Unexpected Betrayals @Liza0Connor

Unexpected Betrayals

by

Liza O’Connor

Blurb

Mary Campbell was tired of servicing half the town. Ever since she reached puberty at the age of twelve, all the boys and men in her town wanted her. Nor could she refuse them. Despite all her pleas to stop, they would take what they wanted, certain she liked it. And the reason they believed this was because in truth her body wanted them. While her mind objected, her body did not. She would have sex with anyone, even if she hated them. Finding her life intolerable, she had decided to move to California and start a new life where no one knew her past.

Excerpt

Mary Campbell was tired of servicing half the town. Ever since she reached puberty at the age of twelve, all the boys and men in her town wanted her. Nor could she refuse them. Despite all her pleas to stop, they would take what they wanted, certain she liked it. And the reason they believed this was because in truth her body wanted them. While her mind objected, her body did not. She would have sex with anyone, even if she hated them. Finding her life intolerable, she had decided to move to California and start a new life where no one knew her past.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Mary Campbell wrote down three phone numbers and closed out of the website before any of her family noticed what she was viewing. As she slipped the paper into her pocket, she looked out the window. A cold gray sky left little doubt that soon it would begin to snow again. Nothing unusual for a Minnesota winter day, but Mary was tired of it; tired to the bone.

After dinner, she lifted the wireless phone from its cradle and carried it upstairs to her bedroom. Her brother was in his room listening to country music, her parents were downstairs: Mom in the kitchen and Dad in front of the TV, no doubt sound asleep, even though it was barely eight p.m.

Mary dialed the first number. If this didn’t work, come the next phone bill there would be hell to pay for these long-distance numbers. She had barely explained why she was calling when the girl cut her off with a quick, “It’s rented,” and slammed the phone down. The second person was nicer, but the news was no better. “Third’s the charm,” she whispered, as she dialed the last number.

She explained why she was calling and held her breath waiting for the bad news….

“Yeah, well it’s like not much,” the girl replied, “But it’s cheap.”

Mary paused, surprised to find a rent of $800 a month considered cheap. “Then…it’s available?”

“Yeah, you interested?”

“Yes, oh, yes.” She was more than interested. She was desperate.

“Come by tomorrow morning, 1606 Anderson, first door on the left, fifth floor.”

“Wait!” she panicked. “It will take me a day to get there. Can you hold it for me?”

There was a pause. “Sure, you sound like a nice person. I’ll hold it.”

***

Mary was shaking as she disconnected her call. She had done it. She had a place to live in sunny California. She snuck downstairs, returned the phone to its cradle and then hurried back to her room to pack. Terrified that someone might walk in while she packed, she gave little thought to what she tossed inside. Once the suitcase was full, she slid it beneath her bed, so her Dad wouldn’t notice when he came to say good night.

She removed her gown and studied her naked body before the mirror. Everyone said she was prettier than the movie stars. She hadn’t always been so beautiful. Her life had been normal as a young girl, but when she reached puberty and her body changed, everyone loved her. The teachers, the boys…even the girls. Within a single year, she turned from being a wallflower to the most popular girl in school.

At first the constant admiration pleased her but as time progressed, she grew jaded. No one knew anything about her. They loved her on sight, because of her looks, not because of who she was.

When she graduated from school two years ago, she went to work at a dentist office. Getting the job had been easy, but keeping it required more than she wished. Recently her boss had been pressuring her to get an apartment so he could be with her beyond work hours.

She had admitted she would like her own place, and gratefully accepted the money he offered so she could afford to rent an apartment.

She suspected he’d be a bit angry when he discovered the apartment she rented was in California, but she never actually said she’d look in Minnesota.

She was in bed when her father softly opened her door and eased inside, closing the door behind him. “You awake, sweetie?” he whispered.

She hesitated before answering. It would be over faster if she admitted she was. She rolled to her back. “Yes, sir.”

***

She awoke to the banging of pots as her mother fixed breakfast. The clock said it was almost four a.m. She rolled from the bed and grabbed her robe, stumbling to the bathroom. Her heart raced as she realized this would be the last morning she’d rise before the sun.

Breakfast was always a silent affair. It was too early in the morning for anyone to have much to say. Once the meal was consumed, everyone went about their chores on the farm. Only Mary was exempt from farm work. She had a job at the Dentist’s office, which brought in hard cash. Her dad had been after her brother Jeff to bring home a wife to help Mom with the house chores, but so far, Jeff hadn’t complied with that request.

Mary sighed. It was good she was leaving. She suspected Jeff would never marry as long as she remained at home.

With everyone about his or her chores, Mary was able to toss the suitcase from her bedroom window, walk downstairs, retrieve it from the hedge and put it in the car without notice. It was easy, yet the whole time she held her breath, expecting something or someone to stop her from escaping. Even as she drove to the airport, she expected a car accident to block her way or a tire to go flat. She didn’t relax until the plane lifted into the air

Finally, her life was her own!

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The Future of Scotland Yard by Liza O'Connor

The Future of Scotland Yard

By 

Liza O'Connor

Blurb

England has become besieged with foreign entities claiming to be English citizens. Three of them have managed to become members of Parliament. Worse yet, the new Prime Minister plans to remove Xavier from his position as head of Foreign Affairs and slot in a man the new Prime Minister likes a great deal. Unfortunately, the man is a Russian Spy.

Worse yet: Vic’s sister, Claire, has been declared healthy, despite being insane, and after marrying her doctor, who declared her sane, a week later she returns to London with the intent to kill everyone she hates, which is anyone associated with Vic. When Claire’s husband gets fired, he joins her in London and proves to be the reason she has a killing compulsion. He wasn’t making her better all this time. He was making her deadly.

To Vic’s horror, she discovers that Claire has murdered young men who resemble her. Since Tubs keeps Vic safe from harm, Claire is forced to kill young men who look like Vic rather than kill Vic. The murders have gone on for a year since Scotland Yard sought a man as the killer. Fortunately, the sixteenth victim didn’t die and knew exactly who had attempted to kill him: Claire Hamilton.

Claire is charged with fifteen deaths and one attempted murder. She is to be hung, the only problem is that Claire is so light, there’s a strong possibility that she won’t die and will quite possibly escape. Barns is determined not to let that happen, but Claire has some amazing skills.

Chapter 1

Vic and Xavier, the finest sleuths in England, couldn’t sleep due to a noisy street mob outside their window. For some reason, their normally quiet street had been invaded with a riot of drunken sods who wished to sing off-key and dance the bloody night away. Worse yet, some of the neighbors gave up on sleeping and joined the party as well.

Even at 6:00 a.m., the mob remained outside his home being as noisy as ever. Having enough of this nonsense, Xavier stormed down to Gregory’s room and demanded he use his telephone to ask Barns, the new head of Scotland Yards, to throw the whole bloody lot of them in jail.

“Sir, it is very early in the morning. I doubt he has yet gone to work,” Gregory chided.

“Don’t argue with me, for I haven’t had a wink of sleep,” Xavier warned.

With a huff, Gregory dialed the head of Scotland Yard on the matter of badly singing drunks.

“What?” Barns snapped.

Before Gregory could reply, Xavier grabbed the telephone and yelled, “Barns, I want you to blast the drunken sods on my street with cold water. No one in this house has gotten a minute of sleep!”

Barns remained silent for several seconds.

“Are you there?”

“I am. I’m just astounded that you called me on such a ridiculous request so early in the morning.

“They have been at it all night. Shall I send them to your street and see how much you like their off-key singing? Several of the local dogs are howling in pain from the racket.”

“Xavier, I don’t have time to tend to the mob. I have far more serious problems.”

“What other problems can you possibly have at this god-awful early hour?” Xavier demanded.

“I don’t have time to discuss it, presently,” Barns snapped. “However, I’ll have Captain Meyers send a carriage of officers to disperse your party.”

“They aren’t my bloody partygoers!” Xavier snapped. Before he could rant more, Barns hung-up on him.

Xavier stared at the phone in shock. Barns had never hung up on him before.

By the time Xavier returned upstairs, he was highly annoyed. “Barns just hung up on me!” he yelled at Vic.

“Well, something must be up for him to be at work so early. And why are you yelling at me? I didn’t hang up on you.”

“I appreciate that,” Xavier stated. “Thank you for not yelling at me.”

Vic wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

“Even better,” he stated. “Let us ignore the nonsense outside and enjoy a moment of pleasure.”

“Excellent idea,” Vic assured him.

Five minutes into their love making, Captain Meyers and his officers arrived to remove the noisy and inconsiderate street people.

“Damn it all! Why do they show up now?” Xavier snapped.

Vic covered his face with kisses. “Stop. They are doing exactly what you asked them to do. You cannot demand them to arrive, then complain that they actually arrived.”

“You are correct. So, let us continue to make love while they disperse the mass of troublesome, inconsiderate Cretans outside our window.”

While they concluded a very fine bout of pleasure, Captain Meyers and his men removed the obnoxious partygoers, threatening them with jail time if they returned. Now with blessed silence outside, they decided to get a bit more sleep.

“Should we let Stone know that we’ll be late to work?” Vic asked.

“Stone will figure out why and where we are. While his body has weakened, his brain and hearing have not.”

Vic agreed. Stone, their third partner and former head of Scotland Yard, was awake and in the office across the street. Any issues that might pop up before they got a bit more sleep, Stone would handle if he could do so at his desk. If a problem required mobility, he would send Jacko’s eldest son, Pete, across the street to let us know.

While Davy was also in the office, he could no longer do much, other than fix a hot cup of tea. His bones hurt like the devil during winter, and this winter was brutal.

Vic had offered to move him back to her warmer home, but Davy refused. While he insisted the drafty room upstairs suited him, she suspected he just couldn’t get use to the noisy children in her home. Thus, she purchased him the finest blankets she could find, to keep him from freezing to death.

To be honest, the children were a noisy lot, but she didn’t mind since it was mostly in play. Vic loved to hear all the children playing and laughing. Besides her fabulous son, Cannon, there was Tub’s boy, Ham, who was by far the tallest of the children now, despite that Cannon was ten months older than Ham. Their latest rescue was an adorable baby boy named Danny. She acquired him from a Baby Farmer who had been ordered to kill the child. For a mere hundred pounds, he gave her the child.

Best of all: the children got along with one another.

Unfortunately, when Claire finally discovered her mansion didn’t legally belong to her, she went crazy. Upon discovering that Victor “owned” her mansion, she set it on fire. Never mind she and her many male friends were the only ones who entered it now that she had divorced David.

Refusing to risk the lives of everyone in Vic and Xavier’s house, Xavier had Claire committed to the finest asylum in England.

Vic hoped the place could cure her.

Xavier doubted anyone could cure Claire, but he never shared that with Vic.

However, it did mean that Maddy moved to their house so she could live with her father, David, and little Danny. Nor, did it take long for David to realize Maddy hated baby Danny.

Vic wasn’t surprised that Maddy had anger issues. But she had no idea why Maddy would focus her anger on the sweet baby.

***

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New World, Book 3, Aliens Among Us Series, @Liza0Connor

NEW WORLD

Blurb

With much of Earth burning presently, soon Earth will fall into a very long ice age.

Fortunately, a group of women, men, half-saires, and one full-saire are hidden on a lovely island. The full-saire has a spaceship capable of leaving Earth and traveling to a more reliable planet that never grows too cold or hot.

However, when they arrive, the planet looks much like prehistoric Earth, with giant reptiles everywhere. Fortunately, Keelan and Tiburon are strong and mighty warriors. By noon, they have killed most of the deadly creatures that their life bubble protects. They also saved the life of a twelve-foot chicken-like creature who turns out to be sentient and a great help when locating dangers.

The two warriors were able to remove most of the T-Rexes as well. Only two had to be killed for refusing to leave their valley. Thus, they have survived day one.

But how long will their bullets and luck hold out?

EXCERPT

4. Several balk at coming until Keelan plays the death card.

“But is it not safer to stay here?”

“The answer is no on many levels. First, you will run out of food within a month. Second, this island will be underwater in less than two years. Third, without Jesse’s soothing nature, you will all be fighting within a week.

“However, if you do wish to stay on Earth, then your best chance is to gather all the food and grains you can and go down to the shelter. Don’t forget to buy seeds and soil so you can grow food.” He then focused on Kyle. “Kyle, it is very likely that you will go to jail in the next few months. The only reason they haven’t found you is because I placed an electronic device on the island that makes it seemingly disappear. However, I’ve disconnected it now and will be taking it with me.”

“Why did you do that?” Kyle demanded.

“Because we might need it at our new home.”

David smiled as he looked around. Everyone but Kyle, Carmella, Michael, and a sullen Mechal had entered the ship. He focused on Carmella. “You are greatly needed, but if you wish to stay and die with your husband and son, I understand. Or all four of you could come... but I’m rather certain that once I climb into the ship, the latch will close.”

Mike ran up the ramp without hesitation. When Carmella remained, David sighed heavily and walked up the ramp slowly. Half-way up, Carmella, Mechal, and Kyle complained about David’s slow gate and passed him, hurrying into the ship.

Once everyone was in and latched to the walls, Keelan powered up the engine. The first bit was rough, and Jesse stressed over the younger children. She could hear them crying in fear. Once they left Earth’s gravitational pull, they traveled quietly for four days. Naturally, the adults demanded to be unlatched so they could move around.

Keelan, the only one not attached to the walls, since he was piloting the ship, rejected their request. “First of all, there is very little gravity in here so you would be bouncing all over the place causing harm to others and danger to the ship. Secondly, while it doesn’t happen frequently, shock waves from an exploding black hole could knock you about sufficiently to kill you if you don’t remain in your cocoon. While the cocoon does cause leg cramps for some, no one has ever died from it. If you leave your cocoon before we arrive on our planet, you will almost certainly die, and could very well kill others as you slam about the room. So for the safety of all, you will remain in your cocoons. End of Discussion!”

“You expect us to hold our bladder for four days? Mechel yelled.

“No, I wouldn’t advise that. You were supposed to insert a tube into your penis and and a large tube in your rectum. If you failed to do so, it’s not a life endangering problem. Your urine and feces will simply remain in your cocoon with you. While not terribly pleasant, you won’t die from the experience.”

“You were all provided a pamphlet which I warned you to read carefully. If you failed to do so, the problem is yours. However, you will survive the four days. You’ll be no worse off than the babies and cubs.”

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About the Author

   Liza lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, skydive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet throughout her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels. She loves to create interesting characters, set them loose, and scribe what happens in a myriad of genres.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

LIZA O'CONNOR’S MANY BOOKS

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New World, book 3 of Alien's Among Us

NEW WORLD

Blurb

With much of Earth burning presently, soon Earth will fall into a very long ice age.

Fortunately, a group of women, men, half-saires, and one full-saire are hidden on a lovely island. The full-saire has a spaceship capable of leaving Earth and traveling to a more reliable planet that never grows too cold or hot.

However, when they arrive, the planet looks much like prehistoric Earth, with giant reptiles everywhere. Fortunately, Keelan and Tiburon are strong and mighty warriors. By noon, they have killed most of the deadly creatures that their life bubble protects. They also saved the life of a twelve-foot chicken-like creature who turns out to be sentient and a great help when locating dangers.

The two warriors were able to remove most of the T-Rexes as well. Only two had to be killed for refusing to leave their valley. Thus, they have survived day one.

But how long will their bullets and luck hold out?

EXCERPT

1 The Final Preparations to go to the New World

It took over a year to acquire all the instruments, weaponry, and other items they believed they would need to survive on the new planet. And for the entire year, none of the men would make love to Jesse nor any of the other ladies who had not been sterilized. Not even her beloved Keelan.

While Jesse understood the reason why she should not become pregnant during the year of preparation, the loss of affection made her testy to all the men, which resulted in all the men avoiding her like the plague.

The smartest person in their group, Carmella had gotten her tubes tied the prior year when she finally realized her future contributions would come from the sons she had already born and her fabulous brain. This allowed her to focus all her love on Kyle, the man who gave up his career to ensure she was safe from the government. Between her brilliance and that of her two sons, they could solve almost any problem that occurred. And there was an astounding number of problems on a daily basis.

Jesse would have been overwhelmed if the task to solve these complicated matters had been placed on her shoulders. Yet, Carmella seemed to sort out solutions faster than trouble could show up. She had to be the smartest woman on Earth.

Jesse’s job was less impressive. She only had her nanny job now. And the children and cubs were so sweet and well-behaved, that she mostly just hugged and kissed them. Even in their play, they were now cooperative and gentle to the younger children.

Still, she worried about those who did not have her blood. She feared they would think themselves second-rate children. Thus, every day she always made an effort to build their confidence.

Jess never saw Keelan anymore. He would call her often from his army cell phone and ask about her day and then tell her of his day, but he refused to see her in person. He confessed his need to make love to her would overwhelm him, so until they reached their new home, he needed to stay far away from her.

Jess sighed heavily. “I am not happy with you staying away, but I understand. If I actually saw you just now, I would jump your bones for sure. I’ve never needed love so intensely as I do now.”

“Well, once we land on the planet, assess, and solve our immediate dangers, I will do my best to cheer you up.”

“Why can’t you cheer me up first?” Jess objected.

Keelan sighed heavily. “Because half of our people would set off to check out our new planet and be eaten within hours. They have no concept of the present dangers on our new planet.”

“Why did you choose this planet if it is so dangerous?”

“Because I intend to get rid of the dangers.”

“Will you be safe doing that?” Jesse challenged.

“I refuse to lie to you, so the answer is no. I will not be safe, but it has to be done. Tiburon and I are the best warriors to see this done. The others would just get themselves killed. So, the rest of you will remain in the cloaked ship until we remove the worst threats.”

“I will keep myself and the children inside the ship. However, I expect Mechal will object to remaining in the ship, given he still believes he is our leader. Why has no one told him that Enigma has made you our new leader? He needs to be told.”

“I agree. Only Carmella thinks it is better if he doesn’t know, and Enigma agreed.”

“But keeping it a secret...Oh...they must think he’ll refuse to go if he is not the leader anymore.”

“I suspect that is their thinking. However, Mechal is by no means an idiot. When he discovers he is no longer the leader, he will strikeout. Mark my words. I will attempt to make him understand that he is not a warrior. Had he been born on Saire, he would have been a member of the high council.”

“Oh, he would have liked that. Will he have the job doing that on our new planet?”

“That depends upon Enigma. I have no idea how long he wishes to be thought a cub. His brain is fully formed now, but it will be another year or two before his body catches up.”

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About the Author

   Liza lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, skydive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet throughout her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels. She loves to create interesting characters, set them loose, and scribe what happens in a myriad of genres.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

LIZA O'CONNOR’S MANY BOOKS

Investigate these sites:

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Rana- Teenage Queen @Liza0Connor

Blurb

Rana is only sixteen when she becomes queen. Her first challenge is to quell an internal coup while a massive army storms the gates of her castle. Her enemies believe her to be a child, but she has powers they’ve never suspected. She also has great dreams for her people, and she will do whatever is necessary to make them happen, even marrying a prince she does not want.

Excerpt

Rana knew the moment she entered her mother’s room something wasn’t right. 

While the thick stonewalls of their castle always radiated coldness, today it felt like a tomb.

“Mother?” Frost swirled in the air from the breath of her word. She tensed upon seeing blackness where she expected a glowing fireplace. Her mother always had a fire in her room, even when she planned to be out for the day, even in the hottest month of summer. She loved the way fire danced and altered its colors. It reminded her of home.

She would have left the room upon seeing the dead fireplace, only a horrible sense of wrongness filled her body.

“Mother?” She waited until her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness and then made her way carefully in the direction of the window, not visible because the curtains had yet to be pulled open today.

She remembered the words her mother had told her when she became a woman. “Never run from trouble, Rana. You may be small, but you are not defenseless. There is great power within you. Power that you must hide from your father and the others, but power I will teach you to access.”

Always being chosen last in games, always being given the worst position, never thrown or kicked a ball, never invited to celebrations when her side won, Rana had thought her mother was just feeding her a line to make her feel better about being four foot two at the age of sixteen.

The average citizen of their kingdom was six foot five. Her father was seven foot, with shoulders almost as wide as she was tall. Of the adults, only her mother was shorter than she, being a mere four feet tall.

Yet her mother showed no self-consciousness about her height. She always behaved not as if she were perfectly normal, but as if she were special. And she was! Father declared her the most enchanting woman in the entire planet of Hope, a woman of mesmerizing beauty and extraordinary intelligence.

None of which, apparently, Rana had inherited. All she got was the dreaded shortness, or so she thought until she learned the truth about herself upon her sixteenth birthday six months ago. She still remembered the shock that filled her when her mother confessed that she wasn’t human, that Rana was only half-human, but to her eye, not even that.

Her mother’s words horrified her at first, but then she realized she wasn’t a sorry excuse of a human, but a different entity. That made her special!

Her mother’s race had been on this planet since the beginning of time, or so their legends claim…Rana had rolled her eyes when her mother first said it.

However, the more she learned about their ability to manipulate time, the more probable and also less meaningful that statement became. It turned out she could go back to the ‘beginning of time’ herself, so the fact that some of her people wish to hang out and watch life evolve into its earliest forms didn’t really surprise her. In fact, it sounded like a nice way to spend a week or two.

Only she was never allowed to manipulate time because ‘Father wouldn’t approve’.

So instead of being allowed to use all of her fabulous powers, Rana remained an undersized, physically inept young lady. At least now she was too old to play games—thank God for womanhood!

Finally reaching the cold stonewall, she felt for the thick velvet drapes that were currently closed to keep in the heat, if there had been a fire. Locating the sticks on each side—which allowed her mother to pull open and close the drapes—she opened the curtains, blinking as the white light ripped at her eyes.

She turned away from the light, staring across the room at the bed, now illuminated from the window.

Her mother lay above the blankets, her arms crossed over her chest, her porcelain skin, which normally glowed a vibrant white, today seemed gray and dull.

“Mother?” She ran to the bed and the source of wrongness she’d been feeling.

“Mother!”

Her beautiful mother was cold to the touch. Dead.

But why? Mother had told her their kind lived for hundreds of years. And she was only thirty-four. She couldn’t be dead.

“Mother, wake up!”

Yet, she was.

Rana uncrossed her arms and pressed her cheek to her chest. She should have been able to tell the cause of death by doing so. It always worked on humans. She had been able to read the cause of a person’s death even when she was a child, but today… nothing.

Pulling her mother up by her shoulders, Rana tried to make sense of this nightmare. Her mother’s head fell backward and lay at an impossible and disturbing angle. Rana felt the back of her mother’s neck where the head now bent.

The neck bone had been broken. The lack of blood or cut skin left her to conclude it must have been twisted until the neck bone snapped.

Who would do that?

Her mother was good and kind to all. Everyone always claimed to love her.

Someone didn’t. Someone must have found out she was a fairy and killed her for it. Her mother had warned her humans would object to having fairies living among them.

But why couldn’t Rana tell who did this? Why didn’t they leave their anger upon her?

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About the Author

Liza O’Connor lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, skydive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet throughout her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels.

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All the Many Books Liza has written

There is over sixty now.

The Enemy Within @Liza0Connor

THE ENEMY WITHIN

By Liza O’Connor

Book3

BLURB

MAC, the computer that controls the SkyRyder Corp discovers that soldiers within its ranks wish to stop its Breeding Project to make superior flyers. When a great many of these special talents are murdered over a two-week span, MAC quickly gathers the remaining assets, modifies their fingerprints and alters their looks, then sends them to the last place in the world that anyone would look for them.

Welcome to Fort Dismal, Alaska,

The absolute worst fort in the Americas.

EXCERPT

A month later, the doctors declared Eliza fit to leave. Eliza was so pleased she wanted to leap from the bed and run out the door, but she feared that would only change their mind.

They lectured Colonel Polanski on a thousand things she was not ready to do yet. She stopped listening after they ran through every possible sex act. Clearly, the doctors were not happy men and did not wish anyone else to be happy either.

When he handed her a fly suit with the zipper in the back, she looked up at him. “Will I be riding on your back.”

“Very good.” He smiled. “What else can you deduce from your suit?”

She studied the fabric intensely. It felt odd…almost metallic. She petted the fabric across his groin and pulled her hand away before he could remove it. “I don’t think I’ll be saying good-bye to anyone.” Angie and she would never get to say good-bye.

“I’m sorry, but you won’t. The doctors have cleared you to leave tomorrow morning, but we’ll be leaving now. How did you know?”

“The suits…I think they must be the ones that turn invisible.”

“Right again,” he said. “Anything else?”

“This face mask has oxygen feeds. So, we must be going somewhere far away, and we’ll be flying the high winds to get there in a single flight.”

He kissed her on her lips. “That is an impressive brain hiding behind that beautiful face.”

“Not so beautiful anymore,” she complained. The doctors had reconstructed her face, but it was a very different face than she previously had. She did not mind the dark skin, but she preferred her prior perky nose and round eyes to her current narrow eyes and wide flat nose.

He gently caressed her cheek with his massive hand. “You’ll never stop being beautiful to me.”

She laughed and petted his eyes closed. “Poor Colonel, you truly must be besotted then.”

He nipped her hand playfully. “I am completely besotted with you, but fortunately that played to my favor. It meant MAC chose me to protect you.”

“I expect it was all those badges that impressed MAC, not your capitulation under torture.”

He laughed. “Probably true.”

Eliza smiled. “I have a gift for you.”

His brows furrowed. “Is it small?”

She nodded.

“Then bring it with you. We have to leave now.”

Eliza sighed, disappointed she could not present it first, but she did as he commanded. However, her suit had no pockets in the front, so she had nowhere to put it. She handed it to him. “Will you hold it for me?”

He took the small package and studied it. “May I peek at it now?”

She shook her head, not wanting the opening of the present to be rushed.

Tucking it into his pocket, he handed her gloves and a facemask. He helped her put on her mask, taking great effort not to hurt her tender nose in the process.

With her hand securely in his, he disappeared right before her eyes. She reached out and touched him, laughing because her hand was as invisible as his arm.

“No more giggles,” he warned her. “You must remain completely quiet.” He then opened the door and led her out in the darkened halls. It was past midnight and there was no one around except for the security guard at the desk.

The colonel slowly nudged a pen off the edge of the desk and when the security guard leaned over to retrieve it, the colonel pushed a button on the panel. He then led her to the door and waited…and waited.

Eliza worried they’d stand here all night. Finally, the guard rose and locked down his board. He then walked down the hall on his nightly rounds.

Colonel Polanski triggered the door to open and the invisible colonel tugged her through the opening. Once outside, he caressed her body, and while his friskiness surprised her, she liked it. A moment later, he lifted her into his arms. Determining the location of his neck, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight as he jogged across the field with her in his arms. When he almost tripped, she whispered in his ear, “I could ride on your back or run on my own.”

He stopped and guided her to his back and then continued to run. She was glad she had suggested the change. He would have killed them both if his hands had not been free when he leapt across the ravine. Even so, she thought it the eeriest experience in her life, to fly across the ravine on the colonel’s invisible back.

She could hear his breath only faintly when they finally arrived at the edge of the woods. He lowered her to the ground. Suddenly a snap of a twig alerted her they weren’t alone.

“Sloppy approach,” he chided someone.

“Sorry,” muttered the reply.

Someone touched her shoulder. “Well, I’ve found the package, but where are you?” the voice complained.

She felt the colonel move away from her. Next, she heard the clanking of gear. She suspected by the shuffling noise, that the colonel was putting on his flight gear.

Someone touched her breast, then worked his way to her arm. Upon realizing the person was trying to assist her into her own gear, she helped as much as she could. Still, she found it very hard to attach her halter without being able to see it. Frustrated, she muttered soft curses. Soon someone with warm calloused hands took over the job.

Eliza liked the feel of invisible hands running over her chest, verifying all the straps lay flat and the belt properly buckled. It was only when the person helped her onto the colonel’s back and clipped her in, that she realized the hands had not belonged to the colonel. Finally, the invisible person located her right ear and placed an earpiece inside the canal. Then an oxygen mask covered her face.

Someone whispered in her ear, asking if she could breathe.

She started to nod but realized no one could see her. Amused at her own silliness, she replied verbally that she could breathe.

Finally, someone declared her good, and a second later, she rose into the sky.

D2D

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About the Author

Liza O’Connor lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, skydive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet throughout her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels.

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All the Many Books Liza has written

There is over sixty now.