Page 32 of Protecting Addison
MacGyver didn’t know how to tell her.
“Ricky?” she said, her lower lip trembling.
Shit, he couldn’t drag this out. “Ellory’s fine. It’s…it’s the kids. CPS apparently thinks something is hinky, how they came to be here. They picked them up from school and are investigating.”
“What?”
MacGyver took a deep breath. “They aren’t coming home. Not tonight. I’m not sure when. CPS is putting them in a different foster home until they figure things out.”
“Together? Or separate?”
“I don’t know.”
He’d expected Addison to be distraught. To cry and fall apart. But he’d underestimated his wife. It shouldn’t have surprised him, really. She’d been to hell and back with Ellory. Why he thought she’d crumble now was beyond him.
“Right. They’re going to need clothes. And Yana will want her Barbies. Maybe not all four hundred and twenty-three that we’ve bought her, but some. And Artem and Borysko will want the books they’ve been reading. They all need their things. Who do we contact to get their things to them? And what are we doing about getting them back? Whose ass do we need to kick that this happened in the first place?”
Taking a deep breath, MacGyver realized this was exactly what he needed. His wife’s practical nature…and her anger simmering just under the surface. She wasn’t happy about what happened, but since they couldn’t just snap their fingers and change things, she was doing what she could to move forward. To get their kids back.
He stepped toward her and yanked her against him. She let out a smalloofas she fell forward but didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around him, to hold him as tightly as he was holding her. He felt her breath hitch, but then she controlled herself.
She pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. “What do we do, Ricky?”
Just then, his phone rang. MacGyver ignored it. But whoever was calling immediately called back. Thinking it might be CPS, telling him they’d made a mistake, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. Once again the number said “Unknown.”
“Hello?” he barked into the receiver.
“What the absolute fuck? This is bullshit! Fuckers fucked with the wrong fucker. Howdarethey fucking pull this shit! After all those kids have been through? I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to fuck with you, but I’m not going to fucking stand for it. You’ll have those kids back before the end of the day tomorrow, or my name isn’t Tex fucking Keegan. I didn’t fuck up the paperwork. Some asshole must have a stick up his ass, but I’m going to find out who it is and twist that motherfucking stick until it’s a permanent part of his body. Thinking it would’ve been better to leave those kids in that country, at the mercy of a fucking system that’s already overwhelmed with orphans, is fucking ridiculous! And it’s not as if you and Addison aren’t going to make sure they know about their heritage. Fucking fuckers fucked with the wrong people! Sit tight, MacGyver, your kids will be home before you can fucking blink.”
The connection cut out, and MacGyver slowly took the phone away from his ear.
“Was that Tex?” Kevlar asked.
He glanced at his team leader. “Yeah.”
“I could hear him from all the way over here. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say the word ‘fuck’ so many times before. He’s usually pretty stoic and calm.”
“Yeah,” MacGyver said again. For some reason Tex’s absolute fury made him feel better. A hell of a lot better. A pissed-off Tex wasn’t a good thing, at least for whoever his ire was aimed at. He now truly believed that Artem, Borysko, and Yana would be back as soon as possible. It sucked that they’d most likely have to spend the night in a strange place, but if Tex said he’d fix things, he’d fix things.
“Ricky?” Addison said.
“Tex’ll get ’em home.”
“Should we get a suitcase put together for them? They really do need their things…pajamas, books, dolls…familiar stuff.”
“I think we need to let Tex do his thing.”
Addison didn’t look convinced. It was another thing he loved about her. That she worried so much about the kids.
“Did someone report us? Or them? How did this happen?”
“I don’t know. But again, Tex will figure it out.”
“Okay.”
MacGyver turned around to face his friends. “Can you give us a second?”
“Of course. You want us to go?” Kevlar asked.
