Town Darling Page 25
As the crowd cheered, Grey joined Dina offstage and hugged her affectionately. Diesel and Ruger also left stage. Melanie walked past Diesel, gave him a lustful smile, and nodded toward the ticket booth. She flashed a box of doughnuts. Diesel grinned and nearly trampled Ruger to get to her and the doughnuts. A group of women approached Ruger and swarmed him. He appeared startled by all the female attention and looked at Grey with Dina.
“Grey, a little help?” Ruger announced.
Grey smiled deviously at him and gave his best royal wave. Casey and Vaughn were seen riding off on her gray horse across the field and out of sight.
†
Ernest entered the foyer of his mansion with Wayne, Ryan, and Blain following behind. All four appeared disgusted. Wayne slammed the door.
“Now what?” Wayne demanded.
“First, I want that traitorous brother of yours found,” Ernest snapped then looked at his watch with a frown. “Lance has some nerve insisting he meet us here.”
“I can’t believe he resigned as mayor,” Ryan snorted and collapsed onto a bench in the hallway. “Then to throw Aunt Abby under the bus like that--”
“I could kill him on that score alone,” Ernest scoffed. “If Grey Remington gets his way, I’m going to be broke within a year.”
“What can we do?” Blain demanded.
“We’re going to finish what Abby and Tucker started,” Ernest snapped. “We’re going to get rid of those Remington kids once and for all. No kid gloves this time. I want them eliminated.”
“That’s not as easy as it sounds,” Wayne retorted. “They don’t roll over easily.”
“So, we’ll solicit some professional help,” Ernest remarked. “I know some people. It won’t be cheap, but it’ll be worth it. I just need to make a few phone calls.”
Blain suddenly sniffed the air and looked around. “Do you smell something?”
The other three looked at him then smelled the air. Ernest shook his head.
“You’re imagining things,” he remarked.
Blain walked into the living room, smelled the air, and approached the propane fireplace. “It’s propane,” Blain announced as the others approached. “There’s something wrong with the fireplace.”
Wayne looked at the coffee table and appeared puzzled. A cigarette rested on the ashtray with a book of matches holding it up.
“What the hell--” Wayne began to speak.
The book of matches caught fire and the propane fumes suddenly ignited, turning the entire living room into a ball of fire. From outside Ernest’s mansion, there was a loud explosion as the front windows shattered and flames shot out of the house. Wiley stood casually on the sidewalk while watching the flames engulf the front of the house. He looked at the gray cat in his arms, affectionately petted its coat, and continued on his way past the mansion.
The End
Other books by Holly Copella!
Reviews left on Amazon are appreciated!
“Insanely Deadly”
When the dead return to life, it’s up to an admiral’s daughter and a mildly insane, former war hero to save their small town.
Jetta Cross, a Navy Admiral’s daughter, is tasked with keeping her father’s comrade, a former war hero turned town crazy, grounded in the real world. Capt. John Hunter is still fighting the war in his head, where imaginary dead people are part of his world. When a viral outbreak brings about a zombie uprising, Hunter is left to his own devices. He must resume his role as a one-man commando unit in order to destroy the ravenous undead. With Hunter still fighting his own inner demons as well as the undead, the townspeople fear their zombie neighbors may not be the only threat. Stranded at the island’s luxurious resort with a handful of workers, Jetta is forced to live up to her father’s reputation and take charge of the deteriorating situation at the hotel. She must wage her own war against the infected before the government declares her hometown a total loss.
“Deadly Institution”
A town recluse suspected of killing his wife teams up with a young woman in order to stop a killer.
After being accused of murdering his wife, Konrad Asher turns his back on the town that once adored him. Ten years later, he still holds his grudge and the title of the most feared man in town. With the reopening of the burned mental institution, where his wife had died, former employees are now murdered one-by-one, throwing suspicion back on Asher. A young local reporter, Jacey, is forced to reveal her long-time friendship with the infamous recluse in order to clear his name not only in the recent murders but to exonerate him in the death of his wife as well. Will Jacey’s relationship with Asher invite the killer closer to her? Or is the killer already in her life?
“Death Displacement”
A grief-stricken man travels back in time to seek revenge on the woman who murdered his girlfriend but inadvertently falls in love with her.
Kane is about to marry the woman he loves. His life is perfect. A few weeks before the wedding, a vindictive woman from his girlfriend’s past mysteriously arrives and kills her. He learns of a traumatic accident that happened five years earlier, which triggers Riley’s hatred for his girlfriend. Distraught over his girlfriend’s death, Kane uses an antique time machine to travel into the past in order to find and destroy the woman responsible. When he runs into Riley’s younger self, he realizes she’s not the monster she later becomes, and he can’t bring himself to destroy her. With a little help from his oddball friend from the past, they formulate a plan to prevent the accident that sends Riley down her destructive path. Kane’s plan backfires when he falls for the younger Riley. His new tortured existence is further complicated when future Riley, his girlfriend’s killer, shows up with her own devious agenda that doesn’t include him. Will he be able to stop the time ripple, which ultimately ends with his girlfriend’s death? Or will future Riley take him out of the timeline forever--
“The Battle for Andrea Maria”
A cruise ship attack turns six survivors into overnight celebrities after they take credit for the heroic act of a stowaway who died saving them.
The cruise is just what Jess needed--a bit of harmless fun far from her daily grind. But what begins as a relaxing vacation turns into a desperate fight for her life when terrorists take over the ship and start piling up bodies. Teaming up with a mysterious stowaway, Jess attempts to send out a distress call but knows they cannot wait for help to come. If she or the few remaining passengers have any hope for survival, Jess must act now. The papers dub it “The Battle for Andrea Maria,” but to Jess it is the moment she fought side-by-side with her enigmatic Romeo, saving the ship--and losing him. She thinks the story ends there, but really, the nightmare is just beginning…
“Screenplays: The Island Collection”
“Jungle Princess”, “A.L.F. Resort”, “Brighton Island”
Discover how romance and fun in the sun can be downright chilling!
“Jungle Princess” is a romantic/thriller that leaves a teenage girl stranded on an island with two male shipmates and a creature of “unknown” origin. She soon discovers the island is home to an abandoned prison with several prisoners roaming free. What really killed over one hundred prisoners? And is it still out there--?
“A.L.F. Resort” is a romantic/thriller set on an island resort with Artificial Life Forms as the main draw. At this resort, all your fantasies come true…until a malfunction removes safety inhibitors on the A.L.F.’s. Zombies, biker gangs, and mobsters run amuck, turning fantasies into nightmares. A young reporter gets more of a story than she anticipates, but will she survive long enough to write the story?
“Brighton Island” is a romantic/thriller set on a private island. When the owner’s niece brings her psychic friend to the mansion, his presence awakens the spirits’ tortured souls. As the psychic attempts to solve the old murders, the niece is confronted with the possibility that she’s next to join the mansion ghosts. Stranded on the island with a crazed killer, he uncle wages his own war to save them. Will
his “shock and awe” tactics actually save them or get them killed?
“Reaper of Souls” A fantasy short story
A young woman must outwit an evil sorcerer in order to save her brother or become one of his minions forever.
Unwilling to believe her brother is dead, Reggie discovers an underhanded deal made with Kahn, a less than ethical sorcerer, who collects humans to serve as slaves in his kingdom. In order to rescue her brother from his horrible fate, she must complete his failed task or be forced to serve Kahn forever. After being transported to his world, Reggie realizes that even if she beats Kahn at his own game, she’s at his mercy for him to uphold his end of the deal. All seems lost until Kahn’s discontented, self-serving brother, Helsing, arrives. Can Reggie convince Helsing to help her? And at what cost?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Holly Copella has been writing since the age of twelve when her frustration at a book’s poor plot drove her to author her own story. Over the last decade, she’s written a number of screenplays, some of which she’s now adapting into novels. Her fascination with zombies and other darker material lends an edge to her writing, which tends to lean toward horror. As a fan of Agatha Christie, she appreciates the craft of a good plot and the importance of creating significant characters.
Hailing from Pennsylvania, Copella lives in the Endless Mountains on a farm with her rescue horses and other animals. In addition to writing and reading fiction, she enjoys riding horses and traveling to Las Vegas and Disney World.