Infamous (Beautiful Idols 3)

“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.”