Free Wild on You by Tina Wainscott Page B

grumbled.
    The shot panned to Carrigan, his gray sideburns-turned-beard moving with hisangry words. “Wunder has overstepped her boundaries! Like a common thief, she stole my tiger cub. And fired shots to keep my people away. My God, she could have hit someone.”
    Addie’s mouth dropped open. “He can’t really think I was shooting to warn them away!”
    Carrigan turned toward the crowd, whose signs were drooping. “That’s the woman you’re supporting. It’s perfectly legal for me to own a tiger. It’s
not
legal for her to steal it. I’m just a guy trying to make a living, to support my family and my four employees, and to entertain people. Wunder thinks she’s above the law because she’s trying to save cute animals. Bah. She’s a crazy activist.”
    Shirley, who was several inches taller than Carrigan, stepped up to the camera. “She’s not crazy. I’ve worked with her for three years, and she’s a dedicated animal rights advocate.”
    “Today she went too far. And she’s going to pay.”
    The journalist returned to the screen. “CBA News did investigate, and Ms. Wunder has been cited on several occasions for trespassing.”
    Addie let out a sound of abject frustration. “They’re making
me
out to be the bad guy! And Carrigan’s playing the victim!”
    “Trespassing?” Risk asked.
    “How do you think I verify a claim of animal abuse? I have to check it out.” She shook her phone. “I’m very careful. And I’m not crazy, I’m … motivated.”
    He put his hands on her shoulders. “When you put yourself out there, you have to face criticism. That one big, well-known organization has a lot of supporters, but they have a lot of detractors, too. Hell, you can hardly do anything online these days without being rated or liked or whatever.”
    His hands felt good on her, comforting and strong. “Do you think I’m crazy?” she asked.
    “It doesn’t matter what I think. You believe in what you’re doing.”
    She plucked his hands from her. “You
do
think I’m crazy.”
    He appeared to be mildly amused at her indignation, which just made her more annoyed.
    “I wouldn’t say ‘crazy.’ More like …” He scratched his chin and seemed to search for the right words. “Dogged, with a side of over-the-edge.”
    “Hmph.”
    Her phone rang, Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” pounding out of the speaker. “My father’s ringtone.”
    “Ah, yes, I see the connection.”
    “The song reminds me to stand up to him. But I don’t want to talk to him right now. He saw the news. He’s going to yell at me.”
    Risk curled his fingers in a
gimme
gesture. She thought she might love him right then and there. Well, not
love
-love.
    “Yes, sir. This is Risk … She’s fine. She’s busy getting the animals back into their pens, so I offered to take the call.”
    She moved a distance away and yelled out, “Hi, Daddy!” Just to let him know she was, indeed, all right. Then she came up close to hear what he was saying. Or yelling, as the case was.
    “I know my daughter had something to do with that tiger going missing. And
you
were supposed to be keeping her out of trouble!”
    Risk bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes, sir, I certainly was. But your daughter is very … resourceful. She ducked out on me, a failing on my part.”
    Uh-oh. Risk was getting into trouble. She didn’t want that, especially after everything he’d been through. She tried to take the phone, but he shook his head.
    Her father used the recriminating voice she knew well. “I should have you removed from the assignment. If you can’t keep an eye on one slip of a girl—”
    “You do know your daughter, don’t you?”
    Addie shook her head. Her father didn’t know this side of her, not really.
    “I know that she’s headstrong and passionate when it comes to those animals, but this man is accusing her of theft. Did she steal the tiger?”
    “No, sir, she did not.”
    Not entirely a lie. Addie