Conquest: Rise of the Fifth Horseman (The Fifth Horseman Series Book 1) Read Online Free

force, but it would require your relocation
across state lines.” he explained, “So obviously I can’t endorse a wedding that
would restrict you to Chicago.”
    “I
understand your concerns, sir.” she saluted, “But my loyalties are with the
Agency. If you feel the need to reassign me, please do. I don’t want you to
have any reservations.”
    Commander
Arlington studied her for a few more minutes before he let out a sigh. He
returned her salute, and the screen flashed the NSA symbol.
    She
looked away from the screen, and the implications of this conversation finally
met her at full force. She was ecstatic about the idea of leading a task force,
but at the same time she didn’t expect how hard the guilt would hit her when she
found herself alone. This assignment had been a particularly difficult one.
Though her training had taught her never to get attached to a subject, she
could feel her heart aching with guilt. She knew she had truly fallen in love
with Allan, a fact that she could never reveal to her commander.
    A
tear rolled down her cheek unexpectedly as she signed out of the console. She
wiped her cheek as the keyboard folded itself and the wall whirred back into
place. Memories flooded her mind from the past three years of their lives
together, fused with emotional pain. Allan not only loved her, but he trusted
her. Sometimes she feared that he trusted her too much.
    She
wanted nothing more than to imagine that her life with Allan over the past
three years had been influenced by fate and that they would live happily ever
after, but she knew better.
    There
were so many lies she had told him; too many obstacles they would have to
overcome if she ever told him the truth. She wished she could take it all back,
that she never had taken the assignment in the first place… but she was in far
too deep now.

 
    Chapter Six: Attorney-Client Privilege
    When
the Leviathan discovered divinity within man, it became desirous to subdue
them: for no creature had ever been endowed with such power or glory. But God
blessed the earth insomuch that the Leviathan was unable to penetrate the
firmament…
    –
Methuselah 5:8 –
     

     
    Allan pulled up to the
guard tower in front of the parking terrace in his obsidian Ferrari F430
Spider. As the gate lifted, Allan revved his engine a few times. The guard
delightfully held this thumbs up in approval as Allan screeched past.
    Allan smirked to
himself as he circled up the ramp to the upper levels of the structure. After
climbing out of his car, he ran his hand along the sleek contours and curves in
admiration. She was his pride and joy, and his greatest fear was that he might
miss a payment and risk her repossession.
    Though it had taken
several years to develop, today Allan would finally nail down his biggest
securities contract with Mr. Demyan. The residual income to follow would get
him back on track and he could give Lily the kind of life she deserved,
assuming of course she accepted his pending proposal. With all the massive
debts he owed, he needed this contract desperately to get him out of this rut.
    It’s not like I’m lying
to her. There are just some things she’s better off not knowing.
    As he parked, his
thoughts returned to Jason’s troubling message.
    So he’s stumbled across
some disturbing information that involves one of my firm’s clients? What would
be so disturbing that he would need to immediately speak with me in private
after years of silence?
    Curiosity getting the
better of him, he made his way to the elevator. Buckingham Fountain was only a
few blocks away. As he crossed the street and entered Grant Park, he could see
the first rays of sun beginning to reach into the sky. The lights of the city
still glowed brightly behind him as he approached the lit-up fountain.
    The park was eerily
silent. Not even the snore of a vagabond disturbed the early morning air.
Despite the silence however, he couldn’t help but sense that he was being
watched.
    Cut it