SLEIGHT OF HAND

  THE KINGS: WILD CARDS BOOK 3

  CHARLIE COCHET

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Four Kings Security Universe

  Synopsis

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  A Note From the Author

  Also by Charlie Cochet

  About the Author

  Sleight of Hand

  Copyright © 2021 Charlie Cochet

  http://charliecochet.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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

  Cover content is for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted on the cover is a model.

  Cover Art Copyright © 2021 Reese Dante

  http://reesedante.com

  Edited by Deniz Durand

  Proofing by Brian Holliday

  Content Warning: Please note this novel contains scenes and/or topics dealing with sensitive issues that may trigger some readers, including sexual abuse, kidnapping, PTSD, and the trauma of military service and loss.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To all the amazing people in my life who helped make this book happen. Thank you for your input, support, friendship, and love.

  For Minerva, the sassy German Shepherd who inspired Chip. You may not be a military dog, but you’re a fierce warrior at heart.

  To all our military heroes and their K9 partners. Thank you for your service.

  FOUR KINGS SECURITY UNIVERSE

  Welcome to the Four Kings Security Universe! The current reading order for the universe is as follows:

  FOUR KINGS SECURITY UNIVERSE

  STANDALONES

  Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts - Standalone

  (Spencer and Quinn. Quinn is Ace and Lucky’s cousin) Can be read any time before In the Cards.

  FOUR KINGS SECURITY

  Love in Spades - Book 1 (Ace and Colton)

  Ante Up - Book 1.5 (Seth and Kit)

  Free short story

  Be Still My Heart - Book 2 (Red and Laz)

  Join the Club - Book 3 (Lucky and Mason)

  Diamond in the Rough - Book 4 (King and Leo)

  In the Cards - Book 4.5 (Spencer and Quinn’s wedding)

  Free short story

  FOUR KINGS SECURITY BOXED SET

  Boxed Set includes all 4 main Four Kings Security novels: Love in Spades, Be Still My Heart, Join the Club, and Diamond in the Rough.

  THE KINGS: WILD CARDS

  Stacking the Deck - Book 1 (Jack and Fitz)

  Raising the Ante - Book 2 (Frank and Joshua)

  Sleight of Hand - Book 3 (Joker and Gio)

  RUNAWAY GROOMS SERIES

  Aisle Be There- Book 1 (King’s cousin Gage)

  SYNOPSIS

  Former Special Forces Green Beret, Sacha “Joker” Wilder, is well-versed on the subject of demolitions. As a silent partner of Four Kings Security, Joker spends his days working alongside his brothers-in-arms and his best boy, Chip—a bomb-sniffing Belgian Malinois with sass. Years of military and private security experience have prepared Joker for almost anything, except the explosive attraction between him and Giovanni Galanos.

  When Gio returns from his travels abroad, everyone is charmed by the handsome billionaire philanthropist, but in Joker’s experience, anyone who’s too good to be true usually is. Gio is hiding something, but the more time Joker spends around Gio, the more his walls start crumbling, leaving him exposed and at risk of losing his heart, something he swore he would never do. Love is for suckers, and that’s not him.

  For years Gio has dedicated his life to his charity work, helping people around the globe, but when things go horribly wrong during one particular trip, Gio decides it’s time to come home for good. The desire for family, and a certain ex-Green Beret with a chip on his shoulder, has Gio eager to restart his life Stateside. For all of Sacha’s blustering and griping, no one makes Gio feel safer. If only Sacha could see how right they are for each other.

  Danger lurks in the shadows as someone sets their sights on Gio, and secrets are forced into the light. If Gio and Joker are to have any kind of future together, they’ll have to face difficult truths, because where love is concerned, it’ll take more than sleight of hand to make things work.

  ONE

  Shit.

  Joker froze.

  Never had he faced this level of peril, not even as a Special Forces Green Beret. In the span of his military career, he’d gone up against a host of evil, from terrorists to savage warlords and everyone in-between, but never had he encountered anything like this. Thankfully, they hadn’t spotted him. He could still make his escape.

  Having memorized the exits at the start of his shift, he quickly considered his options. Backstage was out of the question. He could duck and cover behind the sound equipment or—

  “Hey!”

  Fuck.

  Five men headed in his direction, each one more terrifying than the last. Individually, he could take them, but together? He didn’t stand a chance. At least he wasn’t alone. That’s right! He wasn’t alone. He had a furry weapon of mass distraction.

  “You’re trained for this, pal,” Joker told Chip, scratching behind his giant pointy ears. Chip side-eyed him, making Joker laugh. “Yeah, all right. Better you than me. Brace yourself. Here they come.”

  The Boyfriend Collective.

  What did a billionaire, a hairstylist, a cowboy, a computer genius, and a fashion photographer have in common? They were all attached—or in Colton’s case, married to—one of Joker’s brothers-in-arms. That wasn’t the scary part. Oh no. Because each of his brothers-in-arms was disgustingly in love and in a committed monogamous relationship and Joker wasn’t—and never would be—a lovesick sucker, the Boyfriend Collective had decided he was some kind of homeless puppy in need of coddling, feeding, and petting.

  Okay, so it wasn’t all bad. Plus, Joker had gained the bonus of using said newly acquired powers to drive his brothers crazy. If Colton wanted to feed him, and Fitz wanted to hug him and play with his hair, and Laz wanted to introduce him to gorgeous models, who was Joker to turn down such heartfelt gestures? So what if Leo provided Joker with an endless supply of snacks in the hopes of finding him his signature snack? Was Joker supposed to crush his precious little heart? And Mason, well, Mason was just fun to fuck with.

  The scary part came when the Collective unanimously set their minds to something or when someone stupidly pissed them off. The leader of this terrifying group was the billionaire, Colton Connolly. The man who started it all. The moment Colton came into their lives and Joker’s buddy Ace fell in love, the rest of them toppled like dominoes. Sappy, hearts-in-their-eyes, tents-in-their-pants dominoes. Shameful. Absolutely no self-control.

  Even their giant grumpy-ass fearless leader, King, who Joker had been sure was too smart to get sucker punched by love, fell for a cute little computer geek. What was the world coming to? Back when they’d served, Joker had watched a fucking building fall on King, and the man had walked away from it with only a few bruises and scratches. The guy falls in love with Leo and bam! Next thing they know, King is baking his boyfriend fish-shaped sugar cookies. With sprinkles. Sprinkles.

  “Go get ’em,” Joker murmured to Chip.

  Chip barked and bounded off like a huge black rabbit, tail wagging so hard his butt looked like it might fly off any minute. It never failed. The Boyfriend Collective turned into a puddle of baby-talking dorks, cooing and lavishing love on Chip, who soaked that shit up like it was his favorite freeze-dried salmon treats. Joker couldn’t blame them. It was those Belgian Malinois ears. They were impossible to resist. Fitz lifted his gaze, and Joker sighed. Of course. Every time. Damn it.

  “All right,” Joker said, motioning with both hands for Fitz to bring it.

  With a laugh, Fitz glided over, because the man was tall and sinewy like some Hollywood starlet, so he didn’t walk but fucking floated. He threw his arms around Joker and hugged him tightly, their height difference meaning Joker’s head got plastered to Fitz’s chest. Why couldn’t his brothers date men who weren’t fucking redwoods? Even Leo was taller than him. Fucking tall-ass motherfuckers.

  Joker’s earpiece came to life, and he smiled evilly. He wrapped his arms around Fitz and hummed as Jack’s voice came through.

  “Hey, cameras are online. Where are you?”

  Joker hummed again. “Center stage, feeling up your boyfriend.”

  Silence. Then, “What?”

  Fitz laughed softly. “You’re so evil.”

  “Center stage,” Joker repeated.

  Wait for it…

  “If your hand gets any closer to his ass, I’m going to upload your profile
to every dating app in the country,” Jack hissed. “Detach yourself.”

  “But he’s so warm,” Joker murmured, closing his eyes and smiling happily.

  The low growl made Joker laugh, and he released Fitz. “Your boyfriend is going all caveman on you.”

  Fitz lifted his gaze to the nearest camera and blew a kiss at it. A ridiculous sigh met Joker’s ear. Yep, total sucker. He shook his head in shame. Then again, his best friend and partner in crime had always been a sentimental sap.

  “Yeah, you enjoy that smugness while you can,” Jack said. “One of these days, when you least expect it, love is going to hit you so hard, you’re going to get whiplash.”

  Joker thrust a finger at the camera. “You take that back, asshole!”

  “Nope, and I’m going to be there when it does, laughing my ass off and enjoying every fucking minute.”

  “That’s it. Your best-friend status has been revoked. From this point forward, Ace is my best friend.”

  “Yes!” Ace whooped over the line. “I’m going to have matching T-shirts made!”

  Joker pinched the bridge of his nose. “Never mind. Jack, your best friend status has been reinstated.”

  “Oh no!”

  They could all but hear Ace pouting.

  “I’m still having matching T-shirts made. Mine will say, ‘Say hello to my little friend,’ and yours will say—”

  Joker groaned. “Don’t you say it.”

  “Little Friend.”

  The guys all cackled in his ear, and Joker flipped them off. “Fuckers.” He was not going to get suckered into love like the rest of them. Nope.

  Someone walked through the heavy black curtain onto the stage and headed toward Chip. It was him.

  Joker’s heart sped up, and he hissed at Fitz, “What’s he doing here?” And with the Boyfriend Collective? Okay, so the guy was best friends with Colton, and Laz was his brother, but he wasn’t a Boyfriend. After all, they were out of Green Berets. Well, except for Joker—and no. Never gonna happen. Fuck no. Joker wouldn’t fall for Giovanni Galanos if he were the last human on the planet.

  Fitz followed Joker’s glare. “Oh, Gio’s the one who got us tickets to the concert and backstage passes. Did you know he and Nia are good friends?”

  “Of course they are,” Joker grumbled. Saint Fucking Gio. Media heartthrob, philanthropist, billionaire, friend to one of the hottest pop stars in the world. And just how “good” was his friendship with the gorgeous singer? Not that Joker cared. None of his business. He was here to do a job.

  The arena, one of the largest in Florida to date, had hired the Kings to work security for one of the biggest concerts to hit the state in decades. Tickets sold out in minutes. Over twenty-five thousand people would be in attendance tonight, meaning the Kings weren’t the only ones working security. The venue hired the Kings to secure the interior of the arena and Nia’s people during setup. A second security company would handle the actual concert, while Nia’s security was taken care of by her usual team.

  With that many security teams in place, they had a high risk for fuckery, which was why he was glad King was in charge. If anyone tried to give him or any of their team shit, it only took one look from his friend to send them crying home to momma. The guy might bake his boyfriend cookies, but he’d also been their unit’s second-in-command. No one was stupid enough to fuck with Ward Kingston, and if they did, they’d be regretting their life choices real quick.

  “I’ve never been in an arena before a concert,” Fitz said, taking in all the scaffolding, scattered equipment, and various pieces of machinery.

  Joker shrugged. He’d been working the entertainment side of security for years now. He’d seen it all. “It’s not much to look at right now, but in about another six hours, it’s going to be pretty impressive. Speaking of six hours, what are you guys doing here so early?” He’d been here several hours already, and the last thing he needed was Gio hanging around while he worked. If he’d known Gio was going to be around, he wouldn’t have volunteered to work a fucking twelve-hour shift. For events this size, overtime meant he got to take the next couple of days off.

  “After the backstage tour, we’re all going out to an early dinner to some fancy VIP restaurant before Nia’s got to come back for the concert.”

  Joker frowned. Dinner for who knew how many at a restaurant with one of the hottest singers on the planet? Talk about a logistical nightmare. “Whose bright idea was that?”

  “Nia’s manager. Nia wanted a private dinner with us, but he didn’t want her to miss such a big promo op.”

  Gio laughed, and Joker’s eyes darted to him on instinct. “Promo op?” He forced his gaze back to Fitz, who blinked at him.

  “You don’t know?”

  “Know what?”

  “Gio was the one who discovered Nia. Every few years he travels to Greece to visit the village his mother was from.” Fitz waved a hand. “Anyway, he was in a little village in Greece a few years ago. I can’t remember its name, only how heartbreaking it was to hear Gio describe the poverty there. It’s an amazing story. You’ll have to ask him to tell you one day.”

  Not likely. Joker didn’t say as much, but Fitz rolled his eyes like he knew what Joker was thinking. They’d gotten to know each other pretty well since Fitz started dating Jack. If it concerned Gio, Joker didn’t want to know. Everyone might have fallen for the guy’s charms, but not Joker. If it was too good to be true, it always was. No one was perfect. No man could be beautiful on the outside and inside, be a billionaire and a saint. Gio was hiding something.

  As if sensing Joker, Gio turned in his direction, his smile widening and reaching his dark eyes, forming little lines at the corners because the guy was always fucking smiling. Who the fuck smiled all the time? A curl of Gio’s pitch-black hair fell roguishly over one side of his brow, the rest of his hair untamed. It happened whenever his hair got a bit too long. Not that Joker paid attention to that sort of thing.

  Like every other time Joker had seen him, Gio looked impeccable, from his designer shoes to his charcoal-gray dress slacks and slim-fitting black button-down shirt. His naturally tanned skin—thanks to his Greek roots—wasn’t flawless like so many of the hot young models Joker had fucked over the last few months. Not that Joker had given any thought at all to Gio’s subtle freckles and tiny nicks, or that his top lip was fuller than the bottom. He must have made a sound because Fitz poked him in his side.

  “What?” Joker growled.

  “Behave,” Fitz told him.

  Joker arched an eyebrow at him, making him laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a fucking paragon of politeness.”

  Mason and Leo arrived in time to hear his remark, and Mason threw his head back, letting out a booming laugh.

  “What’s so funny, cowboy?”

  “Nothin’,” Mason replied in his thick Texan drawl. “Just where Gio is concerned, you have a habit of squattin’ on your spurs.”

  Mason and his damn cowboyisms.

  “I don’t know what that means, but I’m gonna respond with this.” Joker flipped Mason off, making him laugh again. “What the hell are you doing here, anyway? I thought you listened to shit country music.”

  “Fuck off. I listen to good country music.” Mason scratched his stubbled jaw. “And I’m here because certain individuals insisted I come along.” He tilted his head toward Colton, who stood a couple of yards away talking to Laz and Gio.

  “Still haven’t figured out how to say no to him, have you?” Joker snorted at Mason’s wide eyes.

  “That man is terrifying.”

  Leo tilted his head in thought. “Really?”

  Oh, sweet Leo. So oblivious. But that was part of what made him Leo. He was like a tiny fluffy bunny—a fluffy bunny who happened to be the most dangerous man in the room because of his brain. The guy had been kept a secret from the government by his Army general dad out of fear of what they—and any other government—would do to get their hands on Leo, and they would have succeeded if it hadn’t been for King.