“I know that. Ash begged me not to tell you. She said if I talked to the principal, he would let it go with a warning. I told myself it was wrong to keep you in the dark, but the kid I saw that day wasn’t the same kid I knew.”

Becca wiped away her tears. He was right. Ash wasn’t the same kid. She had changed.

Christian continued. “I barely recognized her; she looked so good. She told me all about her photography, and she said you were doing well at work and that you were both really happy. I told her you would understand. Ash was insistent. She kept saying if you found out, it would ‘ruin everything,’ I pulled the principal aside, and he confirmed Ash was thriving. He kept saying, ‘She’s done remarkably well. I couldn’t be more impressed.’ After all you guys went through, you think I wanted to be the one responsible for that?”

When Ash first came to live with Becca, this was a textbook move. Ash could play people off each other better than anyone. Becca thought that was something Ash had grown out of. Apparently not.

“Ash was busted yesterday trying to score. An undercover cop caught her in the reservoir,” Becca said.

“I thought Ash was clean.”

“I did too. Guess we’re both in for a shock. Why the hell did they let you take her out of school without my permission?”

“I was still listed as her emergency contact. They knew I was a police officer so…” Christian trailed off.

Becca shook her head, understanding a badge wielded instant authority. “Did Ash say why she was ditching school?”

“Something about wanting to see her boyfriend.”

Becca leaned back in her seat. There was so much new information coming at her that she could barely keep up. “What are you talking about? What boyfriend?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No. I didn’t know. You think I wouldn’t mention a boyfriend if I knew about him? Jesus, of all the times you decide to keep me in the dark. What the hell were you thinking?”

There was a flicker of contrition on his face, a rare occurrence for a man who never admitted he was wrong. “I fucked up, Becca. Ash told me she met this kid while she was volunteering downtown. She swore it was a stupid impulse decision to skip school and see him, and if I covered for her, she wouldn’t do it again.”

“Guess what, Chris? She fucking did.”

He absorbed her rage. “I get you’re pissed. We can sit here and you can keep chewing me out, or we can focus on figuring out who the boyfriend is, where Ash went, and how to bring her home.”

Becca wanted to lash out at Christian, but he was right. They couldn’t waste any time. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it,” she said.