Page 91 of The MC's Little Brother

That answer wasn’t good enough, and she narrowed her eyes at me again. With a heavy sigh, I grabbed the nearest one and ripped it open, showing her the contents inside.

“I work with tech. My boss sends me stuff that’s been messed with and it’s my job to figure out how and why. Once I’m done, I send them back. I’ve been working on something else recently, so I haven’t gotten around to it.”

Things like that were low priority unless it had to do with an active case. Salinger always prioritized cases over research like this.

She leaned a little to look at all the addresses printed on the boxes. All from the same place. All were addressed to me directly. If it was something dangerous or illegal, I wouldn’t be putting my damn name on it.

Eventually, she nodded and gestured for me to continue. “I’ve noticed a portion of your home has been renovated. Can you show that to me?”

I shook my head. “No. My office is connected to my room and is off-limits. I’m assuming it says in those files who I work for and what I do. The reason I don’t need to live in a city is that I created an inaccessible place to work from in my own home. You don’t have the clearance to be in there.”

She wasn’t happy with that answer and pressed further. “What about Xander? Is he allowed in there?”

“Again no. There’s a keypad on the door, so he can’t even gain access to it. Not that he ever goes in my bedroom anyway. We respect each other’s spaces here.”

“Mr. Ruiz–”

“Miss Packman,” I interrupted. “I’ve shown you my home several times now. There is nothing dangerous here. Xander is safe, and I intend to keep it that way. I don’t own any weapons, my club is legit and doesn’t engage in any illegal activity, and I wouldn’t be a part of it if it did. My job does regular drug tests and illegal activity would be cause for immediate dismissal. Why the hell are you so intent on painting me as the bad guy?”

49

Wraith

My temper got the best of me and I admit, I shouldn’t have challenged her like that. Not only did I piss her off, but I was loud enough that Xander heard me, too. He came thundering up the stairs, trying to put himself between me and the CPS worker. I pulled him away and kept him at my side instead. He glared at her like she was already planning on taking him. Which, after the way I reacted, she probably was.

“Mr. Ruiz, I don’t know–”

“Leave my brother alone!” Xander shouted, cutting her off. “He’s the best brother I could ever ask for and you aren’t taking me away from him! I’ll run away if you do!” His voice cracked with his threat and big tears streamed down his face. Mel came up last and watched with a frown as me and my brother faced off with the woman determined to hate us.

Ms. Packman sighed, putting the hand not holding her notebook up in a soothing gesture. “I’m not taking you away from your brother, Xander. Honestly, after the reports I got the last few days, I doubt I could find a better place for you.”

“What reports?” I demanded.

She reached into her big purse, pulling out a manilla file. Flipping it open, she gestured inside. “Xander’s doctors tell me he’s one hundred percent healthy and being well cared for at home. His family therapist says he’s making good progress on recovering and connecting well with his new family. The school says he is bright and polite, and his grades have done a complete one-eighty from what they had been in Chicago.”

Well, shit. I hadn’t realized she was here to give us good news. A final check was nothing if she was just tying up a few loose ends.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have–”

She shook her head. “I’m the one who needs to apologize, Mr. Ruiz. You’re right. I came in here expecting the worst. My soon-to-be ex-husband is a cop, you see. I do my best not to let his views taint my objectivity, but he was vehement that anyone connected to your club was dangerous, and that Xander was in danger. My first priority is the safety of the kids under my care. It was wrong of me to assume that your club is dangerous just because my ex is unhappy about the recent lawsuit against his department.”

She offered Xander a small smile. “If you can tell me right now, with one hundred percent certainty, that this is where you want to be, then I’ll sign off tonight and hand everything in first thing tomorrow.”

Xander didn’t even hesitate. “I want to stay with my brother. I’m happy here.”

She nodded. “Okay, then. Mattias Ruiz, you are now officially the guardian of Xander Ruiz. A copy of the paperwork will be sent to you and your lawyer. I wish the three of you all the best.”

And then she left. I stood stunned for a minute, staring at where she’d stood. It was Xander who moved first, doing a little fist pump as he hissed, “Yes!”

A smile spread across Mel’s face and she closed the space between us, pulling us both into a group hug. “I’m so happy for you two. I knew it’d happen eventually.”

“Not just us,” Xander said with a shake of his head. “She said the three of us. That means you too!”

While the paperwork only named me, Xander was right. We were raising him together. I let out a slow breath and felt a smile stretch across my lips.When I looked down at her, Mel had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling just as much.

“He’s right. Guess we better move you in already.”

“Really? Yes!” Xander shouted, punching his fist into the air again. Mel laughed out loud, hugging my side while listening to Xander talk about having the entire second floor to himself. Mel mentioned making a teen space for Xander on the landing since it was plenty big enough. I didn’t mind the idea and just listened as they made plans. Things would change around here, and it was definitely not quiet anymore, but I was okay with that. It was all worth it to have my family with me.

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