Bad Nerd Falling (22 page)

“
My aunt takes no
prisoners.”

“
No. But I still really
like her.” Beau’s grin was bratty and yet sweet.

“
She likes you
too.”

Beau’s smile was private, but happy.
“She’s your father’s sister, right?”

“
That’s correct. And music
has always flowed through her. I’m guessing like it does in
you.”

“
Right.” When he didn’t
elaborate, she sent him a searching glance that he ignored and
instead flipped through the music on his piano. “Let’s try
this.”

She stared at it for long moments
before she nodded. “I’m ready when you…”

But he had already started playing so
she shut up and joined him. The music flowed through the room
again, engulfing them in magical notes of pure sound, pure
loveliness.

It would have been perfect if she
wasn’t missing Vlad so much.

And why did Beau always shut down like
this when she mentioned her dad or his family? She could rattle on
about her mom and sister all she wanted, and he listened and
enjoyed it. But mention her father and he didn’t seem all that
interested.

Or rather, he changed the subject,
didn’t answer, or like now, started playing music to thwart her… or
what? He didn’t like speaking of her father but he loved her aunt,
his symphony conductor. And she didn’t doubt he loved her, and her
sister, Karis.

Curiouser and curiouser.

***

“
You’re late,” Ben
Morrison announced when he and Shively strolled into his battle
chamber.

He eyeballed this man he respected so
much he would follow into any battle. “Helena is home from
work.”

Ben’s grunt told him he
was forgiven but he didn’t smile in triumph. There was no need.
Ben’s courtship of his wife was legendary among the SEALs.
[
The Nerd and the
SEAL
– Book 3 – The Morrison Family
Series]
He had heard all about it from
Ben’s swim buddy, Sam Welby. Then, after Ben and Treeny married and
were expecting their twins, Ben’s family discovered a new cousin,
O’Riley’s daughter, who Sam fell hard for.
[
The Nerd’s Pocket Pets
– Book 4 – The Morrison Family Series]

Both men understood that women weren’t
easy to understand and that the path to courtship was not for the
faint of heart. It wasn’t even kind to the brave. Or so he had
concluded when both Morrison and Welby fell hard for their women.
He’d like to meet O’Riley’s daughter. That woman had to be
impressive, especially since she was also General Emma’s
daughter.

He had the dubious privilege of
meeting that lady and he had seen right away why Ben spoke of her
in hushed tones. Starting an avalanche was dangerous - anyone with
good survival instincts respected that. He could clearly see that
General Emma was well named. And from that one meeting he could
also tell that O’Riley had his very capable hands full with that
lady. The admiral, from all reports, was enjoying married life to
the fullest.

“
So, gentlemen, we’ve got
work to do,” Ben stated. He spread a map on the table in front of
them and tapped the passage that led from the lab. “How many of the
off shooting tunnels have you camouflaged?” Ben glanced at
him.

“
All of them.” He went on
to explain the thirty foot stone archway and then some double door
sized openings as well as the smaller ones. He had managed to cover
all of them, but it wouldn’t hurt to have their professional
opinion on how effective his methods were.

“
Is it really necessary to
hide those openings?” Tigger wondered.

“
Tia is going to explore
that tunnel the first opportunity she gets.” Ben’s lips formed a
grim line.

“
You think my mother and
Helena aren’t going to join her?” he added. “Imagine what will
happen if those three women stumble into our command center. All
three of them are smart enough to do so.”

Ben winced. “And Jorge strikes me as
the type to enjoy that sort of thing.”

“
He’s a huge military
buff. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already figured out what
these tunnels were used for.”

“
So he’s going to want to
explore to see if he can find anything interesting.” Beaumont
tapped the map in front of them. Right at the lab entrance into the
tunnels.

They all grimaced. “Yes.”

“
How long has it been
since you ‘discovered’ that passage off the larger store
room?”

“
Three or four
days.”

“
Let’s go through and tweak what Welly’s done,
and then we need a battle plan.”

Chapter 17

Helena snuck away at lunchtime to meet
her sister in their favorite café.

“
Karis!” She squeezed her
sister until she squeaked.

“
Easy, Helena,” Karis
groused as usual.

“
I can’t believe Emerson
didn’t try to also steal this lunch break.” She waited until after
they gave their order. As usual, Karis shone like the true beauty
of the family. Everyone thought Helena beautiful until they met
Karis. Her hair was a gorgeous, shining sable that was far more
vibrant than Helena’s, whose hair was more chestnut colored. Her
eyes were a clearer green, and her smooth caramel colored skin
showed off their mother’s mixed heritage to perfection. Really,
Karis was probably the most beautiful woman in the
world.

“
I told him I had made a
date with you and that if he wanted to argue, he could take it up
with you.”

She laughed. “Since he’s a wimp, he
didn’t take it up with me.”

“
He fears you could take
him. Or, more likely, he remembers all too well that you’re dating
a rather scary man.” Karis used her fishing voice.

“
What do you want to
know?” Her sigh was long-suffering.

Karis took a sip of water before she
leaned forward. “Everything.”

“
You need to be more
specific.”

“
Are you actually dating
Vladimir Wellington?”

“
Yes.” She frowned. “I
think so.”

One of Karis’s perfect
eyebrows arched. “You
think
so?”

“
We see each other every
night and I don’t want to date anyone else. So, yes, I
think
so.”

Karis pursed her lips. “You never have
wanted anyone else.”

“
That’s right. And here’s
something - neither has he.”

Their server set their coffee in front
of them and promised their meals were coming soon.

She and Karis barely heard
him even though they thanked him. “
Neither
has he?
” Karis repeated as though they
hadn’t been interrupted. “That means like you, he’s
never
dated?”

“
That’s what I took his
statement to mean.”

“
He’s
never
dated?” Karis’s eyes were wide
but still lovely.

“
I haven’t either,” she
said gruffly.

“
No, but that’s not so
unusual for a woman. But the fact that Vlad, one of the most
gorgeous, dangerous men alive, has never dated is blowing my
mind.”

“
I know. It did me, too.
But I didn’t verify that he’s never dated before. He just said he
wasn’t interested in other women.”

Karis took a cautious sip of coffee.
“Kind of hard to clarify that statement.”

“
That’s what I thought. Do
I ask for more information and have my heart broken or do I pick
the meaning I want and not ask for more details?”

“
Definitely pick your own
interpretation.”

She grinned. “Yeah, that was my
thought. But the thing is, even if he’s had other women in the
past, he knows that he doesn’t want them or he wouldn’t be with
me.”

“
One thing I remember
about Vlad is that he’s got this core of integrity that’s legions
deeper than most men.” Karis played with her spoon.

“
That’s why I chose to
believe he hasn’t dated other women.” She took a sip of her own
coffee. It was delicious, as always. “Plus, he’s been pretty
focused on his training.”

“
Is he finished with that
training?”

“
As far as I
know.”

Karis sent her a knowing look. “Do you
even know what that training was?”

She sniffed. “Yes. He’s trained to
become a warrior.”

“
Oh.” Karis’s eyes widened
again. “A warrior. Like the original Vladimir de Leos?”

“
Apparently.”

This time Karis’s full mouth tilted
down. “How do you feel about dating a full warrior like
that?”

“
I’m not certain. I want
Vlad, but I wish he was a stockbroker or accountant or
something.”

“
That’s only because you
can’t stand math and balancing your bank accounts is
impossible.”

“
Correct. Hence the need
for a man who can do that stuff so I don’t have to.”

“
Doesn’t Maks already do
that for you?”

Shoot
, caught out by her own sister. Karis was good at that. “Yes.
He’s been handling my money affairs for several years.”

“
Is it because Vlad asked
him to?”

She paused. “I don’t know. One day
Maks asked me about it so I told him I’m hopeless with financial
stuff. He instructed me to bring all my records to him. I did and
he’s taken care of it ever since.” He was currently busy sorting
through the issue of her pay rate and back pay. For which she was
very grateful to leave in his capable hands.

“
You could ask
Vlad.”

“
I could, but I generally
have more interesting things to do with him than talk.”

Fortunately their server brought their
lunch so that broke up the conversation. For now.

After they had eaten quietly for a few
minutes, Karis took a sip of her coffee before she fixed her with a
determined expression that was all too familiar. “You don’t like
the fact that Vlad’s job is dangerous.”

Her sister made that
announcement the same way she would the weather.
It’s going to be sunny and warm today…

She knew how to play this game. They’d
been doing it since childhood. Usually Karis won because she was
sneakier and now that she was a parent her skills were that much
better. Apparently kids were better at this than some adults. “You
wouldn’t mind if Emerson was active military rather than ran the
palace and most of Aleksi’s life?”

Karis laughed. “Emerson does poke his
nose into far too much of Aleksi’s life.”

“
Everyone knows that. So
far, that’s been a fairly safe career for him. But imagine if he
was still in the military.”

A shadow crossed Karis’s lovely face.
“No, I don’t think I want to do that.”

“
Okay, now imagine if
Emerson wasn’t just regular military on active duty, but if our
prince had sent him all over the world to become some sort of super
soldier.” A knot formed in her stomach.

“
No, I can’t imagine
that.” Karis’s voice was thick.

“
You can’t, because your
husband works in a safe, comfortable profession. Not to mention a
cushy environment.”

“
Is Vlad a super
soldier?”

“
Yes. From what I’ve
learned, that’s what Prince Aleksandr decided for him when he was
five.”

Karis choked on her next
sip of coffee. “
Five?
”

“
Yes.”

Neither of them needed to point out
that Karis’s oldest, Nadia, was already three. She was two years
from the age that Vlad’s military training started.

“
No child is old enough to
start training for a career at that age,” Karis said
tightly.

“
Apparently Vlad
was.”

Karis swallowed and it sounded really
loud.

“
Do you now understand why
I’m so worried?”

“
Oh yes.” Karis mangled
her salad with her fork. It was rather obvious her healthy appetite
had fled, right along with hers. “No wonder you’re so worked up by
all this.”

“
My fears are reasonable.”
Helena worked at mangling the lettuce on her own plate. Goodness
knew she couldn’t possibly eat more of it. Not with her stomach
churning like this and the bile rising in her throat.

“
This is why you’ve been
such a mess,” Karis decided suddenly.

“
You haven’t seen me in
three days. There’s no way you can determine whether I’m a mess or
not.” She fixed her with a sisterly stay-out-of-my-business
stare.

Karis ignored the stare and instead
raised an imperious eyebrow.

She relented. “I keep telling myself
that everything is fine, but the thing is, men who are warriors
sometimes don’t come home.”

“
No, they don’t. But other
men sometimes don’t either.”