Wren maneuvered the sedan into Hobby Lobby's parking lot and parked in the nearest space. His thumbs tapped the steering wheel as he pondered the situation. He'd searched all the roads near the school, but no sign of Leah. Surely, she hadn't been foolish enough to hitch a ride; hopefully, she'd learned her lesson about trusting strangers from their own incident in the woods.

No... Something wasn't adding up. He felt it, deep in his gut.

Father, where did I go wrong? Please, give me some direction. He leaned his head against the seat, took a calming breath, and, deciding to start from the beginning, replayed his conversation with the teenagers through his mind. Almost immediately, he tensed. Alyssa. She'd hesitated when he'd asked which direction Leah had gone. Hadn't she? Yes. Yes! She had hesitated.

He whipped his phone from his pocket, scanned the contacts, and tapped the name, Fiona.

After two rings, her soft voice said, "Hello?"

"Fiona? Hey, it's Wren."

"Hello, Wren. Is something wrong?"

"There might be... Do you know anything about a girl named Alyssa?"

When she scoffed, Wren stiffened. "Well, I'm not supposed to say anything, but..."

"Leah's gone."

"What?"

"She didn't show up after school, and a girl—Alyssa—said she saw her heading for the highway. Considering it was Leah we were talking about, I thought it was a valid accusation, but now... I might have been sent on a wild goose chase."

"Oh, no! I knew that brat would take things too far one day! I never should have kept Alyssa's bullying a secret. I'm sorry, Wren. This is all my fault!"

Wren was already reversing the car. "Leah's being bullied?" Anger simmered.

"Yes, but she wanted to handle it on her own because of her father being over protective already."

"Thanks, Fiona. I'm headed back to the school, but I'll text as soon as I find her."

"Should I call the police?" There was a slight tremble to her voice, and the full weight of being responsible for another's wellbeing pressed on him. He hesitated as he considered the options.

"Let me check the school first. If I don't find her there... yes. I think that would be a good idea."

"Okay. Call me as soon as you find her!"

"I will. Talk soon." Wren shoved his cell phone into his suit coat pocket as he entered the empty Springdale High School parking lot. Wasting no time, he ran to the entry doors and banged on the glass.

"Is anyone there?"

No answer. He jogged around the building. "Leah Kingsley!" he shouted and then paused to listen. Tweeting birds were his only answer, and the setting sun told him that soon, it would be crickets responding instead. He continued to walk/jog around the large building, calling out in intervals.

"Why didn't I get her schedule? Stupid! Some butler I'm turning out to be," he muttered.

A familiar sound of wheels on pavement reached him, and he jogged back to the front of the school. On the parking lot, a young man maneuvered his skateboard beneath his feet, flipped it, effortlessly. Hope stirred inside Wren; it was the same teenager who'd been driving the jeep Alyssa had been in.

When Wren approached and the boy saw him, the teenager waved as if greeting an old friend. "Dude! You're the guy from today. Man, you were awesome!"

Wren grinned and shrugged, struggling inwardly against a surge of impatience.

Patience, the Lord whispered to his heart, and Wren forced his tense self into a relaxed stance.

"It's me. You've got some awesome moves there."

The teenager seemed beyond pleased at the compliment. "Ugh, do you skate?"

"Used to with my some guys, friends, I guess. It was kind of our pass time."

The skateboard was held out toward Wren. "Care to show me?"

He wanted to knock the skateboard away. He didn't have time for this. But if this kid knew Leah's whereabouts, it wouldn't hurt to get on his good side.

Wren took the board. "It's been a couple years, but I'll give it a go."

"I won't judge."

Any worries that he might not be able to perform for the youth vanished, and without much thought, Wren flipped the skateboard in a flawless movement. To add a finishing touch, he skated to the nearby parking curb, skidded across its top, and landed on the other side. In truth, it wasn't the most advanced of moves, but it did have the intended effect on the teenager.

"Man, you're my hero."

Wren chuckled as he gave the skateboard back. "The other guys I skated with were way better."

"You must have had some pretty awesome friends." Envy laced the teen's tone. "I bet you were super popular too."

Wren's grin faded. "They weren't my friends; they were bullies that would have stabbed me in the back the first chance they got."

The teen shifted. "Yeah..."

"So, Alyssa; she's not really a friend of Leah's, is she?"

"Not really..."

Wren studied the young man and decided on a new tactic. "I don't blame her, I guess. Leah Kingsley is spoiled rotten and selfish to the core." Sorry, Princess.

The boy's head snapped up in surprise.

Wren continued, "I can't believe she took off like that too. I will be out all night looking for her, and that brat doesn't even care."

"You her body guard or somethin'?"

"Something. Looks like it will be a long night for me." Wren rubbed his neck, sighed.

The teenager appeared to be pondering. He said with some hesitance, "I can't say much, but I think she'll be alright. I bet you could get some sleep, and she'll turn up tomorrow, right as rain." He tossed Wren a wink.

Wren smiled. "Is that right? You seem to be okay, kid. What's your name?"

"It's Dean, man."

"Dean. Nice name. How old are you? Seventeen?"

"Actually, I'm eighteen. I'll be nineteen next month. I failed a grade, so I'll be graduatin' a little late." Dean ducked his head, and Wren could see he was embarrassed. And at any other time, Wren would have been compassionate, for he well knew the struggles of troubled, young men. But it wasn't any other time.

"Eighteen, almost nineteen... Makes you a man then, doesn't it?"

Dean raised his head, surprised, as if he'd never considered such a thought. "That's right, it does." His chest puffed out a little.

"Sure does." Wren lunged across the small distance between them and grabbed Dean by the nape of his tee and jerked him close until their faces were inches apart. The skate board clattered to the black pavement, and Dean's eyes widened in stunned fear. "You had better tell me where Leah is right now, or I will drag you to the police station. Don't think for a second that your skateboard or fancy jeep will win you popularity in jail, and kidnapping is no small crime."

Dean went white; he didn't even attempt to wrench away from Wren's grip. "I didn't do anything, I promise. It was Alyssa. I didn't even know about it until we left the school."

Wren tightened his hold. "Where is she?"

"In the gym. Alyssa said she and some other girls locked her in the equipment room. They locked the gym doors too and turned in the keys to the principal, so I bet she's still there. Man, I swear, I didn't do it."

Wren growled a low, rumbling sound that caused Dean to grow paler. He released Dean's shirt. "Where's the gym?"

"I'll show you. Anything you want. I'm sorry, just please don't call the police. I - I didn't mean for this to happen."

Wren glared. "No, you just didn't think you'd get caught. Now where is the gym, for the last time."

"Behind the school. Big building. You can't miss it."

Wren raced toward the gym.

###

Dean didn't understand why he did it, but when the bodyguard took off running, he followed close behind. He stood what he considered a safe distance away as the man tried the gym doors despite the fact Dean had told him they were locked.

"What's your name?" Dean asked as he followed the guard around the side of the gym.

"Wren," was the curt reply.

Wren eyed a large window on the gym's wall. Even in the dusk, Dean saw its glass pane was lifted. Then, the guard's attention shifted to him again.

"Why are you still here?"

"I - I just thought you could use some help." Guilt tugged at Dean. He recalled his surprise when Alyssa had admitted what she and the girls had done, and shame filled him that he hadn't said anything about it. At the time, it had been easy to shove Leah from his mind. He was shocked when Wren placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You seem like you could be a good guy, Dean. If I may offer you any advice right now, it would be to find some new friends. Failing a grade or not, you're a man now, and it's time to grow up." Though the words were harsh, they were said gently.

"I know." Dean stared at his feet, shuffled a boot in the dirt. "I'm sorry, man." This time he meant it.

There was a space of silence. Dean suddenly realized that darkness had crept over them. As if on cue, a cricket chirped.

"I forgive you."

Dean's heart leaped with relief, and he grinned at Wren.

"Now as for Leah, good luck!" A low chuckle followed that statement. "If you want to help, hold this flashlight."

A tiny pocket flashlight was thrust into his hand. When he turned it on, it ignited the night around them. "Wow, that's an intense light for such a small flashlight."

"Yep. Now, shine it on that window up there and don't move it."

Curious, Dean did as instructed and watched as Wren jogged a decent distance from the wall. Wren bolted for the paneled siding at a dead run.

"What are you—?" Dean said as the guard whizzed by him. His jaw sagged when Wren ran up the gym's side with two, huge leaps. Each step clashed against the tin, sounding like thunder, and Dean waited with baited breath for gravity to send the man plummeting back to the ground. Instead, the guard used the last of his momentum and hurled himself to the open window. His hands caught the window's metal ledge. Despite the fact that Wren was wearing a suit coat, Dean could see thick muscle in his arms, straining against the seams of the coat's sleeves. Uttering one loud grunt, Wren then hoisted himself, slid through the window's open space, and disappeared from sight.

Dean stood there, gaping, for a full two minutes before finally, he lowered the flashlight and turned it off. "He's just... awesome." His whisper sounded loud in the darkness, but he felt far from alone, for he knew he'd found that new friend he'd been encouraged to find.

###