Prologue
Although
one of the men seated owns the home this beautiful room is in, he is not
sitting in a place of power behind his mammoth hand-carved mahogany desk, but
rather both men are seated in matching wingback chairs covered in the softest
of plaid cashmeres and are situated near the room’s French doors, which
overlook the estate’s vast grounds.
“We
have some loose ends to tie up regarding Montrovia,” the owner of the home says
after taking a sip of amber-colored liquid from a heavy crystal tumbler.
“We
shouldn’t have trusted the girl,” the other man says.
“Easy
to say in retrospect, especially considering she came very close to succeeding.
If she would have become Queen, it would have made things much easier for us.
We will prevail, regardless.”
“What
is our next course of action, then?”
“We
continue with our plan,” the owner states. “Although, I’m afraid there will
have to be a few slight variations.”
“Does
one of those variations have to do with why the Eagle wasn’t present at our
meeting today?” the man asks, the understanding of an unusual event earlier in
the day showing in his furrowed brow.
“He
isn’t doing what he promised. Now that he controls the world’s most powerful
military, he seems to have forgotten who put him into power.”
“That
was a very expensive endeavor.”
The
owner of the home nods in agreement. “One of which we are not reaping the
reward from. So, I’m afraid we have no choice. We must liquidate our bad
investment.”
The
man sets his drink down, trying to keep his hand from shaking, knowing it could
just as easily be him if he dared to cross the man in front of him. “But he’s
our friend.”
“Something
he has also forgotten. Do it. And I only want the best, for obvious reasons.”
“Sadly,
the best is dead.”
“Are
you referring to The Priest?”
“Yes.
He was killed after the Eagle’s father hired him for a hit then double crossed
him.”
“I
don’t believe he’s dead. Find him.”
“I’m
sure we can find someone equally as talented—”
“I
want The Priest and no one else,” the owner interrupts.
How
in the world am I supposed to hire a dead man? he thinks, but he doesn’t dare
say.
“It’s
going to be dangerous for us to even try to find him, but I will see what I can
come up with. What if he is still alive, but says no?”
“You
will make him an offer he cannot refuse. And see if he will give us a group
discount regarding the outstanding Montrovian situation.”
***
The
assassin known as The Priest enters an empty bar in France. The
hole-in-the-wall drinking establishment is supposed to be open this afternoon,
but the owner just hung the closed sign on the door.
“What
is this nonsense about an offer?” the assassin asks, freaking out a little.
“Everyone thinks I’m dead. We’ve worked hard to establish ourselves here. How
did they contact you?”
“Through
a secure network. I left a few trusted assets in place in case we ever needed
the money.”
“We
could be traced though that.”
“No,
we can’t. I’m good at what I do. Are you interested in hearing the offer, or
not?”
“It
doesn’t matter how much it is. I’m not interested.”
“So
are you saying that fifteen million dollars wouldn’t sway you?”
“Fifteen
million? Who the hell is the target?”
“It’s
a series of three hits, but they have only revealed the first one.” He whispers
the man’s name.
“You’ve
got to be kidding. No way.”
“This
money could set us both up for life.”
“We’re
already set up for life. Sort of. Besides, I retired. With good reason.”
“They
will go as high as twenty.”
“You
know how well-guarded a man of his stature is.”
“Are
you saying no because you don’t want to do it, or because you don’t think you
can do it?”
“Whether
or not I can do it is not the question. I always complete my tasks. However, in
this case, getting away with it would be another story. I’d have a whole
country after me. And they’d find you first, since you are the one brokering
the deal.”
“You
don’t trust my skills?”
“All
I know is that I’m lucky to be alive. It’s been over six years since I was
double-crossed, and you know as well as I do, that when Lara was killed it
should have been me driving. I had gotten careless with my cover.”
“That
was four years ago.”
“Two
years after I was presumed dead. Men like that never forget. For all we know,
this could be their way of setting me up.” He pushes himself away from the bar.
“No. We can’t risk it.”
“If
we could get them to twenty-five million, we could buy our own island and live
in paradise forever.”
“We
already live in paradise, my friend.”
“I’m
tired of running this bar.”
“This
bar is your cover. Hiding didn’t work before. Hiding in plain sight is. And we
will continue to make it work.”
“Whatever,”
the bartender says, his disappointment showing in both his expression and
gestures. But he does as told—logs into a secure network and declines the
offer.
He’s
surprised when there is an immediate response.
“They
just offered thirty million.”
He
shakes his head no.
The
bartender relays his decision, then his eyes go wide with shock.
“You
need to see this for yourself,” he says, handing him the laptop.
The
assassin reads the instant message.
Thirty
million is my final offer, but I suspect it’s not about the money. I have other
information that may interest you. The first target is not only a powerful
world leader, but he is the legacy of the man who double-crossed you six years
ago.
He’s
rereading it again just to be sure, when another message pops up.
Does
that change your mind?
The
assassin drains the beer in front of him. “Tell the man that it most certainly
does.”
Revenge won’t change
anything—or will it?
The Eagle by Jillian
Dodd releases October 11th!!
Pre-order TODAY!
Amazon: Will go live
on release date.
****
THE PRINCE (Book One) is NOW
AVAILABLE
Nook:
http://bit.ly/2c59W7w
Kobo:
http://bit.ly/2ctjnNf
Google
Play: http://bit.ly/2d50NOy
Blurb
From
USA Today bestselling author Jillian
Dodd comes the second book in a sizzling series filled with action and
adventure. Fans of The Selection and The Hunger Games will discover a
heart-pounding thrill ride of espionage and suspense set in glittering high
society.
The
world’s most deadly assassin, a man known only as The Priest, has come back
from the dead to take a series of high profile hits. When the assassin completes
his first task—shooting an important world leader, the global community goes
into collective shock and his government vows retaliation.
With
her cover firmly cemented as Huntley Von Allister, Spy Girl’s vacation on the
Royal Yacht is cut short when she’s called home for her next mission—and, this
time, it’s personal.
Can
Huntley accomplish her mission before the next hit takes place?
And
what will happen when she finally comes face-to-face with the man who killed
her mother?
Author Information
Jillian is a USA TODAY bestselling author. She writes
fun romances with characters her readers fall in love with, from the boy next
door in the That Boy trilogy to the
daughter of a famous actress in The
Keatyn Chroniclesseries.
She's married to her
college sweetheart, has two adult children, two Labs named Cali and Camber, and
lives in a small Florida beach town. When she's not working, she likes to
decorate, paint, doodle, shop for shoes, watch football, and go to the beach.
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