Free Wild on You by Tina Wainscott

Cheney had to deal with.”
    The kid shook his head as he made the final stitch. “Poor guy was the brunt of jokes for years.” He finished the cleanup and left with a nice wad of cash toward his tuition. Silence, as it turned out, wasn’t golden; it was green.
    Once he was gone, Alan said, “That coulda been a mess, boss.”
    The three wandered over to the incoming animal pens.
    “It could have also been a triumph. But it wasn’t. Instead it was a big fat failure.” The boss was trying to get a handle on how they could have come so close to capturing the woman who’d been causing him grief, and been thwarted. “So you had her, and then the bodyguard showed up out of nowhere.” That wasn’t his only disappointment. He’d been dreaming of making her pay, fantasies of blood and begging, maybe letting her think she was going to live just before he took her life.
    Alan scowled as he looked at the bandage on his shoulder. “Son of a bitch shot the gun right out of my hand.”
    “He’s going to make it a lot harder for us to get our hands on her. But he’s an obstacle, and obstacles can be surmounted.”
    Alan winced when he moved his arm. “I want him dead. Just for being a good shot.”
    The boss scrubbed his fingers through his thinning hair as he considered the cub in the cage. “Worked out nice that she was already stealing the cub. She’ll be blamed.” At least he could find something to smile about. “Addie Wunder will do anything to find this critter. She was willing to steal it once, which means she’ll be coming here before long, sniffing around. When she and her bodyguard do, we’ll be ready for ’em.”
    * * *
    Risk handled the goats very well—out of sheer stubbornness, Addie suspected. He led them one by one to their large corral and barn area. She brought the other animals to thelong large barn to the right of that, and Shirley took them inside to their stalls. Addie’s orders were to stay within his sight, which required her to make sure he was within
her
sight. Which meant looking at him a lot. No hardship there. His biceps bulged as he gripped the ropes. His muscles clenched quite nicely when he used his weight as leverage. Every time he searched for her, she waved.
    “Aw, you and the hunk are so damned cute,” Shirley said as they escorted the other animals into their respective areas.
    As usual, Addie wasn’t sure if she was being facetious. “We are not ‘cute.’
We
aren’t anything.” When she saw Shirley was about to refute that, Addie changed the subject. “Did Carrigan give you a hard time? Threaten you in any way?” Addie had left out the near-kidnapping part of what had happened behind the zoo. Shirley would freak.
    “Nah. He thinks I’m one of your minions. And I let him.”
    “Minions? That makes me sound like some evil mastermind.”
    “You’re way too sensitive, my little girly friend. You never worry about what you sound like when you’re making those protest videos.”
    Addie couldn’t really argue. “So he shouldn’t have any reason to harm you, but be careful anyway.”
    “I am ever vigilant. And I’ve got a sweet Smith and Wesson Fifty-seven in case of trouble. You ought to think about arming yourself, too.”
    “I am armed.” Addie nodded toward the hunk. Er, Risk. “So, what were people saying when Carrigan showed up accusing me of theft?”
    Shirley closed the gate. “Took you long enough to ask that. ’Course, you were busy making cow eyes at the hunk.”
    “I was not making cow eyes!” Addie lowered her voice lest the hunk hear. “I have to stay in his sights. He is guarding my body, after all.” Guarding her body but threatening her heart. “What did they say? Did they believe him?”
    Shirley shrugged. “They know you’re extreme, Addie. It’s not a stretch. But they didn’t want to get caught up in anything illegal, so they scooted pretty quick. Maybe that was his intention all along.”
    Her supporters thought she was too