Circus Wolf Read Online Free PDF Page A

She hungrily yet warily took
in the sights and sounds, enjoying the magic. Wisps of fog drifted between the
trees like restless ghosts, while an icy wind moaned a lonesome sorrow. This
was a night to sit before a flaming fire, but the isolation of the night made
it the idyllic and safest time to roam the rural landscape. Still, she didn’t
feel totally safe. She’d had the prickly feeling she wasn’t alone in the wilds.
Behind her dried branches snapped and leaves crackled. God, don’t let it be
Skully. He could be a pain in the ass. Heeding the warning, she turned back
toward the circus grounds, running full speed.
    Relief shot through her when she caught sight of the
stilled, lightless Ferris wheel piercing the dark, cloudy sky. She keyed into
the safety of grounds, yet the eerie feeling clung to her like tree sap. The
arcade tents and the Big Top’s dim security lighting emphasized the deep
shadows. Most of the caravans were pitch-black. Then she spied the lighted
banner and an arrow of sorrow shot through her. Management still had the banner
of her and Candy up. Her heart grew heavy, thinking about Rolo and Candy. The
tiger attack on Rolo last week in Los Angeles was a human’s fault, yet the
authorities put Candy down. It was so unfair. Someone had drugged her. Tigra
shook her head; tigers were gentle and harmless except in those mysterious
cases when unknown circumstances transformed them into man killers. But this
wasn’t the case here. Someone out to get Rolo was behind this. The drugs the
investigators discovered in Candy’s and Rolo’s stomachs, and bloody meat
drippings on Rolo’s clothing proved that. She felt pressure building behind her
eyes, then a lone tear slid down her cheek. She
brushed it away. Quiet anger curled in her gut. The only other thing the cops
needed was the name of the evil culprit who instigated the attack. But with no
clear evidence pointing directly to a perpetrator, when their circus moved on
to this location, the L.A. authorities moved on to another case. Now poor Rolo
clung to life by a frayed thread.
    Thinking back at the accidents over the past couple
of years, it seemed something bad happened to every man who had shown her extra
attention. She and Rolo had become fond of each other through working closely
together, but she was his boss and she hadn’t allowed the relationship to bloom
into a romance. And it wasn’t just Rolo she guarded her heart against. Her loner flaw always battled with her mothering spirit.
Locked into her dual nature, she knew the dangers of having a relationship with
a man that included family and children. She fought any relationship that edged
too close and threatened her heart. Years ago, she’d accepted that being born
with a dual nature wasn’t within the realm of rehabilitation. And because Rolo
didn’t set her pulse to racing, she’d felt the friendship with him was safe.
Unfortunately, he’d proven to want more than her brotherly affection for him. Now he was close to
death and she felt responsible for letting him go into the cage when his
emotion raced out of balance. If he died, she wouldn’t stop until she proved
who set off the chain of events that took his and Candy’s lives.
      Because of
the series of other so called “incidents” the perpetrator had to be someone
connected to the circus.
    She felt guilty for not putting up a stronger fight
when the authorities appeared to lose interest in the case. If it weren’t for
her absolute need to keep a low profile due to her closely guarded secret, she
would have raised a huge ruckus.
    It was getting more and more risky for her to be
associated with the circus. Rumors of thefts had also followed them. In L.A. it
was a priceless painting. In San Diego it was a sterling silver vase worth
several thousand dollars. Now, did the circus and its maze of tents and
caravans hide the priceless golden arrowhead—and the identity of the thief?
Each time a theft was uncovered the police came and