The thought of returning home without Ash, of having to face her mother, was almost too much to bear. Unfortunately, Becca was out of ideas. They weren’t any closer to finding Ash than they’d been a few hours before. Which meant Becca would need to come up with another plan.

She followed Christian back down the trash covered streets toward San Pedro. They were almost at his car when she heard shouting. “Hey, Doc. Hey, Doc, hold up. Hold up.”

She spun around to find Raya jogging toward her. Christian instinctively stepped forward, his jaw clenched, eyes narrowed, hand raised as though he were a bodyguard and she were the client. “Easy, Chris. She’s one of my clients.”

Raya reached Becca, her breath coming out in short spurts. She noticed the young woman was wearing the same clothes from yesterday, a sharp odor emanating from her. Her eyes were heavy as though she hadn’t slept. “Raya, why aren’t you at the mission? You should have been able to shower and get some rest.”

“I was going to. Then I caught a couple of bitches going through my stuff. I didn’t start any shit, but I sure as hell finished it.”

There was no way to know if these women were really trying to steal from Raya, or if this was the reality she created in her mind. It didn’t matter though. Fighting was prohibited in the shelters, so in all likelihood she’d been asked to leave.

“You got a second to talk?” Raya asked. She gave Christian a dismissive glare. “Without the cop.”

“It’s okay, Raya. He’s a friend,” Becca said.

“Not my friend. I don’t do cops. Especially pretty boy cops.”

“Christian, do you mind giving us a few minutes?” Becca said.

“At least she called me pretty,” he said, forcing a smile. “I’ll go make some calls, but I’m right across the street if you need anything,” Christian said.

“Don’t worry, handsome. Your lady is safe with me,” Raya said. Christian shot Becca a pointed look, one that said “watch yourself,” and jogged across the street.

“I’m sorry the mission didn’t work out, Raya. If you don’t mind waiting, I can make some more calls. Try and get you in somewhere else,” Becca said. This would take time away from her search for Ash, but Becca couldn’t ignore this young woman. She had a professional obligation.

“Nah, I’m cool. Gonna crash with a friend when he gets back to town tomorrow. I’ll make do ’til then.”

Becca was consistently amazed at people’s ability to adapt. “Make do” likely meant Raya would spend tonight sleeping on the streets.

“Are you sure? We can drive you someplace safe,” Becca said.