Home > Dangerous King(9)

Dangerous King(9)
Author: Sienna Snow

“Welcome, sir.” Amir handed me a folder with the list of players and the level of money being played on the floor. “Lake called ahead to let us know your ETA, and the cafe will deliver your preferred meal any second.”

We moved in the direction of the office my brothers and I shared when we made an appearance at The Library. We’d chosen to keep a distance from the place, letting rumors continue working the mystery of who owned the establishment. As far as the public knew, The Library was backed and run by a royal Middle Eastern house—which one, no one knew.

Once we were secured in the office and I settled behind the large industrial-style desk in the back corner of the room, I asked, “Anyone we need to keep an eye on?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary.”

I studied him. The response seemed odd, especially because of the request sent from one of my regulars that it was important to make an appearance tonight, and the insistence that I be the brother who showed up.

“Give me the list and I’ll make the call on what is out of the ordinary.” My tone was harsh but my gut told me by the end of the night, many of the traps I’d set in motion over the years were about to spring and I wanted everyone ready.

“Is there something I’m not aware of?”

Amir was loyal and I trusted him. Well. To a limit. The only people I had complete faith in were my brothers.

“Let’s say I came across a tip that something unusual was going to happen tonight.”

Amir’s back straightened and he started texting. “I’ve called in extra security and a few more eyes to watch the floor. Nothing is going to happen on my watch.”

I almost smiled. My respect for the man went up a notch. His reaction was that of someone who took pride in his job. Amir had come from the same shit neighborhood I’d grown up in and understood the cost of betrayal.

The crazy part was that I wouldn’t be the one having to delve out the justice for deception. Those loyal to me would take it into their hands. Each of them knowing I protected my people.

I walked the fine edge of a knife between the world of the legitimate man and that of the criminal, but then again it was a blade I’d balanced on my entire life. If I hadn’t learned the dance early, I’d have died within months of my parents’ deaths. It was either learn the language and rules of the street or become the victim of it.

“Now give me the player list.”

Just as Amir opened his mouth, a knock sounded on the concealed wall panel hiding the door and Lake entered carrying a tray with covered dishes. He set them on the poker table that doubled as a dining table, nodded, and left.

As I moved toward the food and settled in to eat, Amir placed the list in eye view. “The Johnson boys are here, a few of the Wall Street regulars, some of our US and international agency contacts.”

The latter in particular was the reason I was here tonight. Connor Danberry. The old coot had insisted I make an appearance if I wanted to catch the one prey I’d had my sights on for years. I hadn’t a clue who the fuck the retired Interpol spy was talking about, but curiosity had gotten the best of me. And Connor had always had a reason for everything he pushed me to do. More times than I wanted to admit, his interference had kept my ass from a shit ton of trouble.

“Who are the Dynamic Duo?” I asked.

Amir smirked. “Sorry, I should have changed that when I knew you were coming in. That’s what we call it when the socialite princesses come in. Enemies by day, besties by night.”

I set my utensils down and glared at him. “Names.”

He hesitated, as if he was surprised by my irritation. “Devani Patel and—”

“Danika Dayal,” I finished for him.

There could have been no one else. It had to be.

The society gossips loved to play up rumors about some argument the two had gotten into when they were teenagers, but I’d always believed it was bullshit. The Danika I’d known faced things head-on and never let them fester.

I’d seen the proof a little over five years ago, at the Napa wedding of an up-and-coming Bollywood starlet to a high-fashion jeweler to the stars. I’d decided to take a walk along the back of the estate for some fresh air when I’d found the two women laughing and so deep in conversation that they hadn’t noticed my presence. Most of the discussion hadn’t made sense, a mix of fashion and art. Right before they separated, Danika had handed Devani a lipstick saying that she was right, the color matched her lengha better, and to keep it.

They seemed comfortable around each other. So it made no sense why they pretended not to like each other in public. I’d planned to look into it further but just moments later I’d gotten the call that Arin, my adoptive father, had suffered a fatal heart attack and my world had tilted on its axis.

I’d gone from the eldest of the misfits Arin King had collected off the streets to the ruler of the King empire. In less than twenty-four hours I’d lost my father and taken over his throne to prevent any hungry competitor from absorbing his territory. There had been no time to mourn, no time to think, no time to contemplate how a fucking twenty-six-year-old was supposed to hold together an area amassed over decades.

Pushing the memories back, I said, “I want to know more.”

“Sir, I thought you’d be the first to know about them. Isn’t Ms. Dayal related to your sister-in-law?”

I clenched my jaw and felt a throbbing in my head. “I obviously missed something.”

Which pissed me off to no end.

I couldn’t wait until I got hold of my brother Rey. He was our hacker. He was the one who had the information on everyone. Hell, he was the one who was supposed to keep an eye on Danika and her whereabouts at all times.

“They work in the business of connecting people.”

“So do I. Want to get more specific? I doubt we work in the same realm.”

I wasn’t in the mood for long pauses.

“As tech people. Hackers and such. They are very tight-lipped about who the hackers are or if one of them or both of them are the hackers. What we do know is that both of them are tech savvy and that they are physically trained.”

“How exactly do you mean, physically trained?”

Next time I saw Rey, I was so going to punch him in the goddamned face for not telling me Danika was a regular at The Library. He knew my history with her.

“Do you remember the incident with Gustov Novak?”

I thought back to the disaster that required a complete shutdown of the club. Novak had threatened to expose one of the guests to her conservative family if she wouldn’t escort him home. When she resisted, he tried to manhandle her. She’d pulled a knife that she’d hidden on her body and stabbed him in the gut and then sliced him a fraction away from performing a complete castration. Novak had nearly bled out before the paramedics had arrived. And because of the unwritten code of the club, none of the patrons offered aid to Novak. And afterward, he had all but turned himself into a pariah with his behavior.

Now it all made sense. I’d shrugged off the event as the cost of doing business, especially knowing what happened afterward, when the notorious hacker the Little Rabbit had heard of the Novak incident and decided to get involved. And by morning, all of his financial accounts were drained and his business activities were conveniently packaged and sent to Interpol. Within a week, every one of his known associates who hadn’t distanced themselves from him had suffered similar fates.

Hot Books
» House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)
» A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
» From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1)
» A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime
» Deviant King (Royal Elite #1)
» Den of Vipers
» House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)
» The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #
» Sweet Temptation
» The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1)
» Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6)
» Wreck & Ruin
» Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2)
» Twisted Hate (Twisted #3)
» The Play (Briar U Book 3)