Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy Read online

  I could see the biting mark forming in Theo’s mind. He wanted to say something sarcastic and insulting. He didn’t get a chance. The limo came to a screeching halt. Theo and I tumbled to the floor.

  “What’s wrong?” Theo asked the driver.

  “This idiot…” he said.

  Theo moved to the front of the limo and looked out. A truck had stopped in our path. Its high beams were on, flooding the limo with blinding light. Theo pulled his gun out of his ankle holster.

  “Stay here,” he said, exiting the limo.

  “But Theo…”

  I was suddenly sweaty. What was going on? Was I in danger? Staying low, I crawled to the window and peeked out.

  Theo held up his gun as he approached the truck. He shouted something at the driver, but I couldn’t hear him. I didn’t like this at all. The truck’s headlights were blinding. He had no idea what he was walking into. Theo looked back at my driver and motioned for him to leave.

  “Go! Go!” he shouted.

  My driver put the limo into reverse and floored it. Again I was thrown to the floor. My driver wasted no time fleeing the scene. The limo suddenly stopped. My driver shifted gears and we took off down a back street.

  On shaky hands I pushed myself up. I hated leaving Theo behind. It wasn’t right. He was all alone with… what? I had no idea. Was it an innocent mistake or a trap? I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. My hands trembled so badly that I dropped it. As the driver took another turn, my phone went sliding under the seat.

  “Where are we going?” I asked. “Are you taking me back to the hotel?”

  The driver didn’t answer. The engine revved as the limo accelerated. I let out a scream as the driver weaved in and out of traffic. We nearly collided with a tractor trailer before he pulled off the highway and onto a side road. Suddenly, we came to a stop. I looked out the windows, but didn’t recognize anything.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  Again, I received no answer. The driver turned off the limo and stepped out. Everything was happening so quickly, I could barely process it all. Suddenly, he was opening the car door and pulling me out.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded, on the verge of hysteria.

  He didn’t respond. He only dragged me away to a waiting car at the side of the road. I punched him in the shoulder, but it did no good. It was like punching the trunk of a tree. He was built solid and strong. I scratched at his face, hoping to claw his eyes out. He backhanded me, knocking me to the ground. My ears rung with the blow. Still, I sensed he was holding back. This man could seriously hurt me if he wanted to.

  He picked me up around the waist and threw me into the car’s open trunk. Just as the trunk lid closed I saw headlights emerge behind the driver. Then I was plunged into darkness. I’ve always been afraid of small spaces. I started to hyperventilate. I kicked the trunk lid and punched the walls of the car until my knuckles bled and my nails chipped. Stars danced in front of my eyes. I knew I was on the verge of passing out.

  Distantly, I wondered why we weren’t moving. I held my breath and listened. The wind blew, rocking the car roughly. In the distance, I could hear traffic from the highway. Then there was a grunt. I put my ear to the trunk and listened. A loud bang as something crashed against the car made me scream.

  “Help me!” I said.

  I pounded on the trunk. There was another crash. It sounded as if two people were fighting. Then there was nothing but silence except for the far off droning of traffic.

  The trunk popped open. Trembling I pushed myself up on my elbows. Theo stood before me. His eyebrow was split open. Blood ran down his face. I jumped into his arms. I shook so badly I was incapable of walking.

  The scene outside the car was a horror show. Blood drops covered the car. The driver laid motionless on the ground.

  “Theo, I-I don’t know what happened.” My voice shook so badly I wasn’t sure he could understand me.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered.

  He ran his hands through my hair, then put an arm beneath my legs scooping me up into his arms. I closed my eyes tight as we passed the body of my limo driver. Theo walked me over to a truck. It was the same one that had stopped, blocking our path earlier. Theo must have jumped inside and followed us when he realized something was wrong. He sat me down inside the cab and started to close the door.

  “Please don’t leave me alone,” I begged.

  “I’ll be right back, sweetheart. You have nothing to worry about. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

  I clung to him like a madwoman. He had to pull my hands off of him. He closed the truck door and walked over to the motionless limo driver. Kneeling beside him, he checked his pulse and frowned. Was the man dead? Had Theo killed him?

  I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to stop shaking. I was freezing cold.

  I watched as Theo pulled out his cell phone. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but in a matter of minutes a security detail descended on us. Shortly thereafter the cops arrived. Theo returned to the truck before the cops could. Again, I dove into his arms. For some reason, I thought he’d push me away, but he accepted my embrace without complaint.

  “I’m going to handle the police,” he said. “Are you okay? Do you need an ambulance?”

  “No, I don’t think so. He didn’t hurt me. That man-it’s him, isn’t it? My stalker?”

  “I think so.”

  “You think? You’re not sure? You mean there could be more than one lunatic out there waiting to kidnap me?”

  Theo only ran his fingers through my hair. He didn’t respond. Distantly, I understood that I was on the verge of hysterics. I wanted to get out of there.

  “I’m going to have one of my men take you back to the hotel,” he said, as if reading my mind.

  “No! I don’t want to leave with a stranger. I want to stay with you.”

  “I need to deal with the cops.”

  “I’ll wait.”

  “It’s best you go,” he said patiently. “It won’t be long until the paparazzi show up. I don’t want to subject you to dealing with them.”

  He had a good point. The paparazzi regularly monitor the radio dispatches police and paramedics use. If a celebrity gets arrested or OD’s they want to be the first on the scene to get a picture. Celebrities in trouble are big money.

  Theo motioned to a muscular man dressed plainly in jeans and a t-shirt. He came over and nodded to me.

  “This is Connor,” Theo said. “We served together in Afghanistan. I trust him with my life. He’s going to take you somewhere safe.”

  Connor stood with his legs firmly planted on the ground and his arms crossed in front of him. He looked like a soldier ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice.

  “Hello,” I said pathetically.

  “Ma’am,” he said with a nod of his head.

  “You can trust him as much as you trust me,” Theo said. “He’ll keep you safe.”

  Theo gave his friend a meaningful look.

  “I’ll protect you like you’re one of my own. You have my word,” he said.

  I stepped down from the cab of the truck on shaky legs. Theo walked me to a waiting car. He kept an arm firmly around my waist as if he was afraid I might pass out. It wasn’t an unfounded fear. I was weak on my knees.

  Shock from my near kidnapping had left me feeling strangely disconnected. I watched the police and security guards circle the unmoving body on the street. Colors took on a vivid hue; the police car lights flashed red with blinding brightness. I felt like I was on drugs. Distantly, I understood this was the result of shock.

  Theo opened the passenger side door and helped me in. I sat down. He reached across me and buckled my seatbelt.

  “I’ll see you later tonight,” he said.

  “Okay. Be careful.”

  I don’t know why I was advising him to be careful. Theo was more than capable of taking care of himself. He’d managed to take out my attacker and rescue me with relat
ive ease. I was the one in need of protecting.

  Theo nodded to me and closed the door. Connor got into the driver’s seat and started the ignition. We pulled away from the chaotic scene of flashing emergency vehicle lights and turned onto the highway. We drove in silence for fifteen minutes before I realized something was wrong.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, trying and failing, to keep the panic from my voice.

  “My orders were take you somewhere safe.”

  “This isn’t the way to the hotel.”

  “No. Like I said, my orders were to get you to safety.”

  We pulled off the highway and into a quiet neighborhood. We pulled up to the front of a dark house.

  “Is this your place?” I asked.

  “No. This is where Theo lives. He thought you’d be safer with him than at the hotel.”

  We got out of the car and walked to the front. Connor pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

  “Wait here,” he ordered.

  He went inside first and checked the living room, kitchen and bedroom. Once he was satisfied that the house was empty, he motioned for me to come in.

  I closed the door behind me and looked around. The house was barely furnished. There was a couch and a television and that was it. It looked like Theo had just moved in, though I doubted it. He seemed like the kind of guy who doesn’t care about decorating.

  I sat down on the couch. Connor went to the front window and looked out, as if he was waiting for an enemy to show up.

  “Does anyone know I’m here?” I asked.

  “Just the three of us.”

  “I should call Shonda-my publicist. She’s going to freak out.”

  “Negative. My orders are to keep your location secret.”

  “But it’s Shonda. She’s like family. Besides, we have to get ahead of this story.”

  It was only a matter of time before the story leaked to the press. There were cops all over the scene. Gossip Guru was notorious for keeping police officers on their payroll. If a celebrity gets arrested, they want to be the first to know. I was sure one of them had called G.G. and alerted them to the situation.

  “Your story is not my priority.”

  His voice was thick with contempt. It may have seen silly to worry about a PR crisis, but I was badly shaken by what had happened. Managing a PR crisis gave me something to do. It was better than sitting there in Theo’s empty house with a stony-faced man who barely spoke and didn’t seem to like me much.

  I looked around for a landline but didn’t see one. No surprise. Most people just use cell phones. I’d lost my cell phone in the limo.

  “Can I borrow your phone?” I asked sweetly.

  “No.”

  “Would you let me use it if I got you into the premiere of my next movie?”

  “No.”

  “What if I introduced you to some girls? I know a lot of pretty young actresses who’d go wild over a strong, handsome soldier like you.”

  Connor glanced at me over his shoulder and considered my offer. “No,” he replied after a pause.

  I groaned. “There has to be something you want.”

  “No, ma’am.”

  I rose from the couch and headed for the kitchen.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get a glass of water.”

  The cabinets were mostly empty. After opening several of them I finally found a coffee mug that looked semi-clean. I rinsed it out then filled it with water and drank. My hands shook as I brought the mug to my mouth. I could really use a drink. Then I remember Louis. If he learned about this on the news his PR team would be furious. They coordinated everything with Shonda. Every moment of our ‘romance,’ or shomance as Shonda called it, was perfectly calculated.

  Nothing made them angrier than losing control over a story.

  I sat down at the kitchen table and ran my fingers through my hair. Somehow, my perfectly styled mane had stayed in place. The dress I wore was dirty though. The slit had torn all the way up my thigh, nearly exposing my underwear.

  I crossed my legs and tried to straighten out the fabric. I reasoned that Theo might have a safety pin in his bathroom I could use to close the tear.

  There was only one bathroom. It was attached to Theo’s bedroom. I turned on the light. Not surprisingly, the room was empty except for a mattress on the floor along with a blanket. I frowned and walked in. Instead of going to the bathroom I walked to Theo’s closet. I opened it to discover ten pairs of identical black shirts and jeans, plus two suits. Other than that, his closet was empty.

  Theo was clearly not the kind of guy who valued fashion.

  I walked into the bathroom and found a small kit. Inside were needles, thread, bandages and other first aid items. I attempted to sew the rip shut, but I’ve never sewed anything in my life. I gave up and took out two safety pins. After securing the tear sufficiently, I stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes were wild, but makeup was still perfect. I spared no expense when it came to stylists.

  I watched as my lip started to tremble. Tears clouded my eyes. I grabbed a towel, ran it under the water and started scrubbing at my face. I hated the way I looked. I hated how polished and phony my appearance was.

  The person in the mirror wasn’t real. She was nothing more than a character created by a team of people to sell a life that didn’t exist.

  I scrubbed until my face was red and raw. I pulled the pins from my hair and shook it out, so that it fell around my face. My natural hair is curly; my stylist spends a lot of time straightening it. I wanted to look like myself, so I pulled off my dress and jumped into the shower. I turned the water on as hot as it would go. I trembled beneath the heat as the water washed away my makeup and hair products. I felt like a layer of dirt was being washed off my body.

  I don’t know how long I stood there, but after a time the hot water ran out and turned cold. I still didn’t step out of the shower. I stood there shaking in the cold. The shower felt safe. I didn’t want to leave.

  “Are you okay?”

  I jumped and let out a little scream. I turned to find Theo standing in the bathroom doorway. He averted his eyes, but I was sure he’d caught a glimpse of me naked.

  “Could you hand me a towel?” I asked.

  Keeping his back to me, Theo went to a cabinet and pulled out a big, white towel. He handed it to me over his shoulder. I turned off the water and wrapped the towel around me. It was surprisingly soft.

  “Okay,” I said. “You can turn around.”

  Theo cleared his throat. His eyes traveled over my body.

  “I, uh, spoke with the cops. They’re not much help. They don’t want to cooperate. But the good news is that we have the driver’s name. We know he was hired through the limo company. I’ve already sent my team to his house. They’re digging into every aspect of his life. They’ll get to the bottom of this before the cops do.”

  I stepped out of the shower. The bathroom was much smaller than I realized. Theo and I stood face-to-face. Barefoot before him, I felt tiny and vulnerable. I practically live in heels; I’m not used to men towering over me.

  “You said that it may not be the guy writing me letters. Do you still think that?”

  Theo frowned. “We’ll know more tomorrow.”

  “What now?”

  We stood inches apart. Water dripped from my hair and onto the floor.

  “Now, the top priority is getting you to bed.”

  “Oh, you mean here?” His words surprised me. I’d only seen one bedroom in Theo’s house.

  “Yeah. You can sleep in my room. I’ll take the couch.”

  Sleeping alone didn’t appeal to me. Would it be weird to ask Theo to spend the night with me?

  “You’re shaking,” he said.

  “I’m cold.”

  He picked up a second towel and started to dry my hair. Then he put his hand on the small of my back and led me into the bedroom. He pulled back the covers as I sat down.

  “Lie down.�
��

  I did as he ordered. He covered me up and rubbed my back, trying to warm me up.

  “I’ll be right outside if you need me,” he said.

  “Wait, Theo. I know this sounds… well…”

  I didn’t know how to tell him how scared I was. My would-be kidnapper had left me so shaken that I didn’t think I’d ever recover. Up until that moment, I’d felt safe. I would never feel secure again.

  The worst part was that I was starting to realize that I was never really safe. I’d fooled myself into believing that my fame and money protected me. The truth was that it made me more vulnerable.

  “Will you stay with me?”

  “Of course,” he said gently.

  He laid down on top of the covers beside me. He kept his clothes and boots on. Theo brushed my wet hair out of my face and ran his hand over my arm and back soothingly.

  “You should try and get some sleep,” he said.

  “I’ll never sleep again.”

  “I’ll be here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  The sound of his voice combined with the way his hand rested on my hip made me nervous.

  “I really should call Shonda,” I said.

  “Worry about it in the morning. Tonight, sleep.”

  “I’m too wired. And I hate how weak I am. It was so easy for him to take me. All he had to do was distract you. He knew that I was too stupid and weak to be a threat.”

  “You’re not stupid. You could use some training though. I’m going to teach you self-defense and how to use a gun. At the very least, you need to learn the basics. Starting tomorrow, things are going to change. You’re going to learn how to fight and we’re going to come up with a contingency plan. If something like this happens again and you have to flee, you need to have a plan.”

  I was skeptical of how valuable I’d be in an emergency.

  “If I’m attacked again I’ll probably be as useless as I was today.”

  “You’re not useless. What happened today was my fault. I walked right into a trap. I should have seen it coming. When the limo sped away, I thought you were gone forever. I failed you completely. I was sure you were dead. How could I live with myself after-”

  I couldn’t stand the talk of death. I leaned into Theo and kissed him. I acted impulsively. It had been a long time since I’d done anything without first running it by my manager, publicist, agent and stylists. It felt good to act without thinking.