by Khloe Wren
EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2017 Khloe Wren
ISBN: 978-1-77339-455-8
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Karyn White
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
Sam, as this is the book I finally hooked you in with, it seems appropriate it should have your name on it!
DANIIL
Kings of Sydney, 1
Khloe Wren
Copyright © 2017
Chapter One
Daniil strolled through the Bondi Markets with his relaxed façade firmly in place, despite the fact he was anything but. Even though it was Sunday, he was working. Just like all these stall holders around him. Although, he was actually earning enough to warrant him leaving his home. He glanced at the cheap jewelry on the table he was passing. He couldn't work out how some of these people made any money at all. So many stores selling the same shit, and there were only so many tourists to go around. With a mental shrug, he kept moving, gaze roaming as he looked for his target.
As he strode past a clothing stall, he caught his reflection and winced. Fuck, he was such a cliché. Wearing black tailored dress pants together with a black button up shirt, he looked like what he was, a Russian mercenary. He didn’t have a tie on. He rarely did. He hated how they made him feel like he was choking. Of course, if the job called for it, he'd throw one on, but only if he had to.
As the day was warm, he’d rolled the sleeves part way up his forearms. That meant some of the tattoos that covered his arms were visible. Unlike his arms and chest, his hands were ink free. He'd often thought about adding ink to them but figured it would limit his ability to stay hidden in plain sight. It was simple enough to wear dark glasses and a long sleeve shirt, and no one thought anything of him. No one remembered what he looked like, because he looked like so many other men. Add in his blue eyes and the ink, he became memorable. His job was so much easier when he wasn’t forced to pay off, or blackmail, cops that ended up with an accurate description of him.
Stepping around the end of a lane, he caught sight of his target. Stupid bastard was strolling around like he owned the joint. No way did that piece of shit realize what was about to happen to him. That made Daniil grin. He loved what he did. Especially jobs like this one. Taking out a man who was so convinced he’d made himself invincible enough to get away with whatever bullshit he wanted to pull.
Over the years, Daniil had discovered very few men were truly invincible. Most men had a weakness, like this asshole Daniil was currently trailing. The man’s wife and son were with him, the woman stopping to look at trinkets as they moved along. While she was looking down, he was checking out the legs on the young woman running the store. Daniil rolled his eyes. He never could believe how many men would settle down and get married, only to sleep around on their wife. Daniil had zero interest in getting married or having a family. That would give him way too much to lose. It would also stop him from being able to simply fuck whoever caught his eye, and move on. He never slept with his lovers, he never brought them to his home, and he never, ever fucked a woman twice.
In the week Daniil had been studying this particular target, he'd learned the asshole had several mistresses. Hell, Daniil was doing the wife a favor by taking him out. Maybe he should contact her, see if she'd pay him as well as the original client? He shook his head and moved away from them. He didn't need his target to see him, at least not yet. He had a plan forming in his mind on how to get this one to play out. Because rarely was a job simply about killing. No, most clients wanted something. Money, information … always something. This was no different. And the way the target kept his palm wrapped around his young son's shoulder, made it perfectly clear what, or rather who, Daniil needed to use to get what the client required from this target.
Daniil had worked long and hard to gain his reputation, both in his legitimate business dealings and his illegal ones. When it came to his dirtier work, like this current job, he was known as the soulless one. He would, and did, just about anything for money. There were very few things that he wouldn't do. One of those things was hurting an innocent. So, even though he intended to use the boy against his father, he wouldn't hurt one hair on the lad's head. Nope, he was confident he could make the target believe he intended to hurt the child. Because even though he’d never hurt an innocent child or woman, he’d cultivated enough rumors about himself that others didn’t know he had that rule. So, he hoped the threat of harm to his son would be enough. If not, he would indeed kidnap the boy, but he wouldn't be hurt.
A stall caught Daniil’s eye, and he stopped to take a better look. The photography was stunning. Both black-and-whites and colored images from around Bondi and Sydney all neatly showcased in professional looking black frames. One in particular caught his attention. It was of an old warehouse a few suburbs away. His head nodded as his plan formed in his mind. After he delivered the threat to the son, and got the information his client required, he would grab his target as he left for work in the morning. Take him to that abandoned warehouse to finish the job. It wouldn't be the first time he'd used it for this purpose.
"Morning. I love that shot. Totally found that place by accident when I caught the wrong bus a few weeks ago."
A shiver ran down his spine at the sound of her sweet voice. It had been a long time since he'd felt anything more than passing lust for a beautiful woman, and he’d certainly never reacted to the mere sound of a woman’s voice. His strange reaction had him curious about whoever had spoken. Plastering on a smile, he turned to face the owner of the voice. Once he caught sight of her, his smile turned genuine. She was stunning. Her hair was a shockingly bright mix of blue and purple, which surprisingly looked good on her. She was shorter than he was, and he guessed her to be about five-foot six. Because God was good, he got an excellent view of her toned and lean body, as all she wore was a bikini top under a thin jacket that she’d pushed the sleeves up of. Her skin was tanned and ink free. The bright blue color of her bikini drew his eye to her breasts. They looked lush and natural. His fingers actually twitched with his desire to touch her.
Clearing his throat, he reached up to take his dark sunglasses off, grateful the dark lenses had prevented her from catching him checking her out just now.
****
Juli nearly swallowed her tongue. Holy smoke, this dude was hot. Scary as fuck. But still, hot as hell.
"And what was such a beauty as yourself doing alone on the bus?"
Yeah, because his good looks weren't enough, the bastard had a to-die-for accent, too. Life just wasn’t fair some days. Her fiancé was so average it hurt. He didn’t have a romantic bone in his body, no cool accent, no ink. Just oil-stained hands from working on cars and cute dimples that had sucked her right in when she’d first met him.
"I often catch the bus. It's cheap and does the job."
He frowned at her like she was nuts. Not an uncommon reaction. Lots of people thought she was crazy. Including her fiancé.
"Job?"
"You know? Gets me from A to B?" She grinned at him, "Sometimes it even gets me back to A again."
He shook his head with a chuckle. The sound shot down her spine and made her nipples tighten. Damn, she hoped
he didn't notice. It wasn’t like her bikini had padding or anything to hide the fact. With a raised eyebrow, his gaze lowered for a moment. Bugger, of course he noticed. Ah well, not much she could do about it. Not her fault that the man could melt panties at twenty paces.
"So, where's your accent from? Europe somewhere?"
"It's Russian."
She nodded, like she knew all about various accents and where they came from. She didn’t. "Should have guessed that. You visiting, or do you live here?"
His English was really good, but that didn't mean he lived local.
"I live nearby. Not far from here, actually, over in Bellevue Hill. I've been in Australia since I was a young child."
She cocked her head at him. "Funny, considering how close you live, that I’ve not seen you around before."
"I don't normally attend markets. I believe I've seen you on the beach before." He nodded at her hair. "You're rather distinctive."
She grinned. Her hair was purple with blue through it. It was a pain to maintain with all the time she spent in the water, but her best friend, Jess, was a hairdresser and gave her a very healthy discount. The bright mix of colors really did make her stand out.
"I'm down there most days giving surfing lessons. You should come down sometime. I'll be happy to give you a lesson or two."
Juli was proud of herself, being able to form complete coherent sentences while she was nearly drooling at the thought of him shirtless in a pair of board shorts. A shudder ran through her as she imagined him wet on a board. And if she was teaching him, she would have to look. Rodger couldn't complain about that one. Well, he could, and no doubt would if he found out. She winced a little, probably best if her fiancé didn't find out.
"Perhaps one day." His gaze went back to her photos, helping her to remember why she was here. She needed to sell something to him. It didn’t matter if he was sex on a stick, or looked like a hobo. Money was money, and she needed it.
"So, are you looking for something in particular?"
He ran his fingertip over the outside edge of the warehouse photo he'd been looking at earlier. It really was stunning, with the way the sun setting behind the weather-roughened exterior of the abandoned building looked.
"This one is exactly what I'm after."
She reached over with her left hand to pick up the photo, but he caught her hand and twisted it over to look at her fingers before she could pick it up. Tilting her hand, he ran his thumb over her engagement ring.
"Your man lets you catch a bus on your own?"
Frowning, she wriggled her fingers until he released her. She’d really rather not examine her relationship with Rodger too closely. She was rather scared of what she’d discover. Forcing her mind back on task, she picked up the image to wrap.
"We only have the one car, and he needs it for his work." She shrugged. "It is what it is." At least he didn’t work Sundays so she had her car for the market. It was depressing to think about exactly how little her fiancé seemed to care about her, with the way he was always putting himself and his needs above hers. It was another reason she did her best not to scrutinize her relationship with him too closely.
A low rumble came from the hot Russian.
"If you were my woman, you would never be left unprotected. He is not a real man if he leaves you open to attack like that."
She would definitely need to change her panties when she got home. She was also in danger of swooning for real. This tall, dark, handsome sex-god standing before her was a gentleman on top of everything else.
With a sad smile, she taped the tissue paper down and put the photo in a bag.
"Clearly, not all men are equal. Cash or card?"
She wanted this conversation over. This guy was a stranger. Hell, she didn’t even know his name! She already knew Rodger wasn't the best bloke out there, hell, lately she'd been thinking he was way closer to the bottom. But he was all she had, and she'd been stupid enough to say yes to his proposal, so now it looked like she'd be stuck with him forever. So, it was best if she tried not to think about it too much.
At least he didn't knock her around.
Chapter Two
Two months later
After she finished with her lessons for the afternoon, Juli wasn't ready to go home. For the last six weeks, she'd lived in a house with three other women. Two were backpackers who barely spoke English, and right now, she just didn't have the energy to deal with them. Jess, her best friend, lived there, too, which was how Juli had come to live there. She’d already thought her friend was pretty awesome, and the way she’d taken her in confirmed the fact. Her bestie hadn't batted an eyelash when Juli had rocked up on the doorstep, black eye and all, to ask if she could stay with her.
Well, okay, that wasn’t the complete truth. Jess had dragged her in and given her an ice pack for her face. After demanding Juli tell her what happened, Jess had been furious. She’d suggested all sorts of ways they could get some vengeance on Rodger. Guess Jess didn't like the fact Rodger had beaten her up any more than Juli did. But about her moving in to her house, Jess hadn’t hesitated. Lucky for Juli, Jess had an empty room as one of the backpackers that were staying there had gone home the week before. She hadn’t gotten around to advertising the room yet.
The house was small but funky, and Juli actually really liked living there. It'd just be nice if it wasn't quite so crowded all the time. Maybe once she got herself out of debt, she’d suggest to Jess that they keep it to just the two of them. If she wasn’t paying off all the shit Rodger had run up in her name, she would have more money to put toward her living arrangements.
Having stored and locked up her surfing stuff, she then wandered around the streets of Bondi with her camera, looking for interesting shots. She needed some new fresh images for her market stall. She had a mix of customers, both locals and tourists, but it was the tourists that generally bought up big, and they wanted unique views of the local landmarks.
With that in mind she headed back down to the beach as the sun set. Her pulse jumped when she saw how the colors reflected on the clouds behind the Surf Lifesavers’ tower. Now that would be a money shot. It would have been better if she could get the ocean in the background, but annoyingly, the sun set in the west so she had to make do with taking shots angled up so the image would only show sky behind the tower.
She quickly lifted her camera and snapped several shots, not wanting to lose the perfect lighting. She ended up staying there until well after the sun dipped below the horizon. The sky had really put on a show with different colors tonight, and she'd caught them all. With a wide grin, she made her way over the sand and back onto the roadway. Her new home was only two blocks from the main beach at Bondi, and over the past six weeks, she’d gotten used to walking the short distance regularly. As she made her way down the footpath, she packed her camera up and zipped it safely away in its case before she tucked it in her large handbag.
With a sigh and a deep breath of the salty air, she turned her attention to her surroundings. The bars and clubs were just starting to get busy while all the shops that were packed with tourists during the day now sat empty. She passed by a bar and shook her head with a chuckle at the wolf whistle that followed her. Men. She didn't even consider stopping in for a drink. After the nightmare Rodger turned out to be, she had zero interest in men, or relationships. Especially some bloke in a bar who thought whistling at a girl was a good way to get her attention.
Nope, she was going to work hard, save her money, and build a life for herself. Never again would she be stupid enough to fall for a man who wanted to move in together and combine incomes within weeks of meeting. In hindsight, there’d been so many warning signs that Rodger wasn’t a good man. Ah well, live and learn. She’d be a lot more careful in the future. Because, it turned out, all Rodger had wanted was access to her money, while making sure she had nowhere to go if she decided to leave. Jess was the only friend she had left, and because they mainly caught up when she went to get her ha
ir done, Rodger obviously hadn’t realized it. Also, he hadn’t realized that physical violence was a deal breaker. Even if she’d ended up on the street for a night or two, she would never sit and take a man using her as a punching bag. No, siree. Not ever.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize she was in trouble until it was too late. A man was walking toward her, holding her gaze. She went to turn to head back to the more populated main road, but came up short when a second man stood in her way.
"Whatcha doin', pretty lady?"
Looked like a couple of the men in that last bar had decided to follow her. Maybe she should have stopped in for that drink after all. She ran her gaze over the two men. They both looked like they spent a lot of time inside a gym. Dammit.
"Just heading home. I don't want any trouble. How about you both just go back into the bar and find some chick that's willing?"
As Juli predicted they didn't take her suggestion. Nope, the bastards came in closer to her, forcing her to back up. A quick glance up and down the road showed her she was alone. It also showed her that these assholes had followed her long enough she could barely hear the noise from the main road. No one out in the bars and clubs would hear her scream, that’s for sure.
Bugger.
****
With a growl, Daniil frowned at the two men who'd just slipped from their stools and left the bar. He hoped he'd misread their intent, but he doubted it. His little purple-haired surfing photographer had strolled past a few moments earlier. He really should have asked her name when he'd bought that photo from her two months ago. He'd seen her many times since but always stayed far enough back no one would realize he was watching her, including her.
