Excerpt Reveal: The Eagle by Jillian Dodd
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!
iBooks: http://apple.co/2c7DgJa
Google Play:
http://smarturl.it/theeagleGP
Amazon: Will go live on release date.
****
THE PRINCE (Book One) is NOW AVAILABLE
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2cBLdHB
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2caH7Y0
iBooks: http://apple.co/2cCoMou
Nook: http://bit.ly/2c59W7w
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2ctjnNf
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2d50NOy
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?
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.
FOLLOW
JILLIAN:ON
HER WEBSITE.
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FOR
HER NEWSLETTER.
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