Freakshow (21 page)

I threw my head back and opened myself to him, hoping in my heart of hearts that this would be one time among many times to come.

That I would feed my growing addiction to Cairo and his cock, that he would give freely to me as I wanted.

For I knew as surely as blood flowed through my veins, my growing need for him flowed through my heart.

As he entered me for a second time and I gripped my thighs tight around his body, I wondered if I was too far gone to ever come back from this dangerous precipice I was on. When he thrust upwards and grunted my name, I simply didn’t care.

I came, and came, and erased all my fears as I took yet another shot of the only word I knew for pleasure.

Cairo.

*****

T
he morning light woke me and I opened my eyes slowly. I was on my side, Cairo had his arms wrapped around me from behind. I was being spooned, and I loved it. Normally this kind of sustained physical contact started to bother me, made me itch and feel jumpy.

Right now I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. I snuggled back against him and felt his cock stir, harden against my backside and my smile grew wider. I could feel the barbells digging into my flesh and thought about the exquisite pleasure they’d given me last night. Who knew that all it took was a few inches of cock, a few pieces of metal, and a few hard muscles to get me off? It wasn’t exactly an easy order to fill, and I suspected the fact that all of this was attached to Cai had something to do with it, but it made me laugh to myself nonetheless.

“Are you awake?” I asked and rolled over to face him, morning breath be damned.

His eyes were closed, but he replied, “Hell yes.” His voice was thick with sleep. I kissed him and ran my hands down along his back, felt his muscles stiffen as he stretched and pushed his hardness against me. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world” he added and reached down to find my pussy.

What a way to wake up, I thought as he brought me to yet another orgasm using his mouth, fingers and cock. I could get used to this.

Reluctantly I was forced to start my day. Orion was relentless with rehearsal, insisting we still practice every day in spite of the show’s success last night.

I checked my shoulder and the wound was already scabbing over, it would heal nicely. I was to perform again tonight, but not again until Wednesday. I made so much more money, and had to work so few hours it all felt like a strange dream.

He dragged me back as I sat on the side of the bed, fully dressed. He was still naked and glorious in the lazy light of the morning. His muscles rippled under his tattooed skin as he grabbed me in a bear hug and wouldn’t let me go.

I shrieked and giggled, loving the freedom I felt around him. “I have to go shower,” I squealed when he nuzzled my neck and growled ferociously. “Let me go!”

“I never will,” he declared and tickled under my arm. I managed to wiggle free and was breathless from his attention.

I turned to tell him I’d see him soon when a bloodcurdling scream cut me short. “What was that?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he replied, “probably nothing. Come back to bed.”

The scream was repeated and was followed by the sound of voices crying out and calling to one another. It didn’t sound far away.

“I’m going to go check it out,” I said and stood up, grabbed my phone and headed towards the front of the RV.

“Hang on,” he said, “I’m coming with you.” He dragged on a pair of loose grey track pants and a white tee shirt.

We opened the front door and noticed a small crowd gathered at a junction of storage trailers just opposite Cai’s RV.

“What’s going on?” I asked as we approached. The group parted and I saw Rose huddled on the ground, her body wracked with sobs. “Rose?” I asked.

Rose turned around and stood slowly. “You don’t want to see this,” she said, “Just go back. The cops will be here soon.”

“What happened?” Cai asked and stepped past me. He let out a low groan and put his hand out to keep me back. “Stay there,” he said.

“I need to see,” I protested, a growing suspicion in the back of my head raising the alarms. I felt a sudden compulsion to know what was happening.

I pushed past Cairo and Rose and came to a sudden stop in front of what appeared to be a mannequin. I was about to turn around and tell them off for making such a big deal over a plastic doll when something caught my eye.

The mannequin was twisted in an unnatural pose, propped up against one of the trailers with her hand up to the side of her head.

I said, “No,” and dropped to my knees beside the body.

It was no doll, it was Cara. My friend had been returned.

“Cara,” I whispered and felt Rose kneel beside me.

“I’m sorry,” Rose said, “I didn’t want you to see her like this.”

Cara’s body had been displayed as though she were casually sitting up against the trailer, chatting on the phone. She was naked, and her skin was sallow and slack but covered with prisms of bruises. They ranged from dark black to yellow, so she’d had time to heal from some of them.

Her face was a mass of blood, she was barely recognizable, but distinctly Cara.

Her throat was torn out and her head nearly severed. Her body was striped with what appeared to be welts, and criss crossed with distinctive slashes and deeper puncture wounds. They almost looked like the marks Lucille had left on my body.

My beautiful, young, lively friend was dead.

“Liv,” Rose said and leaned towards me, “look at the phone. That’s not her phone.”

I took a look and felt a jolt surge through my body. I looked up at Cairo who hadn’t noticed it yet. I felt a combination of rage and fear race through me and felt the sudden urge to race back to my trailer, pack all my belongings and flee back to Canada.

Jason might have been an asshole, but I’d never felt this afraid around him.

The phone pushed into Cara’s right hand was what Cairo had once called vintage.

My dead friend was holding my boyfriend’s phone.

The phone Cairo claimed he’d lost.

How had it turned up in the hand of a dead girl?

“L
iv,” Cairo yelled as I broke away, running for my trailer. My emotions were all over the place and I couldn’t get the image of my dead friend’s broken body clutching Cai’s phone out of my head.

All along I’d suspected he knew more about Cara’s disappearance than he’d let on. How could I have been so stupid?

I got to the trailer and fumbled for my keys. My hands were shaking when I tried to open the door, but the key didn’t seem to work.

“Liv!” Rose said right behind me. I jumped and dropped the keys and started to cry. “Oh my God,” Rose continued, “I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”

“That was his phone,” I said and handed the keys to Rose. Rose opened the door and we went inside. I had to busy myself, so I wiped my tears and plugged the kettle in for tea. “That was Cairo’s phone. You saw that, right? In her hand. She was so broken, so small...” My voice trailed off and I started to cry again. Just slow, hot tears leaking down my face, but I couldn’t help myself.

“I know,” Rose said in a quiet voice, “but we have to go back there. We can’t hide out in here drinking tea like nothing happened. We’ll have to talk to the cops, ID the body, that kind of thing.”

“Should I tell them it’s his phone? Should I tell them I fucked him last night? Rose, what do I do?”

“Security called 911, the police will be here any minute. We have to go back there Liv, get your head together.”

“But it was his phone, and she was torn apart. Did he do it?”

“That’s a question you’ll have to answer, but we need to go.”

Rose was right, as much as I wanted to react with my usual pattern of behaviour, stick my head in the sand, retreat into a cozy cave of denial, I had to face this head on. There were legal implications, as well as the danger it posed to my heart and my emotional well-being.

“Right,” I replied, “okay, we can do this. I got this.”

*****

T
here were several police present when we got back to Cara’s body. Cairo was standing with a small group of them, three officers who appeared to be asking him questions. He stood a good head taller than all of them and the quick motion of his hands as he answered them betrayed his anxiety.

I hoped he was upset over Cara’s death, not over getting caught for it. I stood with Rose and watched them put a white sheet over Cara’s body. Crime scene technicians were holding her hands up wiping them with cotton swabs, taking samples.

Surely if Cai had been involved, they would find out through DNA on Cara’s body. I told myself that there could be no way somebody would get away with a murder like this, especially in such a small community with today’s advances in science.

They would be caught, and I prayed it wouldn’t be Cairo.

“This all feels like a nightmare,” Rose whispered to me.

“What should we do?” I asked, “I don’t know who to talk to.”

I looked over at Cairo again, he appeared less agitated and glanced in my direction. When he caught my eye, he tried to give me a small smile, but it turned out more of a lopsided grimace.

“I told you he was dangerous,” Orion said over my shoulder.

“Cairo? Your own son? He didn’t do this,” I said, surprised at how vehemently I defended him when it was somebody else doing the accusation.

“Can you be so sure?” Orion asked, his voice stretched into a sly implication.

“I am sure, you sick fucking bastard,” I whispered back, not wanting to attract attention to us.

“Then good, you need to come with me,” he said and took my hand. Rose looked at us and was about to ask something when he cut her off. “Just Liv,” he said, “you’re fine to talk with them.”

I allowed myself to be dragged away from the scene. I glanced back at Cairo and he smiled again, this time a genuine gesture. The police had his hands out and were examining them, a crime scene technician was wiping them down.

“Where are we going?” I asked, suddenly aware that nobody really knew where I’d gone, other than Rose. What if Orion had been responsible for Cara’s death?

“You don’t have papers,” he said. “You have to stay with a few others who are also here illegally.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “I thought you had my passport.”

“We haven’t had time to arrange proper work visas, and we’re moving across the US after this and heading up into Quebec, so you won’t need anything for a month or two. We’ll make sure it’s done right the next time we hit the States.”

“Why did you ask me about Cairo?” I demanded as we walked.

“I wanted to be certain you were still in the family,” he replied, stopped and turned to face me. “The Cirque is a family,” he said, “it is important that you know where your loyalty is. Those who want to stay with us know how to keep their mouths shut when outsiders are brought in. Do you understand this, Liv? Do you really get how important it is?”

“I do,” I said, “but I honestly don’t know why you’re making such a big deal of it.”

“Then perhaps you don’t get it,” he said and narrowed his eyes. “You’re a smart girl, beautiful too...life might have come too easy for you. You’re in it now though, you’re part of us. If you can’t put the group’s safety ahead of anything else, then you will be asked to leave.”

“The group as in just the Cirque? Do you mean the performers? The Freaks? I’m confused Orion, who exactly is this family of mine?”

“You came from a very fractured background, didn’t you?” he asked, his dark eyes penetrating me with a single glance. “Perhaps this is too much for you to comprehend. Perhaps you are incapable of the kind of loyalty we demand from our employees.”

“I can be loyal,” I said and straightened up, “I just want to know who I’m fighting for. What side I’m on.”

“Cairo,” he answered and turned to keep walking. “You are fighting for my son’s side.”

I struggled to keep pace with him, hating how inadequate I felt, loping after his lean, muscular frame. He made speed walking look easy, natural. He had the grace of a wild animal, something long and lovely forced to spend time among mere mortals.

We reached his RV, the very one he’d interviewed me in over a month ago now. How strange, the time had passed so quickly and things had changed so dramatically.

“Come in,” Orion said, “stay here until this blows over. I will come and get you.”

I obeyed, I didn’t know why I always did what he said, no questions asked. He just had that kind of presence, a certain authority that demanded complete obedience, regardless of what a prick he was.

“Wait,” I said as he was leaving, “what’s going to happen to Cai?”

He frowned at me, perhaps because of the familiar usage of his shortened named. “I don’t know,” he replied, “I have called my lawyers, they will be here soon enough to handle any of this. He cannot go to jail. I want you to know two things though, first, my son is not guilty of harming that girl...and second, stay the fuck away from him now. You don’t know his true nature. Or mine.”

“Why are you so hell bent on keeping me away from him?” I asked, a surge of defiance adding power to my words and thankfully keeping the quiver from my voice.