Cosmos' Promise: Cosmos' Gateway Book 4 (8 page)

Now Tresa was glaring at him, Tilly looked like she was about to explode, and RITA2 was being uncooperative. He finally discovered that little bit when every door he came to refuse to open. When he had commanded a computer override, RITA2 had laughed and said ‘Not bloody likely, dumbass’. He was forced to manually override every door.

Teriff walked over to where his mate was standing. “Tresa, I had to send Terra away for her own safety,” Teriff murmured. “The guards are having problems containing the men trying to seek an audience with the council and myself.”

Tresa glared at Teriff with a grim look on her face. “You sent her to that horrible place,” she whispered back, her voice trembling as she fought for control. “She has a mate! Terra showed me the mark of her bonding. You sentenced her to death!” She choked out turning her face away as tears gathered in her eyes.

“I sent her there only for a short period until her brothers could help protect her,” Teriff tried to explain. “Mak needs to focus on Tansy. She was gravely injured by those human males. As were Hannah and Tink. Human males have tried to kill all three of our sons’ bond mates. How could I entrust our daughter to one?”

“Cosmos is not like other human males,” Tilly argued. “Cosmos would never hurt a woman! I would trust him with any of my daughters. I have on numerous occasions.”

Angus pulled Tilly into his arms when she stomped her foot. “Teriff, Tilly is right. Cosmos is a good man. He would do everything he could to protect Terra,” Angus said, running a calming hand up and down Tilly’s back as she turned into him.

Teriff opened his mouth to argue but was cut off by shouts coming from outside their quarters. Teriff pulled the short sword he carried from the sheath on his hip. Striding to the door, he flung it open. Two of his guards were positioned in front of it with weapons raised. Teriff recognized the huge warriors of five different clans walking down the long corridor toward them.

“What is the meaning of this?” Teriff demanded, pushing through the guards. “Hendrik, you dare to invade my personal quarters?”

“It is not what I would prefer, My Lord,” Hendrik said formally. “A situation has arisen that demands an audience,” he growled out in a low voice.

Teriff’s eyes swept over the other men standing beside and behind Hendrik. Core, who ruled the Eastern Mountain Clan until Merrick’s return stood next to the huge Northern Leader. Brawn, leader of the Desert Clan, stood slightly off to Core’s left. Bullet, Leader of the Southern Clan, and Gant, Leader of the Western Plains Clan stood slightly to the right. Each man was an arduous opponent, together they could possibly overpower Teriff and the council’s rule if they were to rebel.

“What situation?” Teriff asked harshly.

Core stepped forward. “A large group of warriors have attacked the Isle of the Chosen. The defenses are failing,” he said quietly.

Teriff reared back in surprise. “Those defenses are some of the best on our world! How could they fail?” He asked knowing that Brock, Lan and Mak had all helped with the development of the systems.

“A traitor from within,” Bullet said, standing straight. “Fifteen of the warriors are from my clan. One of my warriors infiltrated the fortress earlier this morning in an attempt to rescue one of the women inside.”

“Who?” Teriff demanded.

Bullet flushed but he never took his eyes from Teriff’s blazing glare. “My younger sister, Vita,” he replied quietly. “She was unaware that others had been planning to attack the fortress. A group of warriors, working together from each of our clans, convinced my younger sister she could rescue our older sister who had been sent there three years before. Darain has reached the age of thirty with no bond mate. She was taken there to protect her after several warriors tried to bond with her against her will. Vita was to go through her first bonding ceremony in a few months. She swore that she would never accept a mate as long as her older sister was without.”

“Good for her!” A feminine voice from behind Teriff crowed. “She should have a right to decide and so should her sister! It is barbaric to send them to a prison just because they haven’t fallen in love. I can’t believe you think human males are so bad when you guys have just as many issues!”

Teriff groaned silently as the five men in front of him glanced down at the small face peeking out from behind him. Tilly Bell’s determined face showed she was not done. All five men watched in amazement as the tiny figure ducked under Teriff’s outstretched arm as he tried to stop her from being seen.

“RITA2 darling,” Tilly called out. “Do you have any information about what is going on at that dreadful place?”

“As the fortress’ security system goes down I am able to guide the sensors further into it. I can see that at least two of the girls there are trying to kick some ass. The men are trying to break into the sealed level where the other women are. I have to tell you Tilly, they have a pretty good security system going. I think you and Cosmos might need to take a look at it. It is almost as adaptive as I am. Oh!” RITA2’s voice suddenly faded.

“RITA2…. Honey? Are you there?” Tilly asked anxiously.

“Oh my,” RITA2 responded in a hushed voice. “I think I’m in love! DAR just zapped me.”

“DAR?” Tilly asked.

“Defense, Armament, and Response system,” RITA2 breathed out. “He is an AI programming system just like me and he just gave me a jolt to let me know that he was there, the bad boy. Mm, I think I might just need to kidnap his little coding.”

“Oh my,” Tilly said looking up at Teriff before looking at Angus who was shaking his head.

“Oh shit!” Teriff growled out as he felt the situation growing worse by the minute.

Chapter 8

Cosmos stood near the edge of the water looking out at the breaking swells. Garrett was behind him, changing into another one of the prototype suits. Garrett was one of his most trusted men and probably one of his deadliest. The man had no background, no fingerprints, nothing. It was as if he was a ghost. Cosmos knew that came from his time in the French Foreign Legion. A tattoo on his arm was the only mark that distinguished that Garrett had a life before. He had called to inform Cosmos that he and Lan, the Prime palace’s head of security, had recovered Helene Baskov less than an hour before Cosmos planned to leave. She was seriously injured when the van she was being transported in crashed and rolled into a river. Lan had transported her to Baade for immediate medical attention.

“I’m coming with you,” Garrett had told Cosmos in a tone that said there would be no arguing after he had relayed the information. “I’ve seen how strong and fast those bastards are. You need someone to cover your back.”

“I have someone,” Cosmos responded.

“Let me clarify that. You need someone with a pulse to cover your back. RITA doesn’t count,” Garrett said dryly. “Have the gear ready for me. I’ll be there within two hours.”

Cosmos thought about leaving anyway but realized that Terra’s safety was too important to chance failure. With Garrett at his side and covering his back, he would have a better chance of making it out not only with her, but alive. He just didn’t plan on the other last minute addition to his team.

“Hey Cosmos, me siento un poco vulnerable aquí. ¿No podrías haber hecho estas malditas cosas un poco más grande? Creo que tengo un wedgie
,
”
Hey Cosmos, I feel a little vulnerable here. Couldn’t you have made these damn things a little bigger? I think I have a wedgie.
Rico called out as he pulled at the back of the prototype suit he had put on.

“Damn Rico, what have you been doing?” Garrett said as he came up behind his friend. “The Buns of Steel videos again?”

“Ah man, you are creeping me out,” Rico said in a slightly accented voice before he grinned and tried to twist so he could look at his ass. “But I have to admit, this suit makes my ass look good, mi amigo.”

Cosmos glanced back, feeling his lips pull up in an amused smile. Rico had turned over the search for Natasha Baskov to his sister Maria. She was working with Brock to find Natasha. Lan had rejoined them after the healers told him that Helene would recover. Garrett said Lan freaked out when he found out it was Helene and not Natasha in the van but knew he needed to get her help before he could go meet up with Brock and Rico to search for the female he claimed was his mate. Garrett had notified Rico of the recovery immediately and told him to expect Lan. When Rico heard that Garrett was pulling out to help Cosmos, he had handed over the search for Natasha to his sister. Maria was a tenacious little thing that had a way of seeing things others missed. Rico said it was from their time living on the streets in Madrid. Maria wouldn’t stop until she had recovered Natasha. This left him to cover Cosmos’ other side.

“I’m telling you, Cosmos,” Rico said as he walked up to stand next to Cosmos who had turned back to look out at the ocean in front of them again. “When I first met Mak, I was scared shitless. He is one huge hombre but I liked him, even with those scary silver eyes and weird fang thing. After seeing him and the others fight, I was glad they were on our side. Have you thought that kidnapping one of their women might piss them off just a little? I mean, after the way Brock and Lan reacted to Natasha and Helene getting kidnapped, they seem a little on the – I don’t know….”

“Deadly side,” Garrett suggested as he sat on one of the two prototype flying vehicles Cosmos had on the beach.

“Unforgiving comes to mind,” Rico said as he walked over and frowned down at Garrett. “Why do you get to drive? You suck at driving,” he grumbled reaching for one of the helmets on the seat.

“I do not suck at driving,” Garrett retorted with a raised eyebrow before he slid his helmet over his head.

“Yes, you do,” Rico snorted. “Avery is always complaining about having to clean up after you. She was bitching about how hard it was to make the EC655 you crashed look like it was part of a movie set. She said the next time you crashed a multi-million dollar helicopter into a building she was going to take it out of your ass.”

“I didn’t crash it into a building,” Garrett replied as he fired up the vehicle. “I set it down on top of it. It just sort of fell apart when I did.”

Rico just snorted in disbelief as he slid onto the seat behind Garrett and grabbed the hand grips on the sides. “Don’t think this is an invitation, dude. You are too hairy for my tastes.”

“Damn, just my luck,” Garrett replied into the mic built into his helmet. “Hey, Cosmos! Are you going to stand there all day or are we going to go get your girl?”

Cosmos turned toward his own vehicle without saying a word. He had been listening to the other two men as they ribbed with each other but he was also focusing on the unusual feelings that were bombarding him. The mark on his left palm was burning and tingling. He thought he vaguely felt another presence in his mind, as if something was brushing against him trying to get in. He remembered Tink, Hannah and Tansy all complaining that the Prime warriors wouldn’t give them any peace at first. Each one claimed the men could talk to them telepathically. If it was possible for him and Terra to communicate that way, it would help him locate her.

Cosmos slipped the helmet on and brought RITA2 online. The hum of the vehicle under him was deceptive of the power it contained. He brought up a three-dimensional map of the fortress. Within moments, the MFV smoothly lifted off the ground hovering for a moment before Cosmos twisted the handgrip. The vehicle shot forward, skimming several feet above the waves as it headed out to sea and the island fortress RITA had informed him that Terra had been taken to the night before.

A moment later, Garrett twisted the handgrip on the MFV he and Rico were riding on. A huge grin lit up Garrett’s face when he heard Rico’s muttered curse as he was thrown backwards. It was only his tight hold on the hand grips that kept him from flying off.

“Damn, I think I’m in love,” Garrett said as he gunned the MFV he and Rico were riding and chased after Cosmos.

“Garrett, Rico, there is an entrance to a cave a little over seven meters underwater on the northern face of the cliff. RITA2 has deployed the sensors throughout the building but not all are online yet due to some interference caused by the security system. The entrance and cavern are both big enough to fit the transports. We will scale the wall up to the fortress. RITA2 is working on taking down the defense systems on that side of the fortress.”

“What do you mean working on bringing them down? I thought your damn computer had taken control of the defense and security systems,” Garrett growled out.

“What is with the body suits, Cosmos? What do they do? I hope they are waterproof,” Rico muttered as his eyes flickered through the displays on the inside screen of his helmet. “There is an opening on the north wall. It looks like a drainage pipe. I think we could fit through it. The sensors there are showing only a moderate security grid. I can get through it.”

Cosmos flicked his eye over to the command screen to give him the same view Rico was seeing. Sure enough, there was a small drainage channel. The bars over it wouldn’t be a problem. He looked at the security the sensors were sending back. Rico should be able to take them out. They had seen worse.

“So man, what about the suits?” Rico asked again. “Do they do some kind of super shit?”

Cosmos felt the tug at the corner of his mouth again. This is why he liked the crew he worked with, they were totally unimpressed most of the time with his inventions. When he did invent something really cool, they took it in stride like it was just another toy they would get to play with for a while before they got a chance to try to destroy it.

“You could say that,” Cosmos replied. “They make you virtually indestructible against most things. They also have adaptive technology built into them. While we can’t fly with them, we can come pretty damn close. RITA2 will help you with the operations. You have the contact lenses in that I gave you?”

“Yes,” both men answered at the same time.

“Jinx,” Rico said. “I get to drive on the way out.”

“Damn,” Garrett muttered. “You better do a better job than you did when I let you drive when we were in Morocco.”