Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend by Stacey Brutger Page B

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