Wilde Thing Read Online Free

just to find her cousin.
    Being with Liz added a huge incentive as well, but Steve had a sixteen-year-old daughter of his own, and Steffie was never far from his mind when he came across cases that involved young girls or women in perilous situations. The “What if it were Steffie?” question always seemed to prey on his conscience and prompted him to accept the case in hopes of securing a happy ending for all and peace of mind for himself. Based on what Liz had told him about Valerie’s personality, his gut told him she wasn’t in mortal danger, but he’d never play Russian roulette with another person’s life.
    “I’ll need as much information as you can give me on Valerie.” He withdrew an application from a side drawer for her to fill out. “Any bank account numbers you know of, statements, credit cards, social security number, driver’s license. And I’ll need a recent photograph of her, too. Give me anything you think would be helpful in tracing her.”
    “I’ll go through her mail.” She was quiet for a moment, then said, “There is one thing that I found in a pile of papers on her desk at home that seemed odd. I found a receipt for a passport.”
    “Great. That’s exactly the kind of stuff I need to know.” He made a note of the passport receipt on the form. “Did she ever mention that she was planning on leaving the country?”
    Liz shook her head. “No. Surprisingly, that’s one thing Valerie hasn’t done yet. But I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”
    “It’s definitely something to consider, along with the possibility that she left the country with this Rob guy. We just need more crucial pieces to the puzzle, like Rob’s last name, to figure out where the hell she is.” He made another notation on the application before setting his pen aside.
    “By the way, I normally charge one-fifty an hour, plus expenses,” he went on, laying out his fee and terms. “But on a case like this that might take hours of prep work, I can offer a flat rate of five grand for up to a month’s time, which will include my services, twenty-four-hour access to my pager, as well as my protection and professional advice in terms of you working for The Ultimate Fantasy.”
    She visibly winced at the amount he quoted. “Five grand? Wow, that’s more than I expected.”
    A shrug lifted his shoulders. “I may not be the cheapest PI in town, but I’m definitely one of the best.”
    She laughed, but the sound was tinged with disappointment. “While I don’t doubt your abilities and professional expertise, that’s about four times more than I can afford.”
    The defeat in her tone, along with the despair he saw glimmering in her eyes as she met his gaze, hit him hard and low.
    Despite that, a semblance of a smile touched her lips. “I guess I should thank you for your time and advice and be on my way.”
    An odd sense of panic clenched his belly, one he couldn’t fully define, but before she could clear the front of his desk, he blurted, “Wait.”
    She stopped and turned back to face him, her expression both startled and curious. “Yes?”
    He scrubbed a hand along his tense jaw and knew there was no stopping what he was about to offer. “Tell you what, I’ll take on the case for a thousand bucks.” Though he hated even taking that much from her, since she was obviously financially strapped despite the success of her coffee shop—a fact he found unusual and interesting.
    She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders, and damned if he didn’t detect a hint of vulnerability beneath all that bravado. “Why would you do that for me?” she asked, her tone cautious and wondering.
    Why, indeed. A variety of reasons popped into his head, mainly that he wasn’t about to let her traipse into The Ultimate Fantasy on her own without any outside connections to keep tabs on her. If something happened to her, he’d never forgive himself, especially since he knew the details of the case. She needed