful cuts, he soon had the roast
sliced. It was succulent and perfectly done. There were carrots and
celery floating in the leftover juice so he added those to the
plate.

His stomach growled.

He moved out of the way when Helena
carried a heavy stock pot to the sink. She upended it into a
colander and the potatoes looked perfect. With skill that indicated
her enjoyment of cooking, she soon had them mashed and smelling
delicious. The rest of the meal took little time and before he knew
it, they were seated. After they gave thanks and dug in, he
couldn’t wait to taste the meal.

DuBois wasn’t any less shy about
piling his plate. “Helena, you outdid yourself.” He spoke around a
mouthful of beef.

“
Thank you.” She forked up
some vegetables. “It’s nice to cook for people who appreciate your
efforts.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes
before Helena laid her fork down. She fixed him with a concentrated
stare. “Jorge mentioned something today.”

“
What did he say?” He was
only half participating in the conversation. The other half was
fully engaged in enjoying this meal. He couldn’t remember such an
exquisitely prepared feast since leaving home. It took Helena’s
cooking for him to finally enjoy food.

Helena shoved her plate out of the way
and folded her arms on the table. “He mentioned that Prince
Aleksandr molded you into a warrior. So much so that you’re a
weapon.” The fact that her voice was flat offered up the clue that
she wasn’t happy about this information. Her grim mouth and rigid
spine further clued him in.

For the life of him, he couldn’t
figure out why she was upset by this. He stopped chewing to better
think, but the melting potatoes tasted so good he resumed the
activity. That meant his thinking process was limited.

Fortunately DuBois wasn’t as
restrained. “What’s the problem?” He was also busy clearing his
plate. But he seemed more adept at reading Helena’s
moods.

He had a lot to learn about women, his
in particular.

“
The problem is that if
Vlad is a weapon,” Helena threw up a hand in annoyance, “then he
could get hurt when he’s pointed at someone.”

“
That’s the way it is in
the military.” Vlad wiped his mouth.

“
He could get hurt walking
down the street.”

“
Or driving a
car.”

He and DuBois could probably keep
going all evening, but Helena grew colder and angrier. “This is not
a game,” she snapped. Her face was turning red, and not the
blushing kind. The kind that indicated they were about to not be
offered dessert. He shared a panicked look with DuBois.

“
Helena, war is not a
game. You’re right. However, I’ve trained my
whole
life for this.”

At his quiet words, she deflated a
bit. “All your life? Jorge said Prince Aleksandr started your
studies at age five or six.” She blew out a shaky breath. “You were
a child.”

“
Yes.” He reached out and
covered her hand with his. Turning her hand, he interlaced their
fingers. “I was a child. But Helena, this is what I was born to do.
I was born a warrior, and my father and the prince realized
that.”

“
You were a baby,” she
whispered. “How could they do that to someone so small?”

“
Easy. It was either start
training him early on to be the good guy, or watch him train
himself and become a felon.” DuBois helped himself to more meat and
potatoes.

Helena’s utter silence made even the
musician pause.

“
A felon?” She swallowed,
hard.

“
A felon,” Vlad agreed.
“I’m a warrior. My dad and Aleksandr understood they had to steer
me in the right direction.” He shrugged. “So they did.”

“
You’ve dedicated your
entire life to war.” She stared at him like she didn’t know
him.

“
You can take the man out
of the war, Helena, but you can’t take the war out of the man.
That’s a side to our nature that is always there. In extreme cases
like Vlad here, you can structure and control it, but you can’t
erase or ignore it.”

“
It’s really strong in me,
Helena. The adults in my life realized that and made certain of the
outcome. That’s all.”

She still didn’t look convinced. But
she did look a little… melancholy. Yet he didn’t know how to shield
her from this aspect of himself. In actual fact, he didn’t want to.
This was him.

If Helena couldn’t deal with this part
of him, they wouldn’t last.

He wasn’t certain who he was other
than being the warrior. Was there another part of him? If so he
hadn’t paid much attention to that aspect of his personality. The
warrior had been nurtured and trained, but if there was anyone else
in there, Vlad didn’t know him.

“
What are you worried
about?”

When he looked up, DuBois was staring
at Helena with an intensity that he normally associated with
battle-readiness.