Bad Nerd Falling (42 page)

Her eyes must have revealed that
resolve, or her set jaw proved her inner strength, because even the
other jerks didn’t comment. Normally they’d have started a
cringe-worthy harassment. Not today. She used her new war face to
stare them both into silence.

“
I’ll be certain to speak
to the Director about this,” Frederic warned.

“
You do that. I’m sure
he’ll be interested to hear the tasks you assigned me. Especially
in light of the fact that I hold the highest degree in this lab.”
Helena stared him down again. She had worked long and hard for her
master’s degree and that meant
she
should be the supervisor of this lab.

Frederic immediately turned to the
new, younger man, Dietrich, and started rapping out orders to him.
The young man took his orders with baleful aplomb and soon Frederic
sounded a bit subdued as he finished divvying
assignments.

Before the the meeting ended, she
announced one more time, “If any of you have questions about the
duties you inherited from me, today is your last opportunity to
ask.”

Then she set to her final projects
with a vengeance. She would finish today, no matter how long it
took. Even if she had to work through lunch and an extra hour this
evening, she would not return here.

Both Charlene and Dietrich did ask her
some questions and she spent forty minutes with them, explaining
the procedure and answering their questions. They were assigned
basic, interchangeable tasks, so she could train them together. By
the end of their session, it was obvious both of them were far more
comfortable and they thanked her profusely.

They had apparently been given this
duty, but were not even remotely trained. She spoke briefly with
the other Frederik, the older man. He asked a couple of questions,
but appeared to have a fairly good grasp of his
procedure.

She was relieved to see that he had
been helping Charlene and Dietrich, and had probably been easing
them along. She was glad she could at least help them now, before
she left.

It was going to be a long, tiring day.
That was evident when her final project proved tricky and she had
to redo the first procedure.

She gobbled her sandwich in the office
area and five minutes later, was back in the lab, working steadily
to finish. As time allowed, she updated her notebook and kept a
close watch on her final project. By the time lunch was over and
everyone trailed back into the lab, she was well on her way with
the new data. It was exactly what she expected, thank
goodness.

The woman who called
herself Anna watched her throughout the afternoon. In turn,
she
watched Anna, that’s
how she knew the other woman kept tabs on her. She disguised her
interest better. At times, Anna just sat and stared at
her.

“
Is there something wrong,
Anna?” Helena finally asked gently.

“
No,” Anna said sharply
before she moderated her voice to the other persona. “No, why do
you ask?”

“
You were staring at me,
so I thought perhaps you wanted me to help you with
something.”

Anna blinked a few times. “No, I’m
fine.”

She hadn’t seen her accomplish much
today. Surely Frederic knew this. The others in the lab had to know
she wasn’t pulling her weight.

“
Okay. I’m here today if
you need help.”

“
But you won’t be
tomorrow?”

“
Correct. I’m returning
permanently to the palace lab.”
Thankfully
. She couldn’t stand a
full week in this lab. The fact they hadn’t replaced her was
wonderful news. Hopefully Maria would finish by tomorrow evening
and be able to join her in the palace Friday.

Anna’s mouth tightened, but she
managed to keep her sweet and light persona. Especially when Jerk
Number Three arrived to flirt with her. The woman was attractive
enough, if you could get past the sullen nature and crazy
interior.

Her tests finished so she padded
across the lab to retrieve the tubes and record the data. She
stayed across the room from Anna who did get up and move around the
lab like she was supposed to. Shrugging, she finished recording her
results then cleaned up.

As soon as everything was rinsed, she
started her final routine tests. While those ran, she could finish
her cleanup, compile all her data, and complete her lab notebook.
With the last test, a quick one, running and the numbers looking
good, she soon finished the cleanup. She checked that everything
progressed smoothly before commandeering the computer. There she
compiled all her data, and saved the numbers.

Once this last test finished, she
could print it all off, send a copy to Frederic and to records
keeping and make a backup. With that accomplished she checked the
tests again. They were nearly done. She retrieved her lab notebook
and sat at the table where her tests were winding down. In moments
she started her last entry in this notebook, so relieved she could
have floated.

Four o’clock came and the lab cleared
of all except Frederic, Anna, and her. She said happy goodbyes to
Charlene, Dietrich, and the older Frederik, ignored the two jerks,
and continued recording the day’s tests in the logs and then her
notebook.

Her test finally finished, and the
numbers looked exactly as they should have. She added them to her
compile and quickly finished it. Then she recorded the data in her
lab notebook. It was with a real sense of relief when she finally
closed the notebook. She sent the reports to the correct places,
made her backup, then triumphantly logged off the computer. With a
sense of accomplishment she placed everything in the basket inside
Frederic’s office.

Then she set about cleaning up after
the final test. This took a little longer than usual. She kept an
eye on Anna.

“
Shouldn’t you go home?”
It was definitely creepy to be watched so blatantly now.

Frederic was on the phone and wasn’t
paying the least bit of attention.

“
I’m waiting for my ride.”
Anna shrugged.

“
They’re usually this
late?” She scrubbed a particularly nasty tube with more force
because it wasn’t coming clean.

Bending to grab the heavy-duty
detergent from under the sink, her hair fluttered as something
heavy smashed into the sink edge with a reverberating, metallic
bang. The sound of a woman’s cry of frustration and rage echoed as
Helena caught sight of a hammer from the corner of her eye. It
slammed into the metal sink edge in a horrendous blow as air
whooshed by her like the car that nearly ran her over. She gasped
and dropped the glass tube into the sink where it shattered.
Rolling to the side, she viciously scissored her legs, taking her
attacker down.

Anna screamed as she wrestled for
possession of the hammer. By that time Vlad and Frederic both
arrived. Vlad took seconds to subdue Anna. He had no trouble
removing the makeshift weapon from the crazy woman’s tenacious
grasp. Frederic started spouting off but she couldn’t follow as
shock and horror vied for preeminence inside her beleaguered
brain.

Graham arrived soon after and by that
time her heart was merely trotting as opposed to the all out
gallop. “What happened?”

Still a little uncertain herself, she
was surprised again when Vlad offered a succinct, accurate, and
emotionless account of how Anna had crept up behind her with the
hammer, and aimed for the back of her head. That he knew shouldn’t
have surprised her, but it did. Apparently the man had been
watching her all day. While that was spooky, it also comforted
her.

Especially in light of the
fact Anna had just attempted to kill her. With a
hammer
. Her stomach
twisted as bile spurted into her throat.

“
I’ll check the security
videos.” Graham hefted his phone. He turned and spoke quickly into
the device.

Vlad finished securing Anna and once
satisfied, turned to her and tugged her close. She latched onto him
and the shaking started. He smoothed some hair off her forehead.
“The shaking is due to adrenaline.”

“
Why did she attack
me?”

“
Once the police arrive,
I’m sure they’ll want to know that as well.”

Anna was still struggling within her
bonds and Vlad focused on her. His narrow eyed gaze didn’t daunt
her as she continued to fight the flex cuffs. It appeared she had
slipped over the edge into utter insanity. The police poured into
the lab and started asking a lot of questions. Some of them
apparently knew Vlad. All of them watched the security video Graham
provided.

It was all recorded on the video,
absolute evidence that Anna tried to kill her. Apparently this
wasn’t her first attempt. The deranged woman kept repeating that
she had failed - first with the car now with the hammer. Apparently
she feared failure because her agitation levels elevated
noticeably. The police took her into custody and eventually dragged
the still resistant Anna off.

She gave her statement, as did Vlad,
while Frederic was miffed because the police didn’t seem as
interested in speaking to him. He tried to take it out on her, but
she stared at him with cold eyes, so he retreated to his
office.

“
Why didn’t they take his
statement?” she asked Vlad.

“
Because he wasn’t here.
He left the lab a few seconds before Barstow attacked you.” The
utter coldness in his voice made her shiver.

Again, she was heartily grateful this man was on
her side.

Chapter 32

“
I called DuBois. He’s
meeting us at the restaurant. As are my friends,” Vlad stated after
he bundled her into the car and set off.

She started then peered at him. The
city lights streamed across his face as they drove. The hard planes
somehow reassured her.

“
You’ve had a shock, so we
thought it best if we all met up at a restaurant.”

“
Us, Beau, and your
friends?”

“
My parents and Molly are
also coming.”

“
Does anyone else know?”
The adrenaline that had pummeled her veins ebbed to a mere trickle
now. She was restless and a little down, but not hungry. On the
same token, she also wasn’t in the least bit interested in cooking
tonight.

“
I’m sure Aleksi will be
notified, if he hasn’t been already.”

Vlad signaled to turn right and took
the turn expertly before sliding into a parking space. “Stay
there.”

He stalked around the car and opened
the passenger door to assist her. “Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome.” His eyes
were busy, watching, scanning, taking in the area around
them.

She walked with Vlad into the
restaurant, aware that he kept himself between her and any supposed
threats.

She savored the feel of his hand on
her back. Savoring also that she was finished with the hospital.
The anticipation of returning to the palace lab was nearly
exhilarating. Despite the fact that she would be there alone
tomorrow.

When they entered the foyer, they met
Vlad’s parents and Molly. Maria and Molly both engulfed her in
tight hugs. “Please tell me you finished today and are coming to
the palace tomorrow.” She grasped Maria’s arms.

Maria shook her head. “I still have
work to finish in the morning, but I plan to be with you by the
afternoon.”

“
Thank goodness.” That was
acceptable.

Graham also hugged her. “I
had no idea your old lab was
that
bad.” He frowned at her, and she was surprised at
how much like Vlad he looked. Perhaps it was because she caught
sight of a warrior poking through his usual manner.

She yanked herself back
into the conversation. “I should have said something to you, but
the thing is, I didn’t have proof.”
Or
backbone
that nasty little voice snidely
added.

That backbone was in evidence now so
she took great pleasure in flicking the voice away.

“
I would have helped if I
had been informed there was a problem.” Graham settled a determined
gaze on her. It showed hints of his displeasure.

“
Not to worry. I grew a
backbone today.”

He nodded, again looking remarkably
like Vlad.

Her thoughts were interrupted by
Beau’s arrival. His eyes were flat and hard as he swept the
restaurant, taking in everything until he finally located her. Then
he crossed to her and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Tears
collected in her eyes and tried to escape, but she blinked them
back.

“
Do your parents know what
happened?”

She shook her head. “They’re out of
the country, remember?” She thought for a moment. “Karis and
Emerson are as well.”

“
That’s why I called you,”
Vlad said.

Beau didn’t release her but did lean
forward to shake his hand. As well as Graham’s. When he finally did
release her back into Vlad’s care, Molly slid into his arms for a
quick squeeze.