Skin Walkers Conn (14 page)

“He’s not going to,” Conn barked angrily
before stalking from the room and hoping to run into Remy sometime soon. 
Motherfucker!

***

Conn spent the next morning tr
ying to convince himself that he
and his men needed to return to
base, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to leave.  The night had been a sleepless one that he’d spent wondering about Aries.  Surely Monroe had moved her to a suite and not the cells as he’d threatened. 
Of course he wouldn’t keep her there.  He’s mated to a human himself, he’d be more respectful th
e
n that.

Unfortunately for Conn he knew the thought was misguided the instant he thought it.  Regardless of his
binding to a
non-
Walker
woman, Monroe wouldn’t be lenient on Aries simply because she was human like Monroe’s Eden.

Conn had
showered and dressed in his typical black fatigues
then lingered in his suite
attempting
,
and failing miserabl
y,
to finish a single cup of coffee
as he considered Monroe’s course of act
ion where Aries was concerned.

The two men, while not great friends, were similar in their analytical nature.  Both recognized the need to deliver Aries to
Mason had she been his sister.  The problem is, she
wasn’t.  Now, she knew too much about the Walkers and their location.  While she vowed silence, Monroe wouldn’t let her si
mply walk away.  Compounding matters was the fact that she was being hunted, but it wasn’t by Monroe,
Tyce
, or any private party that Mason may have hired
.  That
meant that Monroe would either have to keep her until he discove
red who wanted her and why or, Conn ground his teeth
together
,
Monroe would turn her over to the enemy that sought her and allow them to dispose of her; thereby, keeping Monroe’s hands clean of the deed. 

“
Boss
?
”
 
H
e
allowed the mental nudge as York
pushed to
contact him through the mist
. 
“
We bugging out today?  Boys want an ET
D
.
”

Spearing an angry hand through his hair, Conn cursed under his breath. 
He didn’t have an estimated time of departure because he didn’t plan on departing. 
He knew his platoon would expect to leave, but he couldn’t bring himself to go, and he didn’t hav
e a
logical explanation to give his
men.

He was trying to formulate a response when York broke through again. 
“
King just got here he’s…
”
  Silence ensued then
there was confusion in York’s tone. 
“
He’s looking for Aries!”

Chapter
14

“Aries has escaped
.
”

“Well of co
urse she has!” Conn gritted out angrily, frowning at Bishop before he
turned to his men.  “Fan out.  You know her scent and her tactics.  Find her before she gets off the estate.”

“Yes S
ir
!
”
James
, Shane, and York bit
out in unison before disbanding
in opposite directions.

Conn turned to frown at Bishop.  “How’d she escape?”

“King was transporting her
to a larger cell.  He though
t
she was harmless, so he didn’t shackle her.”  Bishop’s frown deepened, “He should have.”

Conn didn’t hear Bishop’s last words.  He was too busy trying to control his temper as rage exploded within him.  He clamped his teeth tightly toge
ther to keep from grabbing the S
entry.  “Monroe
ke
pt
her locked in the cells?”  Incredulity and anger laced his tone
as he fought to keep his
rage
in check.

Bishop nodded, “She’s a prisoner.  Where else would he keep her?”

No response came as Conn had already turned and r
un
for the doors.  He wanted to be the one to find Aries
especially now that he knew Remy was on the premises and interested in her
.

StoneCrow’s
holding cells were underground in a bunker beneath the barn
and he raced for the structure
.  He’d have to start there to catch her scent. 

He was halfway to the barn when her
fragrance
hit him.  It was fain
t,
but it was there. 
He recognized the sweet yet
exotic arom
a of her fear
mingled with
adrenaline. 
Inhaling deeply he drank in the
lill
y
and rainwater bouquet that
was unique to h
er. 
Turning, he
followed the s
cent, grateful that for once there were no
c
hinook
winds blowing in
from the w
est
.

Her
scent
led
toward the large gymnasium that had just been built.  It was the furthest building from the main estate house.  As he approached he saw
RedKnife
KillsPrettyEnemy
eyeing an open
window.  He knew the lone I
ndigenous Walker was
StoneCrow’s
best tracker.  When Conn approached
,
RedKnife
looked at
him and pointed wordlessly to the window before he turned and strode away.

Relief swamped Conn that he wouldn’t have to confront
RedKnife
about bringing Aries in.
  He’d let Monroe play his game, but clearly the CEO wasn’t
capable of
keep
ing
control of Aries.  She’d have to come back under
his supervision
.

Conn’s eyes transitioned slightly as he called to his men t
hrough the mist
,
“
She’s in the
gymnasium.  Set up a perimeter
.”
  After issuing
the
order he
climbed quietly through the win
dow and followed Aries’ scent through
the darkened gymnasium
. 

He hid in the shadow
when
he caught sight of her
crouched
down in a dark corner eyeing a
set of double-doors.  He’d passed
the doors
on
his
way in and knew
they were
chained from the outside, she would find no escape there. 
He watched as she
contemplated her odds then moved for the doors. 

Silently
Conn
stalked toward the area she’d just vacated, knowing she’d have to come back once she discovered she was trapped.

***

Aries inched toward the doors, barely breathing lest the noise give her away.  Quietly she pushed on the door and it opened slowly.  Her heart sang, but then
was
quickly silenced when the door only gave a few inch
es
before she could see
thick chains locking it from the outside. 

“Shit!” she whispered then quickly backtracked.  She’d spent too much time in the area, and from what she knew of Walkers, they were excellent trackers.  If she lingered in one spot too long, she was as good as caught.

Scanning the dark gymnasium she was relieved to find it still empty.  She turned to race back the way she came when she ran into something solid
.  She would have landed on her
ass
if it weren’t for the strong hands that grabbed her
.

Frowning up at Conn in her black ballet slippers and wispy black slip, Aries had a flash back to the first night they’d met in the jungle. 
She wore the e
xact same thing and stared at
the exact same menacing eyes. 
Her expression softened for a moment before the anger returned.  She tried to stalk past him, but his large hand
s
clamped
tighter
on her arm
s
.

“Get your fucking hands off me.”

Conn stared down at her
refusing to loosen his grip
.

Aries lifted her arm and tucked her body under
his
arm
in a practiced maneuver.  She jerked up and Conn was forced to break his grip or be caught with his own arm in a
compromised position. 

He spun quickly to find her standing facing him.  He nearly laughed at the sight of her scowling up at him, her two slight hands balled into tiny fists.

“I don’
t want to fight you!
”
she challenged.

His eyes dropped to her fists, “Could’ve fooled me.”

“I
will
protect myself.”

He dismissed her with a snort and reached out to grab her. 
When o
ne small fist connected with the side of his jaw,
his
head snapped to the side and he didn’t move, more dazed by what she’d done than by the actual impact.
  He lifted a large hand to touch his chin surprised
she’d been able to connect.  “I’ll give you that one,” he growled.  His hands reached for her again
but
she ducked under his arms
leaving him facing a highly entertained York.

His men slowly filtered into the gymnasium, one of them flicking on the lights.

“You want me to grab her for
ya
boss?”
York didn’t bother to conceal his
amusement
.

“Stay
outta
this,” Conn  growled spinning to pin her with a sneer.  “Aries!”

She kept her fists up under her chin as she smiled at him, “Let’s make this fair.”

“Fair?”

“If I can get out of this room,” her eyes flicked to the open doorway, “you let me go.”

“Not happening,” Conn was advancing when her
next
words halted him.

“What’s wrong?  Afraid I’ll embarrass you in front of your men?”

A deep rumble emitted from his chest. 
The lone word that left his lips was a low snarl that barely registered.  “Done.”

“
Whoo
hoo
,”
James
slapped York on the shoulder as he extend
ed his arms and forced his
companions
back.  “I got fifty bucks on Aries.”

Conn snarled and shot a glare at
James
.

“Oh shit!”
James
whispered drawing a laugh from York.

“You’re on sucker!”
Shane pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and held it in the air.
 

The men barely had time to step back setting up a perimeter before Aries threw the first punch.  Conn caught
it
and smiled at her before jerking and pul
ling her hard into his chest, but b
efore he could clamp a hand around her to hold her in place, she dropped straight down and slid from his grasp.  When she dropped, her slip caught on Conn’s belt and her bare thighs and panties flashed the trio of onlookers.

James
smiled broadly, “Holy shit!  This is better than I thought!”
  He clapped his hands together and rubbed them excitedly.

Conn turned to frown at him and growled low and deep while pulling back his upper lip in a derisive sneer.

“Fuck!”
James
whispered dropping his eyes and taking a step back.

When Conn turned his attention back to Aries it was only to catch a small foot in the
stomach
.  The wind whooshed out of him and she took advantage of the opportunity when he dropped to a knee. 

Racing past, she stumbled and hit the ground when one of his hands snaked out and clamped on her ankle.

He sucked in a breath, “I don’t think so
beautiful
.”

Aries rolled to the opposite hip and pulled back with one leg, aiming at his bent knee.  “Don’t.  Call.  Me.  That.”  She kicked and before Conn could react, his leg was kicked out from under him.