Until death, p.1
Until Death, page 1
Until Death
Holly Copella
Copyright © 2018 Holly Copella
All rights reserved.
ISBN:
ISBN-13: 978-1-947694-13-2
In Loving Memory of
Michael Wetzel
“Goodbyes hurt the most, when the story was not finished…”
Michael & Lynne
Forever
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Copella Books: First Paperback Edition 2018
Cover Artist: Daniela Owergoor
Dani-owergoor.deviantart.com
Model by MJ Ranum
Printed by KDP, an Amazon.com Company
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Homecoming
Chapter 2 A Dish Best Served Cold
Chapter 3 Gossip Hour
Chapter 4 All is Fair
Chapter 5 Love and War
Chapter 6 Sitting up with the Dead
Chapter 7 The Happy Occasion
Chapter 8 Friends and Foes
Chapter 9 The Snarling Beast
Chapter 10 The Enemy of My Enemy
Chapter 11 All Bets Are Off
Chapter 12 A View to Die For
Chapter 13 The Good Old Days
Chapter 14 Bridezilla
Chapter 15 The Rehearsal Dinner AKA Get with the Program
Chapter 16 Another Party?
Chapter 17 The Devil Had Blue Eyes
Chapter 18 The Beginning of the End
Chapter 19 Cutting it Close
Chapter 20 Show Time!
Chapter 21 The Love Train
Chapter 22 The Other Side of the Door
Chapter 23 Tequila Sunrise
Chapter 24 Double Down
Chapter 25 The Return of Bridezilla
Chapter 26 WTF?
Chapter 27 Gunnysacks and Cement Shoes
Chapter 28 The Happy Couple
Chapter 29 Third Time’s a Charm
Chapter 30 About Last Night
Chapter 31 Nine-tenths of the Law
Chapter 32 What a Payne
Chapter 33 The Butler Did It
Chapter 34 Everyone’s Got One
Chapter 35 Honor Thy Father
Chapter 36 Cheaters, Liars, and Thieves
Chapter 37 No One’s Above Suspicion
Chapter 38 Butler with No Name
Chapter 39 The Payne Is Back
Chapter 40 Raging Hormones
Chapter 41 Gut Instincts
Chapter 42 A Bitch to Remember
Chapter 43 Keep Your Enemies Closer
Chapter 44 The Lady Is a Tramp
Chapter 45 It’s About to Get Real
Chapter 46 Affir du Cœur
Chapter 47 Bed Sheet Bingo
Chapter 48 Chickens with Their Heads Cut Off
Chapter 49 What the Hell?
Chapter 50 Gut Feeling
Chapter 51 Not Again!
Chapter 52 Murder Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Chapter 53 Busted!
Chapter 54 Raina Days and Mondays
Chapter 55 Butler Knows Best
Chapter 56 Seriously? It’s Still Raining?
Chapter 57 Things That Go Bump in the Night
Chapter 58 Don’t Get Jimmy Love’s Boxers in a Bunch
Chapter 59 She Loves Me Not
Chapter 60 Dinner and a Show
Chapter 61 Amateur Night
Chapter 62 Confession Is Good for the Soul
Chapter 63 Return of Bridezilla – Part 2: The Blushing Bride
Chapter 64 Return of Bridezilla – Part 3: Everyone Loves the Bride
Chapter 65 Return of Bridezilla – Part 4: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Chapter 66 A Bitch to Remember – Part 2: The Sleepy-time Memorial Service
Chapter 67 Don’t Get Jimmy Love’s Boxers in a Bunch Part 2: The Night Elana Died
Chapter 68 If I Tell You; I Have to Kill You
Chapter 69 Ultimate Happy Ending
Other books by Holly Copella!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chapter 1
Homecoming
A new, black sports car drove the long, winding back road that seemed to extend forever before turning onto the private lane. Just ahead was a well-maintained, stone bridge over a gently babbling brook. The car crossed the bridge then drove through the imposing, wrought-iron gates onto the enormous country estate nestled in the middle of nowhere. It drove up the long driveway, which extended a quarter of a mile. The private lane was lined with towering, weeping willow trees, which created more of a tunnel than a driveway. It was early evening, so the private lane was already dark beneath the trees.
The car appeared in the clearing before the elegant, two-story mansion, drove along the circular driveway around the large fountain, and parked not far from the set of stone steps leading up to the home. The mansion was more than one hundred years old and appeared almost medieval. The beveled glass windows on both levels were arched with a church-like beauty. An attractive young woman, who barely made the legal drinking age, got out of the sports car and walked along the stone terrace before the steps.
Raina Steele wore her long, dark hair in a messy ponytail. Despite her expensive car, she dressed casually in worn jeans and a black blazer overtop her white tank top. Her ‘not your ordinary rich girl’ outfit was completed with calf-high black boots that looked like a feminine version of military boots. She crossed the patio and attempted to open the main door, but it didn’t open. Raina was a bit surprised since the door was rarely ever locked, and she hadn’t brought her house keys home from college. Rather than go around back to the kitchen entrance, she admitted defeat and rang the bell.
On the other side of the door, a young, proper looking butler stood in the foyer before the double doors and kept a close eye on his watch. The thirty-one-year-old butler, Dane Kingston, was devilishly handsome with dark brown hair and a clean-shaven face despite the evening hour. His butler’s uniform was an expensive, three-piece suit without a crease or wrinkle. His wardrobe was as impeccable as his hygiene. When the second hand on his expensive watch hit twelve, a devious smile crossed his face.
“Dane, who’s at the door?” a woman called from the front sitting room.
Dane unlocked the door while straightening proudly. His devious smile turned proper as he opened the door to reveal Raina. She glared at his pleasant smile and became further agitated.
“Good evening, Miss Steele,” he announced almost charmingly despite that his blue eyes mocked her. “We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow.”
Raina sneered and pushed past him with annoyance. “Save it for your adoring fans, bellhop,” she snarled. “Bags are in the car.” She tossed him the car keys, purposely aiming for his face. “Knock yourself out.”
Dane shirked back but managed to catch the small key ring, thankfully containing few keys on the off chance he would have missed.
“Is that Raina?” the woman from the front sitting room excitedly called out.
An attractive woman in her early forties appeared from the nearby sitting room, saw Raina, and squealed with excitement. She hurried up the foyer steps and happily hugged Raina. Brenda Steele was a gracefully stylish woman with shoulder-length, raven hair, an alabaster complexion, and large green eyes surrounded by thick lashes. Her regal beauty gave her the appearance of royalty, but her down-to-earth personality was far more humbling.
Brenda pulled away and looked over her stepdaughter. “We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow,” she announced gleefully. “What a pleasant surprise!”
When Brenda magically appeared in Raina’s life more than ten years ago, Raina wasn’t receptive to the idea of a stepmother. By her own admission, Raina treated her poorly in the beginning, but Brenda’s charm and persistence eventually won her over. Her thirteen-year-old baggage, the son she’d brought with her, was a train wreck waiting to happen. Raina didn’t want a stepmother, and she certainly didn’t want a teenage stepbrother. Unfortunately, she’d taken to her new stepbrother and out of respect for their newly found friendship, Raina had little choice but warm up to Brenda. Once she conceded, Brenda easily won her over even if she never once called her ‘mom’.
“My final exam was pushed back until next week,” Raina announced and smirked almost deviously. “My professor was arrested for indecent exposure.”
Brenda gasped dramatically. “Oh, that’s terrible!”
“No, that this is the second time is what’s terrible,” Raina remarked then eyed her stepmother slyly. “This is what happens when you send your children to an Ivy League college, Brenda.”
“Don’t start that again,” Brenda boldly announced and offered a teasing smile. “It’s a fine school. Miller graduated from there, and he loved it.”
“Of course he did,” Raina remarked matter-of-factly. “He was in the wildest frat house on campus.” She shook her head. “I still don’t know how he managed to graduate.”
“Now be nice,” Brenda teased, although she didn’t seem to mind Raina taking shots at her son. It was all in good fun. Her stepmother beamed. “I have a little surprise for you.”
Brenda took Raina’s h
“That goes upstairs, bellhop,” she called out in a gruff tone without even glancing at him.
Dane sneered, snatched the bag, and headed up the massive grand staircase. Brenda practically pulled Raina into the front sitting room where an attractive woman in her early twenties stood alongside a lanky man a few years her senior.
Raina stared at the handsome couple with surprise. “Miller? Alicia? What are you two doing here?”
There was a small, joyful reunion as all three happily hugged. Raina’s stepbrother, Miller, was only three years older than she was. He was a handsome man with his light brown hair kept businessman short and his youthful face clean-shaven. He was a fashionably snappy dresser, even more so since he’d been dating the beautiful Alicia, who helped improve his wardrobe. Alicia was as beautiful as she was intelligent. Her long, golden-brown hair was straight and silky. Despite not wearing much makeup, her skin was almost flawless. With her newly acquired tan, she was even more breathtaking.
Raina wasn’t expecting to see her stepbrother and his girlfriend this particular weekend. They’d snuck off to the family beach house in Maui and had been gone the better part of the month. Alicia grinned and eagerly extended her left hand to reveal a one-karat diamond solitaire on her finger. Raina saw the sparkling diamond ring and cried out excitedly. She hugged both again with a little more enthusiasm. Alicia squealed with delight then clung to Miller’s lean midsection.
“He proposed last weekend in Maui,” Alicia announced while bubbling over.
“We wanted to surprise you and Dad tomorrow when he got back from his business trip,” Miller informed her. “I didn’t expect you tonight.”
“I wasn’t expecting you either,” Raina announced cheerfully. “I thought you were staying in Maui until the end of the month.”
“I heard Mom was going to be alone tonight, so we decided to come home early,” Miller replied.
Brenda playfully slapped Miller on the arm and pretended to pout. “It’s awful that you’ve been dating this girl almost a year, and I’ve seen her less than a dozen times.”
“Alicia is busy with college,” Miller insisted. “We don’t get much time away from her studies. Becoming a doctor is a lot of work.”
Raina waved off the couple. “Eh, I see enough of her at college.”
Alicia playfully smacked Raina on the arm.
“If you prefer,” Miller announced. “You can always come out with the guys and me tonight. Nothing too wild, I promise. I’m practically a married man.” He laughed. “I love saying that.”
Alicia squeezed him affectionately. He leaned down and kissed her warmly.
Raina rolled her eyes and groaned playfully. “Oh, give the happy couple thing a break,” she muttered. “It depresses us single girls.”
“I offered to fix you up with my friends,” Miller announced with little sympathy. “As I remember; you not so politely declined.”
“No offense, but your friends are too much like you, and I’d never want to date you,” Raina scoffed.
“Good thing too, considering he’s your brother,” Alicia giggled.
“Stepbrother,” Miller reminded her. “Technically, we’re not related.”
“I keep forgetting that,” Alicia remarked then grinned. “I guess that’s because you two act too much like brother and sister.”
“Yeah, he was a pain in the ass at thirteen, and he’s still a pain now at twenty-four.”
“Yeah, you’re brother and sister all right,” Alicia muttered and laughed.
Miller eyed his stepsister. “So did you want to come along tonight?” he asked then grinned. “My friends love tormenting you.”
“I drove five hours to get here,” Raina informed him. “I don’t feel like going out, especially with those perverts you call friends.” She hesitated then looked around with bewilderment. “Where did Dad go? I didn’t know he was going away on business.”
“He had to fly out to the New York office early this morning and straighten something out,” Brenda informed her. “I think one of his executives is in some sort of legal trouble, but I don’t really get involved in his business. I just know he won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. It’ll be us girls tonight.”
“That’s more my speed for tonight,” Raina announced almost happy to have a quiet evening at home. Despite being away at college for long periods of time, she still considered the mansion her only home. “I’m going to go to my room and freshen up, see if Levi baked any of my favorite cookies, and then join you guys.”
“See if you can squeeze a few extra cookies out of him for the rest of us,” Brenda remarked and made a face. “He’s pretty tightfisted with those things. I’m not sure if he’s trying to help me maintain my girlish figure or keep his robust one.”
Raina laughed. “I’m thinking the latter,” she teased at the cook’s expense.
Chapter 2
A Dish Best Served Cold
Raina entered the large, bright kitchen from the back stairs. She wasn’t certain if any of the staff would be around after seven o’clock in the evening. To her surprise, both the cook and the upstairs maid had gathered in the kitchen. The cook, Levi, was a heavy-set man in his mid-thirties. He’d been working at the mansion for the last fifteen years since he was twenty, which gave Raina many years to adore him. Levi always wore a crisp white, neatly pressed cook’s uniform, which almost resembled a Navy uniform with side chest buttons. As his yellow high-top sneakers suggested, he had an abundance of personality and, apart from his cooking, rarely took anything seriously.
Despite being robust, Levi was also tall, which only added to his presence. His dark curly hair just about touched his collar, and his sideburns attempted to form a beard, although his face somehow remained baby smooth. Rumor had it; Levi couldn’t grow a beard or mustache, which is why he allowed his sideburns to grow out of control. The upstairs maid, Sloan, was only a few years older than Raina. Sloan was a natural beauty and could pass for the ‘girl next door’. She was slightly taller than average at about five-foot-seven and was in excellent physical shape.
Sloan started working at the mansion when she was eighteen and Raina was sixteen, which gave them more than two years to develop an unsanctioned friendship before Raina went off to college. Having Sloan around was almost like having a sister. Raina often wondered if Miller would have made a play for Sloan had he not been off at college already when she started working for their father. Sloan was dressed for a night out. By the flattering, form-fitting dress she wore, Raina guessed she was heading out to some posh nightclub in the city. Sloan was careful only to wear flat shoes, so she wouldn’t scare away potential suitors by appearing taller than them.
Levi leaned over the counter and flipped through a cookbook while Sloan stood at the end of the counter and sipped on a bottle of sparkling water. If they had been having a discussion, they had already wrapped it up. Raina approached the island counter catching their attention. Raina was always quiet on the back stairs, which would often startle the staff while gossiping. Most times, they would hear someone entering the kitchen and pretend to be busy. Levi straightened when he saw her then grinned and met her at the end of the counter. He gave her one of his famous bear hugs, practically smothering her and pulling her off her feet. She was like a rag doll in his arms.
“You’re home early,” he cried out with enthusiasm. “It’s good to see you, squirt.”
When he released her, she just about lost her balance then laughed. “I was just home last month.”
Sloan gave Raina a sly once-over and smirked. “If you think I’m hugging you, you’re out of your mind,” she scoffed teasingly.
Raina raised a cocky brow and eyed her. “Good,” she announced. “I don’t want to reek of ode de’ toilet the rest of the night.”
“In that case,” Sloan announced then laughed and hugged her. She purposely rubbed her wrists on Raina’s blazer before pulling away.
Both women laughed like old friends. Levi grinned and extended a container of cookies to Raina. She grinned and accepted one of the large, chocolate chip cookies. Sloan leaned on the counter and smiled at Raina.
