What the hell kind of game was she playing?
“That is,” she added, “if you get home at all.”
The way she said it, Tommy had no way of knowing if she meant ever—like if he ever got home at all—or for just that night.
Before he had a chance to respond, she said, “Make a tight right up ahead. Then follow the long dirt road all the way down. I’m taking you the back way.”
“I’ve no doubt,” Tommy murmured, committed to playing along.
NINETEENLADY GRINNING SOUL
Aster was so engrossed in searching through Madison’s belongings that she failed to hear the sound of tires crunching over gravel as a car approached the trailer. Luckily, Ryan alerted her.
“Who is it?” She looked up in alarm as he bolted toward the window.
Ryan shrugged and whispered back. “I can’t make out the driver.”
Aster glanced around wildly. In such a small space, there was no good place to hide. Then again, there was also no good reason to hide. It was Madison. She was sure of it. The moment she’d been waiting for from the second she’d been charged with her murder had finally arrived.
Aster positioned herself just shy of the door. Ryan looked uncertain, but Aster just nodded and kept her gaze firm. A car door closed, followed by the shuffle of footsteps. When the door latch lifted, Aster’s pulse spiked with panic. They’d forgotten to lock the door! Would Madison get suspicious and run? It was a possibility Aster couldn’t risk.
She sprang toward the door the same moment it opened from the outside and Heather Rollins strolled in.
“What the hell?” Heather rocked back on her heels as her arm shot out, grasping for something to steady herself.
“What’re you doing here?” Ryan shouted, as Aster stood gasping beside him.
Heather righted herself, smoothed a hand over her long blond curls, and in an accusatory voice said, “Pretty sure I could ask the same thing of you two.” She pushed past them and surveyed the messy space. Whistling under her breath, she said, “Was it ransacked when you got here, or is this your doing?”
“What do you want?” Aster folded her arms across her chest and glared.
Heather turned with a grin and wagged a finger between them. “Look at you with your matching tees. You two legit now?” Her brown eyes flashed. “Oh, relax,” she said, reading Aster’s enraged expression. “It’s not like I’m gonna alert the press. Who you choose to hook up with is your business. Though I am curious . . .” She moved closer. “Does this mean you’re no longer a virgin?” She set her gaze on Aster, before switching to Ryan. “Or is she still making you wait for it?”
Aster was furious, ready to unleash the full extent of her fury, when Heather said, “Better get used to it. You’re the one who decided to go on Trena’s show and profess your purity to the world. I remember thinking just seconds after you said it that you’d live to regret it.”
“What do you want?” Ryan slid a protective arm around Aster, but it did nothing to calm her. She was too wound up for that.
“Looking for Madison.” She pursed her lips and looked around. “But apparently, she’s not here.”
“So you think she’s alive, then?” Aster was annoyed, but she knew better than to let it get in the way. If Heather knew something, then Aster needed to try a little harder to befriend her.
“Of course she’s alive.” Heather rolled her eyes like it was a well-known fact, and not a question the whole world was debating.
“What makes you so sure?” Ryan watched as Heather wandered to the far end of the trailer, where she stood gazing at the collection of crystals.
She pinched a stone between her fingers and said, “Rose quartz.” She held it up for better inspection. “Said to attract love and romance. Did she use this to cast her spell on you?”
Ryan’s face went grim as Heather laughed, replaced the crystal, and sank down onto one of the cushions. Crossing her legs in a way that encouraged her dress to rise high on her thigh, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and said, “Then again, no love spell necessary, right? I mean, after all, she is Madison Brooks. And Madison gets what Madison wants. She’s weatherproof, waterproof, scandalproof. Nothing ever sticks. Including her breakup with you.” She nudged a finger at Ryan. “She made sure to manipulate it in a way that made her look good, while you two . . .” She shook her head and smirked. “Well, you looked like a couple of assholes, didn’t you?”
Ryan frowned. Aster struggled to withhold her response.
“Anyway, despite all the evidence, I never believed she was dead. I also never believed you guys were guilty of anything other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And maybe, at least in Aster’s case, a tiny bit of tragic naïveté. And then yesterday, when Paul called—”
Aster jumped in before she could finish. “You heard from Paul?”
Heather swiveled back and forth in the chair, making them wait. “He claims he wants Madison’s dog. But if you ask me, it seems a bit sketchy.”
“So what happened?” Ryan asked. “No one’s been able to find him.”
Heather inspected her nails. “And they still can’t. I waited for over an hour and he never showed.” She looked around with a bored gaze. “One thing’s for sure, if you find Paul, you find Madison.”
“You make it sound easy,” Aster said.
“Do I?” Heather looked amused. “You’re the one who broke into his office. Pretty sure you know more about the mysterious Paul Banks than any of us.”
Aster clamped her lips shut. She wasn’t about to incriminate herself.
“Oh please, it’s not like it’s some big secret. The whole world knows you were there. Ballsy move on your part—didn’t know a girl like you had it in you.”
“A girl like me.” Aster stiffened her stance. She didn’t like where this was going, but she was braced for just about anything.
“Aw, see, now you’ve
