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 taken offense, and it’s the last thing I meant. You have to understand, I didn’t have many advantages in life. I worked my ass off to get where I am.”
“So you assume my life has been a breeze because my family is rich?”
Heather scoffed. “Clearly not. It’s just I was always fascinated by girls like you. As a kid, I was forced to work on a ranch, mucking out stalls and hauling around giant bales of hay. The girls who owned the horses always seemed so glossy and effortless, with their long shiny ponytails and their expensive britches and boots. They reminded me of the pedigreed horses they rode. Thoroughbred Girls, I used to call them. Anyway, I guess that’s how I think of you too. You’re a Thoroughbred Girl if I’ve ever seen one.”
Aster was taken aback. She didn’t quite know how to respond.
“No matter how many magazine covers, product endorsements, or decent roles I get, I’ll never achieve that. I’ll never know what it’s like to feel so cushioned from the rougher edges of the world.”
“And you think I’m cushioned?” Aster glared.
“Well, clearly not anymore. You want my honest opinion?” Heather’s brown eyes fixed on Aster’s. “I think there’s a good chance you’re about to face a jury of twelve people who also grew up hating the Thoroughbred Girls, and believe me, that won’t end well for you. To make matters worse, your kind tends to lack the sort of survival skills girls like Madison and me learned by necessity.”
Aster stood speechless.
Heather held her gaze, then said, “So, she was here, right?” She glanced between Aster and Ryan. “Madison was here.”
Aster looked at Ryan. Ryan stayed silent.
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Heather said. “You’re wearing her watch!”
Aster’s gaze dropped to her wrist. She’d slipped it on just after they’d found it. She hadn’t yet decided what to do with it.
“Madison had more Hermès bags and Louboutin heels than she could count, but she cherished that thing more than anything else. You’re not going to try to keep it, are you?”
“Of course not!” Aster sounded offended, which she instantly regretted. It was better to stay neutral. Heather would consider any emotional reaction a victory, and Aster was unwilling to concede that to her.
“Then you better wipe it clean. Leaving any trace of your prints behind could really come back to bite you. Especially with so much evidence already stacked up against you.”
Slowly, Heather rose and lazily tugged at the hem of her dress. “Well, thanks for the hospitality.” She tossed a breezy wave over her shoulder as she brushed past them and made to leave.
“You’re leaving?” Aster stared after her retreating form.
“No point in staying when she won’t be returning.”
“How can you be sure?”
Heather turned with a grin. “Because Madison won’t stay in any one place for more than a day. I’m surprised she even came here, since it’s registered in her name. Well, her real name. And now that we all know what that is, it won’t be long before the LAPD and the press catch on. The fact that she was here just proves how desperate she is.” Heather shook her head sadly. But Heather wasn’t that good of an actress. It was clear she didn’t feel the least bit sorry for her former friend. “It’s weird to think she’s been gone for so long but never made it past here. Maybe she really did just need a break, but then the whole thing kind of blew up and she didn’t know where to turn.” She twirled a random blond curl around her index finger. “It’s kinda sad if you think about it. I mean, to be that well known and not have a single friend you can count on—other than Paul. All we can do is pray for her now.” She focused on Aster. “I’m sure you already are, only for different reasons, of course.” Heather reached for the door. “Anyway, gotta run. Shooting on the new show is set to begin.” Looking at Ryan, she said, “I really did lobby for you, but they’re trying to get Mateo Luna to sign. Pretty sure you know him.”
“I took myself out of the running early on,” Ryan said, his voice tight.
“Did you?” Heather looked amused. “My bad. Anyway, Mateo’s a natural. A reluctant natural, which makes him even more perfect. Still, it’s doubtful he’ll do it. He’s kind of a purist.”
“So, you two a thing now?” Aster studied her. She hadn’t liked her before. She liked her less now.
Heather laughed and stepped outside. “I never kiss and tell.” She shot a pointed look Ryan’s way. “You of all people should know that.”
Aster watched Heather climb into her car and drive away. When she was gone, Aster turned to Ryan and said, “What the hell did that mean?”
A flash of pain crossed Ryan’s face. “Nothing. You can’t trust anything she says.”
Aster wasn’t sure she believed him, but they had bigger issues to deal with than the long list of girls Ryan may or may not have slept with. “Do you think we should’ve followed her?” she asked.
Ryan shook his head. “I doubt she knows anything. She’s too narcissistic to waste much time on it. She’ll keep herself just involved enough to be part of the story, but no more.”
“You think she’s right about Madison not returning?”
Ryan shrugged. “Makes sense.”
“But then why would she leave the watch if she was supposedly so attached to it?”
“It was a sentimental attachment,” he said. “But make no mistake, her only real attachment is Blue. Which gives me hope that she really is out there. Even so, if it came down to it, Madison wouldn’t hesitate to walk away from him too.”
Aster gazed in dismay at the mess that surrounded them. “I’m not sure what to do from here.”
“You might want to start by checking your phone.” He nodded toward the table, where her cell vibrated.
“It’s Javen.” She looked at Ryan. “He sent an address. Says Layla’s headed there now.”
“Another dead end?”
Aster sighed. “Guess we’re about to find out.”