Read Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy Online
Authors: Lila Moore
Six Months Earlier
Val watched with a mixture of jealousy and disgust as Genevieve and Luke embraced. They were lost in their own little world, oblivious to her presence. It was now or never. She tore off a piece of her dress, then picked up a large toolbox one of the deckhands had been using to ready the lifeboat. She threw it along with the fabric over the railing. Before it could hit the water, she quickly darted out of sight.
From her hiding spot, she could see Genevieve and Luke. They ran to the railing and looked over. She smiled at the look of fear on Genevieve’s face. For all her claims otherwise, she knew Genevieve cared for her deeply. And why wouldn’t she? Val had done more for Gigi than she’d ever know.
A hand suddenly slipped around her mouth. Val froze. Val wasn’t the type to panic, but the combination of prescription meds and alcohol and left her feeling edgy and worst of all: sloppy. Sober Val never would have fallen for that obvious con job Luke pulled on her. How could she have been so dense? She vowed to give up drugs and alcohol forever. They made her weak.
She turned to face Carmine. It was as she’d suspected. She knew he’d come looking for her. She’d betrayed him and he’d want petty revenge. He lacked the ability to play the game seriously. Val wanted to win. She kept her eye on the prize- except for just now when she’d fallen for Luke’s marriage proposal. She’d never forgive herself for being so stupid.
Carmine stared at her with a mix of outrage and longing. The big idiot still loved her even though she’d ordered the men to throw him to the sharks. What a fool. But fools have their uses. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.
“Carmine,” she whispered. “We have to be quiet or they’ll hear us. Are you okay, my darling?”
He looked bewildered by her behavior. Good. She didn’t want him thinking clearly.
“We must get out of here,” she said. “But first we need to get something.”
She grabbed his hand and led him through the yacht to their room. On the bed sat all of their duffel bags full of money. She couldn’t take it all- that would look suspicious. It pained her to do so, but she left all of the bags behind except for one. She started to hand it to Carmine, then thought better of it. She couldn’t trust the idiot not to lose it in the water.
Now that she had enough money to live on for a while, they had to make their escape. She’d seen the men lower a second life raft. Could they sneak to it without being seen? It didn’t seem likely, but what choice did they have?
“There’s a boat with a man it,” Carmine said.
“What?”
She tried to keep her voice free of the irritation she felt. It wasn’t easy. Now was not the time for Carmine’s insane ramblings.
“At the stern of the ship,” he said. “I think that’s how that little prick got onboard.”
She had wondered about that. How had Luke managed to board them? He must have used his own boat.
“Carmine, you handsome, brilliant man!” She pulled him near and kissed hard. “Take me to it,” she said. “We’re going to make our escape tonight.”
He nodded and smiled. His eyes looked wild, like a caged animal that had suddenly been set free. The look was unsettling. Val would have to keep a close eye on him if she was going to keep him in line.
“Lead the way,” she said.
“You do love me, though. Right, Valerie? When you ordered the men to throw me overboard that was all part of your plan, yes?”
She gritted her teeth. “Of course, my love. I could have had any man I wanted and I picked you. Do you know why?”
“No.”
“Because you’re smart enough to understand a con when you see it,” she lied. “We’ve got them right where we want them. But we have to escape now or it will be too late.”
He pulled her to him and kissed her hard. She let him, but she didn’t enjoy it. Escape was all she could think about. Finally he broke free and led her off through the yacht.
They took a winding route through the ship before they reached their destination. Evading detection wasn’t easy.
Val leaned over the side of the yacht and saw a man sitting in a small fishing boat. He looked up at them and narrowed his eyes. Val smiled and waved as if they were old friends. Val put the duffel bag full of money over her shoulder and grabbed a rope.
“What are you doing?” Carmine asked. “We’re leaving, my dear. Don’t you want to come with me?”
“Of course.”
“Good.”
She gave him a quick kiss and threw her leg over the railing. She’d need Carmine’s money and connections if she was going to make it out of this. Val slid down the rope and onto the boat. She looked up to see Carmine struggling with the rope. She frowned. He had the grace of an elephant.
“Hello,” she whispered to the fisherman.
The man looked at her suspiciously. Val pointed to the beach.
“We need to go. Will you drive us?”
The man said something in Spanish she didn’t understand. Val reached into the duffle bag and pulled out a stack of hundreds.
“Take us to the shore,” she said.
He counted the money then nodded. Carmine landed in the boat with a thud. It rocked back and forth nearly tossing her into the water.
“Careful,” she hissed.
The fishermen took up the oars and started to row. Luckily, it was dark. They could hear voices from the deck of the yacht as they disappeared like ghosts in the night. When they reached the dock, Val handed the man several thousand dollars. His eyes grew wide.
“We were never here. Do you understand?”
“Si.”
“Silencio.”
Val put her finger to her mouth and winked. Carmine took her hand and led her to the beach.
“What now?” he asked.
“Now, we let Genevieve get comfortable. Then we make our move.”
The End
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