It looked like something my mother would have put under the Christmas tree.
“Sorry I’m tardy. I had to run home, and when I tried to leave, I had some lady fans that needed my attention.” He gave us a knowing smile, and I shook my head. “They loveSimon Says.”
“That they do.” Sebastian snickered.
I wondered for a moment if he too used his fame to pursue sex. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. He absolutely did. I’d seen the tabloids. He’d been featured with many men and women in rather intimate, candid photos.
“Let’s get some menus over here.” Bryce waved our waitress down and ordered some appetizers and a round of beer for the table. Once she was gone, he turned back to us. “Now, let’s talk.”
“Right,” I started, then paused to look around the bar. It was quite full, but the backs of the booths were high, and no one seemed to be paying us any mind. “You said, ‘Sounds like they bought it.’ What did you mean?”
Sebastian reached for my hand under the table, reassuring me.
“Oh, just that we all know he didn’t die being eaten by buzzards.” He cackled. “Or whatever else is out there.”
“Do we?” Sebastian asked.
“Oh, we do.” Bryce leaned forward. “How’d you do it?”
“What do you mean?” I feigned innocence.
He looked between us and rolled his eyes. “I know it was you. The day he went missing, you both came to set with dust all over your clothes and tangles in your hair. You smelled like dirt and iron and—” he paused, leaning in “—desert.”
“I had to bury my cat,” Sebastian said smoothly.
“Oh, you buried something. Although not that well since they found the pieces.” Bryce snickered and fell back against the booth. “I didn’t think you two had it in you. Killing in cold blood. Like I said, good for you. Since you couldn’t get his daddy, it was nice to hear his little bloodsucking asshole of a son got his comeuppance.”
I sat there, watching him go on. The waitress brought us soft pretzels and beer, and we waited patiently for her to disappear before continuing. Bryce reached for the food and dipped a bite into the cheese. “Now, curiosity has gotten the best of me. How’d you do it exactly?”
“Bryce…” I sighed.
“Come on. I’m not telling anyone. I know what they did to your mom. If I wasn’t afraid for my own life, I would have killed them a long time ago. I can’t tell you how hard I laughed when I heard about Mike Thornton.” His gaze flicked to Sebastian. “You hear how he died? Face purple, hand gripping his cock—the same color. The hooker he’d been with robbed his ass on the way out.”
“I’d heard,” Sebastian said, tone clipped.
I eyed him curiously. He’d told me that he’d killed Mike Thornton, but for some reason I hadn’t put two and two together. Was Sebastian the sex worker Bryce was talking about? Returning my attention to the table, I relented under Bryce’s poking about Glenn.
“He drank bleach out of Sebastian’s energy drink,” I said, ripping off the Band-Aid.
Bryce flinched, then laughed. “Jesus, I bet that burned like a motherfucker. Good. He was just as bad as his dad.” He gulped down his beer and raised his arm for another.
“When did you put things together?” I asked, reaching for a pretzel bite.
“Oh, I don’t know. About a week after he went missing? Someone on set mentioned Glenn, and you got all nervous, and Sebastian said”—he pushed out his chest and put on a serious face—“‘Isn’t he irrelevant now? Let’s talk about how good my line delivery was today.’”
I glared at Sebastian. His ego was the tell, not anything I did.
“Not to mention that little fight you had before the interview. Skye may not have given it two thoughts, but I did.” Bryce laughed again. “Really, don’t worry about it, guys. I don’t give two flying fucks about those bastards. After what they did to Lita? It’s all karma.”
I straightened. “What do you know about that?”
“Too much,” he muttered and took the drink the waitress set down. “They did her dirty. You too, by default.”
“I heard they...” I couldn’t say the words. Memories of Dourif’s last moments flashed in my mind.
“They sexually assaulted her. All of them,” Sebastian told him.
Bryce took his hat off and set it on the table, the smile falling from his face. “I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not. Those men are depraved. They couldn’t just kill someone and walk away. Was it before or after?”
