Bad Nerd Rising (23 page)

Too bad her headache hadn’t quite gone
away.

Too bad her hormones were clamoring to see
Aleksi this morning.

Too bad she was going to the hospital and
would totally miss him.

Too bad she’d end up in a
stinky waste room at the bottom of the hospital, so she was likely
to end up reeking.

Good thing her wonderful shower worked.

Good thing her hormones worked, and she had
that new femme fatale side.

She wondered if Aleksi understood what was
happening?

She, Tia Morrison, was finally a bad nerd
rising.

Chapter
16

Aleksi peered into the lab.
Empty. He frowned and entered the space, wondering if he should
call out. He glanced into Tia’s office, but no one sat at the desk
or table. No one lounged on the couch.

Memories from the night
before assaulted him and he wanted to kiss her again. That’s why he
had come visiting this morning. Only, he did not imagine an empty
lab. He expected to find the place bustling and that he would
require an excuse to coax Tia out of the lab and into a more
secluded spot.

Somewhere he could kiss her
in private. In peace.

Maybe they had gone
sampling.

That would take an hour. Or
so. Too bad Tia hadn’t sent her crew out to take the samples so he
would have her to himself for an hour. Then he could kiss her
senseless, except it was him who turned senseless since she seemed
to keep a few of her faculties.

Scowling, he left the lab
and traipsed back to his office. To find Emerson and daughter
ensconced in his chair. “Good morning,” he said dryly.

“What should a parent think
when at age three, one’s daughter is already smarter than one?”
Emerson mused in lieu of a greeting.

Aleksi plopped into the
chair on the other side of his desk, propped an ankle on his
opposite knee, and grinned. “Emerson, that was a given before you
had kids.”

Emerson shot him a droll
look and expertly removed a glass paperweight from his daughter’s
hand. “I’m sure that’s not true,” Emerson denied and plucked a pen
out of her hand next.

“Daddy,” Nadia scolded, and
wriggled to be let down, obviously growing tired of her father
ruining her fun.

He let her go and Aleksi
wasn’t surprised when she scooted across the room to crawl into his
lap. She kissed him and then with a wriggle, settled into the space
created by his leg. She grinned at her father, who rolled his
eyes.

Emerson turned to him.
“Would you like a daughter?”

“Yes,” Aleksi said and wrapped his arms
around the exuberant little girl who giggled.

“She’s cheap today.”

“Excellent,” Aleksi crowed and lifted her
above his head, which made her shriek.

“Don’t you two ever work?” Maks asked from
the doorway.

Aleksi noticed he was
alone. “No. Where are your children?”

“With Sara. She said to
send Nadia there as well. She already has Matthieu.”

“Nadia wanted to see Aleksi
this morning, and nothing we said changed her mind,” Emerson
announced, staring at his daughter and shaking his head.

“She must have your
deplorable taste,” Maks decided as he settled into the chair beside
Aleksi. Both of his friends turned to stare at Aleksi and shook
their heads. Maks ran a teasing hand down Nadia’s cheek. She
giggled and accepted his kiss.

“It’s not my fault,” Emerson said and glared
at Maks.

“It is. It has to be. Karis
has more sense than to fall for that,” Maks commented and pointed
to Aleksi, who thought about ignoring them.

“You know, I could have
both of you thrown into the dungeons.” Aleksi soared Nadia over his
head and she shrieked with delight again.

His friends ignored him. As
usual.

Maks turned to him. “Did I
hear that Helena is dating my brother?”

Aleksi almost dropped
Nadia. “What?”

Emerson winced. “Like
Aleksi knows anything that goes on in this principality. And, yes,
Karis mentioned their relationship last night.”

“Helena and Vladimir?”
Aleksi shook his head. That was odd. “I thought Vlad was out of the
country.”

Maks shrugged. “Apparently
not.”

“He’s here,” Emerson said
with patience and a longsuffering sigh.

Aleksi turned to this fount
of knowledge. “How do you know?”

“We had supper with him
last night.” Emerson swiped at a speck of what had to be dust on
Aleksi’s desk. Ah, so that’s who kept his desk dusted. Emerson
would have enough sense not to move things, but still managed to
keep the family heirloom looking like a family heirloom.

Aleksi was reluctant to use
a desk as old as this one, but if Emerson was keeping after it,
then all was well.

“So, how’d old Vlady look?”
Maks voice was neutral and impartial, but Aleksi knew there were
some problems within the family.

“He looks the same.
Seems... friendlier.” Emerson cocked his head and shook his head at
Nadia who had probably picked her nose or something. That’s all he
needed, a Nadia boogey on his pants.

Of course, Tia had nieces and nephews, so
she probably would understand.

“Friendlier?” Maks voice
was laced with a lot of disbelief.

“Friendlier?” Aleksi
echoed. The term friendly and Vladimir had never been used in the
same sentence.
Ever
.

“Yeah. He seems to have
changed. I don’t know.” Emerson stared at his daughter, but didn’t
offer any more advice.

“I guess he could have changed, but I can’t
imagine old Vlady being a sensitive guy.”

“He asked about you and the kids.”

Maks’ eyebrow rocketed up.
“And what did you tell him?” His voice sounded
dangerous.

Emerson shrugged. Not in
the least bit intimidated. Of course, the three of them knew too
much about each other to be intimidated, repulsed, or upset with
the others. “I told him you were all well, and suggested he contact
you personally.”

“What’s he doing with
Helena?” Aleksi couldn’t help asking. He hated to see her hurt by
Vladimir. And if any man would hurt her, it was Maks’
brother.

“Apparently they’re already
well established. She contacted him when she went traveling six
months or so ago. He was receptive and they’ve kept in
contact.”

“You think she lured him
back home? Goodness knows we haven’t managed.” Maks’ voice held a
trace of bitterness.

“I don’t know. Like I said,
he seemed like a different guy.”

“How?” Aleksi still
couldn’t believe the man he’d known five years ago had changed from
a surly, arrogant, lethal man into a sensitive, nice
guy.

“Like he’s made peace with
himself. He seems comfortable in his own skin.”

Aleksi nodded. Vladimir had
developed a chip on his shoulder in their teens and they’d all
learned to avoid him. It was hard to imagine him as a nice guy now.
That image seemed wrong.

His spine stiffened when he
remembered that with Vladimir home, he might have some competition
for Tia’s hand. Despite his surliness, Vladimir was apparently
considered quite attractive by most women. He had never hurt for
female companionship during their growing up years.

Aleksi doubted that had
changed since Vladimir reached manhood. At barely a year younger
than them, he was definitely an adult and probably looking to
finally settle down. Aleksi nearly growled, but remembered Nadia
still sat on his lap. He’d scare her. Not a good idea. She might
not have full control of her bladder yet.

“Do you think Helena is safe with him?” Maks
asked Emerson.

“Yes. I think there is
little he wouldn’t do for her.”

“What do you mean by that?” Aleksi asked
before Maks did.

“Didn’t you get the impression when we were
younger that Vladimir seemed to have a certain affection or
something for Helena?”

Aleksi thought about that
and some of his tension eased. “He did glare at any other man who
talked to her.”

“He kept her separated,
too.” Emerson tapped out a beat on the desk.

“Do you think he left home to give her time
to grow up?” Maks asked.

“I received the impression
that he was biding his time for her, but that there was no doubt in
his mind as to the woman he wanted.” Emerson shook his head at
Nadia again.

She stopped doing whatever
she’d been doing, and Aleksi didn’t bother looking down to see what
damage she caused to his suit. This was one of his favorite nieces.
She could do whatever she wanted. The suit could be
cleaned.

“He never acted that way with Karis,” Maks
said.

“Good for him,” Emerson
said, with spirit. And lots of possessiveness. Aleksi was heartened
to hear that. He wasn’t the only one worried about losing his woman
to the black sheep of Rurikstan.

Some memories popped into
Aleksi’s mind. “The only woman he ever growled about was Helena.
She couldn’t even talk to other men, remember? He told her off
several times.”

Maks stirred in his chair.
“Didn’t she have a study group where they had a big project due?
And he didn’t like her speaking to the males in the group. She
snapped and finally told him off.”

“Yes.” Aleksi grinned. He
remembered that day well. “She didn’t mince words did
she?”

“No. He left soon after
that.” Maks’ voice was quiet.

Emerson nodded. “That’s
right. Do you think he realized he had to go figure out how to ease
the anger?”

“He did have a lot of
anger,” Maks agreed.

“Ever find out why?” Aleksi asked Maks.

Who shook his head. “I’m
not sure Mother and Father even know.”

“Maria knows everything. Just like
Emerson.”

Maks frowned and shook his
head. “Not this time.”

“I always thought your dad
did know,” Emerson inserted quietly, staring at Maks.

Nadia wriggled off Aleksi’s
lap and ran to the play set in the corner. She was familiar with
all the pieces there, so they left her to play. Aleksi thought
about what her father had just revealed.

“What makes you say that?”
Aleksi asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe a
feeling I get whenever we talk about Vlad in front of
Graham.”

“He never says much about Vlad,” Maks said,
and stared at the ceiling.

“I noticed he seems to be
the family secret,” Emerson said. “What I don’t understand is
why?”

“Do you believe Vlad knows something we
don’t?” Aleksi asked, since there seemed to be a lot of that going
around.

“What could he know we
don’t?” Maks sounded confused.

“Maybe he knows about a
thirty-six year old secret?” Aleksi threw it out there, in the
hopes that if one of them, like Emerson, were aware of whatever his
mother might be hiding, then he’d spill the secret.

“Is there a thirty-six year
old secret?” Emerson sounded interested, but not all-knowing, which
was unusual for him.

“I don’t know,” Aleksi answered
truthfully.

“What could Vlad have
possibly heard that would make him turn against his family?” Maks
asked.

He and Emerson both
shrugged, but inside, Aleksi realized that if that secret had
anything to do with his mother and potentially him, it would be
enough. Enough to turn a confused teenager against his family for
all these years? Yes, definitely.

What did his mother know that he didn’t?

What would the knowledge
do to him, and more importantly, to his relationship with Tia? His
spine stiffened as an icy finger teased the length.
Not now
. His courtship
of Tia was moving along perfectly.

Did his mother know something that could
create more havoc than their well problem?

***

Tia stared at the gloomy,
malodorous room, her heart sinking. This area could very well be
the cause of well twenty-six’s contamination, but it didn’t explain
the other problems. They might be on the verge of some answers but
not enough.

“You think there is
problem, here, in my basement?” The janitor asked for about the
fifth time. Tia turned to Graham. The man wasn’t listening to her;
maybe he’d listen to the hospital director.

“Yes, Anson, we believe the reason why our
well is making our people sick is because of this room.”

“But why?”

Ah, that’s why he kept asking. He didn’t
understand how the basement area could be the cause of
contamination.

“Anson, that is why we’re
here. We need to know if there’s a crack in the wall or floor,
especially around the autoclave area,” she said. “You see, we think
some bacteria leaked through the floor or wall in this room and
into the well. It then contaminated the water. That is what has
been making the people sick.”

The Frenchman stared at her
for a moment before saying, “I think there iz crack in autoclave
wall, here.” He pointed to an area beside the autoclave, and
directed her behind the sterilization oven.