Cosmic Sex (22 page)

Fear ran through her quick and deep. She wasn’t nearly the warrior Earth women were. “I can’t.” She drew in a shaky breath.

He left the room without saying another word.

She went in the kitchen. The puppies immediately began to bark and bounce around. She picked one up, holding it close to her face, breathing the puppy smell.

Life on Earth was painful. But she would never regret leaving Nerak and knowing Nick.

She put the puppy on the floor and lifted the others out. They ran around her feet a few times, then set off exploring the apartment. They were getting bolder. They resembled each other, yet each one had its own personality. She wondered what they would be like when they got older.

Thinking about it would only make it worse, but it was so hard not to.

Chapter 24

Sam booked a small motel room for the night in the town nearest to the area where Hank said he’d picked up Kia. Washboard was just a small dot on the Texas map, but it had a motel. He still didn’t know exactly what he was doing here.

What if this was a wild goose chase? He shook off his dark premonitions. Nick wasn’t the only one with a gut instinct. Sam just didn’t trust his like he should. He’d always preferred to look at the facts—go by the book.

For the first time in his life, he didn’t have a plan. He wouldn’t say that scared the hell out of him, but it made him feel a tad uncomfortable.

If he did find Mala, then he didn’t know exactly what he was going to do. He only knew he had to help Nick. Sometimes a person just had to take a leap of faith.

He stepped from his room, tugged his coat a little closer to his body, and headed toward the small café the manager of the motel had recommended last night. As long as they had a pot of strong coffee, he didn’t care what they had in the way of food. He needed caffeine and lots of it.

But as soon as he walked inside, he knew he’d be ordering something to eat, too. The smells were just too tantalizing. He grabbed a stool at the counter and picked up a menu.

“I bet you’ll be wanting coffee,” the waitress said as she carried a glass carafe over. She wore a warm smile and a starched white uniform.

“You guessed right.” He turned over the cup that was in front of him and she filled it. The rich flavor wafted to his nose. He closed his eyes, inhaling the full-flavored aroma. He was addicted to coffee. He knew it and he didn’t care. Hell, it wasn’t like he had that many vices.

After adding cream and sugar, he took a drink. Good wake-up coffee. He returned her smile with one of his own. “This is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.”

Her grin only got wider. “We have the best biscuits and gravy you’ll ever eat, too. Add a couple of slices of our hickory-smoked slab bacon and fresh eggs and you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven.”

How could he resist?

While she turned in his order, he looked around. Two men wearing overalls and heavy coats came in arguing about the rising price of gas.

They stopped talking long enough for the waitress to pour their coffee and take their order.

A couple of cowboys were perched on stools farther down talking about the dance they were at last night. Sam wondered if he should ask them if they knew a woman around here by the name of Mala. It wasn’t a name one heard every day. If she was here, he’d know it by the end of the day.

“So, where you headed, mister?”

He glanced at the waitress’s nametag. Matilda. “I’m actually sticking around for a few days.”

“Business?”

“Personal.”

“In Washboard?” Her eyebrows rose almost to her hairline.

It was a small town. Matilda probably knew everyone. “I’m looking for someone.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You a cop?”

“Yeah, you going to hold it against me?”

“Depends.”

“The person I’m looking for isn’t in any kind of trouble. Her cousin is searching for her. I’m only trying to help out a friend.”

“So who’s the woman you’re hunting?”

“Order up!”

“Hold that thought.” She went to the window where the cook had placed a plate of food and brought it over to him.

Before he could ask her about Mala, a group of people came into the diner. By the time he’d finished his breakfast, customers had filled almost every booth and table. He had a feeling he wouldn’t get a very warm reception if he started asking questions. He knew how small-town people reacted to strangers asking questions.

He stood, dropped a tip on the counter, then went to the cashier. A young girl stood behind the cash register taking money. No one else was around. He handed her the ticket Matilda had slid toward him.

“Was everything okay?” she asked.

“It was very good.”

She smiled as she handed him the change. He pocketed it, but at the last minute asked, “Can you tell me where Mala lives?”

Confusion spread across her face. “Sorry, my family just moved here.”

“No problem.” Damn, he was hoping she might’ve been able to tell him. If he didn’t find Mala by afternoon, he’d drop back by and talk to Matilda.

As he stepped outside, he glanced down Main Street. There wasn’t much to the place. It looked like most small Texas towns. A few shops with the family name emblazoned on the window or hanging from a wooden sign, a couple of closed stores. Probably gone out of business because of the superstores.

And a boutique.

Kia had been drawn to the store in Dallas. Maybe Mala frequented this one. He’d give it a shot.

He wandered down to the store, stopping at the window display before he went inside. Candles, a dress on a mannequin, fancy perfume bottles. Not exactly the type of store a man would go into. Maybe he’d tell the clerk he was looking for a gift.

He pushed the door open, and a bell tinkled above his head as he went inside. Sweet-smelling candles and potpourri assaulted his senses as he glanced around at all the frilly doodads. He suddenly felt like a bull in a china shop.

A curtain at the back opened and a man came toward him.

“Hello, I’m Barton. How can I help you?”

The last thing Sam had expected was a man. He quickly assessed him. Every hair in place, not a wrinkle in his suit. Some women would probably say he was good looking. He had a feeling the guy leaned toward the other side of the fence. Whatever floated his boat. He needed information. That was all.

“Yeah, maybe you can. I’m looking for a woman who goes by the name of Mala. You know her?”

“I tell you, they’re making their move,” Darla told Slava.

“Don’t get too close or they’ll know we’re tailing them.” He shifted in the passenger seat, scooted it back, then stretched his feet out as best he could in Darla’s little blue compact.

Darla gripped the steering wheel. He acted as if he was in charge. Yeah, right, that’d be the day. Why the hell had Yuri insisted Slava stay with her every second? She wasn’t a damn baby-sitter.

Crap, that was probably it. Yuri needed someone to watch Slava so he’d stay out of trouble. Things were not going as planned. Now she had to give Yuri a cut of anything she got. Dumb idea bringing Slava’s uncle into the equation. Now she was hung in the middle.

“You’re getting too close again.”

She ground her teeth together. “And you’re getting my floor mats filthy. You couldn’t have cleaned the bottom of your boots?” She sniffed, her nose wrinkling as a foul odor worked its way up to her nose. “And it smells like you stepped in dog crap.”

“Sorry. Had beans for supper last night.” He shifted again. “I didn’t think you’d notice.”

Ugh! Gross! She hit the button and rolled down the window on his side.

“Hey, it’s cold.”

“Live with it,” she growled.

Was this what her life had come to? Tailing a cop and a princess with the gassy nephew of a Russian mafia leader? She must have really pissed off someone in her last life. Her next one better be a whole lot better.

Candace picked up her recorder and held it close to her mouth. “They’re rolling down the window.” She’d been tailing the man and woman for an hour now. They were probably doing drugs. If they threw a reefer out the window, she’d stop and pick it up. DNA.

She’d started out tailing Nick and his woman friend. She hadn’t planned on it, but when she’d dropped by his apartment to conduct an impromptu home investigation and saw Nick and the woman hauling carriers down to his car and loading them in the backseat, she knew something was up.

Ha! Did they think she’d be fooled into believing there were dogs in the carriers? Four of them? No one was stupid enough to own four dogs and live in a tiny apartment. Nope, she wasn’t born yesterday.

And that was why she was an Internal Affairs investigator. She knew a criminal when she saw one. Yeah, she’d suspected Nick for a long time. Ever since he’d brushed off her advances in the early days of her career, she’d known something was wrong with him.

What she hadn’t expected was for Nick and the woman to leave town. Something was up. She’d stake her career on it. Hell, she was staking her career on it. Surely, the captain would understand why she had to miss work this afternoon.

This was big.

It hadn’t taken her long to realize someone else was tailing Nick and his lady friend.

She’d hung back and let them get between her car and Nick’s. As they passed, she covertly glanced at the woman. A very familiar woman from her days working as a street cop. She’d arrested Darla a few times. Mostly small stuff: prostitution, breaking and entering. Never anything really big.

Now that she thought about it, Darla had some kind of tie to the Russian mafia. She occasionally ran with some slob whose uncle was reported to be one of the higher-ups, if not Mr. Big himself.

Very interesting.

She could almost smell a promotion in the air.

She grabbed the recorder again. “They’re rolling up the window. I don’t know what the significance of rolling it down was, but I plan to sniff out every little detail.”

Weldon’s hands were sweating. What was he doing? He should be at his desk working. But no, he was running after the alien.

And apparently, so were a lot of other people. It had taken him well over an hour to figure it out. Nick and Kia were in the first car. After them was some woman and a man. And right in front of him was another woman. He knew they were following Nick and Kia because they never passed them. When Nick had stopped at a gas station, so had the other two vehicles. He hadn’t gotten a good enough look to see who they were.

Why were they following them?

Not that Kia wasn’t worth following. It didn’t matter that she was an alien. Her looks were enough to tempt any man. Weldon’s sigh was long and deep. He didn’t stand a chance. It was obvious she was attracted to Nick, and why wouldn’t she be? Nick was a nice-looking guy.

He jerked upright in the seat. Not that he teetered on the fence or anything. He knew exactly which side of the yard he was on.

Just as quickly, his shoulders slumped. But a lot of people at the station probably thought he wasn’t interested in girls. He didn’t date, not that he wouldn’t if he had the chance.

With one finger, he shoved his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose.

He would date Kia in a heartbeat. That’s why he’d gone back to Nick’s apartment. He wanted to see her again, even if he didn’t stand a chance. She was an alien, for Pete’s sake. How many chances did one get in their lifetime to actually meet a visitor from another planet?

As soon as he got back to his apartment after meeting Kia, he’d sat down and made a long list of things he wanted to ask her. When he wasn’t at work, he’d fiddled around with the locator. It took him longer to get the damn thing apart than it had anything. But it was a magnificent piece of technology. What he wouldn’t give to travel to her planet.

“You’re a fool,” he muttered.

It had taken a few hours to realize as soon as he gave Nick the locator, Nick would in turn give it to Kia. Kia would then find this cousin of hers and they’d zip back to their planet.

What he was planning was pretty idiotic, but then, what kind of life did he have on Earth? It couldn’t be any worse on Nerak. He only had to figure out how he could stow away on Kia’s spaceship without being discovered.

Chapter 25

Kia watched the passing scenery: the gently rolling hills, the trees. When had the landscape changed? Had they been traveling that long? She looked up and saw how far Earth’s sun had traveled across the blue sky.

Time was slipping away.

Her gaze moved to Nick. He’d barely spoken a word the whole trip. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, but she couldn’t stay. How would she survive on Earth? She was a warrior in name only. She’d never fought any battles. The one in the bar didn’t really count.

No, Nick needed someone stronger.

“I think we must be getting close.” He nodded toward the illuminated dial on his instrument panel. “We’ve been traveling almost four hours.”

As his words sank in, she found it hard to take a deep breath. She would never see him again.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded as she reached for her locator. “I’m fine.” But she wasn’t. She didn’t think she’d ever be fine again. But this was a sacrifice she had to make.

“You haven’t changed your mind, have you?”

Was that hope in his voice or wishful thinking on her part? Had Nick thought about their relationship and realized she was right about it being time for her to go?

She frowned. He hadn’t even mentioned her staying again. Only that one time. He could have argued a little more. At least tried to convince her to stay. Begging would’ve been nice. It might have at least convinced her that he cared.

She was so pathetic. It must be the influence of having lived on Earth. Even more of a reason for her to return.

Besides, her skills might one day be needed on Nerak. She wasn’t as experienced as Nick, but she had displayed proficiency in other areas more suited to her training.

A thread of fear trembled through her. Having someone slice open your abdomen with a knife to remove a baby was not part of her job description.

They passed a sign that had Washboard written across it. She sat straighter in her seat and glanced at her locator. “We’re getting close.”

Soon she would be with Mala, and that was all that should matter to her.

But it didn’t. She squeezed her eyes closed. She had no choice. She only wished it didn’t have to hurt so damn much.

“This must be the town where they’re going to make the drop,” Darla said as she slowed, taking the same turn Nick and the woman had taken. She’d been careful not to stay on his bumper, letting other cars get between them. Now she’d have to be even more careful. Washboard was small, easier to notice if someone was tailing you.

“There’s a place to eat,” Slava pointed out. “I’m hungry. Can we stop?”

Idiot! She took a couple of slow, deep breaths and reminded herself that Slava’s uncle would probably torture and kill her if something happened to his precious nephew. “If we stop, we’ll lose them.”

“Oh, yeah.”

He reached into his backpack, but rather than pull out a candy bar or something else to eat, he brought out a gun.

“Look what my uncle gave me.” He swung the barrel toward her.

She swerved, almost hitting a parked car. “Jesus! Put that damn thing away.” Her hands shook as she aimed the car straight down the road again. “What the hell did you bring that for?”

His eyebrows slanted down and for a moment he looked a hell of a lot like his uncle. Ah crap, now she’d made him mad. This wasn’t good. When he was riled he’d just as soon shoot a person as look at them. And since he was the one holding the gun...

“Why you always treating me like this?” he asked. “Haven’t I always been there for you?”

No, he hadn’t, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. “You just startled me, that’s all. I didn’t know your uncle had given you a gun.”

He shrugged. “Isn’t much. Only a twenty-two, but if you shoot a person just right you can kill them.”

“We might need it, but for now let’s keep it put up. Okay?”

“Sure, Darla. You know I’d do anything for you.”

Except get a brain. Slava had the IQ of a wood chip.

She glanced in her rearview mirror. There were two cars behind her. For a country road, this one seemed to have a lot of traffic. Odd. Maybe she’d missed a garage sale sign along the way or something.

The car in front of her slowed, then turned down a private road. This was it. They’d reached their destination. She continued past the road, not wanting to draw attention to herself, and took the next right. The two cars behind her didn’t even slow down.

As soon as they passed, she turned around and went back out to the main road. She glanced to the right and then the left, making sure it was clear before turning down the same road Nick had taken.

She set her foot on the brake, easing around a corner, then slammed her foot down when she saw the small house. Nick and his lady friend had stopped right in front of it and were getting out.

This was it—the drop!

She quickly backed up. There were trees she could hide the car behind. As soon as she was parked where no one could spot them, she glanced at Slava. He probably wouldn’t stay behind even if she told him it was to guard the car. Then again, his muscle might come in handy.

“We’re going to sneak up to the house,” she told him.

“Covertly.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I heard that on the cartoon station when I was watching Commando. It means real quiet-like.”

“Yes, I know what it means.” She started to get out, but at the last minute hesitated. “Bring your backpack.” She only hoped she was making the right decision. The gun might come in handy, but she’d have to make sure she was the one holding it.

Candace pulled to the shoulder, letting the car behind her pass. This stretch of road seemed awfully popular. Coincidence? Maybe. The car behind her had kept going, though. Damn, she’d been so concerned with the vehicles in front of her that she’d never thought about making sure she wasn’t being tailed.

A mud-caked pickup came lumbering down the road. When it was even with her, it came to a gear-grinding halt and a man rolled down the window.

“You having trouble, lady?”

“Just stretching my legs,” she lied. She nodded toward the road Nick had turned down. “Who lives down that road?”

The old farmer looked behind him. “That would be the sheriff and his wife. You in some kind of trouble?”

“No, I was just curious. I might want to buy some land in the area.”

“Might as well get your eye off that ranch. It’s been in his family for a long time. I don’t think he’ll ever sell it. He’d do whatever he had to keep it, too.”

“I see.”

“Now Jenkins has his place up for sale. Check with the real estate office back in Washboard. It’s a right nice piece of property.”

“Thanks, I’ll do that.”

As he drove off, Candy looked toward the road that ran to the sheriff’s ranch. He’d do anything to keep it in his family. Hmm, interesting. And if he fell on hard times? Then what would he do? Surely the sheriff of a small town couldn’t bring in much money. Not enough to run a ranch. Just how many bad cops would turn up in this investigation?

She climbed back into her car, wondering if she should call someone. But who? Suddenly, she realized she might just be out of her depth. Not to mention out of her jurisdiction. She’d come too far to turn back now, though.

She started her car and made a U-turn. She’d find a place to conceal her vehicle and at least see what was going on. Suddenly, proving herself didn’t seem all that damn important.

She drew in a deep breath.

But bringing a bad cop to justice did.

Weldon waited until the farmer passed, then turned around and went back the way he’d come. When he was close to where Nick had turned in, he pulled off to the side of the road.

From what he could figure out, there were two other vehicles between him and Nick. Had they found out about Kia? Maybe they were reporters looking for a story. Whoever they were, he didn’t like the feeling he was getting.

After cutting off the ignition, he got out of the car, making sure the doors were locked.

Did Nick even know he was being tailed? It was times like this when Weldon wished he knew how to use a gun. The basics were all he could muster—as in aim and pull the trigger. He doubted he could even hit the broad side of a barn.

Now wasn’t the time to berate himself about enjoying the workings of a computer much better than firing guns. He wasn’t like Nick and he never would be.

He stumbled across the rusty metal pipes of a cattle guard, hanging on to the side so he didn’t slip between the cracks, and wondered again why he’d followed them this far. The ones tailing them were probably up to no good—and he wasn’t hero material.

Crouching down, he made his way to the cover of trees... and almost ran into one of the cars that had been tailing Nick and Kia.

Sweat broke out on his forehead. Oh, crap, why would they hide their car if they were just out for a drive or something? His legs began to shake.

“Hands above your head,” a voice commanded from behind him.

He jerked his hands above his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Please, please don’t kill me! But the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth. He hated the sight of blood—especially his own. “Don’t... don’t shoot me,” he finally managed to squeeze out between his stiff lips.

“I will if you don’t keep your voice down.”

The rustle of underbrush told him she’d moved in front of him. He opened one eye.

Huh?

“Candace?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Weldon?”

What was the woman he’d been lusting after ever since he joined the department doing out here?

“Weldon Cooper, yes.”

Her eyes widened. “You look different. You’re the computer guru, right?”

She remembered. “Yeah.” And he guessed he did look a little different. He’d worn a pair of jeans, a casual shirt, and a blue baseball cap. Gone was the white lab coat he usually wore.

He started to lower his arms, but she grabbed her gun with both hands.

“Keep those arms up.”

The way she stood with her legs slightly apart and pointing the gun at him—damn if it didn’t give him a hard-on. He always did have a thing for tough females.

“I’m one of the good guys,” he said.

“Then why are you here?” Her eyes narrowed on him.

He swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I was following Nick and Kia. She’s not from here... and I wanted to ask her questions about her... country.” That sounded so lame. There was no way she was going to buy his story.

“Russia?”

“Huh? No, not Russia.”

“Do you know anything about drugs?” She pushed her glasses up higher on the bridge of her nose.

Why would she ask that? “Yeah, a little. You pick up stuff when you work at a police station.”

“That’s not what I meant. Nick... drugs... Russian mafia? How is he tied in with them?”

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, then snapped shut. He would’ve laughed at the absurdity of it all except he made it a policy never to laugh when a woman was holding a gun. At least he was going to make it one now.

“He isn’t tied to the mafia. Is that why you’re here? You think he’s a crooked cop?”

“Yeah, I think he’s guilty as charged. Why else would they be tailing him if he didn’t have something they wanted?”

His gaze swung up the road. “That’s who’s been following them? Ah, shit.”

“You didn’t know?”

He shook his head.

She relaxed her stance, studying him. “Don’t ask me why, but I believe you. Maybe because you’ve never had any complaints against you.”

He sighed with relief and lowered his arms.

“But that doesn’t mean I trust you.”

He jerked his arms back up in the air.

She rolled her eyes. “Lower your arms. But don’t try anything funny.”

He nodded, then thought of something. “Aren’t you out of your jurisdiction?”

“Don’t remind me.” She holstered her gun.

Weldon couldn’t resist reaching forward and brushing a leaf from her hair. When she jerked her hand up, their fingers touched. Her face took on a rosy hue.

“You had a leaf stuck in your hair.”

His glance lowered and he saw the way her nipples were poking against her shirt. Oh, Lord, he’d made her nipples hard. Had he ever made a woman’s nipples hard? He didn’t think so. His experiences with sex weren’t always the stuff movies were made of.

“Would you like to go out when we get back home?” he blurted out. Had he really asked her out on a date? Some of Nick must’ve rubbed off on him. Which wasn’t such a bad thing.

“I have a job to do.” She whirled around and started through the trees.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said as he followed.

“I’m trying to get proof Nick is a dirty cop. What part of working don’t you understand?”

He’d blown any chance he had with Candace. Way to go, dummy. Had he really thought a sexy, vibrant woman like her would go out with him?