Prologue
Two men are seated in a large room with
ornate gold leaf bookcases and a deeply toned, hand-painted mural covering a
large, domed ceiling. The mural features the Archangel Michael in a battle with
Satan. It was painstakingly created for this room based on the Baroque
painting, “The Fall of the Damned,” and it took an artist three years to
complete.
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.”
The assassin closes his eyes. The thrill
of the hunt is something he craves, but he can’t.
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
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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