Page 89 of Protecting Addison
“Yeah?”
“I love you. I just thought you should know.”
She beamed at him. “I love you too, Ricky.”
“Have a good day. Kick some bully butt if necessary.”
“I will. You kick some bad guy butt.”
“I will.”
They smiled at each other, and MacGyver stayed long enough to watch her walk into the school. He hadn’t told the girl that he loved her before. Today just felt like the right time and place. He wasn’t a mushy guy…Strike that, he hadn’t been before he’d met Addison and her daughter, and before he’d started the adoption process for Artem, Borysko, and Yana. But he wasn’t ashamed of letting those he loved know how he felt about them. Life was too short, he knew that better than most, and he didn’t want another day to go by without his stepdaughter knowing how much he cared about her.
As he drove toward the base, MacGyver smiled. Today was going to be a good day. He had no doubt.
* * *
Today was going to be a great day. Brady felt energized. Jazzed. And it wasn’t because of the few shots he’d taken before he’d left his crappy apartment.
Everything was in place. His contact was ready and the Conex was prepared. All he had to do was get Ellory and bring her to the dock. He’d pass her off to his associate, and then he’d play the concerned father when Addison called him to let him know that she was missing.
The only thing he needed to worry about was keeping his story straight when he was asked why he’d picked up Ellory from school. But he had a plan for that. He’d take her phone, change the time on both, then set up a fake text convo between the two cells, where she asked him to pick her up because she wasn’t feeling well. He’d have to come up with a convincing reason why she’d get in touch withhimand not her mom, but he’d figure that out.
First things first. Get the girl, take her to the dock without her realizing what was happening, then he’d figure out the smaller details.
Thinking about the money that would soon be in his bank account made Brady almost giddy. He’d never made so much with one score; it would be life changing.
He pulled into a parking space at the middle school and took a deep breath. Then he let it out slowly before getting out of his truck.
“You got this,” he muttered to himself as he walked toward the front doors. There would be cameras, Brady expected that. He did his best to look like a worried father as he stepped inside the building. Following the signs to the office, he went over his story in his head.
“Hi! How can I help you?” the woman behind the desk asked.
“I’m Brady Vogel. I’m here to pick up Ellory Wentz.”
The woman clicked on a few keys on her keyboard, then frowned. “I’m sorry, I don’t see that she’s scheduled to be picked up early today.”
“I know. I’m her father. Her biological father. Her mom and stepdad were in an accident. I’m here to bring her to the hospital so she can be with them.”
“Oh! That’s awful. Are they going to be all right?”
“The doctors aren’t sure right now,” Brady said with as much sadness as he could infuse into his voice.
“I’ll check the list of approved people who can pick her up and get you guys on your way. If I can have your ID, please.”
This was the tricky part. Brady pulled out his ID and gave it to the woman. “I don’t think Addison has had time to put me on the list yet. You see, we just reconnected after years of being apart, and of course no one thought something like this would happen. But if you get Ellory, she’ll tell you it’s okay.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry but…if you aren’t on the list, we can’t let her go with you.”
“Right. So you’re going to let her mother possibly die without Ellory being able to say goodbye? Because of a clerical error? I’m sure that’ll go over real well. I’m generally not a sue-happy person, but in this case, I’d one hundred percent support a lawsuit. Look, I’m her biological father. I’m not lying. Just get Ellory and ask her. She’s old enough to be able to say no to going with me. It’s not as if I’m here to kidnap her. I just want to get her to her mom.”
“I’m not sure…I’m new here and…”
Brady mentally rubbed his hands together in glee. He loved brand-new employees.
“Look. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. But the accident was horrible. There’s a chance Ellory’s stepfather will live, but her mom…” Brady looked down and tried to produce tears…with no luck. “She’s bad,” he said after a long pause.
“I’ll send someone to get Ellory out of class.”
