The Royal Flush
Knights of the Darkness
Chronicles
By
D.N. Simmons
Knights of the Darkness
Chronicles
Desires Unleashed
The Guilty Innocent
The Royal Flush
Hostile Territory
The Lion's Den
Unholy Alliance (2012)
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidences either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2010 by D.N. Simmons
Revised Edition Edited by H.I. Gantt
ISBN 13: 978-1461084990
ISBN-10: 1461084997
All Right Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author. Exceptions are in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Dedication and Acknowledgments
I would like to dedicate this novel to my absolutely wonderful, loyal, understanding and truly patient readership. Your unwavering support has meant the world to me. Writing these books for you has been one of my greatest pleasures and I am thrilled to have you all as readers.
I’d like to thank my mother for being the wonderful, supportive and loving person you are, honestly, I wouldn’t be here without you. I’d like to thank my father for his encouragement, sense of humor and advice given, that has guided me on my life’s journey. Last, but not least, I’d like to send a special “thank you” to all of you who have supported me in life and in my career.
Love Always
D.N.
Author’s Note
I wanted to re-edit all of my original books because I wanted all of my readers to be able to enjoy my novels without having to worry about grammatical errors. When I first wrote the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles, I knew I had a story I wanted to tell. A story that was unique and thrilling, and I wanted to share it with the world. In my excitement to share my story, I made mistakes along the way and had to learn some very hard lessons. I am grateful for all of my readers who purchased my novels and gave me honest reviews, both positive and negative. It is with the wonderful insight that you’ve all given me that I respectfully offer you these republished novels. I’ve worked very hard to make sure that I’m giving all of my readers the very best that I can give you.
I thank you all for the opportunity you’ve given me to entertain you. I hope you enjoy reading this novel as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Chapter One
Walter Bailey, the owner of the Esquire Hotel chain, entered the brightly lit den and began eyeing the other occupants. Standing six feet tall, with thinning salt and pepper hair, thick mustache and eyeglasses, he looked as powerful and self-assured as any man could. He tossed an unopened pack of playing cards on a round green-felted table.
“All right everyone, what game have we chosen to play this time?” he asked. His brown eyes panned over the faces of his eleven comrades who were standing around the table. The other occupants, nine men and two women began darting glances at each other. Finally their gazes settled on the pack of cards.
“I say we play gindeuces wild,” suggested Miriam Foster, the twenty-nine-year old president of Synblood Corporation; also a graduate from one of the country’s most prestigious colleges in only three years, which was most impressive. Even more so was the fact that in less than eight years she had risen to become one of the most powerful and famous female entrepreneurs in the country and the first woman to grace the cover of Parkers’ Business Magazine.
“Nonsense! Gin just isn’t appropriate. I’d say we settle this like gentlemen…” Richard Parker began. He paused, glancing at the two females and smiling slightly, he added. “... And ladies.” He settled into the chair in front of his gold name plate. “We’ll play poker this time around.”
As if on cue the others sat in their designated chairs, following Richard.
“What about the teams?” Walter Bailey asked.
Richard smiled. “We have two new members joining us for this hunt. So I suggest we separate into four teams of three. The team captains should decide who will be on each team.
“Make no mistake, this will be an elimination round of poker. The winner of this game will have first choice for their hunt. Then the next team who wins the following game will choose out of the remaining prey and so on. Agreed?” He waited for a response from the others. The room was quiet as everyone considered the arrangement.
“Agreed,” they responded.
“Excellent, then it’s settled,” Richard said as he opened the box of cards, shuffling them evenly.
The seating arrangement was in representation of each person’s financial prestige. Richard Parker, the wealthiest man at the table and owner of the largest cigarette company in the world, Old Ports, sat in the upper center. In clockwise formation; to his immediate left was the second wealthiest person at the table, Miriam Foster, and so on, ending the circle with Andrew Houston, the vice president of Caster Financial Bank. The four longest standing members--Richard, Jesse, Amanda and Peter--were also the team captains who would decide which members would join their teams on the hunt. Richard dealt the cards and the game began.
The game was intense. Team captains Jesse Harthorn of Harthorn Advertising Agency and Amanda Patrick of Amanda’s Fashions folded in the first game which left the remaining team captains, Richard Parker and Peter Johnston in a head-to-head standoff. Peter was the owner of the KOTD Radio station, one of the top rated radio stations in the country. The station was well known for playing popular hits, both new and old. The members on Richard’s and Peter’s teams each hoped that their representing captains would win the game, thus gaining them the most coveted prey.
“Give it up, Peter, the vampire is mine,” Richard declared as he stared intensely at Peter in hopes that the other man would fold under the pressure.
“Enough talking. Lay down your cards... that is, if you’re not bluffing,” Peter challenged, a smirk spreading across his face as he glanced at his own set of cards.
“Not before you,” Richard’s round, blue eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Peter. He toyed with his lucky half-dollar coin in his other hand, twirling the coin between each finger.
“Why? Are you feeling defeated already?” Peter teased.
Richard smiled slyly, shaking his head. “No, of course not, I just hate to see you torture yourself. You have no chance of winning this game.”
“If you say so,” Peter retorted. “But I think that you may be too confident, Dick.” He placed his cards on the table making sure to spread them out, face up so that everyone could see. He smiled triumphantly at Richard. “A Straight Flush. Don’t worry, the other prey should provide you and yours with plenty of fun.” He chuckled as his hand snaked out to retrieve the slip of paper with the species of their prey written on it.
“Not so fast, my friend,” Richard protested, smiling wickedly at Peter as he exposed his cards, laying them on the table. “A Royal Flush.”
Peter’s triumphant expression faded as he looked up to see his opponent laughing.
Richard snatched the slip of paper from between Peter’s fingers.
“My team shall hunt the vampire,” he announced, rising from the table.
“Bastard,” Peter whispered softly, but Richard overheard him which caused him to l
augh even more boisterously.
Richard approached Peter from behind, clamping his hand on the man’s shoulder.
“Well, you know what they say, Peter. ‘Sometimes you win some, and sometimes you don’t.’”
Peter snorted. “I think the saying goes: ‘Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose’.”
Richard laughed. “You’d know, wouldn’t you. I’m sure you hear it a lot more than I do.”
“I could do without your belittling sarcasm, Dick,” Peter retorted.
“Now, now… none of that. Don’t be a sore loser, Peter. It doesn’t become you.” Richard looked at the others. “Please continue.”
With that, he left the room.
Amanda brushed her long blond bangs from her green eyes as she began dealing the second hand. The games continued until each team had chosen their prey. After winning the second game, Peter’s team chose the wolf. Amanda’s team chose the leopard and Jesse’s team would hunt and kill the tiger. Richard re-entered the room, eyes scanning over the others who were now casually chatting amongst themselves.
“I take it; every team has its mark?” Richard asked, bringing attention to himself.
“All we need are the weapons,” Peter said, he looked towards one of the men sitting on the opposite side of the table.
Richard nodded.
“George, how are the negotiations going with the contact? How much longer are we going to have to wait until we get our merchandise?” he asked. He was growing increasingly annoyed by the run-around they had been getting.
George sighed. “Well, it’s not as if we don’t have enough weapons to work with if we don’t get this ship”
“That’s not what I asked you. I’m not concerned with the weapons we have. What I want to know is where are the weapons we’ve paid for?” Richard waited for his answer.
They had agreed to let George Masterson handle the arrangement for the weapons. Standing at six feet, with an athletic build. George was the third youngest in the group at thirty-five years old. He was also the manufacturer and distributor of KRS-19, UV-LG7 and SLN-22 weaponry exclusively designed for the renown S.U.I.T. organization.
However, the transaction was taking longer than expected, since they were having to work with a third party to cover their tracks. Unfortunately, it was their first time dealing with these new people and they were all growing impatient with how the arrangement was being handled. Especially Richard, he was a man that was very much used to getting exactly what he wanted, when he wanted it.
“I’m just making sure none of this can connect us,” George said in his defense.
“I want Brian to procure the weapons,” Richard demanded.
George’s brow furrowed in anger. “You don’t trust me to get the job done?”
“How can a cobra trust a rattlesnake?” Richard said with a smug smirk. “Have Brian report directly to me once he makes contact with your man. This is not a suggestion.”
“As you wish, but we should be receiving the shipment within the next three days, maybe sooner,” George said.
Richard huffed.
“Let’s hope that it will be sooner. We’ve already waited long enough as it is,” he complained.
“One more thing,” Governor Andrew Wallace began.
“And what's that?” Richard asked, eyebrows cocked.
“We need to make sure that none of this, and I mean none of this falls back on me. I can't risk being exposed.”
“You're not taking any more of a risk than the rest of us, Andrew. Why do you think I've gone through such annoyingly great lengths to make sure we have as much distance from us from our targets?” Richard waited for his response.
“I know, but it was some of my intel that got us our targets, I don't want to be linked to any of this,” Andrew said.
Richard huffed. “Were you exposed in Washington? Were you exposed in Colorado? How about in Miami?”
Andrew shook his head.
“No? So why the sudden paranoia now?” Richard asked, folding his arms across his chest.
“It's closer to home for me and I just want us to be careful, that's all,” Andrew said.
“Oh for crying out loud, if you don't have the balls to go through with this, Andrew, get out now. Otherwise, shut the hell up about it. Either you trust me or you don't. Which is it?” Richard glared at the man.
Andrew sighed. “I trust you.”
“Anybody else having reservations?” Richard asked the others.
They all shook their heads or remained silent.
“Good. Now if you would excuse me.” Richard turned and exited the room.
Chapter Two
Natasha drove along the expressway, her favorite R&B song blasting through the six speakers of her sports car. Off key, she belted out the lyrics not caring how the other drivers perceived her. Although, the last time she sang along to her favorite song, Darian had winced, which immediately ceased her “diva wannabe” rendition. She was in a good mood and heading toward Darian’s mansion in the suburbs. She exited the expressway, turning onto the main road. After driving an additional fifteen minutes, she finally pulled in front of their mansion and climbed out of the car. She looked at her watch, the time was 8:32P.M. She looked up toward the sky. The sun was setting and the last remaining rays of light created a golden and ruby horizon. She gazed at the beautiful spectrum for a few moments, silently wishing she could share a moment like this with the two men in her life. She inhaled deeply enjoying the scent of the freshly mowed lawn and blossoming flowers, then walked towards the door. Before she could ring the three-chime doorbell, a tall, muscular man dressed in a pair of black jeans and t-shirt opened the door. She looked up at him, smiling.
“Hey Billy,” she greeted.
The man smiled as he stepped aside allowing her to enter.
“How are you doing, Natasha?” Billy asked in his baritone voice.
“I’m fine, is Darian up ... or anyone for that matter?” Natasha asked with a soft chuckle.
Billy smiled.
“Mr. Alexander should be awake soon, I’ll let him know you’re here.” He walked toward the stairs leading up to the next level.
Natasha looked around the beautiful living room, eyeing all of Darian’s artwork. Four months ago a band of Russian mafia goons had raided the mansion looking for documents that contained the names of important politicians. The intrusion of Darian’s home resulted in the death of his human servants. Not to mention, his mansion was left a complete wreck.
The mafia wanted to open a black market trade on supernatural blood and other bodily fluids, and they needed the influence of certain politicians in high places to successfully open the trade. All of whom were in Darian’s debt at the time. In order to manipulate the situation and get Darian out of the way, Natasha’s best friend, Annette Balfour, had been slain and Darian had been charged and arrested for her murder. He was to be executed within seven days for the crime. Natasha, Xavier and Elise had worked together along with members of Xander’s Pack, Darian’s coven and Elise’s Pride to save Darian and bring the true criminals to justice. It was also at that time when Natasha decided to accept both Darian and Xavier as her boyfriends. Elise had finally excepted Sergio as her mate and Devin and John had sparked some intimate feelings of their own. Of course, by now the two men were pretty hot and heavy and very serious.
Natasha sat on the comfortable leather sofa in the living room waiting for Darian to arrive, thinking to herself about her situation. She thought about Darian and Xavier, how different their personalities were, remembering the first time she met Darian. He had been most egotistical and cruel, but he had saved her life. At that time she didn’t think she would want anything to do with him, but he had courted her along with Xavier and she began to see another side of him. He had his arrogance, there was no doubt about that, but he was also caring, tender, loyal and patient.
He had to be patient. Natasha wouldn’t tolerate any man who wasn’t. She found herself wanting to exp
lore this side of Darian; she wanted him to open up to her. Unlike Xavier, who accepted Darian as he was, Natasha wanted more from him. She wanted human compassion and she dated Darian in hopes that he would reveal his humanity. It had been eight months from the first night they had met and still she held off having any intimate unions with him. She wanted to make sure that any intimacy they shared would be both loving and sincere, as it was for her and Xavier. Natasha believed that the love she felt for Darian was equal to the love he felt for her. As she waited, her heart thumped frantically in her chest for them to awaken. Their company was always something she treasured and she was looking forward to the fall and winter months when the nights would be longer as would her time with them.
Fifteen minutes passed before Darian walked into the living room. He gazed at Natasha from behind and smiled as he wondered what she might be thinking. She was extremely intuitive and he knew that something had her in deep thought. He was tempted to read her thoughts, but he refrained from invading her mind. He knew that she didn’t like it, although she’d never know if he did pry. However, he respected her enough not to. The two shared a mental connection that was created the night he saved her life eight months ago. She had been mortally wounded and when he shared his blood to heal her, their connection was formed. As promised, he worked with her to help control her ever-increasing psychic and clairvoyant abilities. He had found her amazing, a woman of such natural beauty and poise with such an inner fire. Yet, she was humble and very ordinary in many ways. To Darian, her personality simply sparkled. Just being around her brought out something in him that was once buried.
Her personality and beauty weren’t the only things that he admired. He adored her petite frame. One of his favorite secret pleasures was looking down at her upturned face as they gazed at each other. He watched her sitting on the sofa so patiently and thought about the night they first met. She had come to him, pleading for his help in catching two supernatural killers. She was so forceful, angry and yet afraid. When he refused to help, she slapped him which took him completely by surprise.
The Royal Flush (Knights of the Darkness Chronicles(Book Three)) Page 1
