Wild on You (7 page)

She wasn’t trying to wriggle off his lap anymore.
Interesting
.

He liked her there, maybe a bit too much. He leaned down close to her ear. “Don’t run off. Don’t disobey me. And don’t dare me. It’s how I earned my nickname.”

At that she slid off, rubbing her behind and shooting him a pout. “That was uncalled for.” Behind the shock and annoyance lurked a spark of heat.
Very interesting
.

“So was leaving me to the goats.”

She threw herself into the passenger seat, then winced. “They had duct tape and cable ties.”

“Yes.” He took his seat, facing her. “They were going to abduct you. They don’t want you dead; they want you for some other reason. And I’ll guarantee it isn’t good.”

She shivered, and her adrenaline rush started to kick in. She was trembling, her arms wrapped tightly around her. “You shot that guy.”

He merely nodded.

Her face had gone pale, and it hit him: Unlike him, she wasn’t used to this kind of violence. Shooting a guy in the shoulder was nothing for him. Hell, at least he hadn’t splattered the guy’s brains all over. And yeah, he’d done that before, too.

He placed his hand on her thigh. “You all right?”

She met his gaze. “And he tried to run you over.”

“Yep.” Having guys trying to kill him was all in a day’s work. It wasn’t personal. He was just another “evil American” to those brainwashed soldiers. For Addie, this was very personal. They wanted
her
.

She stared at his hand, dirty and scraped. Then she gathered it in her hands like it was some delicate thing. It made him feel funny, that gentle touch. “All because I ran off.”

“Which you’re not going to do again.” He brushed her chin with his other hand, lifting her face to look at him. “It’s okay. Breathe. Deep breaths. One. Two. Three.”

She obeyed, thank God. He watched as her imminent freak-out dissipated with each breath. Only when the determined gleam returned to her eyes did he realize he was still touching her chin. Her skin was soft, like silk. He reluctantly pulled away.

She stared at his hand that she was still holding. “I’m not letting them get away with this. They took that cub.”

“And, uh, tried to kill you. Let’s not forget that part.”

“Yeah, that pretty much sucked.”

Ah, she was shoving it in a box. He knew that box well. His own, at least.

“We should call the police,” he said. “We’re talking attempted kidnapping here.
Attempted homicide.”

She was shaking her head. “You’ll end up in the news again. Chase might fire you for losing me. I might get arrested for stealing the cub. Those men would probably kill the cub to get rid of evidence that would tie them to me once it hits the news. Oh God, it would be all over the news, how I was trying to steal the cub and got ambushed. And my father would know I defied him.” She implored him with those pretty blue eyes. “You know how things can get really screwed up, Risk. How you think you’re doing the right thing and everything goes to hell.”

“Don’t you pull that card on me.”
Or those big eyes tugging at me
.

“We don’t know who they are, and we have no proof of anything—other than that I was stealing a tiger cub. So you’re off the job, my father locks me up, and the police investigate. Maybe. Or maybe they think I’m one of those extremists who brought this on herself.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you?”

She released his hand and slapped his arm. “No! I’ve only done
slightly
illegal things to save an animal in a desperate situation.”

When he couldn’t help wincing, she said, “I didn’t slap you that hard!”

“I landed on that side when I jumped out of the van.”

She brushed her hand down the side of his arm, wiping away the dirt. “I’m sorry. I put you in a bad situation. And … you saved my life. If you hadn’t been there … I don’t even want to think about what would have happened.”

The soft feel of her fingers tingled down his arm. “That’s my job.” It was nice to save lives rather than just taking them.

Her hand came to a stop, resting against his arm. “We have to figure this out on our own. Find out who’s behind it, get proof, and go to the police with something they can use. That’s how we’re going to keep me safe, Risk. Instead of sitting around twiddling our thumbs and waiting for what? Someone to call and say, ‘Okay, we’ve got the perps. Go back to your life now’? No, it’s going to be, ‘Well, we just don’t know.’ My father won’t be able to justify keeping you on. I’m sure you’re not cheap. If these
people want me bad enough, they’ll wait it out.” She put her finger to his collarbone. “You’re not a sitting-around kind of guy.”

Dammit, he felt the lure of the chase, the pull of Addie herself. Oh yeah, he and Addie were a dangerous combination, all right.
But you already knew that
.

“Addie, my job is to keep you safe. Snooping around a potential murderer does not fit that description.”

She released a long sigh, appearing to capitulate. “Then we hole up at my ranch and wait. You can help me with the animals. I know you’re really good with goats.”

Risk let out a
harrumph
. He knew the police weren’t getting anywhere, which wasn’t their fault. And the would-be kidnappers had left few clues. First names and descriptions might help, but not if they were hired thugs. A surveillance camera might have caught the guys stealing the car, but that was a long shot.

“We’ll wait on contacting the police. For now.”

She smiled in relief, and that alone was almost worth having given in.

A cell phone rang, trilling with a woman singing about wanting to get a little bit closer. Addie wrestled the phone out of a pocket halfway down her thigh. “Shirley,” she said before answering. She listened to whatever the woman was saying in a rather shrill voice. “What? … Oh no … I’m on my way. I don’t have to check with the hunky—Oh.” She cut a glance to him. “Yeah, I do actually … He’s saying what?” She made a pained face. “Okay, keep me updated.” She disconnected.

“Since I doubt Shirley sounds shrill and excited often, something must be going on at the protest.”

“Carrigan showed up. He’s telling everyone, including the press, that I stole his cub.” She bit the tip of her finger. “He’s playing the victim, harassed by the crazy activist woman.”

“And what was that about checking in with the hunky …”

She gave him a quick, forced smile. “She suggested I come down, but she knew I had to check in with you.
Hunky
was her word.”

He gave her the same kind of forced smile. “Nice of her to notice. You’re not
going. That’s the last place you need to be right now.”

“No, you’re right.”

He blinked. “You’re agreeing?” Then he narrowed his eyes. “Or are you planning on ditching me?”

“I won’t do that again. Shirley can handle him, and it’ll become more volatile if I’m there. I tend to get excited, while she stays calm.” She stared off, her mind obviously working on something. “I’m wondering … why is Carrigan making such a big public stink?”

“Because he thinks you stole his tiger?”

“Or maybe this was a setup. Think about it: Carrigan has two guys waiting here to see if I’ll take the bait. If I do, he grabs me and does … well, whatever he was going to do. Which I don’t want to think about. And he has a backup plan if he can’t get me. Hide the tiger, play the victim, and make me look bad.”

“It’s a leap, Addie.”

“We have to start somewhere. Carrigan hates me. I’ve been, er, trying to educate him for a year. I’ve given him and his crew mortality reports on traveling tiger cubs, scientific evidence proving their cortisol levels stay elevated for up to two weeks after a short trip. Plus accusations about the company that buys his cubs when they’re no longer useful. And he’s got the accommodations to hold someone captive, if that’s what he was going to do. The man has cages, after all. There’s an easy way to figure out if he’s behind this.”

Risk planted his elbows on his thighs and rubbed his eyes. “I’m afraid to ask.”

She gave a quick wave of her hand. “You’re not afraid of anything. But my plan is easy peasy. When the zoo opens, we see if he’s got a tiger cub. Tigs had a small tear on the tip of his right ear. I’d recognize him anywhere.” This time her smile was imploring. “Can we go? Please? I’ve got disguises.”

“On one condition. You have to promise you will listen to me. On everything. You see why it’s so important now, don’t you?”

“I do. It’s just that, all my life, I’ve been under my parents’ control. My mom,
when she was alive, with her manners and societal rules. My father with his military mentality.”

“But that was more of a power thing or a parental thing,” Risk said. “I’m controlling you out of a save-your-life thing. It’s different.”

“Part of me understands, but part is saying that it’s still someone telling me what to do.” She took him in for a second. “Okay, it’s childhood triggers. I get that. I fought my father over my organization, my vegetarianism, everything, it seems. But I held my ground. I know I have to be careful. I’m not stupid.”

“No, but you’re blind. You see your goal but not what’s around it. Like how adrenaline makes your vision narrow to only your adversary so that you miss the guys coming up from the sides. Let me be your peripheral vision.” When she hesitated, he went on. “I’ll make you a deal. You follow my orders, and I’ll give you a wild card. I’ll let you call the shots one time.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But not if we’re engaging the enemy. I’m in charge there. And not when we’re planning a mission. You’ll have to defer to my expertise in those matters.”

“What’s left?”

He knew his eyes sparked at the thought of what was left, because hers did, too. “I’m sure there will be some situation where you can play that card. Is it a deal?”

“Deal.”

“And you’ll do as I say? No argument, no hesitation?”

“None at all.”

“If I tell you to move, you move. If I tell you to jump, you jump.”
And if I tell you to kiss me—

She tilted her head. “Don’t I ask how high?”

“No, you just jump. Then you wait for my next command.”

“Yes, sir.” She gave him a salute.

He liked her all sweet and submissive. Not the contrite way she was with her father but more of an eager submissiveness. A rare thing, he was sure, and only because
she felt bad about putting him in a sticky situation. And she wanted him to cooperate with her plan. He tipped her chin up and gave her his most serious commander’s look. “And you will not give me the slip.”

She gave him a sheepish but genuine smile. “I promise.”

Oh, buddy. She might have promised to obey him, but she had him wrapped around her finger.

“You
spanked
me.” It hit Addie, really hit her, about ten minutes down the road.
No pun intended
.

Risk rested his fingers on the steering wheel, arching his eyebrows as he glanced over at her. “And you just realized this?”

“Of course not. I kind of pushed it to the side because it was so … so … unbelievable. It’s only just now sinking in.” He had laid her over his lap and put his hand on her derriere. And some deep, depraved part of her had liked it. Not that she’d admit it. It was bad enough admitting it to herself. “Are you into that sort of thing? What do they call it? BDSM?”

“Not up to this point, though it was interesting. Very interesting.”

She felt her face flush. “Because of the control?”

He seemed to give that some thought. “Nah. I don’t have a subversive need to control. Or punish, as I can see you’re going to ask next.” He shrugged. “Maybe I just liked having a reason to put my hand on your ass.”

He was so candid about it that she wondered if he was serious. Given the way his words ricocheted through her, she decided he was playing with her. “Well, don’t do it again.” Had she sounded forceful enough? Indignant?

“Then, as I said, don’t dare me. I can’t resist a dare, not one like that. That’s how I ended up swimming with a shark once.”

She shook her head. “And you call my saving a tiger a crazy stunt.”

“Consider this: When I was out there raiding compounds, or BASE jumping, I had both training and the proper equipment. You are in no way equipped to tangle with criminals. You are gutsy, I’ll give you that. But you have no martial arts skills or weapons.”

“You think I’m gutsy?” She couldn’t help her smile.

Now it was his turn to shake his head. “Nope, definitely nothing easy about this,” he muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Not a thing, Addie. Not a thing.”

Well, be that way
. She busied herself posting to her Facebook page and answering e-mails from her phone. And true to her word, she ran everything by him before pressing the post button.

Risk neared the site of the protest a short time later. Shirley had texted that Carrigan and the press were gone, and so were most of the protesters. The rally was over.

“Shirley said she had plenty of help loading the animals on this end.” Addie watched him surveying the surroundings. She could easily imagine him doing the same as his team approached a pass in the mountains of Afghanistan. The mental picture of him in fatigues, that yummy, fit body on full alert, stirred her in places that had no business being stirred.

“The enemy had a plan. They watched this site until you showed up, then waited for an opportunity.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Which you gave them by sneaking off. They’ll likely pull back, take care of the bullet wound, and regroup. It should buy us a little time so we can figure out what we’re going to do. But how long we stay at the ranch depends on how safe the layout is. Are there places where someone can hide? Is there vegetation growing up next to the house? How close is the nearest hospital?”

She rubbed her arms. “Now you’re creeping me out.”

“Just being logical.” He continued to study the area with calculating eyes. “We can’t relax, because we’re not dealing with predictable, logical people. You never are when it comes to war, and make no mistake: To them, this is war.”

“I suppose anyone who would be willing to kidnap a woman isn’t logical.”