Page 8 of Smoke and Mirrors

I study him for a minute, his face is blank as usual and giving me no indication of whether he’s actually interested or simply trying to draw my mind away from what I witnessed.

“Umm… one of the lionesses had cubs a few days ago, so I came in to help with their health checks,” I explain.

He raises an eyebrow. “You get called in like that often?”

I shake my head but can’t fight the smile that rises across my face. “No. Misty is special to me. I’ve been working with her for a while now. So the lead vet knew I’d want to be in on it.”

He nods, his eyes drawing away from me and moving out across the plains that encase some of our deadliest animals. “You love working with them?” he questions.

“With animals?”

“With the lions,” he confirms, turning back to face me.

I nod. “I love all animals. But yeah… I’m quite fond of the work I do here.”

He’s silent for a while, his eyes still on me are beginning to make me feel a little uncomfortable.

“Do you… umm… want to come back and have a look?” The words stun even me, and for a moment, I wish I could take them back.

His head tilts ever so slightly to the side as though confused by the invitation. But just when I get the feeling he’s going to decline, he nods. “You allowed to do that?”

I shrug. “Yeah. Sometimes my best friend, Molly, comes to visit with me.”

“Okay.” He puts his hand out, gesturing for me to lead the way.

I swallow tightly, forcing one foot in front of the other, a strange stirring beginning in my stomach as he walks beside me toward the door that will lead us to the back of the savanna exhibit.

I flash my card over the reader, a buzzer sounds, and the light goes green, unlocking the door allowing us to pass through.

Kace’s eyes wander as we walk down a long hall. “Not very good security back here.”

I snort, quickly covering my mouth in shock. “Yeah, well, you don’t get many people willing to break in and hang with a pack of lions very often. They can be quite… intimidating.”

“Yet you do it.”

I push through another door that leads us into the confined enclosure where we’re keeping Misty and her cubs. I can see through a window a few of the zoo hands working with Grayson, the cubs’ father, trying to coax him inside, but he’s doing a pretty good job of ignoring them.

I smile. “The opportunity came up, and how could I turn it down?” I touch the glass with my finger, tracing the outline of Grayson’s mane. “They’re beautiful creatures. The way they move, the way they act, they’re stunning.”

I feel his body come up beside me, warmth seeming to radiate off his entire form. Or maybe the word ‘warmth’ is too soft to use. He’s more like a fire, smoldering away until the right moment when he’ll burst into flames.

“You just said they were intimidating.”

I look up at him, his eyes still watching me with curiosity and interest. “They are. And incredibly deadly under the wrong circumstances. But animals are what I live for. It doesn’t matter their size or what kind of label they have. Just being around them builds me up, and helping them makes me happy.”

I know there’s a huge grin on my face, I can’t help it if I try.

That’s the honest truth. Animals can’t talk, so sometimes they need people to be their voices, stand up for them, rescue them, help them when they’re in pain. I want to be that voice. I want to show them love and compassion.

“Seems a little naïve to think you can just fuck around with a lion and expect it to play nice.”

I roll my eyes. “Oh… trust me, I know just how dangerous they are. But it’s not about expecting the worst from them, it’s about respecting their power and understanding that… yeah, okay, Grayson out there could rip my arm off if he wanted. I’m not stupid, I get that. I give him the space and respect he deserves just like I do every other animal I work with, but it doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the beauty in a creature so deadly.”

I notice Kace’s eyes have not left me since we entered the enclosure. They stay glued to me like he’s breathing in every word and every movement I make. His body’s so still like he’s being wound tighter and tighter the more I speak. I swallow past the large lump forming in my throat, thinking I must be rattling on, and he’s becoming annoyed.

“What about the lions do you enjoy the most?” he asks, my eyes going wide with surprise.

“Umm… I-I…” I stutter, trying to put my thoughts into words. Luckily, at that moment, one of the zoo-keepers throws Grayson’s favorite toy. A smile forms on my face as he crouches and starts to slink across the ground as though he’s sneaking up on it.

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