Wild Ways (36 page)

Adeline pushed open the door a few minutes later and came to a standstill as she took in Risk and Chase. She was probably five-three, with the face of an angel. Her sandy blond hair was hastily tied into a ponytail that brushed her shoulders whenever she turned her head. She parted her hair to the side, and long bangs hung over the right side of her face. Her gaze snapped back to her father. “What’s going on?”

The sight of her tripped Risk’s heart. She wore cargo pants that rode low on her hips and a black shirt that came just shy of the waistband, showing a tantalizing strip of golden skin. In her arm she cradled a kitten that did not look domestic.

“Adeline, remember, I told you that you could return to your home with conditions.”

“I’m the condition.” Risk approached her with a grin, his hand outstretched. “I’m Rick Yarbrough. Nice to meet you. Call me Risk.”

She eyed his hand dubiously but shifted the kitten so she could shake it. Damn, the feel of her palm sliding against his gave him another jolt. Nothing delicate about her hands or her handshake, though it wasn’t bruising like her father’s.

She took him in, her blue eyes assessing him from head to toe before shifting to her father. “He’s a bodyguard, isn’t he? You actually got me a bodyguard.”

“He’s ex-SEAL, trained to protect and to kill if necessary. You are not to go anywhere without him.”

Risk liked that flare of rebellion in her eyes, the rise of one blond eyebrow. She had the eyes of an angel but the spark of a devil when she asked, “Even the bathroom?”

“Adeline, you know what I mean. And you are to lay low at your uncle’s. No protests.” Her father tapped the monitor. “I’ll be watching your page. Let your followers, or whatever they’re called, stomp around with signs.
You
stay away.”

“I can’t ask them to protest and then not show up myself.” Addie—she was definitely not an Adeline—narrowed her eyes. “I’m going to unfriend you, Father.”

“You will do no such thing. And you will take this young man with you, to the store, to that horrid vegetarian restaurant that smells like hay, wherever. Except the bathroom. Or bedroom.”

Addie’s eyes slid to Risk at that last word. She made a sound like
hmph
. “If I’ve got a muscle-bound brute at my side, I’m not going to Uncle Crazy’s. I mean, Uncle Macy’s. I’ll be bored out of my mind. That’s my countercondition.”

The general considered that for a moment and, as he probably did in many such interactions, gave in. “All right, go to your ranch, but stay there.”

Thank God
. A ranch sounded infinitely more interesting. Risk imagined the ranch that Knox, one of his SEAL teammates, had described growing up on in Montana. Riding the range. Wrangling and branding calves.

Addie spun on her heel. “I’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes.”

“Adeline.”

She spun again and dutifully marched over to give her father a peck on the cheek. He pinched her cheeks in return, holding her fast. “Take this seriously. You are my only child. I don’t want you hurt.”

Her expression sobered. “I’ll be careful.”

Risk turned away, uncomfortable at the emotion in the man’s voice. He turned back when he heard the general say, “Listen to Risk. If he says it’s too dangerous to go somewhere, believe him. If he tells you to do something, do it. This guy’s run missions that’d make your blood run cold. Trust him.”

“Yes, Father.”

Risk had a feeling she gave him that line often, then went off and did whatever the hell she wanted. At least the general had faith in him. But Risk knew Addie was going to be a handful. Chase’s warning echoed in his mind:
It’s not going to be that easy
.

Risk tipped his chin toward the monitor. “These guys who are after you are probably your friends, too.”

She straightened, brushing her bangs from her face. “Then they’re not my friends.”

“I assume you don’t personally know every friend or like or whatever the people are called who support your page. One of them could be the enemy, who sees everything you post. Including your schedule.”

“Good point.” General Wunder gave a little wave of his hand. “Unfriend everyone.”

“No way!” She walked over to the monitor, looking like she was going to hug the thing. “I’ve got over four thousand friends. This page is how they know where to go, who to call, what letters to write.” She gave her father a forced smile that showed off perfect white teeth. “How about if I ask the bodyguard to check every post to make sure I’m not giving away any intelligence?”

Oh, buddy, she was going to be a handful, all right. It was a damn good thing she went the other way. The general was spot-on; they’d feed off each other. Risk already felt an answering spark to her sassy attitude. And she was so tasty-looking that it was a punch in the gut to think she had no interest in men.

Lesbian. Vegetarian. Animal activist. Not going to happen between us. Make it a mantra
.

“Risk will leave here with you,” the general said. “He is on duty as of this moment.”

She gave Risk a look that made him feel like a dog collar. “Well, come on, then. We’re shipping out in ten minutes.”

Or maybe he was the one with the collar. He bade Chase and the general goodbye and followed her out. Her white van was parked in the circle driveway behind the limo. Artemis, Chase’s driver, already had Risk’s bags out. One held clothes, the other weapons and gear.

Artemis—who Risk suspected was more than just a driver—slapped Risk’s shoulder. “Good luck.” With a grin, he nodded to a large cargo van, which featured a bumper sticker that read
WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THE EARTH TODAY
? “I’ve seen them load in a llama, a horse, and two crates that contained creatures hissing like hellcats.” He grinned. “Then there’s the client.”

A hellcat with two legs. Great.

“Are you coming or not?” the hellcat asked as she opened the driver’s door to the van. She still held the kitten in one arm.

“Yes, ma’am.” Risk grabbed up the bags, said goodbye to Artemis, and headed over. “Want me to drive?”

“Nope.” She opened a storage area. “You can put your bags in here.” She gave him another once-over. “You look like a bodyguard.”

“I am one, so I’m thinking that’s a good thing.”

“No, it’s not. Can you look … normal? Casual, I mean?”

Honestly, he was glad to get out of the button-down shirt and tie; they reminded him too much of that hearing. “Give me a sec.” He checked to make sure he was out of the line of sight of the mansion and whipped off the tie, jamming it into the bag. Then he unbuttoned his dress shirt, stripped out of it, and pulled a blue-striped polo shirt from the top of the bag. As the collar cleared his face, he caught sight of Addie watching him.

No,
watching
him. Her expression was perfectly placid, but her pupils were dilated, an involuntary response to arousal. She dropped her gaze to the cat in her arms and started baby-talking to it in an obvious diversionary move.

Interesting
. He needed to investigate further. With a wince, he said, “Damn, forgot this shirt has one of those annoying tags that digs into the back of my neck.” He stripped off the shirt and dug in his bag, all the while watching her in his peripheral vision.

Yep, she was
watching
him. He noticed that her lower lip had gone a little slack as he pulled out another shirt. She made the tiniest sound somewhere deep in her throat when he yanked it down over his head.

Very interesting
. “You go both ways, don’t you? Can you tell me how that works? I’ve always wondered how someone can be attracted to both genders. I guess it really opens up the dating pool, eh?”

She brushed her long bangs from her face. “I don’t go both ways.”

“Really? Because I thought … Ah, never mind.” He put his clothing bag in the storage bin, closed it, and hefted the other one. “This one goes with me.”

She eyed the bag. “What’s in there?”

“Tools of my trade.”

“You’re … armed?”

“Of course. How else am I going to protect you? Wagging my finger and calling them dirty names sure isn’t going to do it.” He hoped she wasn’t anti-weapon on top of everything else.

“I suppose not. I’m just not really around weapons much. Daddy keeps his out of sight, locked in a safe.” She searched his person with her gaze.

“Don’t worry. You can’t even tell I’m armed, as you can see. My gun is in a SERPA, which is a retention holster.” He lifted his shirt to show her the molded plastic holster. “It allows me to keep the gun in condition one, loaded and ready, but requires me to press a release button so it won’t accidentally go off.” He’d also need to put his finger on the trigger, but he didn’t need to tell her that part. Or about the knife at the small of his back.

“If it’s necessary.”

He gave her a solemn nod. “It is, ma’am.”

“And please don’t call me
ma’am
. You’re probably older than I am.”

“You’re right about that, ma— Should I just call you Addie? Or Miss Wunder?”

“Addie will do. Miss Wunder makes me sound like a porn star.”

He had to temper his laugh. And he wouldn’t tell her that she looked like one.

Her gaze swept over him again, but she quickly got into the van, making a point not to look his way. He chuckled as he walked around to the passenger side. Maybe she was in denial. A more intriguing thought popped into mind.

As soon as he got in and buckled up, she set the cat in his lap and shoved a bottle at him. “Feed her until the bottle’s gone. Then you can put her in the crate in the back.”

Three crates separated the horse and some other creature tied off on the other side. He raised his eyebrows. “Please?”

“Sorry. When I’m at my father’s house, I’m used to requests being worded as orders.” She gave him a gut-tightening, genuine smile. “Please.”

Anything, doll
. Yeah, those words had just about slipped out.

He looked at the kitten, which had sharp-as-shit teeth; he knew personally
because it had thought his finger was the bottle’s nipple and clamped on. He bit back a curse and shoved the nipple at the cat. “What is this thing? A tiger?”

She shot him a playfully derisive look. “It’s a bobcat kitten. Too much for you?”

He took in the adorable face of the suckling cat. Then the puncture wounds on his finger. Yeah, as docile as the woman sitting next to him. He gave her a pointed look. “I can handle her.”
Both hers
.

“That remains to be seen.” She gave him a challenging look and buckled up. “Her name is Freedom. One of my supporters found three kittens on his land, no sign of the mom. They were emaciated and covered in fleas. I found a cat sanctuary that will raise them so they can be returned to the wild, but the habitat won’t be ready for another week. I’m in charge of them until then. The other two are with a different foster mom.”

Freedom was kneading Risk with her claws, purring away while puncturing his thighs. If the critter shifted a half inch, things could get dicey. Literally.

“She likes you,” Addie said, staring at the kitten.

“You say that like you’re surprised. Females love me.” He gave her the smile that made every woman he’d used it on smile back. And sometimes more. Heck, even grandmas responded.

She frowned instead. “I’ll bet you use that smile as your pickup line.”

He felt the smile fade. “Okay, I believe you. You’re gay.”

Addie started the engine and pulled out. She handled the vehicle like a pro, taking corners efficiently without sending the van into tilt. Her arms were toned, though he doubted she did curls at a gym. She kept her attention on the road, studiously ignoring him. He wasn’t about to let her get away with that.

“Have a girlfriend?” he asked.

Her eyes shifted to him briefly. “Shirley. She’s my partner in Animal Huggers.”

“Shirley.”

He attached a hot redhead to the name and sank into a fantasy about the pinup girl and Addie tangling in the sheets of one of those outdoor beds by the sea. He walked up the steps into the private cabana and gave them the smile. Addie whispered something to
Shirley, who nodded, and both women looked at him with hungry eyes. That same hunger he’d seen in Addie’s eyes earlier. Addie crooked her finger at him.

“Oh, stop that.”

Her snapping voice jerked him right out of the scene. “Stop what?” Good thing the cat was on his lap, even with its claws.

“You’re fantasizing about me and some fictionalized version of Shirley, aren’t you? And we’re inviting you to join us, I bet.”

Damn, no wonder he always lost at poker. No point in denying it, he supposed. “And you interrupted before I got to the good part.”

“If two women are interested in each other, what makes you think they’ll want some guy pushing in on their action?”

“Good question. But hey, it is a fantasy, after all.”

She let out a breath, which made her bangs bounce. “I’m not gay.”

Something in his chest twanged. Something lower twanged, too, and he realized that it was much better to see her as unavailable. “I won’t fantasize about you and your girlfriend anymore. It was disrespectful.”

Her eyes widened. “I’m
not
gay. I told my father I was because he was always trying to settle me down with some boring guy. It just sort of came out of my mouth in my frustration one night after the umpteenth ‘Look who happened to stop by, honey.’ I was only poking him, but he bought it. So I let him believe it, which I know was mean and terrible, but I was desperate at the time. Since Shirley
is
gay, and my best friend, I use her as my cover.”

His whole body was pulling toward her now, which was really bad. “You may think you’re pretending, but down deep inside, you do swing that way. And that’s perfectly fine. Better than fine.” He let his gaze scan her without giving away how hot she looked in that tight shirt. Or at least he hoped he didn’t give it away. “You’ve got gay written all over you by the …” Except words failed him, because there was nothing but straight goodness as far as the eye could see.
Come on, don’t fight me on this. Play along
.

“By what?”