Gabby blinked her large blue eyes. “You never told me that.”

“Yes, I did!” Lili stamped her foot. “You always do this to me! You knew full well I liked him. I saw you looking at me every time you guys danced. You were rubbing it in, and you know it!”

Gabby placed her hands on her hips. “Well, I like him, too . . . and he likes me back. Get over it.”

“You insensitive little . . .” Lili lunged at Gabby. Madeline shot out of the car and grabbed Lili around the waist. Laurel climbed out, too, and restrained Gabby, pulling her toward a fledgling mesquite tree on the little walkway that led to the mini-mart. Emma stayed glued to her seat, unsure what to do.

The smokers by the door nudged one another and grinned. One of them called, “Cat fight!”

Lili panted hard. “I’m so sick of you,” she hissed at Gabby.

“Yeah? Well, I’m sick of you, too,” Gabby shot back.

Lili broke free from Madeline and pulled her iPhone from the tiny beaded clutch she held under one arm. After pressing several buttons, she put the phone to her ear.

“Who are you calling?” Gabby asked.

Lili tossed her head. “A cab to take me home. Go camping without me. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Lili . . .” Gabby looked repentant. “I’m sorry, okay?”

“Yeah, Lili,” Charlotte said, pushing a reddish curl over her shoulder. “You should come. You guys can work this out.”

“Not anytime soon,” Lili said stiffly. Then she perked up. “Hello? Yes, I need a cab, please. I’m at the Super Stop on Tanque Verde and Catalina . . .”

A stiff, dusty wind kicked up, fluttering the ends of the girls’ dresses and wafting the acrid scent of gasoline into their nostrils. After Lili hung up, she walked to the front of the mini-mart and perched on the large square ice chest. The pimply smoking boys approached her almost immediately, but she gave them a death glare that sent them scurrying away.

Slowly, the girls piled back into the car. “Should we really go?” Charlotte asked.

“I hate leaving her alone like this,” Laurel said.

“She’ll be fine,” Gabby said in a tight voice. “We’re like a mile from our house—she could walk home if she wanted. She’s just being a stubborn sore loser. We’ll have a better time without her.”

As Madeline maneuvered the car onto the highway, Emma twisted around to look at Lili one last time. She was staring at the car with unmasked fury, her crown now crumpled in her hand. A chill crawled down Emma’s spine, and she said a silent thank-you that Lili wasn’t coming on the camping trip. She could handle just one Twitter Twin. Right?

Wrong, I thought. Emma was going into the desert at night with one of my killers, and I had no idea if she’d be coming back out again.

Chapter 27 - Walled In