Bet on Me by Alisha Rai Read Free Book Online Page B

was based on that premise, so he had to believe it. But his father? God.
    What will you do with the information you find out about this player?
    Help her? Take her? The panic he’d experienced on thinking he was actually her father resurfaced. What the fuck did he know about being part of a family? Nothing. He was only now learning how to be someone’s partner.
    Worry about that later. Gather the information first.
    He inhaled deeply. Mobilized, he wiped off his face and went back into his office. “Ellie—” He cut himself off, stymied by the silent room.
    Frowning, he jerked open his office door to find the waiting room empty of everyone except Esme. “Where is she?”
    Esme glanced up in surprise. “She said that you told her to wait in the lobby for you.”
    Part of him was annoyed. The other part was impressed.
    If this is how she lies now, she’s going to be a monster when she’s a teenager.
    “I didn’t.” He strode out the door and downstairs. When he got to the back entrance, he didn’t find Ellie sitting on the bench outside, or a strange woman waiting.
    Gather the information.
    He yanked out his phone and dialed his security, not bothering with pleasantries when someone picked up. “Check the entrances and tell me if you saw a dark-haired female child leave in the last five minutes. About nine years old.”
    He waited impatiently for the guard to run through the footage. The woman finally spoke. “Yes, sir. A young girl exited the back entrance three minutes ago and got inside a Toyota Camry. Do you want me to run the plates?”
    Goddamn it. “Yeah. Get back to me.”
    He dialed his private investigator on his way back to his office. The man picked up as he walked past Esme and shut his office door.
    The PI had a small, exclusive operation, and Wyatt used him mainly because he was certain Jared wouldn’t spill his client’s secrets even if his skin was being peeled off his body. “Mr. Caine.”
    “Jared. I need you to find out everything you can about a young girl.” He glanced around, though he was ensured privacy in his office. “Elizabeth Caine. Nine years old.”
    “Date of birth?”
    “I don’t know. Parents are allegedly Carol and…” he forced the words out, “…Samuel Caine. They supposedly lived in Tucson.”
    Jared paused. “Any relation?”
    “Samuel Caine is my father.” Dispassionately, Wyatt rattled off the man’s date of birth and social security number. He’d had the number memorized by the time he was twelve because he’d needed it to handle their various household finances when his father was unable to.
    If Jared was surprised by the news that his biggest client even had family, he didn’t betray it. “Very well. Everything?”
    Wyatt dropped into his chair. “Everything. I want to know where the girl goes to school, her medical records, her shoe size. I want every piece of information on the parents as well.”
    “Not a problem.”
    “As soon as possible.”
    “I can get you anything that’s public records immediately. Confirmation that those records are accurate and any more information may require mobilizing someone in Tucson, so it may take a day or two.”
    “As soon as possible,” Wyatt repeated, and hung up.
    He placed his phone carefully on his desk and steepled his hands. Now what?
    Now you wait for information. Once you have information, you can move.
    His phone buzzed. He peered at it. Tatiana. Feel up to playing with me tonight? We leave at eight, sharp.
    He stared at the text for a long moment. Wyatt was well aware of what he should do. A proper boyfriend would call Tatiana or head upstairs right now and tell her everything that had happened. Let her soothe him. Let her handle all of those bubbling emotions he was so inept at processing.
    Only…they wouldn’t just talk about today’s bizarre encounter. He’d have to open his veins. Whine about his childhood. Lay all of his weaknesses out in front of her, regardless of whether the kid’s