Page 95 of Protecting Addison
“Okay.”
“Breathe, Addy. We’re going to find them.”
Knowing Ricky and his friends were on this made Addison feel much better. The sick feeling receded a fraction. She’d heard all the stories about the infamous Tex. Knew that he’d gotten Blink and Josie out of that prison in Iran. That he’d helped find countless others over the years. The ass-kicking he’d clearly done when Artem, Borysko, and Yana had been taken by CPS. She had to believe he’d find her daughters too.
“Hang on just a little longer. For me.”
“I’m better now. Knowing you’re on this, it makes me feel not so alone.”
“You aren’t alone. You’reneveralone. I’ll be home as soon as I can. Drive safe and lean on our friends. I love you, Addison. So much.”
“I love you too. Drive safe yourself.”
“Always.”
The familiar back and forth went a long way toward snapping Addison out of the weird head space she’d been sucked into.
She hung up the phone and hurried to her Bug. Maybe by the time she got home, Ellory and Yana would be there.
Once more, hoping against hope, she clicked on Ellory’s name on her phone, sagging in defeat when it went straight to voicemail. It was either off or dead…she’d hoped for a second that her daughter would answer and ask why her mom was freaking out so badly.
With nothing else to do but go home, Addison did just that.
* * *
MacGyver’s head was spinning. He was furious thatbothschools broke protocol and allowed Vogel to take Ellory and Yana without permission. He was frustrated that Ellory’s phone wasn’t answering—the first thing he’d done was try to call her. He was terrified that Vogel had done something horrible to the girls.
The odd thing was…why? What did he have to gain? Where would he take them? MacGyver had too many questions and no answers. Until Kevlar and Blink found Vogel and interrogated him, they’d have to be patient.
He’d call the police as soon as he got home, but he wanted to give his teammates a head start on finding Addison’s ex. They would use techniques the cops couldn’t to get answers. They’d get him to tell them everything about why he’d taken the girls.
He’d been unbelievably relieved when he’d called the boys’ school and found that they were still there. He told the secretary that he’d be picking them up and sent a quick text to Addison, letting her know that Artem and Borysko were safe.
The boys were confused about why he was getting them from school, instead of letting them take the bus. After they’d stepped outside, MacGyver went to one knee in front of them.
“I have some bad news,” he said solemnly.
Both boys stared at him with wide, worried eyes.
“Remember Brady? Ellory’s biological father?” He refused to say “real dad” because that’s whohewas. He may have only known Ellory for a little more than a year, and he certainly hadn’t been in any kind of fatherly role for long, but he still felt deep down thathewas her real dad. It might’ve taken him twelve years to find her, but now that he had, he knew Ellory was his own. It was the same gut feeling he had when he’d met Artem, Borysko, and Yana in that fucked-up situation in Ukraine. Some inherent knowledge that they were meant to be his.
“Yes. She no like him very much,” Borysko said.
“Right. Well, he picked up both Ellory and Yana from school today, and we don’t know why. We also don’t know where they are. We’re looking for them now.” MacGyver did his best to downplay the magnitude of what was happening.
But Artem’s eyes widened in his little face, and he began to tremble. “He take them?” he asked.
MacGyver refused to lie. Not to these boys, who’d already been through hell and back. “Yes. But I swear that my friends and I are doing everything we can to find them and bring them home.”
Artem turned to Borysko and began speaking urgently to him in Ukrainian. MacGyver didn’t interrupt. Didn’t ask what he was saying. There were times Artem seemed like the eight-year-old boy he was; other times, like now, he oozed vibes of someone ten years older.
Both boys seemed extremely worried and freaked out by the time Artem looked back at MacGyver. “Yana is scared. But Ellory is with her. She loves Ellory.”
“Yes to all three things,” MacGyver said.
“What we can do to help?” Artem asked.
“I need you to look after Addy. I also need you to trust my friends and me. We are doingeverythingin our power to find Brady and your sisters. The last thing I need is you two running off, thinking you can find her yourselves. This isn’t that bombed-out city in Ukraine. There, you two were the experts. You knew where to hide, where to find food. But Riverton ismycity. My friends and I will find Ellory’s biological father and make him tell us what’s going on. Okay?”
