‘Uh-huh.’ Aran surveys me as though he’s working something out. ‘Did you meet Nenita yet?’

‘No.’

‘Well, we’ll fix that up.’

‘OK. Thanks.’ To my dismay, a tear has come to one of my eyes. I wipe it hastily away and smile, but Aran has noticed.

‘You all right, Becky?’

‘Kind of.’ I gulp. ‘Not really. My dad’s gone missing and I had a row with Luke, and then I had one with my best friend, too … No one gets it. This.’ I spread my arms around.

‘You don’t surprise me,’ says Aran.

‘Really?’

‘It happens. You’re not a civilian any more, remember?’

He sounds totally unmoved, and I suddenly feel a pang of frustration at his easy-going, Teflon manner. If the world ended, he’d probably just shrug and say, ‘That’s the way it rolls.’

And what did he mean, You don’t surprise me?

‘Let me find Nenita.’ He pats me on the shoulder.

As Aran heads off, I look around again, trying to savour the experience, but suddenly I’m finding it a bit jarring. Everything’s so bright. The white smiles, the cameras flashing, the sequins and jewels and shrieking. It’s like, even the air is alive with electricity. My hair is prickling with it, and my leg is tingling …

Oh. Actually, that’s my phone, buzzing. I grab it out of my clutch, and it’s Suze. I feel a dart of terror and jab the Answer button.

‘Is everything OK?’ I demand. ‘Has anything happened?’

‘Oh God, Bex.’ Suze sounds despairing, and I feel a lurch of fright. ‘Alicia’s found out some information. They’ve gone off with Bryce.’

‘Bryce?’ I stare at the phone, not quite understanding. ‘Bryce from Golden Peace?’

‘Your dad had some mission and he asked Tarkie to help him carry it out. And Tarkie asked Bryce to come with them. Bryce! Alicia reckons he’s just after our money. He wants to set up some rival centre, and he’s going to brainwash Tarkie into funding it, and we have no idea where they’ve gone …’

‘Suze, calm down,’ I say desperately. ‘It’ll be fine.’

‘But he’s evil!’ She sounds almost hysterical. ‘And they’ve driven off into the desert with him!’

‘We’ll find them. We will. Suze, just try to get as much information as you can …’ She’s trying to say something else, but I can’t make it out. Her voice is crackling and breaking up. ‘Suze?’

My phone goes dead and I stare at it in dismay. Bryce. Tarquin. My dad. In the middle of nowhere. What’s Mum going to say? What are we going to do?

‘Becky.’ Aran is at my side again. ‘Let me take you to meet Nenita.’ His eyes twinkle. ‘She’s a pretty big deal in your world, huh?’

‘Um … yes. Massive.’ In a daze, I follow him across the red carpet, stumbling slightly in my heels. This is the biggest moment of my career. Meeting Nenita Dietz. I have to put my personal life aside. I have to focus.