Circus Wolf (7 page)

****

Hugh let loose with a gush of air in great relief
when the tigress turned and leapt up on the pedestal. It pawed the air a few
times. He cracked his whip and it returned to the cage. He closed the door with
a slam.
Thank you, God,
he prayed on
another tremendous exhale of relief. But it was no time to rest on his laurels.
He had to finish the act. He quickly covered the cage with the drapes, waved
his whip across the top, and again said, “Abracadabra”.

 
When he
removed the drape, sure enough, Tigra in her sexy strips of fur and curvy
beauty was crouched inside the cage and the tiger was gone. The trick had
worked! And he was still alive!

To a burst of applause, he assisted Tigra out of the cage
and, holding hands, they bowed. Her hand in his felt so right, but this
fantastic entertainer was a circus star and he was a roustabout, someone who
did the dirty work and filled in when needed. He tightened his jaw and tried to
tell himself his momentary elation at her touch was caused by relief to have
survived his first solo encounter with a tiger.

****

Vance Skull Kilman, garbed in his usual black,
tight-fitting leather aerialist attire, had watched every move of Tigra’s act
from above with his Scorpio intensity and concentration as he dramatically
removed his cape in a big swirl of red and black satin. But no one was watching
him. Not even his assistant, Gabriella
Devaux
, a
woman he’d had to constantly remind himself, that in order to survive, he had
to forget was female. All eyes were still on Tigra, as they should be. She was
great! He hadn’t even seen her perform the switch.

He hungered for the day he would finally bite into
that lovely neck, make her his, and whisk her away into his world of darkness.

Anger rose in him. He didn’t like the way Tigra held
onto the new guy’s hand or the way she looked at him. He’d gotten rid of Rolo.
If this guy didn’t keep his hands off his woman, he’d be next. No one had
better stand in the way of the ultimate seduction, because if he couldn’t have
her, he’d destroy everyone with ties to the circus, including family and paid
guests. But right now he had to keep his mind on performing. It was his cover
and his act was featured next. Later, he would check on his bounty and make
sure it was still secure. It would take lots of money for two vampires to live
elegantly into eternity. Secure his treasure first,
then
reap his revenge.

Chapter
Eight

Heading out of the Big Top on the run after the
show, Tigra couldn’t contain her smile. “You did great tonight, Hugh. You show
exceptional promise as a handler and an entertainer. I liked the powerful way
you related to the tiger. Where did you learn that?”

He laughed. “I felt a connection and went with it.”

She’d felt it too and it scared the hell out of her.
The prophecy for the year of
the tiger promised a friendship that would develop into something more personal
with exciting consequences. No! She dare not dream of such nonsense. Romantic
thoughts of him were impossible! She chose to put all of her energy into her
circus family.
When Tigra and Hugh reached her caravan steps, the
police were waiting. “What’s this all about?” she asked the officers.

“There was a break-in at the museum yesterday and
valuable property was stolen,” the bulldog-faced investigator said as he
shifted his solid weight.

“You’re probably wasting your time here,” Tigra
said. “During set-up none of us have time to leave the premises, let alone
visit a museum. What brought you here?”

“Since the newspaper already spilled the beans, I
don’t suppose it’ll hurt to tell you. Sawdust was discovered on the roof at the
point of entry near one of the AC units.”

It was probably a lie. She suspected the truth was,
as usual, that while the circus was in town the carnies would get blamed for
any wrong-doing.

 
If the cops
wanted to play games, she’d play too. They didn’t expect her to be smart. “It’s
been windy. Maybe the sawdust blew across town and landed up there. And then
the misting rain made it stick.” The grasping for straws reasoning sounded
ridiculous even to her ears.

“Not likely, Miss. And we have other evidence I’m
not at liberty to share at this point in the investigation. We’re checking
every inch of the circus premises. We’ve searched most of the caravans and
would like to check yours and your assistant’s now.”

 
She shrugged.
“My place gets messy while I’m getting ready to perform and I haven’t had time
to tidy up, so don’t expect things to be in order.”

She glanced at Hugh. He hadn’t yet been hired at the
time of the robbery and would’ve been free to go wherever he wanted, but she
wasn’t about to make trouble for her new hire.
Especially one
who showed such promise as a performer.
Besides, he didn’t strike her as
a thief.
But who was this man and why had
he joined the circus?
The more she knew about this roustabout the more
murky and difficult decisions about this handsome new hire seemed. She hoped
keeping quiet about him wasn’t going against her interests and the interests of
the circus.

 
She needed to
be cooperative; the sooner they found the thief, the sooner the spotlight would
be off the circus.
And her.
But she couldn’t throw an
innocent man to the dogs.

Her caravan was messy before the cops, but after
they finished ransacking the place it looked like a hurricane had torn through
it. Of course, they didn’t find anything. She tagged along as they headed for
Hugh’s unit.

The officer blocked her way as she headed up the
steps. “You two wait outside.” She sat down on the steps and Hugh joined her.
“They’re not going to find anything, right?” she whispered.

“Of course not.”

“So why do you look so tense?”

“Simple. I don’t like anyone, especially cops,
digging through my personal items. It isn’t unheard of for dirty cops to plant
stuff.”

“Your comment isn’t comforting.”
After all, she’d only know Hugh a few days.
What did she really know about him?
The officers took so long she feared
they might’ve found something incriminating. She was surprised at how
suspicious she was of Hugh. He’d told her he was trusting; she’d never been.
Life had taught her to trust no one.
Who
was this man?
The question repeated over and over in her mind.

****

Skull watched from his window as the police swarmed
the nearby caravans. He wished he’d thought to plant something incriminating in
Hugh’s trailer. The cops finished and were heading for his place.

They pounded on his door like storm troopers then
ordered him outside. He waited on the steps of his caravan while the police
messed up his spotless unit, confident he’d purged it of all evidence of his
vampire existence and the robbery. He’d get even with the pigs for invading his
space. Although he’d never forgive them, he was used to it. It happened in
every new town after his robberies. And he knew they’d be back. They always
showed up a minimum of twice. And when he found his victim and took his due,
they’d come around again. But they could come a hundred times and still they’d
find nothing—meticulousness was his trademark and why he’d never been caught.
That’s part of why he’d chosen the circus life; it gave him the perfect excuse
for moving on.

He saw Tigra and the new guy, Hugh, watching as the
police finally left the grounds. They were laughing, perhaps as relieved as he
felt. They were getting along too well. After he satisfied his nocturnal
cravings tonight, he’d sabotage the new roustabout’s work.
Again.
With Hugh's surprising talents, fouling him wouldn't be easy.

****

The following day, Tigra frowned when her cell phone
rang, interrupting the training session. She looked down at the screen. “I have
to take this. It’s the boss.”

She listened a moment. “It’s Rolo,” Coleman said.
“He’s gone.”

All heat drained from her face, and then her knees
gave and she crumpled to the ground.

Hugh bent and took the limply held cell phone from
her hands, and after shoving it into his pocket, he gathered her into his arms
and carried her inside his caravan. “It’s Rolo isn’t it?” His words were husky
and heavy with compassion.

She nodded, filled with gut-gripping grief. Hugh
gently laid her down on his day bed and poured her a large tin cup of water.

She gulped it down. “I’m going to find Rolo’s
killer,” she said, past the constriction still lodged in her throat. She hadn’t
meant to say that out loud. She had to handle this carefully and quietly. Her
burning desire to discover the truth about Rolo’s murder and his and Candy’s
personality-shifts could be dangerous, even deadly. Between the killings and
the thefts, a bright spotlight had been focused on the circus—and her.

Hugh tucked a small pillow behind her head and
kissed her forehead. Something beyond concern flickered in his eyes. “I’ll help
you. But rest now and then we’ll devise a plan to catch the one responsible for
his death.”

Hugh’s deep voice vibrated through her, touching her
with his sincerity. No, no, getting him involved would be impossible. Now with
the news putting a spotlight on the trail of murders across the country and
their suspicions that it might have been done by a shifter, like a vampire or
werewolf, she had to guard her dual nature even more closely. No one knew she
was a shifter except Madam Mystic. Madam Mystic was as closed mouthed as they
came and a good friend. Although it was more important than ever to guard her
secret, she couldn’t let the deaths of Rolo and Candy
go
unpunished. She wanted the guilty bastard to burn in hell.

****

Hugh opened and closed his fist. He should stay out of
this; he was well aware the greatest danger he faced in life was his curiosity
and unwavering protective nature. Damon had told him many times his gentle soul
was his Achilles heel. He raked back his hair, feeling the conflict within
himself and his inner werewolf. Because of his lycanthrope curse, he needed to
keep a low profile. But dammit, even angry, she looked irresistible.
Her feral beauty reached out
to touch him like leaping flames. The way her eyes lit up every time they got
together lifted his spirits. She was steady, yet full of surprises; each time
he saw her, he noticed more depth and abundance of character. And it touched
his heart how generously she encouraged and validated him.

This
wasn’t the time to think of himself. His decision should be based on her needs.
He wondered about the slight scar in her eyebrow, but now wasn’t the time to
ask.
He studied her eyes, felt her pain, saw her resolve, and
admired her grit. She was tough. Nothing like her soft curves suggested. And
she was smart, strong, brave, and tenacious. If she were a wolf, she’d be an
Alpha. In addition, this intriguing woman was totally frustrating. Damn. He
spent far too much time thinking about her naked. And now her vulnerability was
twisting his guts. He was being sucked in. What was he thinking? He couldn’t
let himself be drawn in this time. Didn’t he have enough to contend with
learning a new job, fitting in with strange people and challenging
surroundings? Besides, she hadn’t asked for his help and probably didn’t want
it. In spite of the ferocity in her determined expression, he felt driven to at
least keep an eye on her.

Her cell phone rang. Hugh answered it. He listened
then paused. “It’s the boss, wondering why you cut him off.” Then he continued
his conversation.
“Yes, Sir.
The news shook her up a
bit. But don’t worry I’ll stay with her until she feels better.”

He snapped the cell phone closed and stared down at
her trembling lips, feeling an urge to quiet them with his own. “Does Rolo have
family?
Someone to handle arrangements?”

A lone tear trickled down her cheek. “Circus and
Carney folks are usually the only family unit most of us know. And we take care
of our own.”

The pain and loneliness in her tone twisted his
heart. “Now that I’m one of the
family
, you can count
on me. Just let me know what needs to be done.”

She met his gaze and without thinking he bent and
kissed away her lone tear. She stiffened. “I’m sorry, Tigra. I didn’t mean to
make you uncomfortable.” Now he felt like a letch again. “I’ll be going now.
But if you need me—”

“Hugh, stop! This is your caravan.”

He glanced around at the mess left by the police,
drawers open, clothes tossed about. Yes, it was his place all right.
Real smooth, Hugh.
He cleared his throat. “I just meant,
I’d get out of your hair and let you rest here a while.”

“I’m okay now. I’ll head back to my own quarters.
But thanks for being there for me, Hugh.”

“At least let me walk you back to your caravan.” He
offered his hand, but she ignored it and got up under her own power. He
followed her down the steps, ready to grab her if she stumbled. They walked
side by side, not touching, but he felt the electricity surging between them.
At her door, he had the greatest urge to kiss her again. “Want me to come
inside until you get settled? I could get you water and massage your back.”