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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, and he was dressed as casually as he got, in his favourite pair of black jeans, grey cowboy boots and a button up black shirt, he was working, just like all these stall holders around him. Glancing at the cheap, mass-produced jewellery on a table he was passing, he wondered how the hell 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, his gaze roaming as he searched for his target.
While most people didn’t recognise him or know who he was, everyone was quick to get out of his way. Casual for him was still a lot fancier than most people here. His slicked-back steel grey hair and ice-blue eyes, together with his scowl, helped get the message across that he was not someone to be messed with. Daniil had never been a patient man, and he was more than happy to not have to push through the crowd as he moved around the lanes of Bondi’s weekly markets.
It was only September, but with no clouds in the sky, the spring sun was powerful, and it wasn’t long before he was rolling up his sleeves to cool off. He was grateful he hadn’t donned a tie. He rarely did. He hated how they made him feel as though he was being strangled.
Once he revealed his forearms and their tattoos, people were even faster to move out of his way. Thanks to the internet, along with various movies and TV shows, a lot more of the general population was aware of what Russian tattoos looked like, which was both a blessing and a curse. But on days like today, it was a good thing, especially now the day was heating up. Daniil wanted to get this job done so he could get out of the sun.
Unlike many of his brethren, he’d not inked his hands, so when he did need to go under the radar, he simply made sure his arms were fully covered. If he also added dark glasses like he had today, to hide his blue eyes, no one would guess he was even Russian, let alone part of Sydney’s underbelly. Some jobs were considerably simpler if no one paid him much attention. It meant he wouldn’t have to pay off or blackmail anyone who remembered him accurately enough to be able to tell the cops about him. Since he was only doing some recon today, he didn’t need to keep his ink covered.
Reaching the end of the lane, he turned to head down the next one when he caught sight of his target. Stupid bastard was strolling around without a care in the world, as though he owned the joint. No way did that piece of shit realise what was about to happen to him. That thought had Daniil smirking. 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 had a weakness, like this arsehole 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 distracted, 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 screw around on their wives.
While Daniil had zero interest in getting married or having a family, if he ever changed his mind, he would be one hundred percent committed and faithful. But settling down would give him way too much to lose. It would also prevent him from being able to simply fuck whoever caught his eye, and then move on. He’d never once cuddled or slept with his lovers after sex. He certainly had never brought them to his home, and he never, ever fucked the same woman more than once.
In the weeks Daniil had been studying this particular target, he’d learned the arsehole had several mistresses. Hell, Daniil was doing the wife a favour by taking him out. Maybe he should contact her, see if she’d pay him as well as the original client for ending him? Shaking his head, he moved away from them. The last thing he needed was his target to spot him before he was ready to show himself. He had a plan forming in his mind on how this one would play out, but it wasn’t solid enough to act on yet, because, like most of his jobs, he wasn’t being paid to simply kill. The true goal of most of his assignments was to gain 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 particular 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. However, the reality was there were a few lines he refused to cross. One of those was hurting an innocent. So, even though he intended to use the boy against his father, he wouldn’t harm one hair on the lad’s head. Nope, he was confident he could make the target believe he intended to hurt the child without actually doing so. Because even though he’d never injure an innocent child or woman, he’d cultivated enough rumours about himself that others didn’t know he operated by that rule. Hopefully, the threat of harm to the target’s 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 coloured 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. He nodded as his plan solidified in his mind. He would pay off one of the target’s mistresses to not be in their usual hotel room, then he would wait for him in her place. Deliver the threat on his son and get the information his client required before leaving the man to think he’d escaped death. Then, the next morning, Daniil would return to grab him as he left for work before taking him to that abandoned warehouse to finish the job. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d used it for this purpose, and he doubted it would be the last.
“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 her uttering a few words. His strange reaction had him curious about the female who’d spoken. Forcing a smile, he turned to face her. Once he caught sight of her, his grin turned genuine. She was stunning. Her hair was a shockingly bright mix of blue and purple that looked good on her. She was shorter than his six feet; he guessed her to be about five feet six inches.
Because God was good, he got an excellent view of her toned and lean body, as all she wore was a bikini top under an open over-shirt. She’d pushed up the sleeves and her skin was tanned and ink free. The bright blue of her bikini matched her hair and drew his eyes to her breasts, which looked lush and natural. He was shocked when his fingers actually twitched with his desire to touch her.
Clearing his throat, he reached up to take his sunglasses off, grateful the dark lenses had prevented her from catching him checking her out just now.
Juli nearly swallowed her tongue. Holy smokes, this dude was hot. Scary as fuck and a lot older than her, but still hot as hell.
“And what was a beauty such as yourself doing alone on a 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’d noticed. Ah, well, not much she could do about it. Not her fault the man could melt a girl’s knickers 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, even though she had no clue. “Should have guessed that. You visiting, or do you live here?”
His English was really good, but that didn’t mean he lived locally.
“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.”
