by Grady, D. R.
“She would know my name.” How much interest did this man have in Helena?
“Mark’s brother works with Welby some.” Ben’s voice broke into his thoughts.
At the mention of Ben’s swim buddy, he smiled. “Do you ever get to work with the great Welby?” Sam Welby became a pediatric oncologist after a daunting cancer diagnosis forced him to leave the SEAL teams.
“If his patients end up needing a brain tumor or the like removed. I mostly know him through Shelby.”
“Shelby is O’Riley’s daughter?”
“Yes, his and General Emma’s. They’re all extremely happy,” Ben supplied with a cheeky grin.
He sent his friend a sardonic look. “Right, or delirious.”
“They seem good together,” de Vosse said, vying with Beaumont for quietness.
“Are you married?” He hadn’t seen a ring, but some men didn’t wear one.
“No.” De Vosse’s tone gave nothing away.
“I can’t believe you don’t have your eye on some gorgeous nurse.” Ben’s smile grew. “Like that woman who is good friends with Leo’s friend?”
The neurosurgeon’s smile was faint, but it was there. It would spell lack of interest in any other man, but he didn’t discount this one. “Her name is Trixi and she’s a nurse practitioner.”
“Trixi, that’s right. Cute lady?” Ben was all innocence.
De Vosse didn’t react. “It’s been fun chatting with you, but I think I’ll go spend a little time with my bed.”
“Not certain which time zone your body is in?” He could commiserate. It was perfectly natural for men in his line of work.
“Somewhere in France, I think.”
“Don’t sleep too long,” Ben warned.
De Vosse sent his cousin a look and then turned unerringly toward the guest wing.
Ben watched him leave.
“He would have made an excellent Special Ops or Forces operative.”
“Yeah. He’s a little scary. Apparently he’s a top neurosurgeon in the nation, and is still young.”
“Not much escapes him.”
“It never has.” Ben stared down the hall where the man had disappeared. “I’d like to know more about this Trixi. Leo says he gets all caveman-like around her.”
“You Morrisons are mean.”
This elicited a laugh from Ben. “No, we’re just really nosy and very interested in each other’s lives.”
“Did this happen with you and Treeny?”
“Oh yeah.”
“So Tia and Aleksi missed out because the romance happened here rather than in Hershey.”
“Yeah. Except General Emma and O’Riley came. And, Nick, her oldest brother also dropped in. They took info back home.”
“Nosy Morrisons.”
Ben laughed. “You don’t know the half of it.”
They paused when de Vosse meandered back down the hall.
“Are you lost?” Ben nudged him.
“No, I wasn’t sleepy after all.”
An uncontrollable urge to laugh tried to snatch him up. He’d never been this interested in his own family, but he was finding Ben’s family and their interactions entertaining.
“Trixi didn’t pick up?”
“What?”
“When you tried to call Trixi she didn’t pick up?”
“No.” He frowned. “I wanted to see if the harassment stopped. That’s why I cut my conference short.”
Both he and Ben were suddenly alert. “Harassment?” Ben asked softly.
De Vosse’s eyes narrowed and then he succinctly mentioned what she was experiencing.
It was an impressive debriefing and his esteem of de Vosse rose another notch. Ben didn’t take the harassment of a woman lightly. He guessed the SEAL commander would offer several suggestions to de Vosse by the time he left with Tia. “Why not try reaching Leo or his girlfriend?”
De Vosse’s lips curled faintly. “Leo isn’t aware he has a girlfriend yet. Besides Katy is likely in surgery right now.”
“Getting it or performing it?” He didn’t even try to stop the question.
“Performing, she’s a general surgeon. She works a lot with Ben’s sister, Janine.” The cousin used his chin to indicate Ben.
Who nodded. “Janine is married to Greg Gilmore.”
That must be the name Michael Lamont went by these days.
“Greg’s sister, KC, is married to another cousin of ours. Max Morrison.” De Vosse’s voice was quiet, but like the man, infused with power. He really would make an excellent warrior.
He pieced the info together. “That’s why that name is familiar. KC did a tour in Kuwait with Janine.”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “I think I’ve met KC, but I don’t remember Janine. I assume she looks like you?” He directed that to Ben.
De Vosse answered. “She does. Only her eyes are amber rather than Ben’s brown. Otherwise they could about be twins.”
Ben nodded. “I’m surprised you haven’t met Janine.”
“How long ago did you two meet?”
“It’s been two or three years.”
“I was in Japan and Australia then.”
“Oh, right. You’ll like her.”
“I’m sure I will. I am impressed that you have four sisters.”
Beside him, de Vosse laughed. “It’s made him tough.”
“I didn’t ask for sisters. Fortunately, KC’s husband, Max, and I grew up together and he defends me.”
“I remember Max. Why do I remember him?”
“Because he and Lainy are good friends of mine. Lainy is his twin for all intents and purposes. They’re only about a year apart like Janine and me.”
“Right. Lainy is the inventor.”
“Definitely,” de Vosse agreed.
Ben added, “She’s also married to Mitch Monahan, a former Marine.”
“Right.” Those facts percolated. “You have a lot of military people in your family.”
“No, we have a lot of family in our family,” Ben corrected.
He and de Vosse both laughed. It was true. He himself came from a big family but the de Leos line couldn’t compare to the Morrisons. Not that they tried, but he had been hearing stories about Ben’s family for years. Even Welby contributed. He felt like he knew them.
“I’d better get back to work.” He still needed to check the various cameras and also run additional checks on the new bodyguards Aleksi thought it prudent to hire.
“I’ll join you.” Ben’s offer didn’t surprise him.
De Vosse waved and wandered off down the hall. He didn’t appear to have a destination in mind, but he rambled toward the lab.
Normally, Vlad would be suspicious, but this guy seemed hooked on someone else. And he was related to Tia so spending time with her made sense. He and Ben turned the other way. Their route took them past his ancestor, Vladimir Wolfgang.
“Hello, Vlad Senior,” Ben said facetiously as they passed.
“He was born a long time ago.”
“Right. He looks just like you. Except for those crazy clothes.”
“That’s what they wore in the thirteenth century.”
Ben stopped and turned to stare at the portrait. “He was the first warrior in the family?”
“The first recorded. There were probably others before him.”
“Right. You know, despite the clothes, he still looks like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.”
“From all accounts he wasn’t someone to mess with. Times weren’t as civilized back then.”
Ben snorted. “Got news for you, Welly. They’re not civilized now either.”
***
“What’s your rush?” she asked Tia when she raced back into the lab an hour or so after she left.
“My second meeting of the day is over.”
After a careful inspection of the swollen lips, messy hair, and happy, glowing expression, she nodded. “Yeah, I gathered that. It looks like the meeting went well.”
Tia’s expression turned dreamy. “It went perfectly.”
“Right. Did we get the full budget?”
“Not yet. Apparently there will be more meetings.”
“Again, I’m certain I can accomplish more than what you have.”
“What?” Tia turned alarmed eyes on her. “You are not to attend any budget meetings with Aleksi.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Why not? I could go in there, harass him into giving us the full budget and leave with my hair intact, my lips normal, and I wouldn’t be,” she gestured at the whole of Tia, “twinkling.”
“I’m not twinkling.”
“Yes, you are,” Maria inserted from where she was busy vortexing a tube of goo.
“So you agree that I’m more suited to these budget meetings than Miss I’m-engaged-to-the-man-holding-the-money-bags?”
“You’re far more eminently suited. You’d go in there, demand what we need, and leave triumphant.”
She turned to Tia. “And unkissed.”
Tia’s ominous expression cleared. “But I don’t mind these budget meetings.” She smiled. “Not at all.” She drifted into her office, humming a happy tune.
“I think she missed the point.” She and Maria, who stopped mixing the tube of bacteria, both turned to stare after their happy leader.
“He’s going to be impossible while she’s away.”
“Maybe it’s good we’re going to be stuck at the hospital.”
“It might save our sanity.” Maria picked up where she left off vortexing the gunky mixture in a dilution tube.
A thought popped into her head. “That means you’ll be going on budget meetings, doesn’t it?”
Although Maria’s lips curved up much like Tia’s had, Maria shook her head. “Our budget is determined by Aleksi, not Graham.” She frowned. “It’s too bad though, really. I would enjoy extracting everything I want from the hospital director.”
When her expression turned dreamy, she escaped into the storage closet. Most of her supplies were low and now seemed like a good time to restock.
She didn’t dwell on the fact that she had yet to lay eyes on Vlad.
Where was he? Why hadn’t he stopped by the lab yet? Was he upset with her? Too busy to come by? Yet Ben had brought Mark to meet everyone. Surely Vlad could have taken a minute to see her.
As she tugged open the door, she wondered what it would be like to conduct a budget meeting with the man of your dreams.
She sighed, she had the man of her dreams… sort of.
***
He watched her shoulders slump. Then Helena crossed the lab and tugged open the door to the storage closet. That was all he needed to see.
Erupting from the desk, no doubt surprising the SEALs on either side of him, he practically jumped to the door. “I’ll be back.”
He sped through the passageways on silent feet. These corridors were easy to navigate because he had passed through them so often. As he ran, he made certain things were as they should be, but all that barely registered as he upped his speed.
He wanted to catch Helena inside the closet, not arrive after she left. When he reached the doorway into the closet, he quietly opened the door and slid inside. From there, he gave his eyes a moment to adjust before he squeezed through the opening between the metal shelves in time to see Helena leave with an armful of supplies. There was a second pile on a nearby empty shelf.
Waiting was something he did well, so he hung back in the shadows. Watching the door he heightened his senses and made certain everything was as it should be in this wing of the palace. He heard the typical sounds of activity. No alarm, no panic, just the normal, everyday activities in the lab and the area outside.
The door opened again, and he waited until she fully entered the room before he tugged the door shut. Then he gathered a startled Helena into his arms and bent his lips to hers. It had been far too long since they had last kissed. Far too long. Their lips connected and he felt her smile.
“Where have you been today?”
“In meetings.” He pondered kissing her again.
“You didn’t come say good morning.” She sounded unhappy about that. It warmed his heart.
He tugged her close again. “I’m here now.”
“I can see that.” Her arms tightened around his neck as she rose on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his chin. When he angled his head down, she then moved to his lips. “You’re really tall.”
“Maybe you’re really short.”
“I’m not. I’m of average height.”
“You’re almost petite.”
“I’m of average height for a female.” You had to admire a woman who stuck to her guns. Denying that she was just short of short.
“I’m not of average height for a male.”
“You’re not of average anything, Vlad.”
He didn’t know how to respond to that, so he kissed her again. It was nice to have their lips lock like that. Like they belonged. They did belong. Only he wasn’t certain how to proceed with their relationship.
If there was one thing he hated, it was this feeling of ineptness. Normally he knew exactly what he was doing, how to do it, and why.
In this case, he couldn’t explain any of those things. Not with any degree of skill or competence and he detested it.
Something of his internal doubts must have shown on his face, because Helena leaned back and her face closed off. She tried to step away from him, but he knew enough to prevent that.
“No,” he said, and he sounded firm and decisive. That was good.
“No what?” Even her scowl was beautiful.
“You can’t pull away from me.”
He ran his hands down her back, enjoying the supple strength there. No other woman had come close to tempting him like Helena. Maybe that was bad. Because now as he held her in his arms, he wondered if he should have paid more attention as to what one did with a woman like her.
He was here, holding her, but there was a distance between them. It had always been there, only today it was far more pronounced.
“What do you want?” she finally whispered.
“You.” Vlad didn’t whisper. Saying it out loud meant it was true and real, right?
Not really. He said all the right things, but it didn’t mitigate the hard knot forming in her stomach.
This time, when she stepped back, she broke free. She paced to where she had left the rest of her supplies. “Do you?”
She turned to stare up at him, and he looked stricken. As stricken as Vladimir Wellington could look.
His face cleared, but she couldn’t erase that memory. “I know I want you,” he repeated. This time he sounded firm and in control again.
But that moment of hesitation was now etched in her brain.
“For how long? And why do you want me? What are your plans? I don’t actually know because you don’t talk to me. That scares me because communication is necessary in a relationship.” She stared at him in anguish, because she knew she wanted him. But she didn’t want a man who was only here for a short time. “You could destroy me, Vlad.” The anguish hurtling through her nearly crippled her it was so fierce.
He looked stricken again, for a fleeting moment. “I would never hurt you.”
Her answering laugh was hollow. “No, you don’t want to, but you could do it with little effort.”
With a hand that looked like it might be shaking, he reached out and cupped her chin. “You’re the only woman I want, Helena. I couldn’t stand to live without you. You are what has kept me going throughout all these years. I need you in my life.”
Some of the tension in her eased. At least it sounded like he felt the same way about her. “That’s how I feel.”
He bent and kissed her again. This time it was soft, gentle, and sweet. Vlad had never kissed her like that before.
When he brushed a warm hand over her face, she swallowed at the naked look in his eyes. He wanted her. She could see that. But she wasn’t as certain about how l
ong he wanted her. And what he wanted her for.
Although Vlad was really good at most everything, he definitely stank at interpersonal communications.
Chapter 24
“You look mighty unhappy,” Beau greeted when she got home that evening.
She growled at him. For his awful greeting, for being right, and for the happiness that effervesced just beneath the surface in him.
“Yes, most definitely unhappy.”
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.
