Unrivaled (Beautiful Idols 1)

Aster frowned and looked all around. Sure, the lake was pretty, and the swans looked really peaceful, but she hated funerals, graveyards, anything to do with death, dying, and decay. She could never understand the fixation some people had with the dark side, the macabre, anything ghoulish or ghostly. Halloween was her least favorite holiday. Though of course Layla sat there looking perfectly at ease. With her dark skinny jeans and black leather moto jacket, she’d managed to nail cemetery chic, if there was such a thing.

“We’re competing against each other, in case you’ve forgotten.” Aster heaved her bag higher onto her shoulder, ready to leave. Better to head back to her luxury apartment, take a long, hot bubble bath, and try to forget she’d ever allowed herself to get dragged into this mess.

“It’s not about the competition.” Layla switched her focus between Aster and Tommy. “I’m talking about Madison’s disappearance and how the cops are trying to pin it on us.”

Aster sighed in defeat and sank onto the lawn. Tommy did the same, minus the sighing.

“Listen—” Layla leaned toward them, her tone hushed and hurried. “I’m sure we have our reasons for not trusting each other, but we need to find a way to save ourselves before the cops take us down.”

Aster smirked.

Layla shrugged. Then turning her attention to Tommy, she said, “I know you pointed the finger at me.”

Aster stared at Tommy in shock. It was the first she’d heard of it.

“If it wasn’t for your stupid blog, none of this would’ve happened.” He clenched his jaw, narrowed his gaze. “You are single-handedly responsible for this mess.”

“Is that what you tell yourself?” Layla shook her head, tossed her hat on the ground beside her. “Are you seriously that naive?”

“Well, this is off to a really nice start,” Aster grumbled. “Clearly we have some major trust issues that won’t be resolved anytime soon, so can we just fast-forward and get to the point?”

Layla averted her gaze, taking a moment to steady herself before saying, “Aster’s right.” She pinched a blade of grass between her index finger and thumb, pausing to examine it before returning her focus to them. “I’m convinced we each know more than we’re telling. And if we can set the animosity aside long enough to share what really happened that night, we might uncover something that’ll point the finger elsewhere.”

If it involved anyone other than the three of them, it might work. But no way was Aster agreeing to that. For all she knew, Layla was working for Larsen, maybe even wearing a wire.

“Fine,” Layla said, when no one volunteered to take a turn. “It was my idea, so I’ll start.” She looked pointedly between them. “But first I want to see your phones.”

“What—why?” Aster clutched her bag tighter, as though Layla might seize it.

“Because I don’t want anyone taping this. I want us to speak freely, without fear of recrimination.”

Layla tossed her phone in the center. Aster begrudgingly followed. And after fiddling with his for a bit, Tommy added his too.

“What?” He deflected their outraged looks. “You can’t blame me for trying to protect myself.”

Aster braced herself for Layla’s response. Layla always defaulted to sarcasm, but this time, she somehow refrained. “Whatever. Here goes: I followed Tommy and Madison to the Vesper.”

“How’s that a secret?” Aster interrupted, not even trying to hide her frustration. “It was right there on your blog.”

“Okay, so maybe I don’t really have anything that hasn’t already been documented and widely read. But here’s the thing—my blog is not the best alibi, since it was posted several hours after I left the Vesper. Several hours after Madison left Tommy. And . . .” She paused, biting down on her lip as though debating whether to share something. “Madison filed a restraining order against me, which makes me just

as big a suspect as you two.”

“Why would she do that?” Tommy studied Layla as though it was the first time they’d met.

“Maybe she wasn’t as nice as you think,” Layla snapped, glaring at Tommy before shifting her focus to the lake, where the swans appeared to glide across a mirror of water.

Tommy pulled at the grass, his expression so unreadable, it reminded Aster of Ira. The silence lingered for so long, she figured she might as well go in his place.

It took guts for Layla to admit to the restraining order. Aster was surprised Madison hadn’t filed one against her as well. And while she was no closer to liking Layla as a person, she definitely agreed that Madison wasn’t nearly as nice as the image she portrayed. The girl had an edge. Aster had seen it the night she’d shown up at the club. Looking back, Aster could see Madison was doing reconnaissance, setting her up. For all she knew, Ryan was in on it too. Whatever the case, like Layla, no way was she getting pinned for a crime she hadn’t committed.

She tucked her hair behind her ears, cleared her throat, and said, “I don’t remember anything after leaving the club.”

“The amnesia defense? Always a classic.” Tommy scrutinized her as Layla quickly shushed him.

“All I know is, after the whole Madison thing I wanted to leave, but Ira insisted on serving us champagne, telling us we were better off hanging out where he could look after us, which seemed a little weird—”

“Because it is weird,” Tommy snapped, his harsh reaction prompting Aster and Layla to flinch. “What the hell was he thinking?” His lips pulled tight, as his darkened gaze moved over them.