Cosmos' Promise: Cosmos' Gateway Book 4 (20 page)

Cosmos knocked the body of the man aside, ignoring the sickening thud as it tumbled down the stairs behind him. He continued climbing until he reached the level where Avilov had run. Walking down, he stopped when Teriff’s huge frame dropped down in front of him. Blood ran from a cut on his forehead but otherwise the huge Prime male looked like he had barely broken into a sweat.

“Get out of my way,” Cosmos said in an emotionless voice.

Teriff shook his head. “RITA warned me that your suit is depleted. You are defenseless against the weapons without it.”

Cosmos ground his teeth in rage. “Get the fuck out of my way, Teriff.”

Teriff put his hand on Cosmos’ arm, holding him back when he tried to pass him. “Dying will not bring your father back. I will grant you Right of Justice. I will not allow a chance of you being hurt or killed.”

Cosmos looked coldly into Teriff’s eyes. “I want that bastard,” he said hoarsely.

“And you will have him,” Teriff responded quietly. “There is a better way of taking him. One that will ensure that none of us are injured or killed. I promised not only my daughter I would not let you come to harm but her mother and Tilly. To tell you the truth, I am much more afraid of them than of you.”

“Why?” Cosmos asked, puzzled.

“Let us just say that I took way more cold showers than even RITA2 gave me. Tresa was not very happy with me about sending our daughter off and has not let me forget it yet,” Teriff said with a crooked grin.

“The rest are dead,” J’kar said, coming up behind his father and impatiently wiping a smear of blood from his arm.

Cosmos turned to look over his shoulder to the ground below. Bodies littered the floor. His gaze moved to where his father’s body hung. Empty ropes hung where it had been. He turned startled eyes to Borj who had come to stand next to him.

“Mak has taken your father home to our world,” Borj said quietly. “He will be given a warrior’s burial.”

Cosmos’ throat tightened in grief. He nodded before his eyes turned to the closed door. His lips tightened in resolve.

“There was another man,” Cosmos said. “I stunned him. I want answers.”

“Gant and Brawn have taken him back as well. He will be held for interrogation. You will have the right to decide what is to become of him,” Borj stated. “Hendrik, Core and Bullet will remain here to make sure there are no others. Once we have Avilov, they will return to our world.”

“What of Dolinski?” Cosmos asked looking around with a frown. “He should have been here. I saw him leave earlier.”

“We will locate him,” Teriff said. “Now, I think it is time to show Avilov what happens when he pisses a Prime Warrior off.”

Cosmos nodded solemnly. “And messes with my family.”

Chapter 22

Avilov’s hands shook as he pulled the drawers out of his desk, tossing them as he searched for additional weapons. He cursed when he only found one additional clip. He looked wildly around trying to think of how he could escape.

His hand touched his cell phone lying in his jacket pocket. He quickly pulled it out of his pocket and touched the screen. His fingers were shaking so badly that he kept typing in the wrong password. Slamming the phone down on the desk, he held his finger with his other hand as he pressed the numbers. He breathed a sigh of relief when it finally unlocked. He pressed his recent contacts. Seeing Dolinski’s name, he pressed the button and picked up the phone trying to draw in a steadying breath.

On the third ring, Afon Dolinski picked up the call. “Speak,” the cold voice said.

“I need you,” Avilov said in a trembling voice. “They are all dead. I need you to come get me.”

“I no longer work for you, Mr. Avilov,” Afon responded coolly. “You are on your own. Goodbye.”

Avilov stared at the phone as it disconnected. He frantically pressed at Dolinski’s name but all it did was ring. He dropped the phone onto the desk and backed away. His eyes stared at it blankly for a moment before they jerked up as a shimmering light suddenly appeared in the middle of his office. His hand rose as if in slow motion but it never got higher than his hip as a burst of light flashed out, striking him in the chest and knocking him backwards against the wall. He raised dazed eyes as Cosmos Raines walked through the doorway followed by four huge shapes. Darkness edged his vision as the largest one pulled him up and slung him over his shoulder. The last thing Avilov saw was the faint outline of his former office before everything went black.

*.*.*

Afon Dolinski looked at the vibrating phone in his hand with a smile. He was free. The man who had held his life in his hands for the past fifteen years was dead or as good as dead. He could feel it. He stood along the edge of the crowded waterway. Lifting his face to the night breeze, he wondered if he had ever smelled anything so sweet. He looked down at the dark waters and with a strange feeling, as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders, leaned forward and tossed the cell phone into the water. He was a rich man. It was time to start over - to leave behind everything that had held him captive all of his life. He had done and seen things that most never would. He had been controlled first by his inability to escape the life he was born into then by the man who had threatened the one thing that had mattered to him. Now, he was in control. Afon Dolinski had died tonight in the shark infested waters of Hong Kong. Aaron Dolan, reclusive billionaire, was suddenly very much alive.

And free,
he thought as he turned toward a waiting taxi.

*.*.*

The first thing Cosmos saw when he walked out of the portal room on Baade was the slender figure standing near the window in the long hallway. He stepped aside so Mak could carry the body of Avilov to the detention cell that he would be held in alongside the other man that was brought back. J’kar followed Mak while Teriff headed in the opposite direction.

Borj came out of the room with a huge, but worried grin on his face. “I must go,” he said with an apologetic slap on Cosmos’ shoulder. “Hannah is having pains. Tilly says she had gone into labor. Hannah is threatening to find a ‘cast iron’ frying pan.”

Cosmos nodded absent-mindedly, his eyes never leaving Terra’s face. “Congratulations,” he murmured.

Borj looked over at Terra, a worried expression on his face. “Will you be there?”

Terra smiled and nodded. “Let mother, Tilly and Hannah know I will be there shortly.”

Borj released a breath of relief before he grimaced and grabbed his stomach. Terra grinned while Cosmos looked on with concern as Borj let out a long groan. Cosmos reached for the huge warrior to steady him when he swayed.

“Borj, what’s wrong?” Cosmos asked holding the man’s arm as he drew in a deep breath.

Terra’s soft chuckle echoed in the hallway. “I believe Hannah is sharing her labor with him. Tink must have shared the ability to do that with Hannah. Tink learned during her labor that she could open up and share every aspect of it with J’kar. He complained about the pain so much that I had to give him a sedative. He swore she would never have another child if that was what she had to endure. He said it was worse than any wound he had ever received. This is just the beginning. Hannah will more than likely have many more hours before the babies are born.”

“Hours,” Borj whispered hoarsely, paling.

“Just remember to breathe,” Terra said encouragingly. “You’d better go or she might share the entire experience. Tink finally took sympathy on J’kar and shut him out during the delivery.”

“Gods,” Borj paled. “I have to go.”

Cosmos chuckled as Borj took off at a run down the long corridor. He turned back to stare at Terra who still stood next to the windows. The sun had risen on Baade and she appeared to glow in the early morning light. He walked over to her, opening his arms.

Terra released a soft cry and flew into his opened arms, burying her face in his chest. Cosmos’ arms closed around her. It was only then that he realized that both of them were trembling.

I love you,
he whispered in her mind.
Thank you for everything.

I love you so much, Cosmos Raines. You never have to thank me for being there.

“I don’t want you to ever think I don’t see the things you do for me,” he said pulling back to look down at her. “I want you to know every single day what a beautiful miracle you are to me.”

Terra’s face softened as she reached up to run her fingers gently down his cheek. “You are silly. Don’t you know that I can feel everything that you feel?”

Cosmos gently bit the tips of her fingers when she touched his lips. “I still want to tell you,” he said before his eyes darkened. “My mother?”

Terra’s own eyes filled with sorrow for Cosmos’ mother and her mate. “She is resting. I gave her a sedative. She is hurting. Mak has taken your father’s body to be prepared. He will be given a warrior’s burial.”

Cosmos’ eyes filled with tears. He bit his lip and blinked rapidly looking out the window at the rising sun. A shuddering breath escaped him.

“I thought about what you said,” he said quietly. “About him knowing what I was doing. My…,” his voice faded as the lump of grief choked him. “The last time I talked to him, my dad said some things that made me think that maybe he knew I wasn’t the absented minded billionaire playboy like the papers and tabloids like to depict me. I’d like to go see my mom.”

“I’ll take you to her room. I need to go check on Hannah. She wanted to have the babies at her and Borj’s home,” Terra said pulling back and squeezing his hand.

Cosmos held her still for a few moments, studying her face intently before he said anything. “When this is over, I want to spend some time with just you.”

“Of course,” Terra responded lightly with a raised eyebrow. “You do not think I would allow my brothers to be the only one to experience what labor for a female is like, do you?”

Cosmos chuckled as he let her pull him after her. He knew the next few weeks would be difficult but he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. His mind was already racing forward. He and Terra would find a way to re-create the mating chemical and as soon as it was perfected, he was going to do everything he could to fulfill the images that Terra had sent him of the happy little girl wrapped in love.

Chapter 23

Two weeks later, Cosmos stood in the center of an indoor arena. It was about the size of a basketball court only with high walls surrounding it. There were only two entrances leading into it. Surrounding the top of the arena stood the figures of the Baade council. The council would observe the challenge but not interfere. In the top center, Teriff stood looking dark and menacing.

“Cosmos Raines,” Teriff’s voice echoed over the enclosed room. “You have requested and received permission to administer the Right of Justice against those who have grievously harmed your family. Do you accept that justice will guide your hand and give you the strength to defeat those who have wronged you?”

“I do,” Cosmos responded.

Cosmos stood tall as he faced the Prime Leader. A lot had happened over the past two weeks. Cosmos had traveled back and forth between Earth and Baade, meeting with Avery on the cleanup of both his home and the Hong Kong warehouse. Nothing had been found yet of Afon Dolinski. It was as if the man had disappeared off the face of the planet. He was the least of Cosmos’ concerns right now. The interrogation of both Avilov and the man named Frazer proved he had the two men most responsible for his father’s murder.

He had formally petitioned the council for the Right of Justice. Teriff had immediately accepted his claims. Mak also petitioned and received permission to act as Cosmos’ second when he fought against Avilov. Terra had wanted to come but he had persuaded her to stay with his mother instead. Ava Raines was slowly beginning to wake from the cloud of grief that surrounded her since her husband of thirty years was murdered. His father had been given a full warrior’s burial. It had been a beautiful ceremony held in a sun-filled cavern not far from the city. His father’s body was entombed inside the mountain. An inscription of who he was and his life’s accomplishments had been carved into the stone.

He and Terra spent hours each day walking with his mother along the shores or through the marketplaces. They showed her the new world she was on and encouraged her to talk about her grief when she felt like it. Terra and Tresa’s gentle touch, as well as Tilly’s exuberance and determination to provide sex education to the Prime males and females, slowly brought small smiles to his mother’s face once again. Angus was always there to support his mom when she would droop. He never said much, just provided the strong arm that she needed when Cosmos wasn’t with her.

Cosmos’ last return to Earth brought additional good news, Merrick had been found alive. Rose and Trudy had narrowed the search to a small clinic outside of Reno, Nevada thanks to an anonymous caller. Avery, her crew and several special agents sent in by the President, staged an operation and were able to get him out. They had their hands full when he promptly took off on a wild chase after the female who had alerted them to his location. Merrick promised Avery he would return to the warehouse as soon as he caught the female who had worked at the facility where he had been held.

Now the only ones he was worried about were Garrett and Rico. Both men were still missing. Each of the Clan Leaders promised they would search their regions for the two missing men and the female that had been with them. There had been no word on the other female they had been trying to rescue. The skimmer carrying her had not been located yet and because the warriors who had attacked the fortress had dismantled the emergency tracking device, there was no way to electronically locate it.

Cosmos focused back to the task at hand when Teriff slammed the gavel down in front of him. He turned as a door slid open on the opposite side of the arena. Two guards pushed Frazer out of the opening. One of the guards released the restraints around his wrists before stepping back through the opening and closing the door again.