Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy (16 page)

Louis’s large eyes doubled in size. “Don’t leave me, please. I didn’t know this was real. I thought it was all part of the promotion. Tell them, Jamie.”

“He didn’t know,” I said quietly.

“We don’t have time to discuss this now,” Theo said. “Let’s move out.”

He grabbed my hand and led me through a coat check area to the theater’s lobby. A few people milled around inside, talking on their cell phones or having a drink. When the four of us emerged, looking wild and scared, the people in the lobby seemed surprised. Clearly, they had no idea about the shit show taking place outside.

A woman walked up to me. I recognized her. She produced low-budget horror movies.

“Jamie!” she said, like we were old friends. “Can I get your autograph for my niece? She loves your movies.”

There was a loud bang behind us followed by yelling. The crowd had made their way through the door.

“No,” I said to the woman. “Run.”

The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. “How rude. I’ve heard that you’re a diva.”

I didn’t stick around to argue. People were already starting to pour into the movie theater’s lobby. The one advantage we had was that the doorway was narrow. The entire mob couldn’t pour through at once. It sounded like they were fighting to make their way through.

Theo grabbed my hand and pulled me into the movie screening room. The theater was dark. The opening credits of the movie had just begun. We ran down the aisle towards the screen. The sounds of warfare followed. Bombs exploded, men yelled: ‘Take cover!’

The movie’s opening scene was of a battle. I thought of Theo and his time in the war. Did movies like this disgust him? He didn’t react to the film. He was focused on getting me out of there.

There was an exit at the front of the room. Behind us, I could hear people entering the theater. The moviegoers turned to regard the sudden mass of people invading their private showing. A man near me laughed. He seemed to think this was a stunt. People who worked in show business were so used to manufactured drama that they didn’t know real trouble when they saw it.

Theo practically kicked open the exit. Instead of leading us outside like I’d hoped, we were in a narrow hallway.

“Stay behind me,” Theo said.

No longer worried about the mob, he pulled out his gun. I followed close behind as we headed down the poorly lit hallway to another door. Connor and Louis caught up with us. Louis was out of breath and red-faced. For an action star, he wasn’t in very good shape.

“There’s no lock on the door,” Connor said, motioning to the door we’d just come through.

Screams echoed through the hall. I wasn’t sure if it was coming from the movie or the mob of people flooding into the theater.

“We need to get out of here,” Louis said. He reached for the door before us and pulled it open.

“Wait!” Theo shouted.

It was too late. Louis threw open the door. A gunshot rang out through the hall. I covered my ears. This time I knew it was real. It didn’t sound anything like the way it does in the movies.

Louis stumbled back against the wall and touched his shoulder. Blood ran down his fingertips. He stared at it, dumbfounded. Theo shot at the gunman. I caught only the briefest look at him, but I was sure it was my kidnapper. In the midst of the chaos, he’d managed to sneak into the theater and hide.

Louis fell back against the wall and dropped to the floor.

“Stay here,” Theo shouted as he took off after the man.

Gunshots rang out down the hall. Connor pulled me to the floor and laid on top of me, shielding me from stray bullets. I screamed as shot after shot cut through the air. Where was Theo? Was he hit?

Behind us the theater door opened. The crowd started to move into the hallway. We were trapped between a vicious mob and a gunman. Connor pulled his gun and pointed it at the approaching crowd. They stopped dead in their tracks. The people at the front of the crowd looked bewildered. This was all fun and games to them. They had zero self-awareness.

A guy at the head of the mob put up his hands and said: “I surrender.” Everyone around him laughed.

“Turn back around the way you came,” Connor ordered.

“What’s going on?” a teenage girl shouted. “Did you hurt Louis?”

“Turn around and leave,” Connor said again.

“Hey!” the girl shouted. “This guy shot Louis!”

Cries of alarm rang out over the crowd. Seemingly oblivious to what was happening around him, Louis stared at the blood on his fingers. Connor pulled Louis’s shirt down to examine the wound. The gunshot wasn’t to his shoulder like I’d originally thought, but to his upper bicep.

“It’s a flesh wound,” Connor said dismissively. “Get to your feet and run, or we’re leaving you to the crowd.”

Connor helped me up. Louis watched on as if he wasn’t a part of this. He looked like an audience member that was stunned to discover the characters in the play before him were real.

“Get up!” I shouted.

“We can’t wait,” Connor said. He started to lead me out the door when Theo reappeared. Without explanation, Theo grabbed my hand and led me out of the hallway. I glanced back. The crowd was closing in as Connor pulled Louis to his feet and forced him out behind us.

I turned to Theo. “Where is he? Did you shoot him?”

“I hit him, but he’s not dead. He took off that way.” He pointed to a door that led back into the theater lobby. “He’s hurt, bleeding out. He won’t be hard to find. Right now, I’m more concerned with getting you to safety.”

It was then I noticed that Theo was walking with a limp. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing.”

“But-”

Theo pushed open a door that led us back outside. We were on a side street. Traffic was backed up. Several limos waited to pick up their VIP clients. Theo shot past all of them and flagged down a taxi. I looked back at the red carpet. It was in shambles. Trash covered everything. The fencing that kept the crowds at bay had been ripped apart. Most of the paparazzi were gone now that the police had shown up.

The cops were trying to establish a perimeter and get the fans off the property. They didn’t seem to know that many of them were now inside the movie theater.

A yellow cab pulled to a stop before us. Theo tried to push me inside but I wouldn’t let him.

“I don’t want to leave without you,” I said.

“He’s inside the theater. I have to end this. I want you to go back to my place. I’ll join you there soon.”

“But Theo, I-”

Theo grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to him. His lips found mine, hot and hungry. I kissed him hard. I never wanted the moment to end, but our kiss was cut short by Louis.

“Thank God!” he said as he pushed past me into the cab. “Let’s go!”

“Connor-” Theo started.

“I’ll look after her,” he replied.

Theo nodded and patted him on the back. “Take care of yourself.”

“You too, brother.”

Connor pushed me into the cab and slid in beside me. I was wedged between him and Louis. I suspect he was worried I’d try to jump out of the cab and chase after Theo. He wasn’t wrong. The thought had crossed my mind.

Connor gave the cab driver Theo’s address. I watched through the back window as Theo disappeared back into the theater. A growing red stain on his leg told me all I needed to know. He’d been shot and it was bad. He was bleeding profusely.

“We have to go back. He’s hurt,” I shouted.

“Theo knows how to take care of himself. This isn’t the first time he’s been shot,” Connor said.

Ambulances had started to pull up in front of the theater.

“Someone will help him,” Connor said.

“Don’t stop!” Louis shouted hysterically. “Don’t go back. Keep driving. Don’t stop for anyone.”

The cab turned a corner and Theo disappeared out of sight.

20

I wanted to murder Louis. He would not stop whining. He clutched his arm to his chest like he’d been mortally wounded.

“Would you shut up? It’s just a flesh wound,” I said, echoing Connor’s earlier assessment.

“I was shot! Don’t yell at me.”

“You’re not the first person to ever be shot, y’know? Theo is back there trying to stop this creep once and for all and you’re here whining like a child.”

Louis rubbed his face like he was crying, but there were no tears coming out of his eyes.

“I’m very emotional right now Jamie. You know how sensitive actors are. We feel things more deeply, and I don’t think your tone is very helpful.”

“Oh my God. Connor, if you don’t shut him up, I’m going to kill him,” I said.

“Okay, everyone please lower your voices and stop fighting.” Connor sounded like a frustrated kindergarten teacher trying to wrangle a bunch of five year olds.

I paced around Theo’s living room. “When will we know something?” I asked.

“I need to get to a hospital,” Louis said, cutting me off.

“Theo will get in touch as soon as the situation is under control.”

Connor sat down beside Louis on the couch and pulled out a knife.

“Have you lost your mind? What are you planning on doing with that?” Louis asked.

Connor responded by cutting open Louis’s shirt. Louis jumped as if he’d been stung. “What are you doing?”

“Be still and stop acting like a baby.”

For once, Louis obeyed. Connor took a closer look at his arm. From where I was standing, the wound looked insignificant. A small drop of blood dripped down his arm. The wound itself was barely visible.

“It’s a bullet graze. You’ll survive,” Connor said, sounding bored.

“A bullet graze? I was shot.”

Connor shrugged and started to stitch the wound himself.

“You’re not going to take me to the hospital?” Louis sounded outraged.

“They’ll do the same thing I’m doing only they’ll charge you a grand for it.”

“I don’t care about the money. I want a doctor.”

“I’ve tended to a lot of gunshot wounds. This is nothing.”

“This isn’t some backwoods hellhole in Afghanistan. Just take me to a doctor.”

An expression passed over Connor’s face somewhere between contempt and disgust. “Fine,” he said with gritted teeth. “Have it your way. But you’re going to have to wait.”

“Wait? Why?” Louis said.

“The situation isn’t secure yet. We don’t move until I hear from Theo.”

“Screw that.” Louis pulled out his cell phone. He had it to his ear before Connor could stop him. “Help!” he screamed. “I’ve been shot.” Connor snatched the phone away from him as he was screaming: “I’m at Theo’s shitty house!”

“Who were you talking to?” I demanded.

“None of your business.”

I took the phone from Connor and pulled up his call history. Just as I’d feared. He’d called his publicist.

“We have to leave now,” I said to Connor. “He called his publicist. She’s in on it. She set this whole thing up. She could lead my kidnapper straight to us.”

“What are you on about now?” Louis asked.

“How can you be so dense? Your publicist orchestrated this whole thing. When she found out I had a stalker she somehow contacted him and started telling him where I’d be. She helped him kidnap me because she knew she could spin the story and make you a hero. It would secure your future as an actor and the both of you would get rich in the process.”

“Nah, she’d never do that.” He didn’t seem confident. I could see his mind working. Louis’s big eyes darted around the room, trying to piece the puzzle together.

“Do you really think I’d fake all this?” I asked.

“You’ve been faking with me for years,” he said bitterly.

“What are you talking about?”

“Our contract. You’ve been pretending to be my girlfriend for money and fame. You think you’re so much better than me, but you’re just as greedy and selfish as every other actor in the business.”

I stared at him dumbfounded. He wasn’t wrong. I’d taken the money and more. I couldn’t argue with that. What surprised me was that he admitted to our arrangement in Connor’s presence. Louis and I had never spoken about the contract in private, let alone in front of someone. Getting shot must have really rattled him.

“We don’t have time to discuss this now,” Connor said. He looked as if he wasn’t quite following the conversation. I’m not sure how much Theo had told him about my arrangement with Louis. Theo had promised not to say a word. Judging by the look of confusion on Connor’s face, I assumed Theo had kept his word.

“I’m staying,” Louis said. “I’m ending this.”

“What are you talking about? You can’t just end this,” I said. “We’re in too deep.”

“Yes, I can. I’m done living a lie. I almost died today,” Louis replied.

Connor made a face. It was clear he believed Louis was being a drama queen, but I didn’t blame Louis for being scared. Connor didn’t understand how sheltered Louis and I were. Hell, I didn’t understand how protected I was until the bubble burst and the consequences of celebrity and obsession left me the victim of a deranged fan. My experience forced me to start looking at my life in a way I never had before. Did fame really make me happy? I was missing out on so much. It wouldn’t surprise me if Louis was going through something similar.

“Louis, I think it’s great that you want to live your life on your terms, but your publicist won’t let you. If you try to expose her lies, she’ll destroy you. She’s done horrible things to make you a star,” I said.

“It ends today.” Louis stood up boldly. He squared his shoulders. I’m not going to let her get away with this.

Connor and I exchanged a doubtful look. Louis sounded phony, like he was playing a character. When push came to shove could he be counted on to do the right thing? I suspected not, though I wasn’t sure.

“You need to think first,” I said, trying to pacify him. “You need to look at the bigger picture. If you confront her now, she’ll have time to formulate an attack. She’ll work behind the scenes to destroy your life. She’ll leak stories to the press and have you blacklisted at all the studios. You’ll never work again. I know you love acting. We have to be smart now. Confronting her would play right into her hands.”

Louis chewed on his lip, considering my proposition.

“You should listen to her,” a voice said from the doorway. Louis’s publicist stood in the open door. She held a gun in her hand pointed straight at Louis.

“What are you doing?” Louis demanded.

Connor reached for his gun. “No,” she ordered. “Put it away. I’ll kill them both and blame it on you. I can see the headlines now: War Vet Snaps, Kills America’s Sweethearts.”

Connor set the gun down on the table.

“Slide that over here.”

Connor did as she instructed.

“As I was saying,” she continued, “you should listen to Jamie, Louis. She’s right. If you give me a chance I will out maneuver you. However, it’s too late now. You’re screwed. You just don’t know it yet.”

“How did you get here so quickly?” I asked.

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out you were hiding someplace safe. I figured you were staying with either Shonda or Theo. And since you’re clearly fucking Theo, I knew I’d find you here.”

“We need to talk,” Louis said. “I’ve decided I’m finished. I don’t want to live a lie anymore. If it hurts my career, then I’ll just have to-”

A gunshot rang out. Louis bent over, collapsing in on himself as he grabbed his stomach. He fell to the floor coughing. Blood stained the front of his shirt.

“No!” I screamed.

I dove for him. I put my hand over his and tried to stop the bleeding. Louis’ big eyes stared up at me like a child. The bullet had cut through his side just above his hip. It was bad, but I was sure he’d be okay if we got him to a doctor in time. At least that’s what I kept telling myself. As much as Louis got on my nerves, I didn’t wish death on him.

Please be okay, I silently prayed.

Connor ran for her. He wasn’t fast enough. She shot him in the leg and the shoulder. He kept going, though. It wasn’t until she shot him a third time that he fell to his knees. The third bullet entered through his abdomen.

“Oh God…” I said again and again.

“Get up,” she said blandly.

It took me a minute to realize she was talking to me. I couldn’t move. Shock left me frozen in place. She grabbed my hair and pulled me to my feet. The pain was strangely comforting. It snapped me out of my daze. I turned to face her.

“Don’t look at me,” she snapped.

“How are you going to spin this? You shot Louis and Connor in cold blood.”

“Connor’s going to die. Louis will live- probably. Since I’m the one who speaks for Louis, it won’t be hard to sell my story. Connor was an accomplice to your stalker. They worked together to create a diversion so Connor could kill you. I showed up too late. Tragically, you were dead when I found you. Though heroically, I managed to shoot Connor before he could kill me.”

“That’s never going to work. Don’t you watch movies? Forensics, gun ballistics, fingerprints… you’re all over this crime. Your story doesn’t match the evidence.”

She rolled her eyes. “The real world isn’t a movie. People can be bought off, blackmailed. Besides, real world forensics isn’t what the movies portray it as. I’ll be fine. You, on the other hand, will be dead.”

She shoved me hard against the wall. I stared down the barrel of her gun and braced myself. Would I hear the gunshot before I felt it? No. Somewhere I distantly remembered learning that a bullet travels faster than the speed of sound. I’d feel the pain of the bullet entering me before I ever heard it.

My heart beat against my ribs like a drum. Louis’s publicist’s face twisted with discontent.

“You can’t do it, can you?” I said. “You talk a big game, but-”

“Don’t flatter yourself. If I can shoot Louis, then shooting you will be nothing. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”

“Then why don’t you do it?”

“Well,” she said considering the room. “I’m imagining the cover of the National Enquirer. Your death photos should be romantic. A shot of you dead in Louis’s arms would sell millions of copies.”

Louis muttered something that sounded like an insult. His words were slurred and weak. He was fading fast. Connor was still conscious, but he looked pale. He was a strong guy, but I wasn’t sure how long he could hold on for.

“I can’t shoot you against the wall,” she said, ignoring Louis. “You were right about forensics. It might look staged. Move over there to the middle of the room. After I shoot you, I want you to fall into Louis’s arms. Louis, you will cradle her to your chest while I take a couple pictures.”

“Fuck you. I’m not moving,” I said. “You’re going to have to kill me where I stand, then drag my body over there. I’m not making this easy for you. Good luck trying to explain this to the cops. Louis won’t back up your bullshit story. Will you?”

Louis looked up at her defiantly. Before he could respond, she said: “Yes, he will because if he doesn’t, I’ll tell the cops he did this. I’ll tell them he found out you were sleeping with Connor so he decided to kill you both in a jealous rage. He wouldn’t be the first celebrity to commit murder. Think of the publicity we’d get from the trial. Girls love a bad boy. We’d hire top attorneys. I’d make sure he was acquitted. We’ll sell the movie rights, the book rights. We’ll make tens of millions of dollars and Louis will always be remembered as Hollywood’s Romeo. This is an even better idea than my original plan. Thanks, Jamie. You’re a real doll.”

A gunshot rang out. I screamed and fell back against the wall. I slid down to the floor clutching my chest. I looked down expecting to see blood. There was none. I felt along my stomach and chest. I pulled at my dress looking for bullet holes. I hadn’t been shot.

Louis’s publicist stumbled forward. She made a choking sound and blood spilled out of her mouth. She raised her gun and fired. The shot went wild. Drywall fell on my head. She’d shot a hole through the wall above me.

“I knew you’d come!” I called out, expecting to find Theo standing in the doorway.

As Louis’s publicist collapsed to the floor, the shooter emerged from the dark. It wasn’t Theo. My kidnapper was back. A big dumb smile crossed his face. His eyes were big and round with excitement.

“You knew I’d come?” he said like an eager little boy. My mouth fell open. “I knew you wanted me to come find you. I followed you the night after the limo driver messed up. He was supposed to bring you to me, but that meathead security guy you hired stopped him.”

My kidnapper limped towards me. A tourniquet was tied around his thigh. His leg was soaked in blood.

“When your bodyguard brought you back here, I watched from the bushes. I saw the two of you sleeping together.”

The room started to spin around me. I wanted to puke.

“I couldn’t figure out why you would sleep with that guy,” he said, his voice growing tighter.