SKIN (Demon Chaser 4) Read online

  SKIN

  Demon Chaser

  (Book 4)

  By

  Charlene Hartnady

  Copyright and Disclaimer

  Copyright ©July 2014, Charlene Hartnady

  Cover Art by Melody Simmons

  Copy Edited by Kimberly Reichmann

  Produced in South Africa

  Published by Charlene Hartnady

  PO BOX 456, Melrose Arch,

  Johannesburg, South Africa, 2176

  [email protected]

  SKIN is a work of fiction and characters, events and dialogue found within are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews no part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email and printing without prior consent in writing from the author

  Chapter One

  The dark closed in from all sides like thick black smoke. An impenetrable wall. Gaby couldn’t remember a time when it had been so dark that she found herself tripping over her own feet. Not even on a moonless night. But maybe it was the panic doing strange things to her.

  What scared her the most was that she never panicked. Like, not once in her whole life. It was like an icy cold fist had grabbed a hold of one of her hearts and refused to let go, which resulted in the organs having to beat twice as fast but with much less strength. Her breathing was sharp and choppy making her feel slightly faint. To make things worse there was a not entirely sane sounding voice resonating inside her head that repeatedly shrieked for her to keep running.

  There were brutal killers on her tail, which was exactly what she had wanted. Gaby was fully prepared for this, she excelled in one to one combat training. Had taken out much worse with one hand tied behind her back. Literally. With many frustrating, boring weeks behind her, she should’ve been enjoying herself.

  Rising to the occasion, damn it.

  Instead she tripped for the umpteenth time and landed face first in the dirt. It hurt. She touched her fingers to her chin and pulled them away barely able to make out her hand which she knew would be smeared with blood. Maybe she’d been trapped in this human skin for too long and it was starting to affect her. Making her weak.

  Why had she left her gun at the apartment? It was company policy to always carry your assigned fire arm when on a mission. She should’ve been fired for the amount of times she’d given the bird to company policy, but damn she wished she’d stayed in line just this once. Hell, she had only left the apartment to walk a half a block to the local seven eleven. Sure it was late, but it was a great part of town and she was a Demon Chaser. She could handle anything. To become a part of the Demon Control Agency you either had to be born into it or fight your way in.

  Blood. Sweat. Tears.

  Mostly blood and lots of it. Gaby was the first and last of her kind ever to make it. She was hard core, she was badass. She was so dead since her wobbling legs could barely hold her to stand let alone drag her any further.

  She turned to face the men who chased her. The bloods were just toying with her. They could’ve had her immediately. The chase was so much more fun for them though.

  Bracing her legs, she thought to herself that it was good that she now found herself in a part of the alley that was lit by a nearby streetlamp. At least she could see. Since when did she need light to see?

  There were three of them, all demon bloods, she guessed them to be fifty or sixty years of age. Barely shaving yet. She took a deep breath. The cold fist clenched tighter in her chest as the bloods moved closer. The biggest of the three stepped in ahead of the rest, he tilted his head and sniffed the air.

  “Mmmm...smells good.”

  What looked like the youngest smirked. “What does? Her blood or her pussy?”

  “Both. The sweet, sweet scent of human blood and that musky, tangy scent of”—he licked his lips—“pussy. I’m not sure which one I want first.”

  This made no sense, now that they were this close they should be able to smell that she was a skin shifter.

  “Well, I hate to disappoint but I’m not a human and if you think you’re getting anywhere near me you’re sadly mistaken,” her voice was surprisingly strong. To make matters worse, they didn’t seem to recognise her, so they couldn’t be the demons that had raped and murdered Macy. The whole reason she was on this mission in the first place was to get the bastards responsible.

  All three laughed. The bigger one spoke again, obviously the ringleader. “You are definitely human and so screwed you have no idea. This is going to go down one of two ways”—he held up two fingers—“you stay calm and relaxed. We can all mess around for a while. We will bite but it’s going to feel oh so good for all of us – you included.” He paused, “Or, you can try and fight. Now, there’s nothing that turns a vampire on more than a good old fight. We’ll fuck harder and suck harder and I can’t guarantee that you’ll survive. Which is it to be?” His eyes gleamed.

  “Listen dickhead. I also have two things for you, firstly I’m not human and secondly I’m a Demon fucking Control Agent so get the fuck away from me.” She’d never felt fear, yet knew she was experiencing it right now. It was a feeling she never wanted to have again. These three demons were sick bastards, they needed to be exterminated. Jerks like this were the very reason she’d joined the agency in the first place. Most species of demon were stronger than humans and could therefore easily dominate and hurt them. These young bucks needed to be taught a serious lesson.

  Her legs still wobbled though and her chin burned where she had scraped it. To add to that, she needed a street light to be able to see and the demon bloods were still convinced that she was a human. Gaby was in serious trouble, all of her demon senses seemed to have abandoned her. Chances were good her strength would fail her too, but damn it she would fight them to the death. Her only hope was that they killed her before getting their dicks or their fangs anywhere near her.

  “Oh shit, Ed. I don’t know about doing a Chaser. This could have repercussions,” said the demon blood that had been silent up until now.

  “Listen to your friend, turn around and walk away.”

  “And what? You’ll forget all about us. Won’t remember what we look like or that my name is Ed?” The ringleader scowled at his buddy as he said his own name. “Nah, remember I gave you two choices, looks like that privilege has just been revoked. Good news boys, we can be as rough as we want. I’m going first.” He stepped towards her and snarled revealing long deadly fangs, the sound of a zipper being opened drew her eyes to his pants. His erect cock jutted forward. “No drinking until after we’ve all had a chance to fuck her. Don’t want to kill her by accident.”

  A scream built inside her as she turned to run. A large hand clamped over her mouth. Gaby tried hard to bite but the fucker was too quick. The other two flanked her, grabbing her by her upper arms with their vicelike grips. Within a blink they had her slammed up against a dumpster on the far side of the alley. Out of site, in the shadows. Gaby screamed into the hand because it hurt like a bitch, but also because as hard as she tried she couldn’t move. She clamped her legs shut even though it seemed futile.

  “Pull her back a bit, I want at those tits she’s been flashing.” It was the ringleader that spoke. She’d remember his voice. Right now she was in survival mode and would do anything to stay alive just to be able to get these sons of bitches later.

  What Ed had referred to as flashing was a jogging top which had a built in bra. Sure it was tight, showed off maybe an inch of cleavage but
could hardly be called sexy. It was practical. The two guys pulled her back a few inches so that the dickhead about to rape her could fit his hand between her and the dumpster.

  He squeezed her breast. “Nice, seriously big and they’re real. Andy keep a hold of her but take her mouth as well please. I’m going to need both hands.”

  At least he was being polite about the whole thing. Would he say thank-you after he finished fucking her? The guy on her right slid his hand in the place of Ed’s before she could manage to make a single sound let alone scream. The fuckers were fast.

  There was a sound of ripping and the cool evening air touched her now completely exposed chest. Using both hands, Ed cupped both her breasts squeezing hard. She screamed but it sounded muffled and ineffective against the tight hand. Her eyes grew hazy and wet drops cascaded down her cheeks. Her nose was running. So this is what it feels like to cry. She didn’t like it. Gaby grit her teeth until she tasted blood and forced herself to stop. Even when Ed squeezed and rolled her nipples to the point where she thought they might tear off, she managed to keep her emotions under control. They were going to do this whether she liked it or not. She’d be damned if she would give them the pleasure of seeing her lose it.

  “Quit playing with her, Ed. Fuck her already. I don’t like this one bit.”

  “You’re such a pussy, Garrick. It’s not very often a man gets to touch tits of this quality. I just hope her pussy is nice and tight. Let’s find out.” He opened the top button of her jeans and pulled her zipper down. The realisation of what was about to happen truly hit as he started to pull her pants down. The bastard was a true sadist because he took his time doing it. One torturous inch at a time.

  “I think the lady isn’t interested,” soft spoken, evenly delivered, the newcomer sounded deadly.

  More than likely a human who would be dead within the next few seconds. She couldn’t allow herself to feel hope. There was definitely something seriously wrong with her because she couldn’t scent...anything. Yeah sure, she could smell the cloying scent of garbage, she could smell the males surrounding her. The problem was that she couldn’t smell anything beyond the surface, like the fact that the males were demon bloods. They should smell distinctly like their demon species, but didn’t. Gaby had no idea if the newcomer was demon or human. She should be able to tell.

  “Get lost puppy this is no concern of yours.” Ed could care less about the newcomer, he even took her pants down another inch. Any further and there would be nothing left to the imagination. “A lone demon wolf is no match for three bloods so get your tail between your legs and fuck off.”

  “I said she’s not interested, so best you get your filthy hands off her,” still softly spoken, but even more deadly. This time she did feel hope unfurl but the ringleader was right, one demon wolf was no match for three bloods. At least he wasn’t a human.

  “Garrick, you hold the girl while Andy and I take care of this.”

  The hand left her mouth and Garrick took hold of both her arms. Gaby managed to turn her head enough to see the profile of the newcomer and sent up a silent prayer of thanks. He was a big SOB. Hopefully brute strength would be enough to take out the bloods.

  There was a cracking sound and a distinct tearing of clothes, the already big silhouette grew even larger. The newcomer was erupting, his demon wolf taking over. Even though he could become a wolf, he partially shifted staying somewhere between wolf and man.

  Andy went at the wolf and was rewarded with a long clawed swipe that had him flying. Ed was much quicker, he ducked and managed to get in two solid punches before gracefully side stepping another swipe. He got in three more punches and crouched easily missing another slow punch. The demon wolf seemed to not feel the blood’s punches. The wolf swiped again but this time the ringleader ducked, the wolf took advantage stepping in and side kicked him in the knee. There was a crunching sound and the blood’s leg bent the wrong way at the joint. Ed screamed.

  Hissing and snarling, Andy threw himself at the wolf. Gaby could imagine how his fangs would be bared. How his face would be twisted and contorted revealing a glimpse of the demon inside. This form of attack was a mistake, the bloods were faster but the wolf was stronger. The big hairy brute threw his arms around the blood in what almost could be misconstrued as a friendly hug, only the sound of bones cracking could be heard. The sidekick screamed.

  Gaby could still hear what sounded like thick dry branches snapping and had to fight a cringe. She didn’t cringe damn it. On any normal day it would be her inflicting the damage.

  One hand on his shoulder and another on his head, the wolf pulled trying to decapitate the blood but the ringleader was back, fully recovered from his knee injury. He knocked Andy to the side, easily side stepping a swipe from the wolf. The sidekick landed in a heap on the floor. It wouldn’t take long for him to regenerate. At this rate, they’d play tag team with the wolf until he tired out and then they’d take him out. It would be useless to try and break free from the man holding her. This was so fucked up.

  The ringleader gracefully ducked avoiding a weighty punch. Compared to the blood, the wolf moved in slow motion. She wished she could somehow help the guy. The blood got in two well-placed punches and the wolf grunted stumbling back. Damn, she’d expected him to have a bit more stamina. Gaby held her breath as the blood moved in. The wolf had yet to gain his composure, it would be over in a second if he fell.

  The blood eased in closer, his arm drawing back to deliver the final punch, one that would put the wolf on the ground so that he could tear the creature’s throat out. The wolf was taking a step back, still trying to balance himself. Gaby had been involved in enough battles to be able to decipher exactly what was happening and what the likely outcome would be. It didn’t look good. The punch landed, square in the middle of the wolf’s jaw. If she’d had time to think, she’d have wondered why the move had not had much impact. Why there had been no noise on connection? This should have been the punch that ended it for both the wolf and herself. Except, the wolf wasn’t nearly as off balance as what he had seemed, he couldn’t be, since he was arching back, his body perpendicular with the floor. Fully in control, the wolf growled as he swung back up, his brow connecting hard with that of the blood’s. The ringleader’s nose crunched on impact, he flew back landing hard.

  “So you like to hurt human women?” The wolf’s voice was so guttural she could barely make out what he was saying. The wolf kicked the blood, hard. It sent him flying. Andy was just coming to his knees when the wolf kicked him as well. Another snap of a rib.

  The remaining blood loosened his grip on her arm. “Oh fuck,” his voice was shaky.

  “You’d better run if you want to live,” Gaby whispered. The truth was that if he joined in, he could probably occupy the wolf long enough to allow the other two to recover, then it would be over for sure. “That wolf is also a Demon Chaser. You’re in deep shit.” All a lie, but it worked. He let go of her arms and disappeared down the alley.

  There was a ripping noise and Gaby turned to see Andy’s head roll a couple of times. He made quick work of the ringleader, ripping his head clean off his shoulders. Her only irritation was that she wished she was doing it herself. No, a slow cut using a serrated knife would be better. Bastard deserved it. Gaby exhaled, she realized that she’d been holding her breath towards the end there.

  The big demon wolf strode over to her. “Are you okay?” His voice was a rough growl and his features were still very wolf like.

  “I’m fine. Thank-you.”

  “Hounds, I didn’t recognise you, Macy Night. Last I heard you were taking a vacation or something. I haven’t seen you around.”

  Oh shit. How the hell was she supposed to handle this? It wasn’t like she was functioning at top level right at this moment. She’d almost died for Christ’s sake. “I’m not Macy. I’m a Demon Chaser, I’m working under cover.” In the end, she decided to tell the truth. After all, he had just saved her ass.

  “Well, I h
ave to say, you look exactly like her.” His eyes slid down the length of her body and back up again stopping on her chest area.

  Damn, she’d totally forgotten about her ripped top. Gaby looked down and sure as nuts, the twins were out in all their glory. This wasn’t her body but she was wearing it right now and she’d be damned if she’d let this demon wolf drool all over her, but before she could move he seemed to realize his mistake and quickly averted his eyes.

  “Geez, I’m sorry. I’d offer you my shirt, but it’s probably worse off than yours.”

  His words had her lowering her eyes to his wide chest, and she realized he was naked. Now that she noticed, Gaby couldn’t understand how it had taken her so long. Maybe because he had initially been covered in fur. Well, not any more. In fact, he was pretty damn hair free right now. Not a trace of the stuff on his massive chest, nor his washboard abs. He had that vee thing going on with his muscles alongside his hips, which only happened when a man was seriously built. Her eyes dropped lower. She swallowed hard. The guy was seriously big and seriously stacked...everywhere.

  He cleared his throat and her gaze popped back up to his face. His eyebrows were slightly raised and the one side of his mouth quirked up just a smidgen. Busted, she swallowed again, at this rate it would be her drooling over him and not the other way around. It had been over a year since she’d had sex. No self-respecting demon would shack up with a skin. Fellow skins thought that she was the enemy and they’d be right. It would be too dangerous to do humans, so that didn’t leave her many options.

  “I’m Phoenix,” he held out his hand. His eyes were dark; they almost looked black in the minimal light. His equally dark hair looked stylishly cut and he was clean shaven. Regardless of the fight that had just taken place, she still caught the edge of an expensive aftershave. Aside from his build, he didn’t look like any demon wolf she’d ever come across.