Dark Prince's Agenda
Dark Prince’s Agenda
The Children of the Gods Book 31
I. T. Lucas
Copyright © 2019 by I. T. Lucas
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
Dark Prince’s Agenda is a work of fiction!
Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any similarity to actual persons, organizations and/or events is purely coincidental.
Also by I. T. Lucas
THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS ORIGINS
1: Goddess’s Choice
2: Goddess’s Hope
THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS
Dark Stranger
1: Dark Stranger The Dream
2: Dark Stranger Revealed
3: Dark Stranger Immortal
Dark Enemy
4: Dark Enemy Taken
5: Dark Enemy Captive
6: Dark Enemy Redeemed
Kri & Michael’s Story
6.5: My Dark Amazon
Dark Warrior
7: Dark Warrior Mine
8: Dark Warrior’s Promise
9: Dark Warrior’s Destiny
10: Dark Warrior’s Legacy
Dark Guardian
11: Dark Guardian Found
12: Dark Guardian Craved
13: Dark Guardian’s Mate
Dark Angel
14: Dark Angel's Obsession
15: Dark Angel's Seduction
16: Dark Angel's Surrender
Dark Operative
17: Dark Operative: A Shadow of Death
18: Dark Operative: A Glimmer of Hope
19: Dark Operative: The Dawn of Love
Dark Survivor
20: Dark Survivor Awakened
21: Dark Survivor Echoes of Love
22: Dark Survivor Reunited
Dark Widow
23: Dark Widow’s Secret
24: Dark Widow’s Curse
25: Dark Widow’s Blessing
Dark Dream
26: Dark Dream’s Temptation
27: Dark Dream’s Unraveling
28: Dark Dream’s Trap
Dark Prince
29: Dark Prince’s Enigma
30: Dark Prince’s Dilemma
31: Dark Prince’s Agenda
Dark Queen
32: Dark Queen’s Quest
PERFECT MATCH
Perfect Match 1: Vampire’s Consort
Perfect Match 2: King’s Chosen
Perfect Match 3: Captain’s Conquest
TRY THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS SERIES ON
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Contents
1. Kian
2. Lokan
3. Turner
4. Carol
5. Turner
6. Kian
7. Lokan
8. Carol
9. Lokan
10. Carol
11. Lokan
12. Carol
13. Annani
14. Lokan
15. Carol
16. Lokan
17. Carol
18. Lokan
19. Carol
20. Lokan
21. Carol
22. Lokan
23. Carol
24. Lokan
25. Carol
26. Lokan
27. Kian
28. Carol
29. Lokan
30. Carol
31. Carol
32. Carol
33. Lokan
34. Kian
35. Lokan
36. Carol
37. Carol
38. Lokan
39. Carol
40. Lokan
41. Carol
42. Carol
43. Lokan
44. Carol
45. Areana
46. Carol
47. Areana
48. Carol
49. Areana
50. Carol
51. Lokan
52. Kian
53. Annani
54. Carol
55. Areana
56. Turner
57. Lokan
58. Carol
59. Areana
60. Carol
61. Areana
62. Turner
63. Carol
64. Turner
65. Carol
66. Turner
67. Carol
68. Lokan
The Children of the Gods Series
The Perfect Match Series
FOR EXCLUSIVE PEEKS
1
Kian
“These early morning meetings are becoming standard operating procedure for us.” Kian opened the door to his office and let Turner in. “Did you get any sleep at all?”
Knowing Turner, the guy had spent all night devising a plan.
Turner lifted his thermos. “Can’t say that I did, but I came prepared. We have a lot of ground to cover. I can catch a nap later on the plane.”
“By prepared, do you mean the coffee or your meeting with Gorchenco?”
“Both.”
Yesterday, when Turner had called the Russian, he’d only hinted at what he wanted in exchange for keeping the information about the stolen submarine from getting out.
At this point, all Gorchenco knew was that Turner needed him to take a woman to the sex resort on the Doomers’ island, pretend that she was his lover, and then leave her there. He hadn’t been told about having to return for her, let alone that he would be picking her up in a casket. The Russian was going to get the rest of the details later today, when he and Turner met face to face in New York.
“I assume that you’re taking the jet?” Kian asked.
Turner put his thermos down on the conference table. “Bridget is taking care of the flight arrangements.” He pulled a stack of papers out of his briefcase and placed them next to the coffee. “I’ve given it a lot of thought. Even with the damning information we have on Gorchenco, I don’t trust him not to double-cross us. He can move the sub, hide it somewhere else, and tell us to go to hell. We should disclose only the absolute minimum he needs to know in order to carry out our instructions.”
“What are you going to tell him?”
“I’m going to fabricate a cover story.”
Kian arched a brow. “That differs only slightly from what we agreed on.”
“Except for one major thing. We planned on using the information we have on him to solve Ella’s problem. That was a mistake. I don’t want him to know that we are connected to her in any way. One thing has nothing to do with the other.”
“Won’t he know anyway? You said that Sandoval’s appraiser had informed Gorchenco that Ella’s engagement ring was back on the market. That guy saw you selling it to Sandoval, and he can describe you. Gorchenco is not stupid. He will put two and two together.”
Kian suspected that Ella had chosen to attend an online college because she was afraid to leave the safety of the village. As long as her so-called husband was still looking for her, she would never be truly free, and that was no way to live. One way or another, Gorchenco had to be dealt with.
“I spoke to Sandoval, and he is taking care of this.”
“By taking care of, does he mean killing the appraiser?”
Turner chuckled. “I hope not. Sandoval said that he was going to put him on notice. Coming from him that’s enough.”
It wasn’t Kian’s problem, but he didn’t
want the guy to die for flapping his mouth when he shouldn’t have.
“Frankly, I don’t see why we need to hide our connection to Ella. It’s not like the Russian can use it for anything.” Kian raked his fingers through his hair. “What I’m worried about is exposing our connection to Lokan.”
“That’s easy to cover up too,” Turner said. “As far as Gorchenco is concerned, the US government considers Lokan a person of interest, and his meetings and communications are routinely intercepted and monitored. That’s how the recording was obtained. The submarine was subsequently located by additional counter-intelligence assets.”
“That’s also dangerous.” Kian rapped his fingers on the table. “First of all, the Russian might be too suspicious and sophisticated to buy that. Secondly, he might conclude that Lokan was compromised. Gorchenco can approach someone on the island and tell them that Lokan is cooperating with the enemy, so to speak, meaning the American government.”
Turner leaned back in his chair. “Frankly, it’s only a matter of time before he figures out that Lokan is working with us. Gorchenco approached only a handful of people, and Lokan is probably the only one currently residing in the States. Besides, without that recording, our evidence is mostly circumstantial, and exposing it is a threat without teeth.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Gorchenco’s other prospective clients would not divulge information like that to the Americans. I just wish we could’ve protected Lokan’s identity. If Gorchenco confides in one of Lokan’s brothers, they will have no problem connecting the dots and figuring out who’s got him and what’s going on.”
Flipping the thermos open, Turner took several sips before putting it back down. “That’s why the recording is crucial to us. Gorchenco is not going to tell anyone about his predicament and what it’s all about. Not while we are holding him by the balls. Stealing a Russian vessel worth billions is a capital punishment offense, and so is trying to sell it to the motherland’s enemies. Even if the story is an elaborate setup that the Russian government had organized to raise money, once it gets out, they will need a scapegoat.”
Kian nodded. “Originally, I thought of using this dirt to get him to stop searching for Ella, but this is much bigger than that. Besides, we can still throw it in as a bonus after the mission is over.” He smirked. “Provided that you decide to let Gorchenco live. Killing him will solve Ella’s problem once and for all. The question is, what are we going to do about the sub?”
Turner moved his stack of notes an inch to the left. “I’ve given the issue a lot of thought too, and we can’t allow Gorchenco to sell it.” He looked Kian in the eyes. “Think for a moment about who would want to purchase a stolen nuclear submarine and can afford its asking price. Those are precisely the kind of people who shouldn’t have it. I’d rather the Russians took it back.”
“What if they are the ones who are selling it, and Gorchenco is just the front man?”
“That doesn't change the fact that we can’t let the sub fall into the wrong hands.”
“How are you going to make the Russians take it back if they want to sell it?”
“I can whisper about it in the right ear and let our government take care of it. If the sub has the advanced technology Lokan claims it does, then I’m sure they would want to get their hands on it. They could arrange for a proxy to buy it for them. And if it doesn’t, they might pressure the Russians into reclaiming it.”
“But if Gorchenco is doing this as a favor for Putin or for a cut of the profits, why would he agree to help us? The threat to expose him if he doesn't cooperate with us would be meaningless to him. Is he doing it to save face?”
Turner shook his head. “The threat is even greater if he didn’t steal it. It’s not only his reputation on the line, but that of Putin too.”
“Right. If the theft has been staged, it’s imperative for them to keep this info from getting out to the public. Talk about a blow to Putin’s reputation.”
“Precisely. That’s why regardless of the sub being stolen or not, I bet Gorchenco ordered it moved immediately after our phone conversation.”
Kian rubbed his chin. “Don’t you have people watching it?
“I do, and it hasn’t moved yet. But then it’s not easy to find a new place to hide a monster this size on short notice.”
“So let me get this straight. After the mission is done, you plan to leak the information to keep the Russians from selling the sub to the highest bidder?”
Turner nodded.
“Then we will have nothing on Gorchenco to get him off Ella’s back, and you’ll have to eliminate him.”
Smiling, Turner pushed the stack of papers toward Kian. “We will see. Maybe I won’t have to because someone else will beat me to it. A monumental screw-up like this might cost Gorchenco his head.”
“I thought you were itching to do it yourself.” Kian collected the notes and started flipping through them.
Turner shrugged. “Gorchenco deserves to die for violating my daughter-in-law, but I don’t care who does it. Besides, who knows? He might still prove useful to us.”
2
Lokan
By Lokan’s estimate it was late morning, but he hadn’t slept much, spending the night holding Carol, his arms never letting go of her soft body.
She’d seemed so fragile after her short sojourn into stasis.
It was a sobering thought to witness the profound effect it had on an immortal’s body in just three and a half hours. He shuddered to think what stasis would do to Carol in twenty-four.
And it wasn’t only physical. The experience must have been mentally draining as well.
Carol had been restless, mumbling incoherently in her sleep, her angelic face twisting in fear several times during the night. When she’d whimpered, Lokan had been torn between wanting to fall asleep so he could enter her dream to help her and staying awake to guard her physical body. She still seemed so fragile.
Thankfully, the nightmares hadn’t lasted long.
Had she been dreaming about her torture at the hands of the sadist?
As he thought about Carol’s suffering, Lokan was seized by impotent fury. There was nothing he could do to avenge her or even protect her from future pain. The only thing he could do was hold her and ease her fears.
Had Losham known about his adopted son’s immortal torture victim?
Remembering the condolences he’d offered his bereaved brother, Lokan regretted every kind word.
Sharim was dead, so he couldn’t kill the scum, but if Losham had been aware of what his son had been doing to Carol and had done nothing to stop it, then Lokan was going to take his vengeance on the father instead.
Except, even if he got the chance to confront his brother about Sharim, which he probably wouldn’t, Losham would most likely deny culpability. But perhaps he could coax the information out of Losham by pretending to have heard something about Sharim capturing an immortal female. Watching Losham’s reaction would tell Lokan all he needed to know.
The sound of the front door opening put a stop to his futile musings.
What was going on, and who was entering without calling first?
Arwel always called to let him know if someone was coming.
Alarmed, Lokan got out of bed as quickly as he could without disturbing Carol. As he rushed into the living room, he was glad for having slept in his pajama bottoms for a change.
If he had to fight off an intruder, he would rather not do it in the nude.
Except, the intruder was Arwel, and his weapon of choice was a rolling cart topped with what looked and smelled like a feast.
“Sorry for not calling before entering, but I didn’t want to wake Carol up.” The Guardian pushed the cart next to the dining table. “This is from the guys. They wanted Carol to have a good breakfast to help her recuperate.” He smiled apologetically. “It’s not going to be remotely as good as what she makes for us, but the men did their best.”
Lokan was impressed, and even somewhat
touched. The Guardians didn’t cook for themselves, but they’d made an effort for Carol.
“That’s a nice gesture, and I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”
“Yeah. We are all rooting for her and the success of her mission.”
Lokan’s gut twisted into a tight knot, but he managed a tight-lipped, "Thank you."
Surprising him, Arwel clapped him on the back. “I know it’s difficult for you to let her go. But that’s the right thing to do.”
“Is it?” Lokan arched a brow. “Carol’s plan can go wrong in so many ways. The Russian might betray her. And even if he doesn’t, he might be a lousy actor, and no one will buy their lovers’ quarrel. Or, they might not let him leave her on the island and might demand that he take her with him.”
Arwel shrugged. “If they do, the mission will fail, but Carol won’t be in any danger, and it will be over before it began.”
Lokan rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Unless Gorchenco should decide not to return her to us but to take her with him to Russia and then demand something in exchange for releasing her.”