Bad Nerd Falling Read Online Free

until the
weeping passed. It wasn’t in the least bit romantic. The holiday
turned sour the first day since she started a cold, endured a nasty
bout of food poisoning the third and fourth days, and then got
mugged/almost raped the sixth.
    It had been a trying time to say the
least. This was to be her last excursion into the quaint Italian
streets before she scurried home.
    After meeting up with Vlad, she
canceled her plans to return home a week early and stayed in the
magical city with him. He took a room next to hers and they spent
the next week together.
    “ You’ve been seeing him
ever since then?” Maria displayed aghast well. “Five months you’ve known he
was home?”
    “ I’m not certain if he is
home.” That was all too true.
    “ Why didn’t you at least
tell me he was back in contact with someone from Rurikstan? Why
didn’t you tell me you were dating Vlad?”
    “ Because that news had to come from him. When he
was ready.” She exhaled a huge gust. “Besides, I’m not certain we
are dating.”

Chapter 4
     
    He took a deep breath as he left the
lab with Emerson. It was obvious by the way Emerson carried himself
he was confident. And well he should be. The man enjoyed a
long-standing friendship with the prince. It was a well known fact
that Emerson ran Aleksi’s life; and got away with it.
    “ Hello, Vlad. Come to see
your mother and Helena?” Emerson’s voice was as friendly as ever
and he didn’t pick up from his tone that Emerson didn’t trust him.
It seemed he had taken a let’s-wait-and-see attitude. It
wasn’t that Emerson didn’t trust him, but he also didn’t seem to be
of the mind to give Vlad free run of the palace.
    Too bad Emerson had no idea of his
skills.
    “ I did. Now I’m off to see
the prince.”
    Emerson’s brows bounced. “I’m certain
Prince Aleksi will be delighted to see you.”
    That earned him a droll look.
“Delighted?”
    Emerson winced. “I didn’t just use the
word delighted.”
    “ I’m sure that’s what I
heard.”
    “ I’m turning into
a…”
    “ Nineteenth century
English butler.”
    “ Thank you. You’ve cheered
me up, as usual.”
    “ I try.” As they sparred,
he strode down the palace hallway to Aleksi’s office. He had
finished his pre-mission tasks and knew where the prince ate,
slept, worked, played, and even where all the toilets were. There
wasn’t much he didn’t know about their prince these days. He had
also run extensive checks on every bodyguard and security officer
with direct and indirect access to Aleksi.
    The problem was that the prince didn’t
know this, much less anything about Vlad, and that all needed to
change.
     
    Lethal was the first word that popped into Aleksi’s mind while
watching Vlad cross the expanse of his office. That wasn’t unusual.
Vlad had always been dangerous, even as a child. He could sneak up
on anyone, could handle his toy sword, guns, bow and arrow, any
play weapon better than him, Maks, and Emerson—combined. It was
like Vlad had been born to be an assassin.
    All in all, a little scary.
    Now he stared at this man who hadn’t
been a friend, just someone whose name and parents he knew. But
Emerson was right. There was something different about Vlad. It
took him a little while to figure out what.
    The resentment and anger that
smoldered beneath the surface all those years ago weren’t present
now. Vlad’s animosity had seemingly vanished. It was nice to see
there was a person underneath all that antagonism.
    He still didn’t want this man within a
restraining order distance of Helena.
    Not that he had the power to decree
that. Not without losing his head. Because he was certain Vlad
would sic Helena on him and… he decided not to go there. Although
he didn’t have an actual sibling, Helena was one he thought of as a
little sister.
    Still, it was refreshing to see Vlad
looking so comfortable in his own skin. That worked because it did
appear that Maks’ younger brother, they couldn’t