These Deadly Games(73)

But that left only one suspect.

“Uh … have you heard from Zoey at all?” I asked.

“Nah,” said Randall, “she hasn’t answered my texts either…”

Well, damn. A sour taste filled my mouth, and I checked the time on my dashboard. Almost noon. If I weren’t in this harrowing predicament, I would’ve checked in with Randall first thing to make sure his dad was okay. But Zoey had been MIA all morning, like most of yesterday. She’d be on her own today; her parents worked at their dental practice Tuesday through Saturday. And there was that creepy room in her soundproofed basement …

My God. I hadn’t thought Zoey was capable of something like this. But she’d already proven herself to be a liar and a cheat, a backstabber and blackmailer. Once was a mistake. Twice was bad judgment. Three times was depravity. And that wasn’t paranoia talking—it was real, proven behavior. Sometimes people took extreme measures to escape from abusive situations. I knew that only too well. Her desperation to escape from her domineering, perfection-seeking parents and win that prize money had turned her into a kidnapper and a murderer. To top it off, she was trying to make everyone distrust me, setting the stage for her game so she could frame me, and nobody would believe my side of the story.

But why torture me like this? Did she really hate me that much?

Our competitive streak had become toxic. She’d been jealous of my and Akira’s bond for ages, and now she had something else to be jealous over: Dylan choosing me. And she clearly blamed me for what happened to Brady all those years ago, resented me for the guilt that tormented her, a fact that bubbled over when I foiled her plans to cheat her way into the tourney.

Now I needed to foil her plans once more.

I snapped Akira’s phone into my dashboard holster and swerved back onto the highway, toward home. “You’re right, Randall. It’s not Lucia.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” I couldn’t watch his expression change with my eyes on the road, but his tone softened.

“Actually, can I talk to her for a sec?”

He eyed me skeptically. “Why?”

“I need to tell her something.”

“Tell her in person. Come with us to Matty’s—”

“Please, Randall? It’ll just take a sec.”

The screen went all garbled again, and he passed me off to Lucia. “She knows,” I heard him say. “I told her what you said. She wants to talk to you.”

A moment later, her face filled the screen. “Crystal. I am so sorry. I’m an asshat of epic proportions. It’s just … what you said at tryouts really hurt my feelings, and I was angry, and I got carried away. And I didn’t realize how bad that last comment sounded until after I posted it—I didn’t mean it like that—but by the time I went back to delete it, it was already gone. And I know how it looked. I know it doesn’t matter whether I meant it or not. I totally fucked up—”

“Lucia, stop,” I tried, but she was talking so fast, I could barely get a word in.

“—and I was so mortified. I know I should’ve owned it right away. Oh, and also, I really wasn’t making fun of your sweater at my party. I really did like it! And yesterday, I came to check on you in the bathroom—”

“Lucia!”

“Sorry.”

I exhaled deeply. “I’m sorry, too. For everything. I’ve been an asshat right back.” Everyone makes mistakes. I of all people should’ve known that. She’d made a pretty bad one, and like Randall said, she owed Akira the biggest apology. Knowing she might never get to sucked the air right out of my chest. Zoey and I had handled the situation poorly—if Lucia hadn’t felt threatened, this conversation might’ve happened ages ago. Either way, she’d clearly learned from her mistake, admitted to it, and was trying to make amends. But now I needed her help to make sure An0nym0us1 couldn’t hurt Randall. That I couldn’t hurt him. “But Akira and Randall never did anything to hurt you,” I said. “That terrible thing you said … whatever your intent, they didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve that.”

“I know. You’re absolutely right.” I wasn’t watching her expression while driving, but her voice shook, and I imagined her eyes welling with tears.

“Well, I need you to do something to make it up to them.” I’d already lost Matty, and possibly Akira. I couldn’t lose Randall, too.

“Anything.”

“Can you stay with Randall today? Keep him company?” I didn’t know if making sure Randall wasn’t alone was enough to protect him from An0nym0us1’s wrath. I wasn’t even sure whether this would put Lucia in danger. But it was the best thing I could think of. The only thing.

She paused for a moment, taken aback by my request. “I will,” she said earnestly.

“Thanks.” Unprompted, an image of Akira tumbling backward, eyes wide, flashed into my mind. I screwed up my face and covered my mouth.

“Are you okay?” Lucia asked.

Tears blurred my vision. I couldn’t let them blind me while driving. “I gotta go—”

“Crystal, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too,” I managed to whisper before hanging up. I had so many things to be sorry for.

But I couldn’t let my sister’s death be one of them.