Skin Walkers Conn (16 page)

“I’m
Mahkya
. 
Mahkya
Mulholland.  My daddy is the c
hief o
f security and my mommy is his q
ueen.”

“
Hmph
!” Conn snorted loudly, “Figures.”

Aries frowned up at Conn before turning her attention back to
Mahkya
, “Well, it’s very nice to meet you
Mahkya
.”  The elevator chimed and when the doors slid open Conn bent and pulled Aries up from the floor.  “Bye
Mahkya
, have a good day.”

The little girl waved excitedly, “Bye pretty
lady.  I hope you find a nicer
Walker
to belong to.”

Led down the familiar hallway, Aries knew Conn was taking her back to his suite.
  When he opened the door and pulled her inside he turned to frown at her as his eyes slid down her frame.  “Why are you wearing that?”

“They gave me my clothes before they put me in
the
cell.  I was just told to change.”

“Did they give you privacy?”
A muscle in his jaw twitched.

Aries dropped her eyes, “The guard turned around.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hallway toward his room.

Aries’ heart thundered in her chest.  “What are you doing?”

He didn’t respond.  Inside his room he crossed to a duffle bag that sat on the foot of his bed and jerked out a few articles of clothing.
  “Put these on,” he commanded before
he strode from the room.  “Be quick!”  

Alone, Aries did as instructed.  She pulled on an oversized, black, button-up shirt and instantly recognized Conn’s scent on the article.  The shirt was massive and she had to roll the sleeves multiple times just to expose her hands and wrists. 
She hadn’t bothered taking off her slip, instead she tucked it into the waist of the sweat pants she pulled on before tightening the
draw string and bending to
roll the hem of each leg.  He hadn’t provided socks or shoes, so her black ballet slippers would have to do.  She was just about to exit the room when Conn re-entered. 

“Let’s roll.”  He reached out and grabbed her arm,
pulling
her with him.

“Where are we going?”

Again, he did
n’t answer.  In the hall, Aries
was startled when York, Shane, and
James
flanked them. 
James
took the lead with Shane and York
falling in
behind her and Conn.

Aries watched as
James
scanned the hallway cautiously.  She noticed that he kept his  hand close to
his
opened jacket.

Turning, she saw Shane and York also scanning the hallway, the men shared a similar look of concentration.

“Look,” Aries turned to Conn, “I wouldn’t have said anything when I’d gotten
off your base.” 

Conn too was focused as he responded, “This isn’t my base, and you wouldn’t have escaped.”

She bit her lip and tried to wiggle her hand free as the platoon quickened their pace without command.  “Are you taking me back to my cell?”

“Quiet!” Conn barked
in a hushed tone
.

She could feel the tension in the air and knew something wasn’t right.

“Go.” Conn commanded and
James
took off at a dead run. 

They by-passed the elevator and followed
the already-gone
James
down the stairs.  Shane doubled his pace and took the lead in front of Aries and Conn.

“Shane.”  Aries looked at Conn when he spoke, but then Shane was running too and she turned her attention to watch him disappear ahead of them down the stairs.

Frightened, she tried to pull to a halt, “What’s happening?”

Conn didn’t falter.  One large hand gripped her bicep and pulled her in front of him seconds before he quickly bent and lifted her into his arms without even losing pace.

“York?”

“I’ve got eyes boss.  We’re clear for now.”

The men were speaking in some code she didn’t understand, but she knew the situation was a tense
one because she’d only ever seen them in this mode when they’d been hunting her in the jungle.

Practically racing down the stairs, she had to throw her arms around Conn’s neck and hold on tight to keep from shattering her teeth with the jarring motion. 

Near the first floor she saw Shane pacing at the landing, his eyes seemingly searching everywhere without
sticking
on
any
one position too long.  “Clear
!
” he stated
without looking at his C
ommander
.

Conn and York didn’t break stride.  Shane left his post and rushed to hold open the front door as the trio passed through.  Outside a jeep was parked in front of the manor and
James
was in the driver’s seat. 

Shane jerked the back door open and Conn climbed in keeping Aries
in his arms
so that
she was settled
on his lap. 
Shane took shotgun and York quickly crossed behind the
jeep
and climbed in next to Aries and Conn.

Her voice sounded small even to her own ears when she finally spoke,
“Are we leaving?”

None of the men
responded
. 

James
slowly pulled the jeep from the curb and drove away from the main estate house and down the long winding road that led to the front gate. 

Aries felt Conn tense, his grip on her thigh tightened when the jeep passed a sleek black
sedan
.  The windows on the car were too black to see who was housed within.

“Shit!”
James
muttered
forcing his eyes forward
, “It’s
Tyce
!”  His tone was laden with worry.

Conn
stayed rigid,
“Steady.”

As they approached the front gate a figure stepped forward and made a hand gesture to the jeep. 
James
leaned forward and responded with a different
hand signal
before the guard stepped back into the guard house and the gates slowly opened.

As they drove through the gates,
James
eyed Conn in the rearview mirror.  “Directions
XO
?”

Conn dipped his eyes to Aries, “We need to disappear for a couple of days.”

James
nodded stiffly, “Understood.”

The vehicle accelerated and
Aries could feel the tension in the
vehicle
dissipate the further they got from
S
tone
Crow
.

Chapter
17

Aries was startled awake.  She hadn’t even realized she’d fallen asleep until her eyes snapped open and she gasped, struggling against
the strong arms that held her
.

“Easy beautiful,” Conn’s tone was soothing.  “
you’re safe.”

Her eyes found his and relief washed over her.  He’d been trying to lay her on the back
bench
seat of the
jeep
.  Sitting up she peered around.  The
vehicle was
stopped on a dark stretch of dirt road. 

“W-where is everyone?”
“They just took off.  It’s best if we split up for now, it’ll make us harder to track.”

“Us?” Aries croaked

Conn smiled knowingly, “Not
us. 
Just the men.”

Looking around Aries couldn’t help but ask, “How did they…”

He didn’t let her finish before he pointed skyward.  “
We’re Walkers remember.”

She nodded
dumbly.  “So what about us?  Are you taking me back home?”

His expression darken
ed as he stood
.  “Buckle up,” he order
ed
as he close
d
the back door leaving her alone on the back seat. 

He
climb
ed
into the driver’s seat
while
Aries
tried to figure out what it wa
s she’
d
said that
made him so angry.  “Conn?”

“That jungle is
not
your home.”

Of course
it wasn’t
, but it
was
the only home she’
d
known for a very long time.  Keeping her retort to herself she buckle
d
her seat belt as Conn
began
driving.  “So wh
ere are we going
?”  She caught
him glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

“To
my
bunker
.”

The revelation instantly ha
d
her throat drying as her belly somersault
ed violently.  “You could just let me go.  Let them think I’ve escaped.”  She saw the corner of his mouth lift.

“First of all, you wouldn’t
survive on your own.  Second
, they’d never believe that you’ve eluded my team.”

Anger flashed through her.  “First of all, I
have
survived on
my own all this time.  Second
, I
have
eluded you and your team.  On more than one occasion I might add.”
 

Proud
that she’d stood
up for herself, Aries sat a little straighter.  Then her eyes slid to Conn’s hands that were gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles shone white. 
Overreact much?
  When her eyes looked to his face, he wasn’t even paying any attention to her.  His gaze was focused out the front windshield and he wasn’t blinking.

Finally after several moments he cursed and blinked hard, “Shit!”

“What’s wrong?”

“
Tyce
wants you back at
StoneCrow
.”

“Who’s
Tyce
.”

His eyes found hers in the rearview mirror.  “My
c
ommander
.  He was in the car we passed when we left.”

Slightly confused, Aries screwed her face into a look of disbelief.  “You just now figured that out?”

“No,” Conn sounded like he was fighting hard to remain
calm
.  “He just told
me
.”

Her eyes shi
fted to his ear, but saw no ear
piece.  “How?”

Conn sighed, “Walkers can communicate with each other te
lepathically through a phenomenon
we ca
ll the mystic
or mist for short.”

Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open as she gaped at him, “You’re kidding right?”

He didn’t respond.

Jesus!
  She hugged herself.  “What else don’t I know?”

“About Walkers?” 

She waited.

“Well you know we can shift and now you know we can communicate telepathically…”

“What are those things you all wear
?
”

Conn lifted a hand to finger the stiff silver band around his neck.  “We call it a halo.”

“Does it give you your powers?”
 

She heard the smile in his voice
.
 
“No. 
It’s part of our mating ritual.  When we find our angel we gift her with our halo.”

Aries laughed.  “Halo, angel
?
  It all sounds a little esoteric
.”

“It is,” Conn growled.  “Most of the world doesn’t know of our existence and hopefully they never will.  Our rituals and our abilities are sacred to us
.  W
e don’t want them shared with just anyone.”

“Then why tell me?”

He smirked
not wanting to explain that he thought she was one of them.
“Because you asked.”

Falling back against the seat, Aries ran her hands through her hair.  “Well
Mr
…”

“
Drago
,” he supplied.

“Well Mr.
Drago
, if asking is your on
ly criteria to dolling out the
Walker
’s sacred information, then your race is doomed!”