Chapter 66
Sebastian
The Blind Spot
Elliott’s cackle echoed long after he was gone.
Evie sat at the kitchen table, staring at the wall.
I didn’t try to talk, instead letting her soak in what she’d just been told.
I’d had my suspicions, but it didn’t feel like my place to say anything.
Now, it was as good as fact. Elliott Bradley—the model turned actor turned superstar turned murderer, not necessarily in that order—was her biological father.
“I kind of figured,” she said after a while, slumping in her seat. “I had a feeling it would come down to me against my father. And well, top of the food chain and all.”
I sat across from her and took her hand. “It’s not coming down to you against him because I’m going to protect you. I’m not leaving your side until he’s dead.”
“How? That’s impossible.”
“Move in with me,” I blurted, instantly regretting the impulsive request.
She shook her head, almost as if she hadn’t heard me correctly. “What?”
I braced myself, sat up straighter, and doubled down. “Move in with me. Or I could move in with you. I don’t care. I just hate us living in two different houses. I want to see you every day. Whatever you want, I’ll do. Just...”
“I can’t make a decision like this now. Or ever. I don’t know. I came here to show you support.” She pushed her chair back and stood. “I need to go.”
“Go where? I’ll go with you.” I followed her through the house.
The dogs found us and began circling, trying to get our attention with toys.
“Will you guys get down!” I hissed.
“I— I don’t know. I need to process everything. Don’t you have a party to get ready for?”
I stopped walking and threw my hands up, incredulous. “You really think a party is a good idea right now? A dude died on the last day of filming, and I’ve just been outed as the most desperate actor in Hollywood.”
“What better time to surround yourself with friends? I’ll be back later,” she said, and left before I could protest.
I swore and kicked the air. She drove me nuts, and I hated how much I’d miss it if she were gone from my life.
I sulked for an hour out by the pool with my pets before deciding not to cancel the party. I started calling, getting food ordered, and ordering a keg. Skye had promised she’d help decorate, so I shot her a text. She was over an hour later, blowing up balloons.
“When does everyone arrive?” she asked as night began to fall.
It had been a long day. I was stressed to the max, having not heard from Evie for hours.
I’d called and texted, but she’d left me on read.
Skye was entirely too excited about decorating, and for a while, it helped distract me.
There had to be a couple hundred balloons in my backyard, all blown up by her.
My housekeeper was going to be pissed when he came to clean and had to look for a thousand pieces of popped latex.
When the sun went down, I turned on the music, and members of the cast and crew began to show. With each new car, my hope spiked and was then popped like one of Skye’s balloons when I saw it wasn’t Evie. I kept trying her phone, and after an hour, once most everyone had shown, I started to panic.
Finally, she called back. I was in the middle of a conversation with one of the tech guys when her name flashed on my screen. I showed him the name and excused myself.
“Evie, where the fuck are you?” I hissed.
“Sorry. I spent the day with my mom. I’m in your driveway right now.”
I ran toward the house, shoving past people to go inside and get to her. I met her at the front door and lifted her up, spinning her in my arms.
“Anthony C. Hopkins! Sebastian, let me go!” she giggled.
“Are you okay?” I asked, setting her down. I took her hand and led her through the house to the party in the back.
“I’m fine. Great, actually. I sat at the cemetery and just had a long visit with her. I got a lot off my chest. I feel really good.”
I paused at the glass doors that led to the outside. I wasn’t ready to hit the loud party.
“Really? Like…”
“Like maybe I’m okay stopping.”
Stopping? She wasn’t going to kill Elliott?
“And this isn’t just because he said he’s your—”
“Hell no,” she scoffed. “If anything, that made me want to kill him more. No, I just think my priorities have changed a bit. Do I really want to go out so soon?”
“I don’t know. Do you?” A loud click came from behind us, and we turned. There, Elliott stood, holding a gun aimed right at her.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
His hair was slightly disheveled and his suit wrinkled. The smell of alcohol wafted through the room.
“I’m here to watch you guys. I want to make sure you don’t go killing the rest of my friends. We have more movies to make. More people to help make their dreams come true.”
“Don’t you mean lives to destroy?” Evie asked.
“Same thing,” he snickered and tilted his head, nodding to the glass door behind us. “Let’s go have a good time, shall we?” He stuffed the gun in his pants, under his jacket, and together, the three of us exited my house into the backyard.
What should have been a joyous night with my girlfriend turned into a tense, stressful one. I was on constant alert, watching Elliott like a hawk. He’d shown up drunk with a gun. If something were to set him off, this could turn deadly.
The party kept going until close to morning, and eventually people began to slowly take their leave.
With each person who left, I grew more and more nervous.
Elliott was still here. Everyone was starstruck and kept asking me how I’d convinced him to come.
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I avoided the topic.
Instead, I stayed close to Evie, making us look like the most in love couple that had ever existed.
Any paparazzi who’d snuck in to capture some scandal would have tons of photos of us kissing for next week’s magazines.
A few people mentioned the sex scandal, but I just laughed it off.
More than one of them told me they’d had similar experiences.
That was the thing. Bodies being sold was nothing new in this industry.
People just didn’t like to face the truth.
The truth about Hollywood was ugly. That’s why we tried so hard to make it look pretty.
Their plan to destroy my career had gone nowhere. I was sure that some directors might refuse to see me, but from the email I’d gotten from Anderson earlier, I felt comfortable that I’d still be making good money for the foreseeable future.
Eventually, Elliott took his leave, but not without a cold warning and another flash of the gun in his pants.
“Another time, perhaps. We can talk all about your mother, Evie, and how you came to be. I’m sure there’ll be some conflicting stories we should get cleared up. I think you’ll find I’m not the villain in this story.”
“And who is, then?” Evie asked boldly.
Elliott smirked. “You are.”
He left, and when we looked around, I realized it was just Evie and me. We cuddled on a beach chair and watched the sun rise.
“I meant what I said earlier,” I said. “I want to move in with you.”
“I know. Can we talk about it when I’ve had some sleep?” She yawned.
“I’d love that.”
I closed my eyes, prepared to sleep near the pool with her in my arms, when my phone rang. With a groan, I answered it.
“Yeah?”
“Sebastian? It’s Bryce. I popped a tire about a mile from your place. Do you have a tire iron?”
I groaned and gently moved Evie off me. I rubbed my face and stood.
“Yeah, I’m on my way. Evie, you want to come?” I asked.
She stretched and looked around the yard. “I’m really tired. Would I be a bad person if I said no?”
A small smile spread over my lips as she crawled back onto the chair. I bent down and gave her a quick kiss. “Not at all, Final Girl. Rest, and I’ll be back in an hour, tops.”
“Perfect. See you soon, Psycho Killer,” she said as she closed her eyes.
I pulled my keys from my pocket and left, going through the house.
I got to Bryce in a flash, and we got his tire changed and his car back on the road.
He thanked me, and as I got back in my car to drive back to Evie, I checked my phone and saw a notification from my door camera.
Someone had come in shortly after I’d left.
I clicked on the app to pull up the camera and see what the hell was up, and my blood chilled. The bastard had waited for my car to leave before pulling right back into my drive and walking to the door.
Elliott Bradly had come back for her.