Skin Walkers Conn Read online

  SKIN WALKERS:

  CONN

  By

  Susan A. Bliler

  Copyright © 2012 by Susan Bliler

  www.susanbliler.com

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Graphic design (cover): Daniel Bérard | http://danielberard.com/en

  Photo (cover): Edwin Hernandez

  Model (cover): Pascal Poirier

  Cover fonts, spine, and back cover done by: Cindy Bliler

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidences are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Susan A. Bliler.

  DEDICATION

  In loving memory of Sgt. James Humerick

  Rest in peace little brother

  Semper Fi

  Chapter 1

  Aries punched her pillow for what seemed to be the hundredth time and sighed heavily. Moonlight filtered through the open window of her secluded South American jungle bungalow and outside insects chirped and buzzed in their wild nightly chorus.

  Like so many previous sleepless nights, she lay in bed wondering what was wrong with her. She was different, she knew it. Problem was she didn’t know what it was that made her different. It was just some inherent knowledge held deep in her soul that something, some quality, some part of her, was aching to set itself free. Whatever it was it kept her awake at night and it kept her on the run.

  She was being hunted. She didn’t know who was hunting her and she certainly didn’t know why, but she refused to let herself be captured.

  Last year she was leaving her menial job as a store clerk when a man approached her on the dark street. He’d been gorgeous, but she had known instantly that something wasn’t right. He was pretending to be lost and trying to get her to give him directions. Just as he’d pulled something from behind his back, one of the bouncers from the bar next-door came onto the street. She’d screamed.

  The bouncer launched himself at the man while Aries rushed into the bar and called the police. At first, she’d thought it was just a random attempt at a mugging until the following night when she’d seen him again. He’d entered the small boutique where she worked. Seeing him coming, she hid in the back terrified and dialing 9-1-1.

  As if in answer to her prayers, a police officer arrived to do a follow-up interview on her near mugging and the stalker immediately exited her shop. Aries had dashed out to inform the officer that her attacker had just left. The officer attempted to chase the man down, but was unsuccessful.

  The authorities had nothing to go on, and therefore could afford her little protection. She didn’t have anyone in the small town, but she certainly wasn’t willing to risk her life for the pathetic twelve dollars an hour she earned. She packed up her car and moved the next week but the problems followed.

  There were more narrow escapes over the course of the past three years and they had her staying in one location just long enough to make enough money to relocate. She’d started out in Montana and slowly moved south until she ended up in South America.

  She had no family and no enemies that she knew of, and therefore no clue why the handsome man was stalking her.

  She’d gone over in her head every possible scenario for why anyone would have a vendetta against her but nothing really made sense. She’d never married or even dated seriously so the stalker-ex theory was out. She’d never done drugs, gambled, hell she’d rarely stayed awake past ten. Honestly, she was dumbfounded for why anyone would want to hurt her. She had no money and no family with money; in fact, she had no family at all.

  She swiped her hand over her forehead, brushing back the sweat dampened black hair that clung to her face. The heat of the sweltering South American summer was stifling. A fine layer of ever-present perspiration coated her body. She tossed and turned on top of her still made bed in her thin black slip and matching lace panties. It was too hot to even consider slipping beneath the covers. The sheets on her bed had only been pulled back when she’d ripped them off for their weekly washing.

  Of all the places in the world, I pick South America in the summer! Aries exhaled again disgusted with her hasty decision. Fucking idiot! Her brows crinkled into a frown over her pinched eyes. Be nice. She self-admonished. South America hadn’t been too bad on her after all. Whether she’d lost her trackers or whether they’d given up on her she wasn’t sure, but she’d been secluded away in the jungle for her longest stay in any one location in the past three years. She secretly hoped her pursuers had finally realized they were chasing the wrong woman.

  Pursuers. At first she’d only been confronted by the lone handsome man, but after the first year on the run more had come. She’d encountered her original stalker and evaded him frequently, but then a pair of strange men were chasing her as well. The two men were bumbling oafs and much easier to elude than the handsome guy, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t terrified of them al the same. Unsure who was friend or foe, she’d learned quickly not to trust anyone and she never went anywhere without at least three pre-planned escape routes.

  She screwed her eyes more firmly closed trying to force her body to sleep when suddenly her breathing stopped. She strained to listen as her ears picked up the slightest creaking of a board. She turned her head, listening harder. There! She heard it again. Faint, almost inaudible, if she’d been sleeping she’d surely have missed it.

  Silently, her hand eased up to the loaded pistol she kept on her headboard. She’d learned a great deal about weapons and self-defense over the past few years and now she was always armed.

  Slowly, she inched her body off the bed, dropping quietly to a crouch as she crept to the nearest window. It was dark, too dark, but she knew the layout of the modest home for which she’d paid a small fortune after selling off nearly all of her personal belongings.

  The one room bungalow was nestled deep in the jungle. With no running water or electricity, it was anything but modern, but the location and layout suited her needs perfectly.

  The bedroom was the only room on the second floor. It was large, housing the small bed, a dresser, and a chair. Double doors next to the bed led out to a wrap-around balcony. Down stairs, the open floor plan offered a small kitchenette with wood burning stove, a small dining table, and a separate seating area. The home was once the property of a drug lord who’d used the location as a hideaway. Now, she used it for the same purpose.

  Aries knew she didn’t have time to dress, so she slipped her feet into the black ballet slippers she kept just under the window. She was prepared for a speedy escape. She always slept in black and her slippers matched for a reason. The men that were chasing her often attacked at night. She had no idea what they could possibly want from her, and she didn’t want to find out. Instead, she simply ran as fast and as hard as she could. Still they found her. They always found her.

  For months she’d wracked her brain trying to remember whom she could have crossed or what she could have done that would warrant such pursuit. She’d come up with nothing. Could it have to do with the strange feeling that frequently came over her? She didn’t know and right now, she couldn’t find out.

  Silently she lifted herself out the window. Thank God, she’d kept the windows open in hopes of a breeze that never came.

  As her hazel eyes adjusted to the dark, Aries kept moving. She stayed low and breathed quietly.

  At the corner of the house, she lifted a leg and propped herself on the railing of the balcony before dropping the ten feet to the soft jungle floor.
Once on the ground, her eyes darted quickly from side to side before she rushed into the thick foliage.

  Fuck! This is the closest they’ve ever gotten. Either they’re getting better, I’m slipping, or these aren’t the same bad guys.

  Regardless she had to move and move now. Pistol in hand she navigated one of at least a dozen escape routes she’d memorized. She had a jeep equipped with clothes, cash, weapons, and a medic pack hidden a mile from her bungalow.

  Racing across the thickly covered jungle floor, it was impossible to keep her steps quiet, but if she was fast enough she knew it wouldn’t matter. Her enemy wouldn’t know the area as she did and she was relying on that fact to keep her alive.

  Coming to a large fallen tree that covered her path, she placed one hand on the tree as her legs scissored over the top and vaulted her over the object. She’d run the path frequently, alternating her daily jog on her various routes of escape. She’d even timed herself. If she kept up at this pace, she’d be at the hidden jeep in less than ten minutes.

  Her lungs sawed in air as her adrenaline raced. Then a beam of light cut through the night and her slippered feet slid to a halt as she dove for the nearest tree and dropped down on her haunches.

  Fuck! She plastered herself against the tree at her back and opened her mouth wider to quiet her harsh breathing while she watched as the first beam of light was joined by another. Shit, there are two of them. When a third beam joined the light cutting through the night and bouncing off trees Aries nearly whimpered aloud in defeat. How did they know I’d come this way? Fuck, fuck, fuck!

  The mercenaries on her trail were silent; no words were spoken, which was odd. Why use flashlights if you don’t want your prey to know your numbers. It was tactical. They were trying to terrify her into fucking up. It won’t work assholes!

  Aries raised her pistol at her side and pushed from the tree. She kept low as she dashed from tree to tree. They were on her trail but not close enough that the light from the flashlights could reach her, nor would her bullets reach them.

  She licked her parched lips as she contemplated hunkering down and finally having it out with the would-be assassins. In the end, she vied for the more logical resolution. Do what’s kept you alive girl, she chastised herself as she sucked in a deep breath and rose swiftly from her crouch. She’d run and she wouldn’t stop until she reached the jeep or she took a bullet in the back. They were too close and just too damn many. Damn, she hated running.

  She took off at a fast sprint and got thirty yards before her feet skidded to a halt, her pistol rose quickly, centered on the chest of the man that stood shrouded in darkness cutting off her path of escape. She couldn’t shoot; the sound would draw the others. Four men! After me? Why?

  “Aries.” The man acknowledged her, his voice a deep timbre. Her name was spoken quietly; he wasn’t trying to draw the others…yet.

  Aries kept her pistol trained on the man, her finger itching on the trigger. She quickly darted her eyes to the left then the right. She couldn’t afford to be caught in an ambush now. She didn’t say a word as she chanced a step backward. When the man advanced, she caught only the briefest glimpse of steel gray eyes focused with intent and set in a viscously handsome face that was marred by one stark white scar that slashed across the sharp features.

  The instant his eyes locked with hers, his frown transitioned to shock then was just as quickly replaced by horror as the man dropped to his knees and groaned in agony. There was the briefest flash of light from something around his throat and she thought she heard a high-pitched whine.

  Aries stood transfixed. What in the hell just happened? Her eyes scanned the jungle, but there was no sign of the other mercenaries. Her eyes flicked backed to the man who was struggling to get to his feet even as one hand clutched his abdomen and the other lifted to the strange necklace clamped around his throat.

  Has he been shot? She hadn’t heard a gunshot. Silencer? Again, she scanned their surroundings. Nothing. Aries took another step backward, and when no retribution came, she chanced a third then a fourth before she turned and scanned the area.

  The words that followed her were issued on a pain-ridden growl that heightened the threat, “Don’t make me chase you!”

  Suddenly she felt a shiver race up her spine and she lunged to the side just as something whizzed past her body and hit the tree in front of her. Light flooded the area as the other mercenaries descended on her location. The beam of one flashlight flickered over the object still lodged in the tree and before Aries fired a shot in the general direction of the mercenary in front of her she swore she heard him mutter ‘shit’, and then she was gone.

  A tranquilizer dart! The realization hit her as she crashed through the jungle. She’d broken off from her pre-planned route and was now just as lost in her surroundings as the men chasing her. Her mind was processing the information she’d taken in even as her feet beat a hasty retreat down a muddy ravine as she raced blindly through the jungle.

  The fact that they were shooting at her with tranquilizer darts told her one thing. They wanted her alive. Regardless of the information they wanted or thought she had, she would never allow them to take her alive. How the fuck do they know my name?

  She heard the men behind her. “Conn’s down! He’s been hit! Get the fucking woman!”

  If it was possible for her heart to accelerate more, it just did. Fuck, they think I shot him!

  She heard an angry almost animalistic growl from somewhere behind her. “I’m not hit. Just bring me the woman!”

  The beams of light chasing her through the jungle were impossibly fast and panic set in as she noticed the beams had spread out. The mercenaries were using their numbers to their advantage.

  An overwhelming surge of terror shot through her and with it that familiar tingling sensation that swept over her body and left her feeling chilled and feverish simultaneously. It happened often, usually when she was being chased or in distress. It was the feeling that she should be …could be doing more. Whatever that something was, it certainly was of no aid to her now.

  Instead, she turned and fired a shot over her shoulder, hoping to slow the men on her tail. If they thought she’d hunkered down to pick them off, they’d surely slow to take cover. Wouldn’t they?

  Instead, the four beams of light that had been steadily catching up to her all went dark at the same time.

  Fuck! Now she didn’t know their location, just that they were close. She didn’t dare stop running, not even to listen. For the span of a moment, she actually considered taking cover and trying to wait it out in the thick foliage the jungle provided, but the idea was just as quickly discarded. She was never one to sit and wait when she would much rather run or fight.

  Without the flashlights streaking their bright beams into the jungle, it was now impossibly dark. The moon was full, but the trees were too tall and too many and blocked out most of the moonlight. Several times, Aries had brushed too close or banged her shoulder off the massive tree trunks that stretched up from the jungle floor. She wondered if she’d be able to move her arms tomorrow if she survived the night. Neither the question or the pain kept her from bolting across the tropical terrain.

  Her lungs ached and her legs were burning, and when she thought she heard the deep growl of some forest beast, her pace slowed until she finally came to a stop.

  She held the pistol out in front of her as she spun in a tight circle. I can’t see shit! She clenched her teeth in frustration, then her head snapped to the side as she felt something pinch her shoulder. At first she thought she’d been bitten by one of the many snakes that called the trees home, but when she lifted her hand to rub the ache, a long cold object greeted her fingers. The object was lodged solidly in her arm.

  “Fuck!” She jerked the tranquilizer dart out quickly, knowing without seeing the object what it was. She licked her dry lips and turned to fire a shot in the direction from which she was certain the dart had been fired. Panic flared to life with the effe
ct the drugs were already having on her. Her vision was beginning to blur and the realization only made her heart beat faster, which pumped more of the drug through her system. She was fucked and she knew it.

  “What’d you do to Conn?”

  Conn? The man with the scar!

  The demand was barked from somewhere too close and Aries realized she needed to run, but she couldn’t get her legs to cooperate. Her free hand found the nearest tree and her nails curled into the bark for support. Her head was beginning to swim, her muscles heating to liquid warmth that meant they were soon to be of no use. She heard the footsteps now, but couldn’t see her enemies.

  “I warned you not to make me chase you.”

  She recognized the velvety timbre of the voice and crazy as it was she decided it would be a sexy voice if it didn’t belong to someone who was trying to kill her. It was him…Conn.

  Aries’ breath was coming in ragged pants now as she tried to lift her pistol. Her arms were too weak, and the weapon simply trembled in her barely raised arm as she fell back against the tree and slid down its rough face. She couldn’t hold back the whimper that accompanied the knowledge of her defeat. “What the fuck do you want?” The pistol slid from her limp fingers just as a man stepped up in front of her. She was struggling now to keep her eyes open even as her hand fought to re-claim the pistol in her lap.

  Conn stopped feet from her, one large hand still clutching his abdomen.

  One of his men queried, “You alright boss?”

  The reply came out on a snarl. “Fine.”

  Aries dropped her eyes to his hand where it clutched his belly, but she saw no blood.

  “Your brother wants to see you.” Conn stepped closer, his large intimidating form blocked out the faint light cast by the moon.

  She wanted to say something condescending, challenging, even rude, but it was an effort now just to breathe. She sawed in a harsh breath before slurring the truth, “I don’t have a brother.”