I tried to place the voice of the other man. He spoke to Elliott like an equal, a friend. Was that Arthur Englund, the other remaining person on Evie’s list? I was convinced, as I continued to listen to them, that it had to be.
“He called me the night before he died. I told you that, right? He wanted to negotiate a deal for a newSimon Says. I’d made a joke about Shaw putting him up to it, then he laughed and told me not to worry about who he was talking to. Mike always did do business with his dick.”
“You think Shaw did something?” Elliott asked.
They were talking about Mike Thornton. I gulped. Did someone know my secret?
“I doubt it was on purpose. Mike was always popping those Viagras like candy. If anything, Shaw just watched him die and ran scared. He’s too chickenshit to actually kill someone.”
I took mild offense at Arthur’s assessment. Not only had Thornton’s death been intentional; I’d also killed Thornton’s son and helped with two other murders.
“I don’t know how she wrapped Shaw into this. We’re about to lose our biggest investment,” he groaned. I’d never met the man, but I knew he was one of our studio executives, and they were all about the bottom line.
“You really don’t know?” Elliott snickered. “Like mother, like daughter. I think you underestimate the power of pussy, friend. Shaw got fucked just like the rest of us. What happens, happens.”
Were they implying that Evie had manipulated me with sex? Or her mind? Either way, it couldn’t be further from the truth. As I rolled my eyes at their crude words, I continued to listen.
“Well, when this is over, the movie is out, and the promotion has wrapped, we’ll deal with him. Sebastian Shaw will trip down some stairs or something.”
My blood chilled.
They were planning my murder.
I wanted to go down and fight them right here, right now. But I was one man with one knife. They were two, and who knew what weapons they had. Elliott seemed like the handgun type. Instead, I stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for them to come up. I leaned on the banister, almost bored but still listening.
“What do you think happened to Charles?” Arthur asked.
“Well, what have we seen so far? Heart attack, slit throat, and electrocution. Your guess is as good as mine,” Elliott said.
“What about Mike’s son?”
“I knew the boy. I’m not sold that it wasn’t an outside job. He had a smart mouth. Plus, I know the game. Lita’s daughter is on a mission.”
“Do we know he’s dead, for sure?”
“Would Charles ignore us this long? They got him. I just don’t know how yet. His body will turn up. These things always do. Are we done down here? Let’s start on the upstairs.”
Afraid they’d catch me listening, I ran back to the master bedroom. I typed in the code, hurried inside, and locked the door. The lock wouldn’t stop them if they really wanted to get in.
“Evie!” I hissed. “We need to get out of here.” I went to the bed and crouched down. The space underneath was clear of anything. Fuck.Where had she gone?I called out to her again, but she didn’t respond. I hurried to the closet, pulling back clothes and pushing boxes out of the way. “We have to go!”
Coming up empty, I turned back to the room, and my eyes zeroed in on the open window on the other side. Fuck. She’d jumped. We were on the third floor. I went to the window and stuck my head out.
“Evie!”
“Shh! Come on!” Her voice was so close to my face I nearly pissed myself.
I turned. She was just a foot away from me, standing on a ledge.
“Be careful, but I think we can get down this way.”
There was a loud thump against the door. I turned and heard their muffled, frustrated voices on the other side.
“Sebastian, come on.” Evie sidled away to let me climb out the window.
I gripped her arm and slid next to her just as the door burst open. Evie let out a tiny cry, and I threw my arm out, slapping my hand across her mouth. We shared a look, and she nodded. I knew it was an accident, but that little whimper could be what got us caught. I dropped my hand and nudged her to move. She was slow as she sidestepped. Clutching the wall, I tried not to look down. I’d done stunts before, but I had a feeling that if I slipped, I might try to grab her for help and end up taking her with me.
“Finally, a different color,” Elliott muttered as the two men began destroying Charles’s bedroom. I prayed they didn’t notice the open window.
