Page 117 of Protecting Addison
They all had a lot going on, and Smiley actually appreciated being able to get caught up with everyone’s lives. He didn’t love being the current center of attention, but since he needed a sounding board, and help, he’d suffer through it.
“She’s close,” he told his friends. “I can feel it. I don’t know why she hasn’t reached out. But she needs help. That has to be why she’s here. And she somehow knew we were at that shipyard…which means she’s been following us.Me. I need you all to be on the lookout. For a car that’s hanging around, for a woman in places you wouldn’t expect. And if you see a woman who looks the way I described Bree, detain her.”
“I’m not sure?—”
“I’m not saying slap a pair of zip-ties on her and throw her to the ground. But…talk to her. See if you can get her to stay close by until I can get there. I have no concrete evidence, but this woman is in trouble. She wouldn’t be working so hard to stay under the radar if she wasn’t. And I haven’t been able to find any info on her ex, the asshole who sold her into sexual slavery.”
“Tex hasn’t come through?” Preacher asked in surprise
“I haven’t asked him to look into that part,” Smiley admitted. “Just asked him to let me know if she uses a bank card or credit card anywhere.”
“Why not?” Blink asked. “I bet he could have all the info you need in less than twenty-four hours.”
Smiley wasn’t sure how to answer that. Except…hewanted to be the one who saved the day. It was stupid. But all his life, he’d been the grunt. The guy who did what was asked of him and followed everyone else. One of the team. Just once, he’d wanted to be the savior. The guy who swooped in with the red cape.
“Because I’m an idiot?” he said with a self-deprecating shrug.
“No, you’re not…but youarekind of being one in this case,” Kevlar told him honestly. “And of course we’ll be on the lookout for you. If we see anything or anyone who looks like the woman you described, we’ll get in touch with you immediately. Believe it or not, we all want to find this Bree person.”
“Especially me,” MacGyver said. “I owe her everything. Without her…” His words trailed off. They were all well aware of what might’ve happened to Ellory and Yana without Bree’s sacrifice.
“How are they?” Preacher asked. “The girls?”
“Surprisingly good. Ellory had a pretty intense Crohn’s flare, and we had to go to the emergency room, but she’s feeling better. And Yana has been speaking a lot more. They were lucky.Wewere lucky.”
“And Addison? She coping all right?” Safe asked.
“She’s good. And…there’s a chance she might be pregnant.”
All the men smiled and congratulated MacGyver.
“Maggie’s gonna be thrilled. Having a cousin born so close to our kid would be awesome,” Preacher said with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“I think that’s what convinced her not to use any birth control,” MacGyver admitted. “She liked the thought of our kid having a friend close to his or her age to grow up with.”
“Yeah, that’s what Josie said too,” Blink mused, staring over the water as if remembering a particularly good moment between him and his girlfriend.
Everyone stared at the taciturn SEAL.
“What?” he asked with a small grin. “There’s nothing I can think of that would be better than our kids all causing havoc in the same class at school.”
“What are the odds of you having twins?” Flash joked.
“Well, since I’m a twin, my mom was a twin, andherdad was a twin, I’d say pretty good.”
“Right, so two of our women are knocked up, Blink’s gonna see what he can do about giving Josie a pair of little red-haired babies…what about the rest of you?” Preacher asked.
“Don’t look at me,” Smiley said in a rush.
“Me either,” Flash added. “I don’t even have the possibility of a girlfriend on the horizon.”
“Aren’t you heading to Jamaica?” Safe asked.
“Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?”
“I’m just sayin’…bachelor party, men being men…there are bound to be some hot chicks on the beach. Maybe you can turn on the charm and see what happens.”
“I still can’t believe you’re going to Jamaica, of all places,” Kevlar bitched.
