Chapter 13
Sebastian
The Prop
“Are you going to help me or what?” Glenn snapped.
I stepped forward but stopped when he turned to look up at Evie.
“You’re so fucking finished. And before you even got started.
You think you lost the movie gig? Just wait.
I’ll make sure your little podcast show is gone too.
The courts will own your ass.” He swung his head to me.
“What are you doing? If you don’t help me, you’ll be an accomplice.
Getting blacklisted from Hollywood will be the least of your problems.”
“Are you threatening us?”
Glenn’s eyes bulged. “Is this a joke? Just because I said her mom was loose? Oh, come on. It’s not like I’m the first person to say it out loud.”
“I can’t.” Evie threw up her hands and stormed out of the room.
I followed quickly. She went to her old bedroom, and I shut the door behind us.
“Tell me what happened,” I said.
“Everything was fine, we were shelving my books, and then he started telling me about how his dad and my mom had an affair. I told him that wasn’t true, but he wouldn’t hear it.” She paced her room.
“Okay, but why was he bleeding?” I’d noticed blood on the collar of his shirt and the mark on his head. She stopped short, staring at me as if she’d just remembered I was there.
“I threw a book at his head. It was a hardcover. One of my Stephen King.”
I pressed my lips together. “I see. And he went down?”
“It was IT!”
No wonder he’d been knocked out cold. That was a thick-ass book.
She sighed. “Yes, he went down hard, and I was trying to figure out what to do when you rang the doorbell. I knew the longer I kept you outside, the more suspicious it’d look, so I stuffed him in my closet. But then he woke up, so I had to put him in the chair.”
“Why, exactly? What is your plan?”
She shook her head. “I— I don’t know. I think he knows more about my mom’s murder, and I want him to tell me.”
“Has he told you anything?” I asked quickly. Most people knew the details around Lita Reyes’s death were odd, but asking questions often got you just where she was.
“No! And now I’ve got him tied up. What do I do?” She wiped away tears.
I reached for her, pulling her into an embrace.
“Let’s find out what he knows. Then we’ll figure out how to let him go—without him telling anyone we held him hostage.”
“This is such a mess. I’m so sorry, Sebastian. I made you an accessory to a crime.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Don’t apologize. So, things got a little out of hand. We’ll figure it out.”
This isn’t my first rodeo with a Thornton. If he’s anything like his dad, he’ll go down easy.
I took her hand and led her back to her mom’s room, where Glenn was jerking back and forth in the chair, trying to get free. I dug into my jeans and pulled out my switchblade, flipping it open.
“Let’s stay still,” I warned.
He stopped moving. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. What is this?” He looked from me to Evie.
Evie stepped ahead of me. “Five years ago, your dad was part of the group that took my mom to dinner. The next morning, she was found murdered, hanging on the set of her latest movie.”
“She killed herself,” he sneered. “Everyone knows that.”
“Lita Reyes would never,” I snapped. Flashbacks blinded my vision as I recalled the same argument I’d had with his dad. I shook them away. Lita was like a mother to me. Her death hurt me too. I’d seen the body, just like Evie had.
There was so much blood.
“She had a daughter.”
“Has that stopped people before? Just accept that your mom wasn’t who you thought she was. Evie, this is ridiculous. You think I want to remember my dad as a scumbag who couldn’t keep it in his pants? No, but it is what it is.”
“Your dad was a scumbag,” Evie said. “And you’re a liar.” Her fists clenched tightly, and her body shook with rage.
“You’re fucking sad.” He laughed. “And to think, I thought you had potential. If you’re not careful, we’ll find you hanging next.”
“Tell me what you know about what happened to my mom,” she demanded.
He stopped laughing and looked at me. “I ain’t telling you shit until you let me out. Or get me some water,” he ordered. “My mouth is dry as fuck from the tights she stuffed in my mouth.”
“I’m not leaving her.”
“Sebastian, do as he asks,” Evie said quickly. “We’ll get you a glass, and you’ll tell me the truth?”
Glenn rolled his eyes. “Sure, sweet thing. Whatever. And when I’m done, you’re going to let me go, and I’ll call the police. The entire Simon Says franchise will be tanked. You fucking losers.”
“You’ll float too.” The famous line from Pennywise the clown escaped my lips before I could catch it.
“What did you just fucking say to me?”
“Sebastian!” Evie shouted. Then she took a deep breath, speaking calmly. “It puts the lotion in the basket.”
Silence of the Lambs.
I stared at her. Why was she slipping into our code? Her eyes narrowed as she repeated the phrase. What did she want me to do?
My jaw tightened. I nodded and turned toward the door. “It does this whenever it’s told,” I replied.
Not happy about it, I turned and went downstairs to the kitchen—and paused. She wasn’t mocking me. Glenn had wanted water, and she’d said…
She’d get him a glass.
I went to the cupboards and threw them open. There was nothing but drain cleaner, oven cleaner, and bleach. Surely there had to be a glass somewhere. I rushed around, searching, but came up empty. What did she want me to do, then? I had no way to poison him without an open container.
My eyes drifted to the table, where unopened bottles of beer and cans of Red Bull sat. I opened a beer and went upstairs, offering it to him.
“Nice try. There’s bottled water in the fridge,” he sneered.
Having expected him to reject an open container, I feigned annoyance as I went back down and grabbed a sealed bottle.
My eyes once more drifted to the table, where the Red Bulls sat, right next to the bottle of bleach I’d pulled from the cupboard.
Everyone knew blue was my favorite. Evie’s favorite was yellow.
I pushed those aside and started to reach for the watermelon flavor when I remembered there was an unopened one in the movie room.
I walked to get it, and when I picked it off the table, I took a large swig, grimacing as the taste hit my tongue.
These really were the worst flavored ones.
Ignoring the sour taste, I took another drink, knowing I was going to need all the caffeine.
I returned to the kitchen and jumped when Evie yelled for me.
“Sebastian?”
Glancing toward the stairs, I grabbed the bleach, poured it in, then swirled it around, sniffing to see if anything smelled off.
The watermelon covered the chemical scent.
I hurried back and paused at the foot of the stairs.
Putting the plastic water bottle in my jacket, I reached into my jeans pocket and pulled out my switchblade, flipping it open.
Maybe seeing a sharp object pointed in his direction would scare him enough to talk.
Or distract him entirely.
Swirling the concoction in the can some more, I went back up the stairs and handed her the bottle of water, setting my watermelon-bleach-energy drink cocktail on the table nearby. Evie unscrewed the cap, let Glenn drink, then started her interrogation.
“Why did they do it?”
“Do what?” His eyes flicked to the knife I was casually spinning in my hands.
“Kill my mom.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” One side of Glenn’s lips twitched. He was lying. Just like his dad had. I fucking knew it. I paused with the knife, and his gaze flicked down to my hands then back to my face, and the smirk dropped.
“Maybe she knew something she shouldn’t have. Maybe she accused them of rape.” Glenn glared at Evie, and the two of them shared some sort of silent exchange. It made me wonder if something had been said while I wasn’t around.
Glenn rolled his eyes and turned back to me. “Wouldn’t be the first time someone was taken care of.”
“You’re about to be one of them if you don’t cut the shit. We know you know something,” I warned.
“I don’t know shit about what happened that night.
Lita Reyes, just like every other woman—and man.
” He paused to look directly at me when he said it.
“Used her best assets to get what she wanted. Maybe that’s what happened.
She couldn’t live with the guilt. Maybe fucking six men in one go was too much, and she figured she’d rather kill herself than be known for the slut she was. ”
Evie whipped around and slapped him across his face. He fell back, his chair slamming onto the floor. I rushed to set him upright, grabbing his shirt and yanking toward me. He twisted his body, trying to get out of his restraints as he swore at us.
“Let me the fuck out! Even if I did tell you I know what happened that night, no one would believe you. My dad had a lot of pull in this business. And after he died, all of his good fortune passed down to me. You shouldn’t have come back, Evie. Nothing good will come from you asking questions.”
The room settled, and we sat there, watching each other.
She’d slept with all six men the night she died? That couldn’t be true.
We were all waiting for someone to do something. I raised my knife again, and Glenn’s eyes widened.
“I’m thirsty,” Glenn said abruptly.
Evie bolted upright and offered him more water.
“I’m sorry, Glenn,” she said. “You’re right.
I shouldn’t be digging deeper into things.
I need to just let it go. Look at me. I’m a disaster.
” She brushed her hair back behind her ears.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. Never getting closure about why she died has made me bitter and overly sensitive.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, maybe you’re right about her.
This is such a mess. Let me untie you.” She moved behind him to remove his restraints.
As she struggled with the knots she’d tied, I studied her.
She didn’t believe any of that shit. We both knew Lita wasn’t the person Glenn described.
I was beginning to think Evie was right. Lita was raped.
Evie continued to struggle and make the knots worse. I stepped forward to help, cutting him out. In a flash, he was standing and straightening his clothes.
“It’s all right. Although I think any semblance of a romantic relationship is over. It’s for the best.” He smirked and looked at me. “She’s all yours.”
“Are you going to report this?” she asked, twisting her hands. “Us?” She glanced at me.
“Well, I should. Because you’re a psycho bitch.
But maybe we can work out an old Hollywood deal.
” A slow, evil grin spread across his face as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his own switchblade.
He snickered, taking slow steps toward her.
She backed away until the backs of her knees hit the bed, causing him to pause.
He turned, waving the knife at me with one hand while pulling his belt out of the loops with the other.
“You can stay, Sebastian. You’re not the only one who likes an audience. Watch while I fuck her—maybe then you’ll learn your place in this business.”
“And what’s that?” I asked, just to keep him talking. I clenched the knife so hard my hand trembled.
He tugged off his shirt and unzipped his pants, shoving them down and kicking them away. All while holding his weapon and smirk steady. I forced myself to stay put. One wrong move, and Evie could be hurt.
Glenn strode to the table, snatching up the water bottle.
“The actors are the last to be fed. You are replaceable. No one gives a fuck about you. You’re just a pretty face.” He downed the rest of the water and crushed the bottle, tossing it to the floor. “This yours?” He grabbed my Red Bull.
My eyes locked in on the can. “Yes.”
“Mine now. I’m going to need the energy for what I’m about to do.”
“And what is that exactly?” My heart sped up, and my stomach rolled. I needed him to say it. I stepped cautiously toward Evie.
He rolled his eyes. “Split her in half.”
He brought the can to his lips and chugged. I watched, my eyes widening with each bob of his Adam’s apple. He finished the drink and smacked his lips, grimacing.
“This flavor is shit,” he muttered, crushing the can in his fist and tossing it to the ground. He shuddered and turned, hooking his fingers around the hem of his boxers and dragging them down. I averted my gaze from his pale ass to Evie, who was visibly shaking.
Glenn held the knife tight as he walked around the bed, his cock in his other hand. He stroked himself, growing hard.
“You can join too if you really want. A hole is a—” Glenn’s crude comment was stopped short by him gagging.
His eyes widened as the watermelon-bleach concoction hit his belly.
The room was silent as the sound of his stomach in turmoil rattled the walls.
He gagged again, dropping to his knees on the other side of the bed.
I rushed over, and Evie climbed across the mattress just in time to watch Glenn begin to vomit.
Evie squeaked and covered her face as he choked and fought against the chemicals invading his blood. He clawed at his throat and tried to stand, but he was too far gone. I stared down at him, a different kind of pleasure rolling through my body.
Goodbye, Glenn.
He scrambled, slipping in his own bile as he tried to crawl away, but he only made it a few feet. He stretched, grabbing for the can, and as his fingers tightened around the crushed metal, he collapsed.
Evie jumped off her bed and ran to him, dropping to her knees and pulling his body up.
“Sebastian.” She looked up at me. “That wasn’t watermelon flavor, was it?”
Slowly, I shook my head and closed my switchblade, slipping it back into my pocket.
“What flavor was it?”
I cleared my throat and looked up at the ceiling, shoving my hands into my pockets and rocking awkwardly on my heels.
“Bleach.”