Chapter 45
Sebastian
The Photo Op
“Are you sure you’re okay with this? We’re going to be close by the whole time.”
I checked in with Skye for the umpteenth time before we took separate cars to the restaurant.
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes. “We purposely chose a public place, remember? Charles can’t do anything without having a hundred eyes on him at any given time. I’m just gathering intel today.”
“And if he tries anything, sock him in the nose.” Evie put her fists up and punched the air a few times.
She’d spent the night before with Bryce, learning better ways to punch and kick and swing her knives.
Bryce had a slice running up his arm—that makeup wasn’t going to be happy with—to prove that she was still working on her craft.
“I’m a lover, Evie, not a fighter. But I’ll use my strengths to make sure you get to use yours.”
“I’d hardly call them strengths.” Tonight made me nervous.
Evie had been warned to slow down, but she didn’t seem to be listening.
It wasn’t safe to just rush through things, and I hadn’t told her about my encounter with Elliott Bradley—it would only serve to piss her off further.
She was hellbent on revenge, not only for Lita but Antoinette now too.
And while I understood the rage, I knew this was a long game.
Rushing was only going to make us sloppy. Sloppy was what got you caught.
Evie didn’t care.
“You don’t have to be involved,” Evie pointed out. “No one is forcing you to come tonight.”
I smirked and reached for her, threading my arm through hers and directing her to my car. “And miss the opportunity to take you on a real, certifiable date? Fat chance, Final Girl.”
A small smile teased the edges of her mouth as I opened the door. She slid inside, and I waved to Skye and went to my side.
“We’ll see you there.” I got into the car and drove off toward the semi-upscale restaurant Charles had picked, most likely to impress Skye.
As someone who’d gone to many very exclusive and expensive restaurants in this town, I knew this place was mediocre.
This was where rich men took their hookups to look like they were putting in effort…
without shelling out enough money to mean anything.
Our reservation was thirty minutes before Skye and Charles’s.
We walked in and looked around. The walls were dark green, with black curtains draped over the window.
Standing candelabras were placed between the windows, along with dozens of fake white roses.
String music played lightly over the speakers, giving it an upscale Olive Garden appeal.
The hostess recognized me and offered us a seat in the back.
“There’s privacy, if you’d prefer to dine alone.” She gave us a knowing look.
“No, thank you. A booth is fine.”
She nodded and took us to a booth. We sat down, and a waitress came by to take our drink orders. I made sure to sit facing the room so I could see when Skye walked in. The waitress returned with a beer for me and a lemon drop martini for Evie, along with complementary appetizers.
“The waitstaff are really big fans,” she gushed, setting down a plate of mini lobster rolls.
I fought back an eye roll in Evie’s direction and forced a smile at the woman. “Oh yeah? Which movie is your favorite?”
The waitress’s face went blank, and she stepped back, her face flushing.
“Oh, I’m sorry. We were...” She looked over at Evie and smiled.
“We love The Body Count Bimbo. We watch every week and talk about the episodes. We’ve been having to go back and rewatch old content while you film that movie.
I have your merch… Would you...sign something for us?
” The waitress looked over her shoulder.
There was a gaggle of waitresses huddled together by the bussing station.
When they saw us looking, they waved excitedly.
Evie laughed and waved back. “Sure. I don’t have any of my merch on me, but—”
“Oh, that’s fine. If it’s okay, we all live together and have Amy running back to our house to get everyone’s stuff. We are huge fans.”
Evie reached for a roll. “Sure. Just make sure she gets back before dessert!”
“Of course. Thank you, Evie!”
The waitress went back to her friends, squealing excitedly, and I stared across the table in awe. Evie was shoving the food into her mouth, looking beautifully... silly.
“You caused a staff trained not to react around celebrities to break. Congrats.” I raised my beer and toasted her. “Interesting.”
“What, you doubt my influence?” She arched an eyebrow.
“No, I just didn’t realize how large your fanbase was. When you’re wrapped up in Hollywood, you don’t always see what the rest of the world is up to. They keep you so busy with training, fitness, and public events, you don’t have a whole lot of opportunity for recreational things.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she pursed her lips as if in thought. “What do you watch or listen to when you’re working out? Or on your days off?”
I looked away, trying to think. That was a good question. “Honestly, I mostly enjoy the silence. I listen to music sometimes too, but I’m always having someone talk at me. I enjoy the solitude when I get it. I don’t feel a need to fill it.”
“Must be nice,” she murmured, reaching for her drink. “Silence makes me bonkers.”
Her dark eyes turned darker, and I could hear her unspoken words. Silence made her think about all she’d lost and why she was here in front of me tonight.
“Anyway, it’s nice to see that I still have fans, even though I haven’t made any new content other than stuff for the movie since coming out here.
I’m still on the fence about selling it or not.
It’s been nice not having to work so hard to get videos out every week, but I put so much work into growing it.
That, and I genuinely love talking about movies.
I can’t really imagine not doing that, you know? ”
“I thought your plan was to die in a blaze of glory in front of the Hollywood sign?” I snickered.
Her face fell, and I instantly regretted my smart remark.
While she’d told me numerous times she’d finish out her mission—life or death, it wasn’t something to joke about.
However, her considering not selling was a little slip into her subconscious. Was she thinking about… staying alive?
“You’re right,” she said, her voice cold and distant. “My future doesn’t really matter. Maybe I’ll sell and donate the money. Do something good.”
I started to apologize, but my attention shifted when I caught sight of Skye and Charles walking in. The hostess took them to a table right in the middle. I held back an eye roll. That table was for attention, and those who needed to be seen there were people not worth watching.
“Are they here?” Evie hissed.
I nodded slightly, then returned my eyes to her and reached across the table to take her hand.
“Yes. Now let’s act like we enjoy each other’s company.
My fans might not be watching, but yours definitely are.
I’m sure a picture or two will be taken.
You’re really thinking about selling your business? ”
“Maybe. I don’t really need the money, and…” She scrunched her nose as she trailed off. “Is this our first real date?” she asked.
“I think so. Group dates and hanging out at your house hardly count.”
We ordered our food and, while still glancing at the couple in the center from time to time, enjoyed our first date.
“This is where we get to know each other, right?” I teased.
“Don’t you know enough?”
“I don’t think I know anything.”
She smirked. “What do you mean? You know more about me than anyone else.”
I looked at her, truly looked at her, for the first time in a while. She was always so closed off, even when she wasn’t trying to be.
“I know.”
My words fell over the table. There was an awkward beat that was fixed when the waitress came with our food and a bunch of merch for Evie to sign. As her food cooled, she signed shirts, totes, and notebooks with her logo all over them.
“Thank you again, BCB. This is so cool.”
“Anytime.” Evie smiled kindly at the woman and even stood for a photo and hug. When she sat back down, the smile remained on her face.
After the waitress left, we started to eat, and I used the excitement Evie still showed on her face to bring back the conversation.
“So, if we make it out alive, what is your plan? Sell your business, then what?”
Evie lifted her drink and swirled the liquid around. “I don’t know. I kind of like doing this. It’s hard but also easy. When you do what you love, you know?”
“You love acting?” Excitement filled me. Ideas of movies we could audition for began flooding my mind as she blushed and looked away.
“Kind of. Is that bad?”
“No, I just…” Suddenly, I felt a bit exposed. “I’d love to do more movies with you.” I might as well have just thrown my heart on the table.
She stared at me for a beat and nodded. “Yeah, maybe,” she said vaguely. “We’ll see how all this goes. Whether I need to go on the run or not. It’d be nice to have time to sell the house if it’s not safe to stay here.”
She focused on the table, and the conversation died. Right as I was starting to change topics, Skye stood, catching my attention. I followed her with my eyes as she went to the bathroom. A moment later, Evie pulled out her phone. Her face turned grim as she read the screen.
“He wants to take her to one of his properties. This wasn’t the plan. Why is he leaving so fast?” she hissed. “We need to go now, before she’s alone with him. She shared her location. Let’s follow.” She started to scoot out of her seat, and I grabbed her wrist.
“No, we need to wait. Let them go, and in five minutes, we’ll leave.”
She wasn’t happy, but I paid for our meal and forced her to sit and fake small talk. Once I felt like we were enough of a distance apart, we took our leave.
“We barely got our food. How did they leave so fast?” she huffed when we got in the car.
“Maybe it was just drinks and appetizers. This place is notorious for being where you take your hookups.”
“Have you been there a lot?” She peered over.
I smirked. Was that jealousy in her eyes?
“Would it be worse to say that I rarely took my hookups out?”
She laughed and swatted me playfully. “Maybe. Is that them?” Evie had been watching Skye’s location on her phone. We drove past a large, unoccupied house with a truck in the driveway. A sign with Charles’s face stood proudly in the yard.
“Where are you going?” she hissed.
“I’m parking a block away,” I told her, slightly annoyed. For someone who was so insistent on going on a murder spree, she had no clue how to not get caught.
We parked and walked over to the house. Thankfully, it was already dark out, so it was easier to sneak right up to the front door, which had been left unlocked.
I opened the door and, making sure the coast was clear, stepped inside before letting Evie in. However, three steps in, there was a loud click, and something hard and cold was pressed to my shoulder blade.
“Beep beep, Ritchie.”