Chimera by Ken Goddard Read Free Book Online Page A

entered the darkened room, turned on a low light, and then knelt down in from of a large deep cage.
    A threatening came from the far back of the cage that would remain in almost complete darkness until Draganov’s eyes adjusted to the dim light.
    “It’s okay, little one.   No need to be upset. I am here with you now.”
    Another growl, but this time less threatening.
    “There, that’s better.   Don’t be angry with me, Sasha.   You don’t think I made the devil’s pact, do you?”
    A third growl, this one sounding plaintive.
    “I know you are lonely, but soon you will have new brothers and sisters and everything will be fine again.”
    No response this time.
    Using the cage as a brace, Draganov pushed himself to a standing position with a tired grunt, walked over to the door, turned off the low light, and then stepped back into the isolating vestibule.
    As he did so, the cat’s eyes snapped open in the blackness of the cage, the pupils of her two narrowed eyes glowing a bright emerald green.

 
    CHAPTER 4
     
     
    Surat Thani, Thailand
     
    Yaktian-po Sanganaman — better known to his few friends and many enemies as Yak — entered his expensive Surat Thani home through the garage entrance, paused at the doorway of his kitchen to yell at his complaining chef, and then hurried down the central hall toward his lavishly furnished den, absorbed in the question as to why Marcus Emerson had insisted on this early-morning meeting.
    And worse, why he had sounded angry.
    Halfway there, he stopped, pulled the cell phone out of his jacket, tried once again to contact Captain Choonhavan, and cursed when he got the same ‘I am not available’ message.
    “How dare you not be available, you corrupt fool?” Yak snarled, feeling his stomach starting to churn as he hurried again toward his den.
    First things first.
    It occurred to Yak to hope that Boon-Nam had been true to his word, and would now, at this very moment, be patrolling the grounds of Yak’s walled and fenced-off estate, instead of walking away with his up-front fee. Boon-Nam was a highly-regarded assassin, and an expensive one at that.   It had cost Yak a furiously-negotiated two million Bhat — ten of the near-flawless 1-carat diamonds from the leather pouch in his pocket that he was now in a hurry to return to his den safe — to engage his services.
    But the cost really wasn’t a serious issue to Yak; he hadn’t hesitated for a moment to contact Boon-Nam’s go-between after receiving Wallis’ unsettling call. Such was the nature of Marcus Emerson’s reputation among the Thai underworld.
    Yak knew there were several reasons why Emerson might be upset; not the least of which was his and Kai’s long-term plans to take over the Australian’s incredibly lucrative Thai safari business.   But that couldn’t happen until he knew a great deal more about Emerson’s related operations in the United States, and worked out an appropriate — albeit temporary — distribution agreement with Kai and his Malaysian pirates.
    And that couldn’t happen until Yak gained the confidence of at least one of Emerson’s wealthy and free-spending clients; a project which he’d only just begun to work on with Choonhavan’s less-than-competent help.   So unless the bastard Kai had —
    Yak gasped in surprise, coming to a sudden halt when he saw the frightening figure of Marcus Emerson sitting at his ornately carved desk; and behind him, in a second chair, the wide-eyed and purple-faced figure of Police Captain Choonhavan, securely bound to the chair and tightly gagged.
    “Khun Marcus,” Yak said, recovering quickly, “what are you doing here so early?”   He glanced down at his wristwatch.   “I thought you said —?”
    “I said I wanted to meet with you, alone, to discuss our future business arrangements,” Wallis said.   “’Alone’ meant you, your chef, and your normal retinue of body-guards.   ‘Alone’ did not mean Boon-Nam lurking around in your