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.
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?
Excerpt
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.”
THE PRINCE (Book One) is NOW AVAILABLE
About Jillian Dodd
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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