Bad Nerd Falling (35 page)

She kept all glee out of her voice.
“Sounds like it’s fun to watch.”

“
It is.” Mark nodded.
“Seeing Leo in love like that is weird.”

There was a note in Mark’s voice that
prompted her to ask, “So what’s Trixi like?” It was a great
question because Mark animated, at least as much as possible for a
dignified neurosurgeon.

“
She’s tiny.” He measured
the area just below his collarbone. “Trixi’s eyes are this silvery
blue. Sort of like Ben’s Treeny, they’re… amazing.”

Smiling, she resisted the
overwhelming urge to tease
him
about being in love. Apparently Leo wasn’t the
only de Vosse who was in love and didn’t realize it. “What color is
her hair?”

“
It’s a brownish red.
Mostly brown, kind of like Helena’s.”

Ah chestnut. “It’s gorgeous
then.”

He nodded, smiling a
little.

“
What’s she
like?”

Mark glanced at her like he’d
forgotten she was there.

“
Sweet.”

Of course she was. “What
else?”

“
She’s one of those calm,
quiet types. Trixi isn’t one to put herself forward in a
crowd.”

An image of this woman formed in her
head, and she was intrigued. Really, she sounded quite charming.
“Think the family will like her?”

“
Of course.”

She grinned at his unequivocal answer.
“So have the family met Katy?”

He paused. “Not yet.”

“
What’s Katy
like?”

Despite herself, she was amazed that
both de Vosse brothers had met their match so close together. “Katy
is taller, and she’s got yellow curls and bright purple eyes. Leo
likes to tease her that her eyes are fake.”

That funny picture popped into her
head and she laughed. “I can picture Leo doing that.”

“
It’s not a stretch is
it?”

When the plane landed at Heathrow she
was ready to commandeer the next plane back to Rurikstan, despite
Mark’s presence.

“
We have to get another
flight?”

Mark glanced at her. “Yes, Aleksi
wanted to send us all the way to America, but this plane was
already scheduled to pick up some diplomat or VIP who isn’t going
to Hershey.”

“
I thought it was odd that
he didn’t want us to fly all the way on his plane.”

“
He was upset, but I
reminded him we have been traveling commercial airlines all our
lives.” Mark’s smile was reassuring.

“
We have.” She just wanted
to be with Aleksi, not here, flying so far away.

Mark didn’t give her much time to
agonize. He hustled her off the plane, where they found their
upcoming flight and headed toward the gate. It wasn’t difficult but
did take time. They had to hurry since she had cut it close with
her goodbyes.

Once they were finally settled on the
plane, she wondered how Aleksi was. She hated this separation. But
then Vlad’s promise to her drifted through her mind.

“
We’re here to make
certain he and this country remain safe. We will do everything in
our power to protect them all.” Vlad had sounded sure, firm, and
confident. There was an air of calm assurance about him. Like this
was all part of the job.

Breathing deeply she realized she
trusted Vlad. Not to mention Ben, who had also offered similar
promises. Him she trusted even more, because she knew Ben. He
emitted the same air of confidence as Vlad. The fact the two men
had worked together before further reassured her.

If there was a terrorist threat, what
were they going to do with Helena and Maria? Not to mention Jorge
and Emerson and Maks, and their families? While she didn’t know
Vlad very well, she suspected he’d die before he allowed anything
to happen to them. Ben and his team were also trained for this. She
had to keep reminding herself of this.

Of anyone in the entire world, she
trusted Aleksi’s life, as well as the other people she loved in
Rurikstan, in the capable hands of her cousin. Although Vlad was
someone she didn’t know well, if Ben trusted him then she would as
well.

At least Mark was keeping her sane.
Aleksi had been right in making certain she traveled to Hershey
with him.

As though reading her thoughts, Mark
said, “You want to rush back to Rurikstan.” It wasn’t a
question.

“
When you find the right
person, they’re home. The actual house you share is wonderful and
all that, but I need to be with Aleksi.”

His nod was slow in coming, like he
was thinking deeply on that. She wondered if he was thinking about
the mysterious Trixi. She didn’t ask because that was blatant
prying.

Hopefully she got to meet Trixi, and Katy, while
she was in Hershey. It would be fun to watch the de Vosse brothers’
adventures in love.

Chapter 26

When she started walking the nine
blocks home that evening, Helena pondered her next day at the
hospital. She wasn’t nervous about it, but she wasn’t looking
forward to it either.

She was so deep in her contemplations
she didn’t notice Vlad immediately. He wasn’t there one minute and
then the next it was like he had burst silently through the
sidewalk.

Helena stopped abruptly to stare at
him. “Where did you come from?”

“
I saw you leave the
palace and thought I’d walk you home.”

“
Thank you. It will be
nice to have company.”

His smile was sweet. She stopped again
because she couldn’t remember seeing that particular smile
before.

“
What?” He immediately
went on high alert, dark eyes flashing with power as he noticed
everything around them.

“
Nothing.” She started
walking again.

“
Something made you stop
walking.” His voice and tone were both easy. But it didn’t sound
like he planned to drop the subject.

She relented. “I’ve never seen your
sweet smile before.”

This time he stopped.
“My
sweet
smile?”
From his disbelieving tone, she figured he had no idea what she
meant.

She sent him a sweet smile of her
own.

Vlad blinked, then his eyes glazed
over. “Do that again,” he demanded in a thick voice.

Her burble of laughter surprised them
both. She took his hand and kicked a stone out of their
path.

They started walking again, and Vlad
kept sneaking glances at her. She knew this because she kept
sneaking them at him and they caught each other every
time.

A wonderful sense of contentment slid
through her. Silently, without warning, but she appreciated it
nonetheless.

“
I like walking home with
you.” They stopped at a street corner and waited for the walk
signal. When it changed, they started across the deserted street.
As they reached the center, a car engine revved, like it was
impatient for the light to change.

Hard hands swept around her waist as
Vlad scooped her up and sprinted the remainder of the way. At the
curb he jumped then rolled with her in his arms. He took the impact
but she still landed on him. She wasn’t prepared so all the air
whooshed out of her lungs with a loud “oooff.” He rolled again,
protecting her with his body.

Wind buffeted them and fluttered their
hair as she stared at Vlad with bemused eyes. The screech of tires
and then an accelerating engine that faded away added to the
confusing mess of her thoughts. Her brain hadn’t caught up with why
they were lying on the sidewalk, behind a metal signpost, huge
concrete planter, and a park bench.

“
Are you okay?” Vlad
asked, busy checking her for injury.

As he helped her to her feet, she
noticed his eyes were cold and restless.

“
What happened?” She
couldn’t figure out why they had taken a roll.

“
That car tried to run us
over,” he said succinctly.

“
That car?” Eyes wide, she
stared up at him as she struggled to process that.
What?
Why?

Before he could answer, his SEAL
friends surrounded them.

“
Smooth, Welly,” the one
called Derek Shively stated. Even though he teased, he was busy
checking them both for injuries.

“
I’ve had some training.”
The brackets around Vlad’s jaw lessened and some of the acuity
melted from his eyes.

They were still restless though. Still
watching everything around them with suspicion, missing
nothing.

Ben was busy in the street looking for
clues left by the vehicle. At least that’s what she thought he must
be looking for. He rattled off the make of the car, model,
approximate year and a license plate number.

“
How do you know that?” At
some point since Vlad helped her up she grabbed his hand and
clung.

“
We were watching so we
noticed that car the minute it barreled toward you,” Derek
answered.

Vlad’s thumb kept caressing the
patches of her skin he could reach. It sent tremors of warmth
through her.

“
That car tried to run us
over?” A different type of tremor started then. Shivers that Vlad
immediately noticed. He drew her close, holding her against his
comforting warmth.

“
Looks that way.” It was
the first time Rex Beaumont spoke. Tension infused his words. She
looked up to see his eyes were as cold and active as
Vlad’s.

When she glanced at Derek and Ben, it
was obvious she was the only one here not fully aware of her
surroundings. She forgave herself. As a scientist, she was supposed
to be absentminded, and she was probably in shock.

“
Are you okay?” she
finally thought to ask Vlad. He was the one who took the brunt of
their roll on the sidewalk.

“
I’m fine.”

Beside him, Ben snickered. “Even if he
isn’t, he’ll suffer in silence.”

“
It’s one of his very best
traits.” Although Derek’s mouth laughed, his eyes remained alert
and watchful.

“
I won’t even bruise.”
Vlad turned to her. “Let’s get you home. Will DuBois be
there?”

She blinked at the abrupt question.
“Uh, I’m not certain.”

He exchanged speaking glances with the
other men. “If he’s not there, stay with her,” Ben
directed.

Was it necessary for her to have a
babysitter? “I’m perfectly fine. Vlad took the brunt.”

Ben’s smile disarmed her. It was easy,
confident, and firm. “Until we discover why you were nearly added
to Rurikstan’s fatal hit-and-run statistics it’s better if someone
stays with you.”

In light of that smile and the
sickening realization that she just had an unwitting brush with
death maybe she should allow Vlad or Beau to stay with her. Beau
would be looking for supper anyway. Glancing at the man beside her
she figured he wasn’t thinking about food at the moment. Of course
Beau probably wouldn’t either after he heard about this.

“
There is a possibility
this was just an accident.” Vlad didn’t sound like he believed
that.

Rex shook his head as he watched cars
speed by. “It wasn’t an accident.”

His calm statement chilled her. Icy
sweat broke out along her lower spine and chill bumps popped on her
arms.

“
Not an accident?” she
echoed.

The SEALs and Vlad all exchanged looks
again. She was getting a bit irritated by that. It made her feel
like an outsider. But then she was as her training had been utterly
different than theirs. Observing the four magnificent men in front
of her, she was rather happy to keep it that way. What they saw and
considered normal… The chill spread.

“
Take her home,” Ben
advised, as he continued to observe the scene. “It’s
best.”

Vlad nodded and held out
his hand.
When had she released it?
She accepted his offering, guessing this was the
end of his sweet smiles today. Maybe permanently. Would this
indicate to him that he couldn’t ever let down his
guard?

They were on a public street. It
shouldn’t make any difference at all, but she suspected in Vlad’s
mind, it did. Did he feel like he had failed her?

She scoffed at that even as she
slanted a glance at him. There was no question that he was fully
on.

They walked the rest of the way to her
apartment in silence. It wasn’t an uneasy one. It wasn’t
necessarily comfortable either.

He kept a firm grip on her hand, and
like before, every once in a while Vlad’s thumb brushed her skin.
There was some comfort in that. She might not know him very well
but one thing she didn’t question was that he would sacrifice
everything in order to keep her safe. Vlad wouldn’t allow anything
to hurt her. Not while there was still breath in his
body.

This was a
definite
, she realized.
It was so
. Nothing would
happen to her while he orbited her.