All the Queen's Men Read online

  LOOK FOR THESE HEART-POUNDING

  NOVELS OF ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

  FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  LINDA HOWARD

  She’s hunting for a mate—and there’s

  no more playing it safe.

  OPEN SEASON

  Handsome, rich, sexy, deadly....

  MR PERFECT

  “Sexy fun.”—People

  ...and don’t miss

  ALL THE QUEEN’S MEN

  NOW YOU SEE HER

  SON OF THE MORNING

  SHADES OF TWILIGHT

  AFTER THE NIGHT

  DREAM MAN

  HEART OF FIRE

  THE TOUCH OF FIRE

  All available from Pocket Books

  PRAISE FOR THE SENSATIONAL

  NOVELS OF NEW YORK TIMES

  BESTSELLER AUTHOR

  LINDA HOWARD

  ALL THE QUEEN’S MEN

  “A high-suspense romance. . . . Howard’s trademark darkly sensual style and intense, layered plot will delight her fans.”

  —Booklist

  “Ms. Howard has made the character [of John Medina] irresistible. . . . A fascinating novel of suspense and sensual tension.”

  —Rendezvous

  “[A] sexy thriller . . . another explosive hit.”

  —Romantic Times

  KILL AND TELL

  “Linda Howard meshes hot sex, emotional impact, and gripping tension in this perfect example of what romantic suspense ought to be.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “An incredibly talented writer. . . . Linda Howard knows what romance readers want. . . .”

  —Affaire de Coeur

  “An emotion-packed, suspenseful ride. . . . [Linda Howard’s] sensual stories will make your heart beat a little faster. Romantic suspense has never been better. Linda Howard proves that romance and danger are a heady combination.”

  —Literary Times

  “A riveting masterpiece of suspense. . . . Linda Howard is a superbly original storyteller.”

  —Iris Johansen, New York Times bestselling author of Dead Aim

  OPEN SEASON

  “A perfect mystery for a late summer weekend. It’s part romance with a dollop of suspense.”

  —The Globe & Mail (Toronto)

  “This book is a masterpiece. Howard hooks us with a devastating opening prologue, then paints such visual pictures of her characters that they live.”

  —Rendezvous

  “The irrepressible Daisy Minor has a way of freshening everything.”

  —The Palm Beach Post

  MR. PERFECT

  “A frolicsome mystery . . . Jaine Bright lives up to her name: she’s as bright—and explosive—as a firecracker.”

  —People

  “Mr. Perfect really scores. . . . Part romance novel, part psychological thriller, [it] is both a frightening and funny look at the plight of the modern woman searching for an ideal mate.”

  —New York Post

  “There is nothing quite like a sexy and suspenseful story by the amazing Linda Howard! . . . Funny, exciting, gripping, and sensuous . . . one of her all-time best!”

  —Romantic Times

  NOW YOU SEE HER

  “Steamy romance morphs into murder mystery. . . .”

  —People

  “An eerie, passionate, and thrilling tale . . .”

  —Romantic Times

  “Sensual, page-turning.”

  —Amazon.com

  SON OF THE MORNING

  “[A] romantic time-travel thriller with a fascinating premise. . . . gripping passages and steamy sex.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “A complex tale that’s rich with detail, powerful characters and stunning sensuality. . . . It’s no wonder that Linda Howard is the best of the best.”

  —CompuServe Romance Reviews

  SHADES OF TWILIGHT

  “[A] sizzler. . . . Ms. Howard is an extraordinary talent. . . . [Her] unforgettable novels [are] richly flavored with scintillating sensuality and high-voltage suspense.”

  —Romantic Times

  AFTER THE NIGHT

  “After the Night has it all. . . . Intense romance and mounting tension.”

  —The Literary Times

  Books by Linda Howard

  A Lady of the West

  Angel Creek

  The Touch of Fire

  Heart of Fire

  Dream Man

  After the Night

  Shades of Twilight

  Son of the Morning

  Kill and Tell

  Now You See Her

  All the Queen’s Men

  Mr. Perfect

  Strangers in the Night

  Open Season

  Dream Man

  Published by Pocket Books

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A Pocket Star Book published by

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 1999 by Linda Howard

  Originally published in hardcover in 1999 by Pocket Books

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce

  this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue

  of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN 13: 978-0-671-56884-9

  ISBN 10: 0-671-56884-1

  eISBN 13: 978-1-4391-1999-0

  First Pocket Books paperback printing June 2000

  10 9 8 7 6

  POCKET STAR BOOKS and colophon are registered

  trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Cover design and illustration by John Vairo Jr.

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  CONTENTS

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Part Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Part Three

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  PART

  ONE

  CHAPTER

  ONE

  1994, Iran

  It was cold in the rough little hut. Despite the blankets hung over the one window and the ill-fitting door, to block the escape of any telltale light, frigid air still seeped through. Niema Burdock blew on her fingers to warm them, her breath fogging slightly in the one dim battery-operated light that was all Tucker, the team leader, allowed.

  Her husband, Dallas, seemed perfectly comfortable in his T-shirt as he calmly packed the Semtex blocks into secure sections of his web gear. Niema watched him, trying to hide her anxiety. It wasn’t the explosive she worried about; plastique was so stable soldiers in Vietnam had burned it as fuel. But Dallas and Sayyed had to plant the explosives in the manufacturing facility, and that w