“I know I never will.” Brody nodded toward the couple dancing in the shadows. “My ‘all work’ bodyguard just resigned in favor of ‘all play’.”
“Yeah, nearly dying can change a man,” Vance remarked while grinning. “Third time’s a charm.”
An attractive woman passed them and smiled at Vance. He met her gaze and flashed his own smile in response. So began the pre-foreplay dance. He looked back at Brody.
“I think I’m being paged,” Vance cheerfully informed him. “Was there something I could do for you, Brody?”
He sighed heavily with defeat. “According to the terms of the contract, I inherit Lucinda’s half of the resort. Unfortunately, I also inherit the hotel’s debt, which will potentially bankrupt me. I’m in desperate need of a partner.” He stared at Vance and his agenda surfaced. “I took the liberty of having you checked out, and learned you’re a man of considerable wealth with no real estate investments. I thought you might be interested in trying the hotel industry. You might like it.”
Vance considered the idea, tilted his head, and then grinned in response. “Life in paradise?” he suddenly asked. “How much of a good thing is too much?” He chuckled softly. “I think I’d like to find out.”
Vance extended his hand to Brody, who eagerly shook it, sealing their deal. Vance smiled and stood, indicating the woman who’d just passed.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Vance announced. “I have to make sure I haven’t lost my touch.”
Brody smiled and laughed as Vance hurried after the attractive woman. Skyler appeared on the terrace from the side door, approached Logan at the keyboard, and sat next to him. He set the manuscript down near him. Logan eyed the manuscript and appeared curious.
“Did you actually read that?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t care for the ending,” Skyler announced with little interest.
“What was wrong with the ending?” Logan suddenly demanded, appearing insulted.
“It didn’t make sense,” Skyler replied. “It seems like there should be more.”
Logan stopped playing his portable keyboard and snatched the manuscript. “Everyone’s a critic.”
Talbert approached Skyler and looked around with disgust. “Considering the circumstances, I guess you can have your old job back.”
Skyler stood with his head held high and looked Talbert in the eyes. “Sorry, but I already have a job.” He grinned proudly. “I’m Numinous.”
Mel approached Skyler and affectionately clung to his arm. “You promised me a moonlit walk on the beach.”
Skyler grinned and walked away with her. Talbert watched him leave with Mel and frowned. Logan flipped though the ending of the manuscript with a puzzled look on his face. Talbert glared at Logan and indicated the keyboard.
“Play something, will you?” he snarled with annoyance then walked away.
Logan glared after Talbert, sneered, and gave him the middle finger. Hailey and Rafe continued to slow dance in the sand despite the absence of music.
“What now?” Rafe asked while hiding his humor. “It seems we’re both unemployed.”
“According to Skyler’s latest psychic analysis, Vance will become Brody’s partner here at the resort,” she informed him. “They will mutually agree to fire Talbert and hire Skyler as hotel manager. Brody will then beg you to be head of security.”
He laughed at her analysis then turned serious. “What becomes of the princess?”
“The princess falls in love with the new head of security and, strangely enough, becomes Brody’s assistant.”
“I think all that power has gone to Skyler’s head,” Rafe remarked and grinned. “He’s losing his touch.”
“Actually, I already accepted the position,” Hailey informed him then shrugged.
Rafe grinned and pulled her against him as they stopped dancing. He looked into her eyes and gently touched her face.
“Tell me more about happily ever after.”
Hailey smiled warmly and brushed her lips past his. He eagerly moved his mouth closer to hers to accept her teasing kiss.
“Hailey--” Logan called out.
Hailey pulled away from Rafe as if caught doing something wrong.
Rafe groaned with disgust. “Next time we leave the kids at home.”
Logan hurried toward them with the manuscript in his hands. Vance and Skyler heard the odd urgency in his voice and approached as well.
“You’re not going to believe this,” Logan announced.
“Is something wrong?” Vance asked and cast a glance at his lady-in-waiting to make sure she was still waiting.
“It’s the ending,” Logan informed them.
Hailey grinned lustfully and moved closer to Rafe, gently running her hand along his chest. Rafe eagerly pulled her into arms and against him.
“We’ve already figured that one out,” she teased.
Logan shook his head while staring at her. “No, there’s more to the story…”
The End
Other books by Holly Copella!
Reviews left on Amazon are appreciated!
“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…
“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 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, her 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?
“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?
“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?
“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. His desperate need for Casey’s forgiveness could be his undoing.
“Witness Protection”
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?
Coming Soon!
“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?
Coming Spring 2016!
“Witness Protection 2”
“The Return of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”
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.
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