Cosmic Sex (19 page)

The pup was kind of soft, though. He set it in his lap. Probably didn’t weigh more than a few pounds. He chuckled when he thought about Nick out walking the mutts. It would serve him right for letting Kia talk him into getting all four.

“I wondered where the other one had gone.” Kia spoke from the doorway. She glided across the room, the other three puppies following behind her, tripping over their own feet. “I have been... observing them.”

“Observing?”

“For research. Nothing more.”

“It looked to me like you were playing with them.”

She cocked an eyebrow. A woman with attitude. He bet Nick was having a hell of a time with her.

“I’m a warrior. I do not play with puppies. I was merely observing their reactions.”

“To petting and cuddling?”

Some of her stiffness vanished, but she managed to hold herself together. She had spirit, he’d give her that. But he could tell she was upset about something.

“You’ll help Nick take care of them after I’m gone?”

Damn, now he could see how Nick had gotten himself in this mess. “Yeah, I’ll help him.”

She smiled. “Good, then I won’t worry about them. Nick will need the company after I leave so he won’t miss me so much. I don’t want him to be lonely.”

“I doubt Nick will be lonely for long,” he blurted.

She squared her shoulders. “And what exactly do you mean by that?”

Open mouth and insert foot. “Nothing, nothing at all. Just that he’ll have the puppies for company.”

She didn’t look like she quite believed him, but she let the matter drop. He sighed with relief. That was a close one. The sooner he found Mala, the better off they would be.

Chapter 21

Uncle Yuri scared the hell out of Darla. He wasn’t that big, only about five-ten. Everything about him was dark, though: dark skin, dark hair, and dark bushy eyebrows.

When those same eyebrows formed a vee, you knew you were in deep shit. At the moment, they were one sharp slash straight across his forehead. He was in a good mood.

He still scared the hell out of her.

“Tell me about the stones,” Yuri said, his words gravelly, scraping over her skin like shards of glass. It wasn’t a question. It was a demand.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. Maybe this hadn’t been the best idea she’d ever come up with.

Suddenly, she remembered a story Slava had once told her about a man who’d crossed the mafia leader. It wasn’t pretty. Slava had told her the man’s voice had become very high pitched and he was performing at a bar that catered to transvestites.

“I... I... ” Sweat ran down her face as she quickly looked at the two brawny Russians who stood silently on either side of Yuri, then at the man himself. He sat in an ornate, high-backed chair in front of a desk that was polished to a high sheen.

Ah, God, she’d be surprised if she didn’t crap her britches.

“You are here. My stupid nephew said you wanted to talk; yet you don’t talk? You are scared of Yuri?”

He laughed, a cross between a chuckle and a hacking cough. When he had his breath back, he took a long draw off his smelly cigar, then laid it back in the ashtray and blew a cloud of smoke, aimed right at her.

She squared her shoulders, a little of her bravado returning, and tried not to inhale the noxious cigar smell. As it was, her eyes were starting to water.

“No, I’m not scared of you.”

His eyebrows veed. “Then you are very stupid. You should be scared, very scared. Now, enough chatter—talk!”

Her confidence puddled at her feet. At least, she hoped that’s all that had puddled. She took a deep breath and could smell her own damn fear.

“I saw the stones.” She related the story to him about the princess, about her shopping extravaganza, Ms. Big, the Ming vase, the carriers the princess and the cop had taken upstairs to his apartment. And in her telling, she grew more confident.

“Slava, did you see these stones?”

He shook his head. He was pale and sweating more than her. Like he needed to be afraid of anything. Slava had once told her that his mother had been Yuri’s little sister and she’d made her brother swear he would take care of Slava. A deathbed promise. Darla had a feeling Yuri regretted it.

“I saw the stones,” she told him again, chin raised.

“Are you willing to bet your life?” Yuri asked, his wheezing breath much like that of a hissing snake.

This was a horrible idea. Bad, bad, bad! But damn it, she had seen the stones.

“Yes.” She was going to puke. Vomit all over his spotlessly clean desk.

Get hold of yourself!

“What do you want for this information?”

“Fif... ” She cleared her throat. “Forty percent.”

He smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile. Not even close.

“Ten percent,” he countered.

“Twenty-five.” Oh, Lord, did she just open her mouth and utter those words?

He laughed. “I like a woman with balls. Okay, twenty-five percent.”

She relaxed.

“But just remember, I don’t mind cutting off a woman’s balls, either. Don’t cross me.”

“I’m not stupid.”

He was thoughtful. “No, I think you know exactly what you want.”

Stupid? No, she was a fucking idiot. What the hell had she expected to accomplish? Yuri was going to cut her up into tiny pieces and feed her to the fish.

No, if nothing else, the stones were real. She’d seen them with her very own eyes. The stones alone would keep her alive. She could do this.

Nick reached into his coat pocket for the tenth time and felt the cold metal of Kia’s locator. Damn, he wasn’t ready for this.

Weldon, on the other hand, had practically gone ballistic. He’d adjusted a chip, then used a drop of his blood. The locator had given him specific directions to his office.

Great. Fantastic.

Kia could use Mala’s sample and she would immediately find her cousin. And Kia would leave. He’d have four squirming mutts to deal with, to find homes for and...

He drew in a deep breath.

She couldn’t stay. They’d both known that from the very start. Well, almost from the start. Close enough.

The elevator doors opened and he stepped out. His footsteps were heavy as he walked to his apartment. He could do this. No problem. Hell, he’d finally be able to get his life back in order. Kia had stepped in and turned it completely upside down. He was ready to get his life back. No commitments, that was his motto.

When was the last time he’d even thought about his bar? It would be nice to have the time to concentrate on his dream. His hand stilled on the doorknob as he closed his eyes for just a minute and envisioned an island, the deep blue waters surrounding it.

The tension left his body. He could see himself in a hammock, a tall icy drink in his hand and a beautiful woman strolling toward him. Windswept black hair, her hand raising to brush glossy strands out of her eyes. Ah, man, those deep blue eyes that he could lose himself in.

“Kia,” he breathed.

He shook away the image. Man, she was killing him. But even as he opened the door, he knew death had never tasted sweeter.

“How’d it go?” Sam asked.

“Candy really likes her new title.” He shrugged. “I’ll live, but I’m still on vacation.”

Sam stood. “Speaking of which, I’ll be out of town for a few days.”

Damn, Nick was kind of hoping for a little help—not that he needed it anymore. Moral support would’ve been nice. Man, he needed to just get over it. Kia was going to leave—end of story. It was time everything went back to normal.

Sometimes he forgot Sam actually had a life. His friend was all business most of the time.

“Sure,” he said. “We can handle this.”

Sam’s forehead puckered. “You okay?”

He nodded. “I’m fine.” He looked around at all the papers, knew they wouldn’t need them anymore. “Thanks for everything.”

“Things will turn out for the best. Don’t worry.”

“Nick.” Kia swept into the room.

“I’ll give you a call when I get back,” Sam said.

Nick nodded, barely hearing the door close when Sam left. Kia had all his attention. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a more beautiful woman.

“We didn’t find Hank,” she told him with a worried look. “I wonder if I’ll ever track Mala down.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” he asked.

She squared her shoulders. “My home is on Nerak. My family is there.”

He reached in his pocket and gripped the locator. No! It wasn’t right that she would up and leave him. Why had she even come into his life?

Ah, hell, life really sucked sometimes. He pulled the locator out of his pocket at the same time the phone rang. His grip tightened. It rang again.

“Your communicator, Nick.”

He answered the phone. “Yeah?”

“Becca’s in labor. We just got to the hospital,” Becca’s husband said, his voice shaky.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Tell her I love her.” As Nick hung up the phone, he slipped the locator back in his pocket. He’d tell Kia later. He couldn’t handle giving it to her right now.

“Nick?”

He looked at her, knew he wanted her with him. “Becca is having her baby. Will you come with me?”

“Her baby,” Kia breathed, the warrior disappearing and the woman inside her making an entrance.

“I’d like you there with me.”

“You honor me just by asking. Of course I will go. It will be a great research opportunity.”

Nick helped her put the puppies behind their barrier. When one licked his hand, he chuckled and scratched him behind the ear. Lord help him, they were starting to grow on him.

They grabbed their coats and were out the door and on the way to the hospital in just a few minutes. Damn, his palms were sweating.

“You’re nervous?”

He glanced at her before returning his gaze to the road. Man, why the hell was traffic moving so blasted slow?

“Does it show?” he asked.

“Yes. Will Becca be all right?”

“Women have babies every day. Of course she’ll be okay.” He cleared his throat. “My mom will be there.”

“I understand, low profile.” On the outside, Kia knew she appeared calm, except she was anything but. His mother had given birth to him and Becca. She had known the joy of holding her children.

Emptiness filled her.

Just as suddenly, she thought of Lara and her other sisters. The Elders, the princesses. Their world didn’t have wars. No one died before her time. Disease was a thing of the past.

Suddenly, she felt as if she were being pulled apart. This wasn’t good. Not good at all. Damn, she didn’t like this feeling.

“And your father?” she asked since he hadn’t mentioned him. She saw his grip tighten again and sensed his anxiety.

“He probably won’t be there. He lives out of state.”

“Your parents don’t live together?”

“They’re divorced.”

“And this upsets you?” She wished she knew more about the family structures on Earth.

“They haven’t lived together for many years. He has a new family.”

She decided the more Nick talked about his father, the more upset he became, so she dropped the subject and concentrated on the heavy traffic, the way Nick expertly maneuvered through the streets until soon they pulled into a parking area and went inside a building.

“This is the hospital,” Nick explained. “People come here when they’re sick. Do you have hospitals?”

She shook her head. “We have smoothies.”

“I guess if it works.” He took her hand as they went inside the box that would transport them to a different level.

When they stepped off, Nick led them to an area where there were places to sit. As soon as they entered the room, an older woman with red hair came to her feet.

“The doctor shooed us out,” the woman said with a wide smile on her face.

Doctor. Kia knew this word. It meant the same thing as healer.

Nick enfolded the woman in an embrace. “Everything all right?”

“I’m sure it is. Women have been giving birth for a long time and we’re pretty tough.” There was just the slightest tremble in her words. The mother worried for her child.

Kia hung back, observing. This was one of Nick’s parents. The woman hugged him tight, then when she stepped back, Nick’s mother brushed his hair from his face much like the woman had for her daughter in the toy store.

Kia moved back a step more, not wanting to intrude on their greeting but suddenly feeling more like an alien on Earth than she’d felt since her arrival.

She shouldn’t be here. This wasn’t her family unit. She knew nothing about this kind of connection. Just when she would’ve turned and hurried away, Nick reached for her hand and pulled her forward.

“This is Kia.”

She was no longer on the outside looking in. The warmth of his family enveloped her until she felt as if she were a part of it.

“Kia,” his mother said.

Nick’s mother wrapped Kia in the warmth of her embrace. The feeling was even better than when she held the puppies. She could’ve stayed in this woman’s arms forever and her life would’ve been content.

But she was a warrior and this shouldn’t be happening to her. She straightened, putting space between her and Nick’s mother.

She’d never met a real mother before. It was important she show her the respect due someone who’d borne children. She bowed slightly. “It is a great honor to meet the mother of Nick.”

Nick slipped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Kia isn’t from America.”

His mother looked from one to the other. “So Becca told me.” Her gaze stopped on Kia. “Welcome to my country... and my family. We don’t have to be formal. Call me Letty.”

Kia’s pulse sped up. What would it feel like to be a part of these people? No, she couldn’t think like that. “Thank you. Is Becca okay?” Maybe the focus should move back to the daughter.

“Becca is fine. We’ll go in to see her as soon as the doctor has checked her,” the mother said, then moved to the side. “This is Nick’s brother, Tony.”

Tony took Kia’s hand in his. “I have to say my brother’s taste in women has improved.”

“Just make sure you keep your distance.” Nick grinned.

Another child from the mother. She must be very happy to have borne three babies.

“Jack?” Nick asked.

“In with Becca.” His mother motioned for them to take a seat. “They let us see her for a few minutes before the doctor made us leave so he could check her.” Tears shone in her eyes. “She seemed to be doing well.”

Tony reached over and patted her hand. “You’ll have to excuse Mom. She gets emotional at weddings, funerals, and babies being born.”