Grim Reaper 01 - Embrace the Grim Reaper

“Thomas?”
    He took in the sight of her with Eric, and lifted his own gun, pointing it at Casey. “You killed Bone.”
    Casey took a slow breath through her mouth. “I didn’t mean to.”
    “Doesn’t matter.” He stared at her coldly. “You realize what this means?”
    He didn’t mean that she was wanted for murder. “They’ll be coming after you, Thomas.”
    “I’ve cost them too much now. Even if I pay them back it won’t matter. I might as well have you kill me, too.”
    Two guns. Two crazy people. Casey didn’t like the odds.
    “I was never in this town for you, Thomas,” she said. “It was never about that.”
    “It doesn’t matter anymore. Karl doesn’t have the money to give me, anyway. There’s no way I can get them what they want.”
    Holly’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
    Thomas gave a short laugh. “He didn’t tell you, did he, sweetheart? Karl’s broke . He’s got nothing. Not even spare change to get the mob off my back. Some trouble at the factory, and he was using personal money to bail himself out.”
    Holly’s mouth closed, her lips almost disappearing as she clenched her jaw. Karl apparently hadn’t told her that part of the mess.
    Thomas kept the gun on Casey. “Holly? What are you doing here?”
    She shook her head. “It’s over. It’s really over. I did what I could. I thought…”
    Casey swallowed. “You thought with Ellen gone your secret—Karl’s secret—would be safe. You’d go back to your old life and everything would be fine. Karl would move on to another job somewhere else, and you could play the role you’re best at.”
    “A rich man’s wife,” Holly said. “It’s all I ever wanted to be.”
    Eric’s eyes sparked, then went flat. His hands clenched into fists by his sides.
    “How did she know?” Casey asked. “How did Ellen ever find out?”
    Holly’s lips quivered, and her voice dropped to a whisper. “I thought we were friends…”
    “So you told her Karl’s secret. That he’d known there was a problem with the dryer latches, but he didn’t change them.”
    “I was scared. Worried. I thought Ellen cared about me.”
    Casey nodded. “But she cared more about the boy.”
    “And the other people at HomeMaker. Thought they should have their jobs back.” Tears streamed down Holly’s cheeks now, and snot shone on the end of her nose. She began to shake, and her grip on the gun tightened. “She couldn’t see that the factory was finished. Karl didn’t need to be exposed. No matter what he’d done, it was over . If HomeMaker hadn’t agreed to shut down the boy’s family would’ve brought a lawsuit against the company, against Karl, and nothing would be able to repair the damage. At least this way the workers get a severance package. And they keep their reputations…” She rubbed her nose on Eric’s shoulder, keeping the gun in place.
    Casey glanced at Thomas. He was staring at Holly, his face filled with disbelief. “You killed Ellen?”
    She raised swollen eyes to him. “I had to, Thomas. I had to .”
    With a primal cry Eric thrust his arms upward, knocking Holly’s hand away from his head. The gun went off, and plaster showered the room. Casey snapped her foot at Thomas’ hand, knocking his gun to the floor, where it skidded against the wall. He reached for it, and she leapt on him, kicking the gun out of range at the same time she wrenched his arm behind his back, pinning him face-down.
    Eric had Holly against the wall, but hadn’t been able to dislodge the gun from her fingers. She was turning her wrist, pointing the gun at his head. Casey rolled off Thomas and snatched up his gun, training it on Holly.
    “Holly, freeze!”
    Holly’s knuckles were white as she gripped the gun, and she didn’t stop the slow arc toward Eric’s head. Casey jumped across the room and threw an uppercut at Holly’s arm, sending both guns and Eric flying. Eric regained his balance and dove back toward Holly, knocking her to the ground, squeezing his hands around her throat. She gasped for breath, her eyes popping.
    “Eric, stop!” Casey wrapped her arms around his chest, locking her hands together, and pulled back. His grip loosened, and they fell backward, Eric landing on top of her. Holly turned onto her stomach, retching, and Eric ripped himself from Casey’s grasp, lurching toward Holly again. Casey grabbed the waistband of his jeans, holding him back.
    “Everybody freeze.” Thomas was on his feet,