“Young, hot, flirtatious,” Adi muttered.
“Access to producers and agents,” Beck added. “Not to mention the Game Master. Probably wouldn’t be hard to get info on upcoming rooms.”
“There are so many people in the studio, all the time,” Carter argued. “It could have been anyone. A sound tech, a set designer, someone in costuming, an assistant.”
“I know,” said Sierra. “But whoever it was must have had money. And Fitzy—”
“Was doing a livestream,” Carter reminded her. “You know how it feels to be accused of something without any proof. You c-can’t just—”
“I know,” Sierra said again. “I just . . . have a feeling.”
“You mean like how millions of viewers had a feeling aboutyou?”
Sierra’s dark lips thinned in irritation. “Until we know for sure, you need to be careful. We all have to be c-careful.”
“I think we need to sit,” Beck said.
“Don’t sit,” Adi said. “The floor is way too cold.”
But Carter was already sinking down. Beck joined her. Adi regarded them, wondering how much warmer it was against other people.
“You’re wrong, Sierra,” Beck murmured. “You said you were broken. But you’re always trying to look after us. With the cooking and wanting to protect Carter. After everything that’s happened to you, after that first foster family, after losing your sister, after the world accused you of murdering her—you still have the capacity to care about other people. That’s not broken. That’s . . . that’s incredible.”
It looked like Sierra couldn’t speak, even if she wanted to.
Carter reached for her. “Come down here. It’s warmer with three of us.”
Hesitantly, Sierra lowered herself to the floor. Beck and Carter hugged either side of her.
“You just haven’t found your people yet,” Beck said, putting his chin on her shoulder. “But it’s okay. We’ll be your people.”
“Y-y-y-yep,” Carter said. “Come d-down here, A-Adi.”
“The floor is a terrible idea,” Adi said. “We’ll definitely freeze to death.”
“Come down here and be Sierra’s people!”
“Jee-sus,” Adi snapped, but he was grateful as he dropped down to find it a touch warmer in the huddle.
Carter squeezed his side. “Hey,” she whispered. “D-don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
“Noticed what?”
“That you haven’t gotten any phone calls or messages since we got here.”
Adi’s jaw tensed. “That’s not true. My mom’s texted.” He tried to laugh, but his mouth was too cold to do the sound justice. “To ch-chew me out for getting her c-c-car towed.”
“Then we’ll be your people, t-too,” Carter said.
He grimaced.
“My s-sister left a clue,” Sierra said. “She told me if anything happened to her, I had to look under the terrace in her villa. At the time, I assumed she was being melodramatic, but now I think she might have left me a note.”
“W-wait,” said Beck. “She knew something was going to happen to her?”
“Yeah. At least, that’s what she said a week before she died. And then something changed. I guess she thought she had everything under control.”
“Did you tell the police?” Beck said. “They could have searched—”
