Bad Nerd Falling (24 page)

“
How did she take that?”
His voice gave nothing away. His face had turned to
stone.

She and Aleksi traded glances. “Since
that was her plan, I’d say she took it well.”

“
She’s never dated anyone
else that I know of,” Aleksi added.

“
Karis has never wanted
anyone else after she realized she wanted Emerson.”

“
Her manipulation worked
then.” It wasn’t a question. And although Vlad’s voice still didn’t
give anything away, she figured he wasn’t impressed.

“
You have to do that with
Emerson,” Aleksi repeated quietly, with power. She nodded with
vigor. “You become… What’s that American word?” Aleksi frowned at
her as she jiggled her toolbox.

“
Roadkill,” Vlad
supplied.

Aleksi used his rolled up documents to
point at Vlad. “That’s it.”

“
In any event, their
relationship not only works, it works really well.
For them.
”

“
I would hate a
relationship like theirs.”

She nodded. “So would I.”

“
What does that mean?” A
tiny note of suspicion leaked through Vlad’s voice.

“
Their relationship is
personal. It’s what they both need. They’re more in love now than
when they were dating.” She stared at Aleksi.

“
Their relationship has
evolved. I don’t think there’s much manipulation now.” Aleksi
unrolled the papers then rolled them up again.

“
There is probably
some
. They like that
challenge and when one wins, the other is always impressed.” She
grinned.

“
Yes. I’m really happy Tia
doesn’t do that.”

She tapped a finger to her cheek. “As
I recall, my boss left for a meeting with you about our lab budget
and when she returned, her hair was messy, her lips were swollen,
and she had that glow in her eyes.”

Aleksi contrived to look innocent.
“Perhaps you recall incorrectly.”

She wasn’t deterred. “And
as I remember,
correctly
, she didn’t return with a
settled budget, either. Apparently the person who decides those
issues decided
not
to make a decision.”

This time, her prince’s lips curled up
in a masculine smile of satisfaction. “Her budget will be the very
last one approved.”

“
Exactly. Because a
certain budget approver likes her technique.”

“
I enjoy those meetings
with her very much.”

“
We know. She also enjoys
them, far too much.”

“
I noticed she’s never
sent you.”

“
Oh please. One of my
mocha swirl cookies and you’ll beg.”

“
I have done that.” Aleksi
glanced at Vlad. “Don’t try one of those cookies. They’re
evil.”

She laughed.

Vlad’s lip curled up. “I have been
warned about those.”

“
I could send Tia into
those budget meetings with a few.” Aleksi’s eyes darkened with what
could only be lust. That’s when she tugged out the big guns. “To
eat them in front of you and not share.”

Aleksi’s groan was so pained that Vlad
turned to her. “That wasn’t nice.”

“
That would be cruel and
unusual punishment,” Aleksi stated hoarsely.

“
But our budget would be
finalized.”

“
Perhaps.” Aleksi recurled
his papers. “You could make some mocha swirl cookies and give them
to me.”

She sent him a sardonic look. “Do you
really think you’d get them? Emerson works here.”

“
I have heard tales of
Emerson’s legendary ability to steal sweets. Is it true?” Vlad
glanced between them.

“
Yes,” she and Aleksi
answered at the same time.

Jorge turned the corner then, swinging
a bigger toolbox than hers, since he had his and Tia’s samples to
collect. “What are you doing? Don’t you have samples to
collect?”

“
Yes, but I got
distracted.”

Jorge turned to Aleksi. “Don’t you
think it’s bad enough you distract Tia, but now Helena?” He glanced
pointedly at Vlad. “It’s not like she hasn’t been distracted enough
lately.”

“
No mocha swirl cookies
for you,” she stated weakly. Mostly because Vlad’s lips curled up
in the same masculine sign of appreciation Aleksi’s had displayed
moments ago.

“
I don’t think I’ve ever
tried one before.” Jorge stared at Aleksi with a scowl.

“
You have to be faster,
Jorge.”

“
I don’t steal from my
prince.” Jorge sounded all pious.

“
Yes, you do. If you got
the opportunity, you’d run me down.”

“
Perhaps.” Jorge turned
back to her. “The first one back talks Maria into making her
American cinnamon rolls.”

Everyone in the group groaned. Vlad
took charge. “You two go take your samples. Aleksi and I will start
on her now.”

Before she could turn to leave, he
slipped a hand around her and tugged her close for a quick, hard,
proprietary kiss. It left her reeling for a long moment. He and
Aleksi were already partway down the hall when her senses wheezed
back to life.

An amused Jorge took her arm to haul
her out of the palace. “You have work to do.” He kindly marched her
across the street and then pointed her in the direction she needed
to go.

Really, Vlad Wellington needed to be
declared illegal.

It would take the rest of the
afternoon for her senses to right themselves so she could actually
work.

Men with devastating lips like that
needed to be outlawed.

Except that all she wanted was to kiss
him again.

Samples
. She had samples to collect.

If she messed up these tests they’d have to boil
their water again…

Chapter 18

“
By the way, Helena is the
last woman on earth to manipulate a man.” Aleksi reassured him as
they headed in the opposite direction from Helena.

“
How do you know
that?”

“
Easy. If she has a
problem with you, she’ll get in your face and yell at
you.”

A memory from her schooling years rose
to verify that. He had snarled about her speaking with a male
schoolmate who was assigned to a project with her. Helena stood
toe-to-toe with him and told him in no uncertain terms to back off.
He had known then she wasn’t interested in that man, but his
possessiveness had reared its ugly head.

“
I did know
that.”

“
Yes, we all remember her
blasting you.” Aleksi smiled, like it was a fond memory.

He couldn’t say it had been a favorite
of his as it was then he realized he had to leave to give her room
to mature. It was too soon for them. He had reluctantly flown to
America to become a Navy SEAL candidate.

“
What do you need?” Not
interested in digging up those memories, he moved on. He wasn’t
even distracted by his mother’s cinnamon rolls because he wanted to
chase Helena down so he could kiss her again and again.

“
We have a meeting
scheduled with General Warcowski tomorrow morning.”

“
Should I bring the
team?”

Aleksi pondered that. “Yes, I don’t
think it will hurt our good general to meet your friends. It’s
obvious they know what they’re doing.”

An understatement. “Yes.”

“
I’d like for the General
to meet them, if nothing else.”

Something in Aleksi’s voice alerted
him. “This meeting isn’t about strategy for this terrorist
faction?”

“
No. Not entirely. I don’t
believe Warcowski has any true idea of your skills.”

“
Your father didn’t keep
him informed?”

“
I’m not certain my father
had a full understanding of everything you can do.”

He shook his head. “Your father
created me. He knew all too well.”

“
Family genetics created
you. He just provided you the opportunity to hone those skills.”
Aleksi stared at him for a moment, but Vlad couldn’t tell what he
was thinking.

“
What?”

“
You’ve always been a
warrior, far before my father stepped in.”

“
I am what I
am.”

“
Right now you’re all
that’s standing between us and any terrorist faction who may or may
not be interested in us.”

That statement stopped Vlad. “Are you
referring to a specific faction?”

Aleksi’s lips firmed. “We wouldn’t be
able to tell specifics. However we’ve recently noticed what looks
like suspicious activity.”

The fact they even recognized a
problem caused a warning signal to blare. He made an executive
decision.

“
Okay. Let’s go plant the
seed in my mom’s brain to make us cinnamon rolls and then we need
to talk. I’ll bring the team.” He paused. “They all like cinnamon
rolls.”

“
Of course they do. Who
doesn’t?” Aleksi looked at him like he was crazy.

He shrugged that off. It wasn’t an
unusual look. Besides, he had been accused of a lot
worse.

They rounded the corner and stepped
into the lab. The only two present were his mother and Tia. Aleksi
wasted no time closing the distance between himself and Tia. Their
future princess got herself thoroughly kissed hello.

To avoid having to watch, he crossed
to where his mother worked. “We want cinnamon rolls.” He bent to
kiss her cheek. It was nice to be able to do so.

“
I see. Who is we?” She
worked with the efficiency and languor he always associated with
her. It was hard to imagine this woman had given birth to anyone,
much less him.

“
Me, Helena, Jorge,
Aleksi, and my friends from America.” He frowned. “To name a
few.”

“
I see.” She smiled at him
and he was happy to bask in her glow.

“
Thanks, Mom.” While he
wanted to stay a little longer, that suspicious activity Aleksi
mentioned loomed large. He frowned. “We have to go.”

He extricated Aleksi from his fiancée
and hauled him out of the lab, waving at Tia as he left. “I wasn’t
finished.” Aleksi kept glancing behind him.

“
We have terrorists to
discuss.”

That settled Aleksi’s arguments.
Terrorists took precedence over everything else. At least
neutralizing their threat did. Aleksi’s lovedaze drained and he was
all business again. It was moments like this that reminded him he
was definitely related to Aleksi. Maks joined them as they
approached Aleksi’s office.

“
What’s
happening?”

“
I just asked Mom to make
us cinnamon rolls.”

Maks dark brows snapped together.
“Good call.”

“
Thanks. Now we’re
focusing on terrorists.”

“
That’s why I’m here.”
Maks grimly waved his phone at them.

“
Let me call in the team
before we discuss this.” He yanked out his phone. The men
materialized in moments. “You’re slow.”

“
This is a big place,”
Shively countered.

“
We’re here.” Morrison
ignored Vlad’s taunts.

Beaumont didn’t say anything. He just
showed up, alert, prepared, and waiting. It was nice to have a team
like this at his back.

Aleksi ushered everyone into his
office and summoned Emerson. Who they waited a full minute and a
half for. “Sorry I’m late. Had to take care of a situation in the
kitchens.”

“
Right.” How did one fix a
kitchen situation?

He turned to Maks. “What did you
find?”

Maks, using his phone, sent some files
onto the blank wall behind the conference table. Using the device,
he showed them their profits and then some suspicious hacking
activity as well as what appeared to be obvious terrorist
actions.

At least to them. He glanced at the
SEALs and saw they were all intent on the data.

“
This looks like the
Freedom Fighters for Sovereignty.” Morrison’s tone was
understandably grim.

“
That’s what I was
thinking.” He glared at Maks’s reports.

Shively grunted. “This is bad. These
guys are well organized, ruthless, and in need of a lot of
money.”

“
So this is definite
terrorist activity?” Aleksi leaned forward.

“
Yes.” The ramifications
resounded through his brain. “Looks like the Fighters are the first
faction to find us.”

“
They haven’t just found
you, they’re after you.” Beaumont’s tone indicated the seriousness
of the situation.

“
We don’t know that for
certain,” Maks denied. “This could merely be
indicative
of terrorist
activity.”

When he turned to stare at the faces
of the SEALs with him, he read that wasn’t true, just as his own
gut screamed at him. “No, this is far worse than that.”