Bad Nerd Falling (32 page)

She growled again.

Beau’s cheerfulness didn’t dissipate.
“Right. What’s for dinner?”

At least this was perfectly normal.
“What do you want?”

Beau wandered over to her fridge and
peered inside. “Leftovers are fine.”

“
That’s good.” Since she
didn’t have any other ideas.

“
Is Vlad joining
us?”

“
No.” Before she left work
today he mentioned that he wouldn’t see her tonight. At least he
had sounded like that bothered him. It still didn’t make her feel
any better.

That was part of the
problem.

She wanted to rip and shred and tear
into something but had no idea why. Standing in her kitchen usually
soothed her, but not this evening. Instead, since she couldn’t
expunge her anger, she longed to indulge in a nice long sob
session.

“
What’s wrong with
you?”

She turned to face him. He was busy
hauling containers out of her fridge. “I don’t know.” It felt like
the words were ripped from her very soul.

Beau tucked the containers back
inside. Then he indicated the sitting room. “Let’s go talk in
comfort.”

Trailing behind him, she attempted to
regain control of her scattered, chaotic thoughts. The effort
seemed as likely as telling Aleksi to stop loving Tia. Their
courtship had looked so wonderful and fun and nice.

Did she and Vlad even have a
courtship?

Or was it an ownership?

Since he didn’t talk about these
things she didn’t know. So frustration boiled. She slumped into a
chair near the kitchen and stared at Beau, but she didn’t see
him.

“
Okay, talk.” Beau dropped
onto the couch across from her.

“
I have no idea where to
start.”

“
Where do you want to
start?”

That one question opened up a
floodgate of more emotion and chaos she couldn’t contend with. “I
don’t know.” She squeezed her head in her hands, wondering if her
brain could contain the mess there.

“
Where do you want to
end?”

Beau’s voice was quiet, his manner
still and soothing.

It helped to cut through the
disorganized thoughts. “I want to be with Vlad.” She frowned. “I
think.”

“
Explain that last
thought.”

“
I want to be with him,”
she repeated. “But I’m not actually sure who he is.”

Beau joined her in frowning. “Dig a
little deeper.”

“
I know I want him. But
how can you want someone you don’t even know?”

“
People do it all the
time.”

“
Yes, they do. But I’m
looking to spend the rest of my life with a man who might not want
to spend the rest of his life with me. I have no idea because he
doesn’t talk to me,” she all but wailed.

“
He seems as into you as
you are to him. What’s missing?”

“
I did ask him about his
favorite color, foods, music, you know, that necessary sort of
information.”

“
Vlad gave you the answers
to those questions?”

“
Yes.” Such as his answers
were. Like he himself didn’t even know.

“
Then what’s bothering
you?”

“
I have no idea what he
does. I don’t know what he enjoys doing in his spare time. I don’t
know how he’d react in certain situations.”

“
What
situations?”

She thought for a moment. “What if I
got sick? What if he does?”

Beau shrugged. “That’s part of a
relationship.”

“
How a person reacts in
certain situations is important.” She blew out a disheartened
breath. “There are times lately where I realize I don’t know
him.”

“
He’s probably feeling the
same way about you.” Beau shrugged. “Give the relationship
time.”

But that was hard. She had
been faithful to a man she didn’t know. One who she
still
didn’t know. Even
in the midst of a relationship with him.

It was hard to admit that she might
never truly know Vlad. Perhaps that’s where her true fears lay.
That she might never know him. No matter how long they were
together. It was a scary, heartrending thought.

***

“
Are you certain?” Vlad
asked as he gazed over Beaumont’s shoulder at the computer
screen.

“
All evidence points
toward the Freedom Fighter interests lying in other countries at
the moment.”

The SEAL tapped more keys, and as the
screen scrolled he read the evidence for himself. “Why don’t I
believe this?”

“
Because you’re cynical,”
Ben answered from Beaumont’s other shoulder.

“
You believe
it?”

Ben shook his head. “Not at
all.”

More keys tapped as Beaumont stared at
the screen. “It’s too convenient.”

Shively glanced up from the computer
he was busy working at. “They’re trying to avert our
attention.”

Beaumont’s smile could have cut glass.
“They won’t.”

“
We’re on to them now.”
Shively tapped a few keys. “They can hide…”

He nodded. “But their expiration date
is close.”

“
Too bad for them.” Ben
returned to his own desk.

“
They’re going to rue the
day they hurt even one woman.” The fact that the hard, menacing
voice came from Shively raised goosebumps on his arms.

“
We’ve got work to do,
boys.” Ben started gathering up some things strewn across the desk.
“Better go see the prince first.”

It was about to get busy, even before
telling Helena he couldn’t see her tonight. He still suspected that
hadn’t gone over well. Since their kiss and the exchange in the
storage closet something was wrong. Only he couldn’t figure out
what or why.

In fact, he wondered if
Helena knew. Yet he was certain it had to do with him. She had made
it pretty plain that things weren’t going according to plan. But
what was the
plan?

Right now he had terrorists to fight.
Fighting with Helena, if that’s what he was doing, wasn’t what he
wanted. But he had to keep her safe more than he had to figure out
what was going on with her at the moment.

One crisis at a
time
…

They entered the hallway through a
hidden door and made their way to Prince Aleksi’s office. He was
waiting for them in the well-lit space. On the table in the corner
sat a fresh pot of coffee and a tray with various pastries and some
cheeses. They sat and passed around the coffee and food before
getting down to serious discussion.

Ben started the conversation, asking
Alesksi, “How many people know the layout of this
palace?”

The prince took a long sip of coffee
before he answered. “The family of course, and staff.”

“
How often do you get
visitors?” Beaumont asked.

“
Frequently. But we’re
careful to keep them in the public areas only. That includes the
entire guest wing.”

That was new and wise. “So their
lodging is confined to the east wing?”

“
Yes. We keep the doors
locked that lead to the private wings. Security also tightens the
further in you go.” Meaning there were armed, specialty trained
guards manning those doors.

“
How easy is it to find
the layout of this palace?” Tigger held a pen poised above a
notepad.

Aleksi’s eyes gleamed. “There are no
blueprints.”

“
Excellent news.” Ben
checked something off on his own notepad. “How is palace staff
chosen?”

He smiled as some information he’d
forgotten roared back. “They have to have been born to other
members who work here.”

All three SEALs started. “What?” Ben
drew a line through some text.

“
If you’re not born to a
current staff member, you will be unable to procure a position here
in the palace. You must have family who already works here.
Blood
relation, by the
way.”

Tigger’s lips pursed in a silent
whistle. “Okay, that’s a great counter-terrorism
procedure.”

“
There are exceptions.” He
held up a hand.

Aleksi nodded. “The laboratory staff
are part of those exceptions.”

“
Explain that, please,”
Ben requested.

“
Helena, Tia, and Jorge
don’t have blood relations who work here but the lab is located in
the public area so it’s not as important. Technically Maria isn’t
blood related either, but Maks is her son and he is blood related
to me.”

“
So long as there is a
blood relationship, they can work in the restricted areas?
Especially if they’re related to you?” Beaumont sought to
clarify.

Aleksi rested an ankle on the opposite
thigh. “Those higher up on the chain are related to me. But all the
maids, maintenance staff, housekeepers, chefs and assistants,
groundskeepers, and so forth all are probably at least eight
generations of the same families doing so.”

“
I can’t even imagine
that.” Tigger shook his head.

“
He said probably at least
eight generations. It probably extends much further back than
that.” He glanced at Aleski.

Who smiled. “We take pride in our
traditions here in Rurikstan. And not everyone who works here has
family who only work here. Several of our staff have sons and
daughters who have gone on to become engineers, doctors, and
teachers.”

“
Or warriors,” Ben stated,
with a glance in his direction.

Another smile from Aleksi. “Or
warriors.”

Beaumont blinked, like he was
processing data. “What about terrorists bribing your people for a
layout or entry inside?”

The smile faded as Aleksi turned to
him. “Each and every staff member, including the lab personnel, as
well as every citizen of this nation, take seminars where they
learn not to provide that type of information.”

“
We’ve remained this
neutral because people aren’t willing to talk to strangers about
our national secrets.”

Aleksi immediately agreed. “We’re so
small we can encourage everyone here to keep that type of
information to themselves.”

“
Immediately someone
starts asking questions of that nature, the citizen tells
us.”

“
What about this traitor?”
Tigger asked.

“
That’s a definite weak
spot. If the traitor is as highly placed as we suspect, he is a
problem.” Aleksi drank more coffee, his expression
bleak.

“
A high ranking military
official would be able to provide the layout of the palace?” Ben’s
voice was sharp.

“
Not the palace. But the
other government buildings, yes. We do have blueprints for some of
those.”

“
Are they more important
than this palace?” Beaumont leaned forward as though he intended to
yank the answer out of Aleksi.

“
If someone wished to
overthrow Rurikstan, they would need to infiltrate into the heart
of the palace.” Aleksi’s gaze turned dark, but then a twinge of
amusement sparked. “What they’ll find are three U.S. Navy
SEALs
and
Vlad.”

That sent a chuckle through the
meeting.

“
Okay, there is that.”
Tigger sobered quickly. “Do the top military leaders understand the
palace is the place to conquer?”

“
They didn’t get to the
top by being stupid.” That sense of betrayal tried to rear up. He
tamped it down. “This palace is where the country’s secrets and
wealth are kept.”

“
All
of your wealth is stored here?”

“
Not all of it, no, but
much of it.” Aleksi met Ben’s astonished eyes with a direct gaze.
That was the de Leos way. He was rather proud to share bloodlines
with this man.

“
Where?” Tigger was
blinking rapidly.

Aleksi’s smile returned, although it
was faint. “You haven’t found it in all your searches?”

“
No,” all three SEALs
murmured and glanced at each other.

“
Then it’s safe. If Navy
SEALs can’t find it, we’re guessing a bunch of terrorists can’t
either. That’s why we store the treasures here.”

“
What if you’re bombed?”
Ben asked outright.

“
My grandfather worried
about that exact same thing. He took measures to preserve our
secrets and treasures back in his day. My father updated his
efforts and I’ve made some improvements as well.”

He leaned back in his chair after
pouring more coffee and helping himself to another pastry. A small
piece of where the treasures were hidden had been entrusted to him
but like any others who knew, he kept that knowledge to himself. If
anything happened to Aleksi and his mother, then the remaining
individuals could piece their fragments together to figure out
where the treasures were located.