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PROLOGUE

SHE WAS A MOTHER She was a daughter She was a sister and a wife Delicate and so very beautiful Dusky flesh stretched over aristocratic features that drew attention to the slope of her brow, the full delectable pout of her lips

She was slender, well toned She was a work of art for her age A woman of forty-five shouldn’t be in such peak physical condition

Unless she was a killer

Yes, she was a killer, the worst sort of killer actually A woentle hands Those hands could fire a gun, wield a knife, or toss a grenade with the same merciless conviction as any entle Gentle and strong

“Pretty,” he whispered as he touched the silken flesh of that hand, ran his finger over it, and finally found the subtle calluses of her trade

She was a warrior A warrior such as she should never have the light in her dark, pretty eyes extinguished

“It’s business, you understand” He kept his tone balanced, perfectly modulated

He didn’t want to frighten her The blood puh the body with fear It would flow from her veins too quickly; there would be no chance to enjoy the beauty and rich satisfaction that caave up her last breath of life

Did one such as she feel fear? he wondered

He tilted his head to the side, an edge of curiosity pricking at him as she stared back at him with icy resolve There was no fear in her eyes; there was no concern for her own life She stared back at him with cold, flat eyes Yet he knew those eyes He had shter and wit But he had never known if she ever felt fear

How very odd, he thought He norns about his victims

“Do you fear?” He had to ask the question He asked it in her own tongue; the beauty of her language had always fascinated him

Many race and purity, but he did He felt it each tiracefully from an Israeli’s lips There was a certain cadence, a mystical, ancient fluidity, that fascinated him

“Of you?” Her words slurred just the faintest bit fro her to his lair “I know no fear of you”

“Do you fear death?” He feared death He faced it with each job he took, and sometimes he feared that when his own end came, it would come with pain and humiliation

“I fear nothing on this earth” And he believed it

“But you should,” she continued “You should fear, for a wrath such as none you have ever knoill descend upon you”

“Your God?” he sneered

“God will judge you, but Garren and David will destroy you”

Her husband Her son A CIA agent and a Mossad soldier They were formidable adversaries

“They will never knoas I who took you froret “Angels may watch over them, but they won’t speak my name”

She didn’t give hiaze fro to look at him