Page 46 of A Reluctant Boy Toy
His question registered as odd and invasive. “What do you mean, how did he seem? He seemed fine. We were both a little drunk. I walked him back to his rig, and he went inside. What happened?”
“Did he take anything? Pills? Did he snort anything? Did he smoke weed?”
“Hell no. I don’t allow drugs around. They're either illegal or dangerous for the dogs.”
“Craig’s going nuts.” He keyed the microphone on his headset. “No, we haven’t…Not yet, no…She doesn’t know where he is either… How should I know? You knew this would happen. Don’t fucking blame me. He just showed up, and the kid’s not with him. No, I haven’t called search and rescue. Do you want me to?”
Things sounded alarming. “Deacon—”
“I told you so.” He ripped his headset off. “Itoldhim. It’s always some kind of fucking drama with Keye.”
“Deacon, I haven't seen anything like that from Sebastian.”
“He's probably on his best behavior with you, be's an actor. They're all egomaniacs. Anyway, Gina and Marlon worked with him inBeyond the Nightand they said Keye’s a used-up cunt of a kid star with delusions of—”
“Knock it off.” I glared at him. “He’s been a nice kid around me.”
“That’s exactly the problem.” He poked me in the chest. “He’s not a kid anymore, but he can’t stop acting like one.” People were staring at us, so I pulled him around to the back of my van.
“Lower your voice,” I said. “And for the record, if you poke me again, you won’t be pulling a hand back. Got it?”
He scrubbed his face with both hands. “Sorry. This is a mess—a seven figure disaster—and it gets worse with every minute we can’t find Sebastian Keye.”
“What do you believe is going on here, Deacon?” I opened both cargo doors so we could talk with a modicum of privacy. “Did Sebastian miss a call for this morning?”
Deacon's PA approached. “Um, sir? I have something.”
“Tell me.”
The kid cleared his throat. “The video everyone’s talking about was uploaded to YouTube last night. It went viral straightaway.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Deacon said disdainfully. He pointed at me. “Is he in it?”
“He didn’t use his phone around me,” I said. “We were too busy with a drunken game of two truths and a lie.”
“Jesus, fuck.” Deacon swore. “Just what I needed to hear.” With an unhappy expression, Deacon took the phone from him and we watched. A younger Sebastian filled the tiny screen. “This is from when Keye was a kid.”
“I know, watch the rest of it,” the PA advised. “Watch the whole thing. It’s not very long.”
“This is why everyone’s so—” Deacon clenched his teeth. “What the hell is this?”
“I don’t know, sir. Looks like a party.”
“Aw, hell.” The clip seemed to show a private home. The quality was poor, like a surveillance video or maybe some kind of a nanny cam. Sebastian looked so young. He always did; that was why he could play teenagers, but in the video he was a teen. Sixteen, maybe even younger.
His face lit up as he talked to some guy twice his age. He was definitely trying too hard. The man was probably industry. He had lots of hair, unnaturally perfect teeth, and a good tan. The camera loved both their faces.
The older guy was gym fit. He wore diamond earrings and a fancy watch. He definitely looked like he enjoyed control. He idly played Sebastian like a fish on a line. He reeled the kid in a little, let him worry, reeled a little more, all the while with a sick slash of a smile on his lips.
The entire encounter happened over the span of two minutes. Then something across the room caught Sebastian’s attention, and he turned his head to see what was going on.
While Sebastian was distracted, a hand holding a small brown vial hovered over his drink. The first guy offered a ghastly, conspiratorial grin to whoever owned the hand. He smiled graciously when Sebastian returned. He offered Sebastian the drink, holding it to his lips at one point to make certain he drank it all down.
The video ended with the words, “I HAVE THE REST.” written in Sharpie on an index card.
“Jesus Christ.” Deacon looked shocked. “Jesus motherfucking Christ.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked. “I have the rest.Is that some kind of threat? Blackmail? Who is that video aimed at? Sebastian?”
