Her words, however, are crystal clear.
“What the actual[redacted]?”
08
Adi
Backstage, Adi watched Sierra wrench off her lab coat and shoveit into an intern’s arms. The intern stammered that they were supposed to keep the coats on but was answered with a lewd gesture.
Adi couldn’t process it.Sierra Angeloswas on his team.
She was in her signature dark clothes, tattoos wending up her pale arms and under the sleeves of her tight tee, hair cinched in a high ponytail. Same old vengeful, villainous Sierra from season four.
She spotted Adi staring at her. “What’re you slack-jawing at?” Adi couldn’t help himself. He laughed.
Sierra stomped forward. In her boots, she was almost his height. “You think this is funny?”
Adi tried to suppress his grin. There was seriously something wrong with him. It was bad enough to make a hobby of riling up his mother, but at least she wouldn’t leave him dead in a prop coffin. Hollywood didn’t look kindly on people who murdered family members.
Usually.
“Kudos to the producers,” he said. “Bringing you back was a genius move.”
Sierra gave Adi the once-over. “Let’s not give them too much credit. Just do as I say, and maybe this time everyone will make it through the season alive.”
The air between them frosted over, but Adi held her gaze. “I want to win as much as you.”
When Sierra lifted her eyebrow, her barbell piercing glinted in the light. “Then we won’t have a problem, will we?”
“Right, contestants, this way,” said one of the older crew members, pushing Adi’s backpack into his arms. The tension snapped.
They were herded into the corridor. Adi was certain he couldn’t be the only one harboring a morbid curiosity at being in the presence of a real-life killer. That must’ve been why the therapist asked how he felt about Alicia’s death—she’d wanted to know if he’d be put off his game with Sierra Angelos as a teammate.
Well.Hewasn’t going to let this distract him. Now that the initial shock had worn off, he was going to treat her like anyone else. Whatever beef Sierra had with her sister had nothing to do with him, and the shrink would’ve had to clear her before she came on the show. Besides, she was a damn good puzzle solver. Maybe she’d even be an asset.
As for the others . . .
Beck had kept his cool through the round and been the first one to figure out the Game Master’s clue. But Carter had been anxious from the start. Adi eyed her now. Unlike the rest of them, who had been given black pants and sneakers, she was wearing shiny white boots and a skirt so short it barely peeked out beneath the green lab coat. As Adi watched, she removed her thick-framed eyeglasses and tucked them into a pocket.
He rolled his eyes. They were on a puzzle-solving show, and still he was surrounded by frauds.
They were led into a greenroom, which looked like it had been decorated by a middle-aged hack trying to imitate a teenager’s natural habitat. There was a dusty foosball table and a TV hooked up to a bunch of video game consoles. Beanbag chairs in primary colors were scattered around a geometric carpet, and a huge mirror hung on the wall, framed by Edison lightbulbs.
A buffet table held coffee and tea, a dispenser filled with ice water, trays of sad-looking sandwiches, and bags of generic potato chips.
The other contestants were eating and mingling, but a hush fell when Adi’s team entered.
“Shiiiiit,” said a bulky guy with a sports jacket and spiky brown hair. He—along with everyone else—was staring at Sierra Angelos.
Sierra’s cool gaze swept over the room, meeting the stares. After a painfully awkward silence, she dipped into an elaborate, flourishing bow that culminated in a raised middle finger before walking out again.
The jock barked a laugh. “Class act there. And do my eyes deceive me?” He strutted over and took Carter’s shoulders in his meaty hands, eyeing her up and down. Her body stiffened. “You are a spitting image of that sexy cartoon character on the Domain. Don’t tell me. Kick It Carter?”
“Uh—yeah,” said Carter, laughing uncomfortably. “That’s me.”
He released her in exchange for a fist bump. “Jarius Baisley-Selkirk. Massive fan. Has this been a wild day or what?”
“Wild,” Carter agreed, though her voice barely reached normal decibels. “Are we the last ones to run the room?”
