Eve stopped dead and stared at her. “What do you mean?”
“What about Veronica?”
Eve waved her hands, dismissing the other woman. “She has no pack affiliations, no one to care what would happen to her.”
Raven racked her brain for a solution because Eve was right, if the truth was discovered, they were all dead. “You’re missing the obvious answer.”
At Eve’s blank stare, Raven shrugged. “Don’t tell the others.”
Eve shook her head even before Raven finished speaking. “They’re shifters. They’ll find out sooner rather than later. You can’t keep that type of thing a secret. Then there will be hell to pay. I’d be lucky if they only kill me and not my son.”
Eve worked herself up in a state, convincing herself that turning Raven in was the only solution. And she was partially right. Raven doubted they would kill her outright. If the truth was discovered, the cost would be too high. Clancy would most likely auction her off to the highest bidder for an astronomical sum. Raven wasn’t worried about herself, but without her there to be used as leverage, her men would become more trouble than their worth.
They would become a liability and immediately marked for death.
Heart slamming against her ribs, Raven ruthlessly pushed down her qualms and dangled the thing Eve wanted most out in front of her. “What if I told you I could help you and your son escape?"
Shock snapped Eve’s mouth shut so hard her teeth clinked. Hope burned bright in her eyes before they dimmed under the brutal truth. “They would hunt us down, not only out of spite, but also teach a lesson to others. No one escapes. Ever. I can’t risk it.” She turned toward the door.
“Not even for your son and the chance of freedom?”
Eve’s pacing slowed, the temptation too great to dismiss without listening.
“Give me a week. I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on staying longer than necessary.”
The gypsy twisted to stare, her dark brown eyes hardening to pure black. A brush of cobwebs swept over her skin as Eve worked her magic. “You really believe that.” Her brows wrinkled. “Why wait? Let’s leave now.”
Eve rushed forward, but halted before touching her. “Tell me how.”
It was a demand.
“It’s too soon. I won’t leave my men behind. They’re too well guarded yet. They’d located us too quickly if we tried to just leave. Give me time to work on a plan. I won’t leave any innocence behind to suffer.”
Eve blanched and backed away. “No one here is innocent. You can’t trust anyone. As soon as they learn what you are, they’ll turn you over the first chance they get.”
She never spoke truer words.
If the wrong person discovered that Raven was a female shifter, she’d become their hottest commodity. She couldn’t go through that again. Her skin itched at the thought of being imprisoned, forced to perform.
“Then we don’t tell anyone.” Raven turned away and eyed the row of food trays. “That means we have to act normal. Show me what needs to be done next.”
With a jerky nod, Eve gathered one of the pans with trembling hands and shoved the tray in the food slot. “Then we wait for the animal to enter. While they feed, we need to shovel out the pen and spray everything down, including the animal if you can get them.”
Gathering a shovel, she headed outside, so distracted she veered a little too close to one of the cages. The beast slammed into the bars. Eve leapt back, barely missing the swipe of massive paws from a mangy lion. The molting beast gave a roar of outrage, staring at them like prey.
Matted fur hung on him, his frame all skin and bones, while his wild mane was snarled and ratted almost beyond recognition.
Nothing human remained.
Then the rules she’d learned the day before came back to her. If they weren’t in the show, they were not earning their keep.
He’d been left there to die.
A blatant reminder of her precarious position.
The lion’s habitat was stark, no greenery, no cooling shade larger than a foot, nothing but a tub of water to keep him from overheating.
As he prowled past, Raven couldn’t resist the impulse to reach through the bars and touch the wire-like fur. A smidge of current released on contact.
The lion whipped around to face her, his snarl fading to a low grumble when their eyes locked. The beast retreated, his eyes brightening as his intelligence gradually returned. The animal might not be happy, but he was no longer so vicious.
“How’d you do that?” Eve whispered, both excited and fearful.
“I have an affinity for animals.” It was the truth in a sense, but it must have looked like magic to Eve. “He’s been in beast form too long. He’s lost his human self. I just reminded him.” And he wasn’t happy about the return. He didn’t want to fight any longer.
“He lost his partner. When he changed, they could no longer control him, and they stuck him in this cage. He’s never turned back.” Eve gave her a pointed look, silently urging her to be careful. “If one hostage dies, so do the others … either by choice or by Clancy’s hand when their usefulness ends.”
Without a connection to the pack, someone to ground him, he would gradually turn feral. Raven could understand. If anything happened to her pack, she wasn’t sure she would be strong enough to pull herself back from the edge.
Eve bent and removed a panel from under the cage, then pulled out a hose. “When they won’t go into the kennel to eat, we can’t unlock the cage, so we just spray everything down.”
Raven frowned and studied the prison. “Where do the shifters go while we clean then?”
Eve looked grim, her lips flattening. “If they don’t retreat into their box, we hose them down as well.”
The hose was not the garden variety, but more of a power washer. The spray had to be painful, nearly skin-peeling force. They thought beasts were brutal and could take anything, but that just wasn’t true. Their spirits could be broken, the same as any human. Raven couldn’t be a party to it and held up her hand. “I understand. You can go.”
The gypsy wanted to protest but bit back her retort. She looked at the cage, dropped the hose and silently handed over the keys. “Just remember that you need to be finished before dusk when we open the gates.”
Another reminder that if they stepped out of line, they would be punished.
Raven gave a grim nod. When Eve turned away, Raven called after her. “Why did you choose us?”
She needed to know what gave them away so she could protect her pack in the future.
Shadows danced over Eve’s face. “Only a person in love would freely travel with a shifter. Most humans prefer to kill them. You two acted so in love, they singled you out for testing. We need a connection—”
“—a way to hold something over us.”
“I saw his devotion to you. It was enough.” Eve didn’t say anything more and walked away.
Raven fingered the keys, eyed the cage but didn’t enter. Not yet. Allowing herself to be pulled away, she moved to the next cage. All the other animals immediately ate when she shoved the food in the box. She sprayed down the cages while they were occupied.
The animals were docile.
Too docile.
The drugs had been in their system for so long that they no longer knew how to be a creature of the wild. She had feared the animals might sense her true nature and give her away. Most just avoided her, their senses so deadened they didn’t even recognize her. A few watched her suspiciously but didn’t bother to stop gulping down their food.
As she passed one of the many empty cages, it felt like she dropped into a freezing lake, the spooky vibe sinking into her soul. She practically tripped over her own feet to get away, glancing over her shoulder to see if anything followed.
Her skin was dotted with frost, chilled almost to the bone. Something waited in that cage, seeking vengeance.
It peered inside her, searching for something … or someone specific.
She walked away, but only because it had released her.
Exhaustion crashed into her when she reached the last cage. Her movements became labored, weak as the human she was trying to portray, and it wasn’t really a lie. Staying up all night, worry mixed with the drugs, had taken its toll.
Three men were wrestling with a large animal, each carrying a Taser shaped like a wand, zapping the poor beast to get him to obey.
A roar shook the air, and Raven froze in recognition.
“Durant?”
She scrambled forward, much too far away to be of any help.
As she watched through the bars, six men tried to force Durant to enter an empty cage.
“Settle down or we’ll shock your little girl instead.” They didn’t care if she heard or not. She was an animal lover, which to them meant she was less than human.
Durant didn’t even hesitate, instantly turning meek, and entered the cage without further protest. As the door slammed shut with a clank, Raven bit her tongue against the scream of rage burning her throat and tasted blood.
The men laughed, edging a little too close to when they passed. Durant snarled, lunging at the bars, looking ready to rip through them. The man nearest her lifted the Taser next to her face and pressed the button.
A blue spark arced in the air between the prongs.
It took everything in her to halt the need to suck down all that lovely energy. Durant immediately quieted, and the man raised a brow. “You’re smarter than the rest. Obey and you all might enjoy coming to live here.”
As they left, Raven scrambled toward the cage. In tiger form, Durant butted his large head against her hand, seeking affection and reassuring himself that she remained unharmed. Instead of being humiliated at being confined, his animal form dominated the cage.
She ran her hands over him as she searched for injuries, and pleasure rumbled in his chest. He seemed more alert, almost healed, and her legs sagged in relief. “We’re going to get out of here, but we need to act carefully.”
Energy pulled toward him as he prepared to shift. Raven quickly grabbed it in her fists and squashed it, the sting burning her hands. “You’re safer here for the moment. Watch. Listen. Be prepared to move when I give the signal.”
Intelligence glowed in his eyes. She wanted to talk to him, but couldn’t risk the other shifters noticing the exchange. Raven twisted the key to his door off the ring, then tucked it into the corner of the cage, wedging it under the wood to keep it hidden. It felt good to be doing something. At one time, she had thought she wanted to be normal.
Being normal sucked.
She glanced up to see Durant study her intently, then gave her a nod of understanding.
He would wait and bide his time.
Taggert was right to avoid bringing her to see the pens. If she’d seen the abuse last night, there was no way she would’ve left without freeing them. The way they treated the animals showed who the real monsters were.
Now it looked like her people were caught in the same trap.
The circus had been replacing the people they’d lost for a long time without being caught, more than just a few months.
They made a fatal flaw this time by grabbing the wrong people. The way they treated their pack members was inexcusable, and she would find a way to make those responsible pay.
In the meantime, she needed to figure out what was so important that her dragon surrendered without a fight in order to remain at the circus.
Chapter Ten
With one cage left to clean and two hours until the circus opened for business, Raven reluctantly pulled away from Durant and headed toward the lion. Her clothes were soaked, her skin soggy after hours of cleaning. She lingered outside the cage to find the wily old beast watching her suspiciously. He had a metal collar around his throat and a chain connecting him to the cage floor to limit his movements.
None of the others had the extra precaution.
Wildness clung to him, his human side nearly obliterated.
He didn’t have much time before he succumbed to his beast completely.
“The chains indicate he’s available for auction.”
“Taggert.” Raven twitched as if she’d been shot. Her head snapped up, and she twisted until she located him.
He stood to the other side of the cage, shadows clinging to him, almost as if he were hiding from her. She tucked back a few strands of hair that had escaped her clip behind her ear, feeling grungy and disheveled. It was all she could do not to go over there and throw her arms around him. His rigid posture didn’t invite company, still pissed as hell that she’d allowed herself to be captured. If she stepped any closer, she doubted she’d be able to prevent him from picking her up and running off with her, uncaring that it would put others in danger.
“Shifters are too violent, and humans don’t like being knocked off the top of the food chain. When a shifter turns completely into his beast and loses his human side, he’s marked with the collar. Humans will pay big bucks to hunt one of these vicious beasts.”
To hunt one of their own was barbaric.
A chill snaked down her spine, and a horrible new and more likely scenario wormed its way into her mind.
Had people actually gone missing by someone stalking the circus or was that some story Clancy concocted to justify the missing people?
She wanted to believe they’d escaped, but once bound to a pack, shifters could be tracked. Clancy wasn’t the type of man who would just let them go. He would’ve hunted them down and dragged them back.
But Taggert’s accusation just didn’t make any kind of sense.
No alpha would destroy his own pack by killing them off one-by-one.
It would leave the pack weak, and a dominant man like him would never stand for that.
Taggert’s eyes devoured her when his gaze dropped to her wet shirt. Then his attention lifted to her face, particularly the nasty bruise near her temple. Repressed violence hovered around him, ready to snap at the smallest provocation, and worry prickled along her spine. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
A snarl curled his lips, flashing a hint of fang, and his fingers curled into fists. “They dragged you away, refused to let us see you, and you ask what’s wrong?”
His voice rose with each word, rage vibrating in the air. The animals in the cages shifted in agitation. Being near him riled them up, their animal instincts kicking in at all that raw emotion.
Raven softened her voice so as not to set him off. “It’s dangerous for you to sneak around.”
His chin lifted mutinously at the mild rebuke. “I can protect myself. I’m not the one injured.”
“I’m fine. No harm done.” She didn’t like the way he hid from her, and her chest hollowed out at the vast chasm opening between them. “Where are you staying?”
He stepped into the light and grabbed the metal cage. “In a tent with other shifters. They have me working to fix the rides.”
His eyes were the pure green of his wolf as he teetered on the edge of his control. Worry clamped down hard on her gut. “Taggert—”
“This is my fault. If I hadn’t insisted we come here, none of this would’ve happened.” Destructive self-hatred consumed him. And if he didn’t tread carefully, he would do something foolish.
“You did nothing wrong. They set a trap on the road for us. We would’ve ended up here either way.” Her heart tumbled at his turmoil, his guilt eating him alive. Static snapped under her skin, desperate to reach out and ease his agitated wolf. “I think we were brought here to save them.”
His face contorted in rage. “Save them?”
His fury bled past her shields, the strength stealing her breath. If he didn’t tone down his anger, it would get him killed. “Do you trust me?”
“Always.” He didn’t even hesitate.
“This pack is infected. Unless we stop them, they will continue to spread evil wherever they go.”
“It’s not our place to interfere in other pack busin
ess. We’ll leave and tell the council.”
Raven felt herself waver. Maybe he was right. Leave before her pack could come to any further harm. When she opened her mouth, the dragon thunked its claws into her in protest.
The creature didn’t want them to leave yet.
Her shoulders deflated in defeat, and Raven shook her head.
She would trust the beast.
For now.
So going against her instincts, they would stay. And unfortunately for Taggert, she’d learned more about the paranormal world than he’d have liked. “The pack crossed the line and attacked us first. We have a right to defend ourselves. As soon as we escape, we lose that right. We’re no longer the victim. The council will not be able to interfere, especially since the circus operates with extra privileges outside their laws.”
With every word, his eyes darkened and she knew she’d guessed right.
Raven didn’t feel betrayed by his ruse—he’d do anything to keep her safe.
So they were at a stalemate.
The longer she stood unmoving, the more attention she drew to herself. They needed to keep under the radar for the moment. Not wanting to get caught talking with Taggert, she reluctantly backed away. The distance actually hurt, and her breath caught as she issued her order. “You need to leave.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he didn’t protest. Nor did he leave. She gave him the only promise she could. “I’ll do my best to stay out of trouble.”
“You always try.” A brief smile quirked his lips before fading. “It just never works.”
His gaze swept over her, leaving heat in its wake. She took a step toward him, gripping the bars of the cage to prevent herself from closing the distance between them. As if pleased by her reaction, he backed into the shadows. Even with her keen eyesight, he managed to disappear into the darkness.
Only when his woodsy scent faded did she know he was truly gone. Ice thickened in her veins, and she feared that he’d do something stupid to try and protect her.
The big cat no longer pretended to ignore her but watched her every move with curiosity. The light brown colored eyes had dulled, his spirit having dimmed over time. When she lifted the keys to the lock, his attention dropped and became glued to the small gesture.
Electric series- Raven Investigations BoxSet Page 9