Free Freakshow by Jaden Wilkes Page B

pinned in the tiger’s mouth.
    “Shit, Lucille, please...let me go,” I said in a hushed voice. I was utterly mortified that my stupid idea to take a stupid selfie had landed me in this spot. I tried again to wiggle my fingers and managed a little movement. My arm didn’t feel broken, I’d had enough broken bones over the years to recognize the familiar grinding of bone on bone.
    The skin was definitely broken, blood poured through Lucille’s jaws and dripped onto my jeans as I tried desperately to negotiate with the tiger.
    “Please, kitty kitty. Good girl, let’s get your mouth open,” I said and tried to pry Lucille’s jaws wider with my other hand. It just served to make the cat chomp harder, probably doing more damage.
    “Shit. Fuck, what am I going to do?” I whispered to nobody in particular. I hated the thought of Alexi finding me like this, unable to trust me with even the simplest of tasks.
    “What is going on in here?” he demanded from behind me.
    Speak of the devil, dammit. How the hell was I going to explain my way out of this one?
    “She’s just playing around,” I said and moved to the side to allow Alexi full view of my arm in the tiger’s mouth. “It looks worse than it is.”
    “Lucille!” Alexi barked and produced a short bullwhip. “Release,” he demanded and snapped the leather tip at the tiger. She let out a low growl and stubbornly gripped my arm tightly.
    “Come on,” I said and tried again to pry her teeth apart with my good hand.
    “Lucille, release,” Alexi repeated and snapped the whip again. I could feel the air move beside my face, the whip was so close.
    The tiger finally let go and I drew my arm back carefully.
    My skin was a mess of blood and puncture wounds. There would be no easy way to hide this injury.
    “Oh dear god,” Alexi said, “that looks bad. Really bad.” He produced a walkie talkie from his hip pocket and hit a button.
    “It’s seriously not that bad,” I said and held up my hand. I wiggled my fingers and said, “See? It doesn’t even hurt.”
    “I’ve got a bite, and she’s clearly in shock,” Alexi said into the radio. “Bring a medic, ASAP.”
    “I should go,” I said and started to back away, “I can clean it up in my trailer. I’ll even bandage it myself. We don’t have to tell anyone.”
    I was terrified this meant I would be fired. After giving everything away and not telling a soul I was leaving, I might end up bounced out of Cirque before they left town. I really would be homeless. I had no money to my name. Not enough for a damage deposit and rent at least. My heart started to race and I felt panicky.
    “You’re not going anywhere,” Alexi insisted, “this is much more serious than you think. You’re in shock, so you can’t feel anything yet. But when that wears off, this is going to hurt like a son of a bitch.”
    “I know myself well enough to know that this isn’t too bad,” I protested and started to back away from Alexi even faster. Alexi was too busy trying to get Lucille back into her cage to come after me. “I heal fast too, and with a travel day, I’ll have plenty of time to get ready for work. I’m just going to leave.”
    “The hell you will,” Orion commanded from behind me, “show me your arm.”
    I froze on the spot, unable to follow his simple command. This was the worst case scenario, he was my boss and would ultimately decide my fate. He already didn’t seem to like me, this sealed it for me. I was going to get fired.
    I turned and held out my arm, unable to think of any way to get out of this. Orion set down a first aid case and took my hand in his. His hands were softer than Cairo’s, but warm and dry like his son’s. I couldn’t help but react, it felt good. Not as good as Cai, but strangely seductive in the same way. As though the vibrations she picked up from Cairo were diluted with his father.
    “Does this hurt?” Orion asked as he moved my hand from side to side. I couldn’t feel