As Jackie walked away, she heard Kirk shouting something about getting the hose and turning it on Ross. Although it sounded like a joke, Ross had done the same thing to a few of the guys in the past for the same sort of behavior. Jackie headed further away from the lodge and toward the tree with Zack’s headstone beneath it. Zack sat on the ground with his back against his headstone. She somehow knew she’d find him there. Jackie approached and sat alongside him. She was aware he was intoxicated, even though he was good at hiding it. She leaned her head against the headstone and looked at the tree and the night sky.
“Do you like the spot we’d picked out?” Jackie asked while grinning.
He looked around and nodded his approval. “A lot nicer than my plot in Virginia.”
“I picked that plot,” Jackie informed him, moderately insulted by the comment. “You’re two rows from the Commander.”
“Yeah, but the one in Virginia has such a boring headstone,” he remarked with a groan. “Seriously? Couldn’t you have chiseled something witty on it? Like, ‘here lies Zack’s toe; may he rest in pieces’.”
“That was the Commander’s call,” she informed him without regret. “Take it up with him during your next near death experience.”
Zack inhaled deeply and allowed his head to rest against the headstone behind him alongside her. “You’re right about my inability to share my feelings,” he announced, although he refused to look at her. “Alcohol does help me overcome that though. Since my last brush with death, I’ve been wrestling some particularly nasty demons.”
Jackie had to hold back her interest in fear of reverting him to silence, but she was overjoyed he was finally willing to open up to her.
“When you were little, your father and I thought it was adorable how you wanted to be so much like us,” he remarked while grinning. “We taught you how to fight, shoot, and take control of your own destiny.” His grin slowly faded into a frown. “Lately, I’ve been wondering if that was a mistake. That night you tied me to a chair, every horrible thought I’d ever had about your upbringing surfaced.”
She groaned softly and turned on her hip to face him. Jackie took his hand in hers and affectionately caressed it while staring into his eyes. “I am so sorry for what I did to you in the bait shop,” she announced feeling guilt-ridden over it, chilled by her own actions. “I was out of my mind.”
“That?” he suddenly questioned then laughed softly and patted her hand. “Oh, Jackie dear. I’m such a sick bastard; I’m counting that as foreplay.”
Jackie cringed and pulled her hand from his. “Let’s just stick to the horrible feelings you’d mentioned.”
“I was sort of enjoying the new direction this conversation was taking,” he remarked then sighed. “But, okay. For a moment when I looked at you, I saw no emotion. I saw a glimpse of me in you, and I didn’t like it.” He held his breath while staring into her eyes. “Despite all the years of training and grooming, I don’t want you to become me.”
She again took his hand and offered a warm smile. “I’ll make you a deal,” Jackie announced, catching his attention. “I’ll only take on your more charming qualities if you try to take on a few of my better ones.”
He chuckled in his throat. “Deal.” Zack turned on his hip to face her, squeezed her hand, and stared deep into her eyes. “There’s something important I have to ask you, and I want an honest answer.”
Jackie noted the enthusiasm in his eyes and enjoyed seeing him so excited for an actual open conversation. “Of course, anything.”
“If Mac hadn’t interrupted, what did you have planned for the rest of the interrogation?” he asked. His look turned serious. “The more details; the better.”
Jackie pulled her hand away from his and frowned. “You need professional help.”
He shook his head, faced forward, and allowed his back to strike the headstone. “Typical woman,” Zack scoffed while folding his arms across his chest in a mild tantrum. “They want you to open up and then get offended when you do.”
Jackie couldn’t help but laugh. She clung to his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. Her smile faded as she drifted into thought with a curious look. She wasn’t sure why she sank to his level at that moment, but her ego wouldn’t let it go.
“Did I actually stand a chance at getting a confession out of you?” she asked.
He chuckled softly, placed his arm around her, and pulled her tight against his side. “Eventually, yes,” he replied.
She lifted her head despite his firm hold on her and smiled with delight. “Really?”
“Yes, given the proper dedication on your behalf,” he casually replied then considered his answer. “Although I must warn you, that’s one game I can play for hours.” He cast a serious look at her and raised his brows in challenge. “Duct tape’s in my left leg pocket if you’re game.”
Jackie gave a stern glare and was about to scold him when they heard a scream from the lodge. Both looked to the distant patio in time to see Ross and Lee running for the door, soaking wet, while Kirk and Monroe chased them with the garden hose. Jackie nuzzled Zack’s shoulder and sighed softly.
“Yep, I’m home.”
The End
Other books by Holly Copella!
Reviews left on Amazon are appreciated!
“The Battle for Andrea Marie”
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 Marie,” 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…
“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?
“Screenplays: The Island Collection”
“Jungle Princess”, “A.L.F. Resort”, “Brighton Island”
Discover h
ow 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, her uncle wages his own war to save them. Will his “shock and awe” tactics actually save them or get them killed?
“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--
“Dead Village”
After strange happenings isolate a small resort town from the rest of the world, nearly one hundred residents seek refuge at the closed hotel. Only eight survive the night. And that’s just the beginning…
One day after the entire population of Fox Ridge Village disappears, a car wreck forces several unsuspecting crash victims to seek help at the closed summer hotel. Within the hotel, they discover the grisly aftermath of a brutal slaughter. Crash victims Vander and Devon, a reluctant clairvoyant, team up to solve the riddle of the “haunted hotel” and the mass hysteria plaguing the remaining survivors. By the time they discover the hotel’s secret, they’re already drawn into the hysteria. As the body count continues to climb, it’s a race to isolate the source and bring everyone back to reality before they kill one another. Will Devon be able to communicate with the traumatized spirits before their fate becomes her own?
“Misfits, Inc.”
A seemingly ordinary, young woman meets four misfits who claim she has given them supernatural powers.
While on a business trip to a remote island paradise, a bored secretary, Hailey, has her world turned upside down when her path collides with a psychic freak, Skyler. He attempts to convince her that they had met in his dreams, and she had chosen him as one of her four mystic warriors. After Skyler foresees a woman’s death, they discover an unidentified creature has killed one of the guests. They are joined by a lounge pianist and a rich playboy, who also claim they had met her in their dreams. If Skyler’s prophecies are genuine, the evil entity controlling the ravenous creatures needs to destroy Hailey to ensure its survival. Reluctantly accepting her fate, Hailey has to locate the last and most powerful of her chosen warriors, The Guardian. Their fate is in doubt when The Guardian turns out to be a self-absorbed, former cat burglar with a bad attitude. Can Hailey turn her company of misfits into an elite team of mystic warriors? Or will The Guardian’s secret agenda destroy them all?
“Basement Dwellers”
A viral outbreak at a hospital leaves a mortician, sheriff, and coroner fighting for their lives against a horde of undead and the CDC.
After a massive car wreck leaves several survivors in critical condition at the local hospital, a surgeon uses experimental drugs on his critical patients and accidentally causes a zombie outbreak. When local mortician, Lexx, receives an infected corpse as her client, she becomes stranded in the hospital basement during CDC quarantine along with the local sheriff and the coroner. The infamous surgeon struggles to find a cure for his infectious blunder by using the other survivors as test subjects. Meanwhile, Lexx and the sheriff attempt to locate his missing sister, who’s stranded somewhere in the battle zone that once was the emergency room. It’s a race against time and the ravenous undead. Can they survive the undead before CDC sanitizes the hospital of all infection?
“Witness Protection”
Also available in audiobook!
After witnessing an execution, a resourceful young woman attempts to disappear while being pursued by a hitman and a handsome federal agent.
A helicopter pilot, Jackie Remus, reluctantly agrees to go on a date with one of her clients, but her date is unexpectedly cut short when she witnesses a man being murdered. After narrowly escaping with her life, she is placed into protective custody. When the safe house is breached, Jackie makes a daring escape from both the hired killers and the handsome FBI agent, who wants to return her to protective custody. With a little help from her sly and crafty friend, Monroe, Jackie is convinced she can disappear until the trial. While on her journey to meet with her friend, she solicits help from a few shady but lovable characters along the way. Although she manages to stay one-step ahead of the hired killers, the federal agent remains in hot pursuit. Will Jackie reach Monroe before she’s captured by the FBI and returned to protective custody? Or will the hired killers silence her first?
“Town Darling”
After surviving a brutal attack that claims the lives of those she loves, a young woman seeks revenge on a corrupt town.
Going back home is never easy, but for Casey, it means returning to her corrupt hometown where she barely survived a brutal attack. Accompanied by two family friends, she seeks justice for the night that destroyed her life. Her physical scars are nothing compared to her emotional ones, forcing the local sheriff to believe that the town darling is back for revenge. As the conspiracy for her revenge appears to be leading up to the coveted town fair, the sheriff is determined to stop her from fulfilling her vengeful scheme...but guilt over his role on that fateful night continues to haunt him. Will his desperate need for Casey’s forgiveness be his undoing? Or will Casey’s desire for revenge destroy them both?
“Unconditional”
A young woman puts her life on hold to care for an unstable, highly skilled combat soldier, who believes someone is trying to kill him.
A botched military coup leaves a team of elite fighters injured with one clinging to life in a coma. When Harlan wakes from his coma, he’s left with no memory of his past life. His commander’s daughter, Indy, takes it upon herself to care for the fallen war hero. She’s challenged with more than just his physical care as she combats with not only his memory loss but also his newly found desire for her. His infatuation with her becomes the least of her worries when he sinks back into his role of a combat soldier. Believing his life is in danger, his fighting skills surface, turning him into an unpredictable and dangerous man. Will his memory return to him before Indy is forced to commit him? Or will he finally find his nemesis, “the coyote”, and possibly claim the life of an
innocent person?
“Witness Protection 2”
The Return of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
Believing she holds the clue to millions in missing laundered money, a young woman is placed into the protective care of a former Navy SEAL team.
Feeling sorry for her recently separated co-worker, Leeann invites Wiley to join her and her friends on their night out. Little does she know that finding her co-worker murdered is just the beginning of her nightmare. Leeann unknowingly holds the key to fifty million dollars in potentially laundered mob money. With hired killers pursuing her, the FBI places her into a different kind of protective custody. Former Navy SEAL team Whiskey Tango Foxtrot reunites to keep Leeann alive at their secret hideaway. What should be an easy assignment takes an unscheduled turn when secrets, lies, and betrayal threaten to derail their mission. Is the team prepared for a war on their own doorstep? Will Leeann’s misguided trust endanger the lives of those sent to protect her?
“Deadly Institution 2”
When blackmail turns into murder, a young woman finds herself caught in the killer’s crosshairs.
The small town of Stony Ridge is no stranger to scandal and persecution of the innocent. When a brutal killing shakes the town’s prestigious country club, Jacey McMurray seeks help from a self-proclaimed vigilante, Konrad Asher. As her professional and personal worlds collide, Jacey fears the stress of the country club killings have finally taken their toll on Asher. Can a stressed out vigilante stop the killer before he strikes again?
Outside the Wire Page 27