“She knows that we lied, and she’s planning to seek an injunction to have Ari removed from the house.”
Xander swore, low and vicious.
“How?” Kennedy demanded. “How could she possibly find out? I covered for you.”
“Someone pointed her to Darcy.”
“Oh shit. Because your stalker is the best character reference for an adoption.”
“I don’t know who thought she’d be a good reference. Either way, she had proof I wasn’t in Ireland when Pru was.”
Xander folded his massive arms, his gray eyes cold. “I told you. I told you both this was a bad idea.”
Flynn’s temper spiked. Recriminations helped absolutely nothing. They were wasting time. Ari was out there somewhere, on her own. “You feel free to kick my ass six ways from Sunday as soon as this is all over. I guarantee you absolutely nothing you can say or do is worse than what I’m saying to myself. But right now, Ari’s out there, on her own, thinking God knows what. I don’t matter. She does.”
Kennedy put a restraining hand on Xander’s arm. “This woman said that in front of Ari? That she was going to take her away?”
Pru shook her head. “No. But you know how she eavesdrops. If she heard that…”
“She’d run,” Kennedy concurred. “It’s what I’d have done. Leave on my own terms. It’s what I did do before I came to Mom.”
Clyde knocked on the back door. At Xander’s gesture, he came on into the kitchen. “I didn’t find any sign, Sheriff.”
Xander inhaled a slow breath and scrubbed both hands over his face. “All right. What was she wearing?”
“I don’t know if she left in the same thing she had on earlier,” Pru said.
“What was that?”
“Blue jean shorts. That Volunteers t-shirt Logan brought her, I think. But she’d been changing outfits.”
“Run up to her room and see if you can sort out whether that’s there,” Xander ordered.
“I’ll go with you,” Kennedy said.
When they’d left the room, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “Essie, I need you to put out an immediate BOLO statewide for Ariana Rosas. Hispanic female, aged thirteen, approximately 5’3”, 110 pounds. Black hair down to her shoulder blades, brown eyes. Runaway. I—Yes, I know, Essie. That’s not pertinent to this BOLO. She was last seen wearing denim shorts and a UT Volunteers t-shirt—orange with white text. She has, at most, a two-hour head start. Probably less. She’s believed to have a backpack with her.”
“It’s blue,” Flynn offered, feeling sick as Xander nodded and continued.
“We’re going to do a broader sweep here, then I’ll get the release signed to put her into NCIC. This close to the state line, she could hit North Carolina, Virginia, or Kentucky, if she managed to hitchhike.”
Hitchhiking. Mary, Mother of God. Flynn hadn’t thought he could feel sicker than he already did. What kind of lunatic might she encounter if she tried to do that? She could get hurt. Or worse. Feeling absolutely useless and twitching with the need to move, he curled his hands to fists.
Xander talked a few more minutes, giving instructions regarding the mobilization of resources, as he finished making the tea he’d started. “Do you know if Chris is in town? No, no, I’ll call her myself.” He hung up the phone and gave Flynn a long, indecipherable look.
What could Flynn say? I’m sorry was paltry and wholly inadequate. I’m sorry didn’t undo any of this. He had no excuse, no justification. Under the circumstances, the fact that he loved Pru and Ari both meant nothing. He’d stayed intending to make their lives better, not cause them more pain.
“We’re going to find her.” Xander’s tone was hard. So was his expression. But Flynn took some comfort in the other man’s conviction. Xander loved this child, too, and he wouldn’t rest until she was home. For however much longer that lasted.
They both looked up as Pru and Kennedy came back into the room.
“The UT t-shirt isn’t in her room, and it looks like maybe she took a few other jeans and t-shirts, along with one of her hoodies. And her piggy bank was empty,” Pru reported.
“The food and water weren’t up there, so it looks like she took those with her,” Kennedy added.
“That’s good. We don’t have immediate concerns about dehydration. You said she left her phone. Any other electronic devices?” Xander asked.
“No. We’d been talking about getting her a Kindle with all the Percy Jackson books for her birthday, but that’s not for another three months.” Pru knit her hands.