Gamble

by Nicholas Bella

  Gamble

  Cobra: The Vigilante Series

  Episode Seven

  By

  Nicholas Bella

  First Edition

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidences either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Nicholas Bella

  Edited by Heidi Ryan

  Published 2020 by Dark Desires Publishing LLC

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person as a gift. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please contact the author: nicholasbella1@gmail.com

  Cobra: The Vigilante Series

  Episodes in Order

  Origins

  Noble

  Unlawful

  Injustice

  Vulnerable

  Exposed

  Gamble

  Targets (Coming in Vol. 3)

  Special Note:

  This book is part of an ongoing serial. In order to get the full experience of the story and characters, I would suggest you read the books in order, starting with episode/book one (Origins). Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on anything! You can find out the order of Cobra: The Vigilante Series on my website: http://www.nicholasbella.com

  Warning: Scenes depicted in this series and in this book in particular may be too graphic for sensitive readers. All characters featured in sexual situations in this novel are adults, 18 or older. Reader discretion is strongly advised. This series is highly erotic, violent, dark, and twisted. Prepare yourself.

  YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS… THAT MOTHERFUCKIN’ RECAP.

  Okay, the last time we checked in with Eric’s vigilante ass and his partner, Jordan, they had teamed up with a new vigilant named Black Knight. Of course, his real name is Bishop Keong and he had some stipulations for our anti-hero. He’d join him to help take down the Killing Game murder ring if he brought in police help and didn’t get all kill happy himself. Begrudgingly, Eric agreed, because he knew he needed the help. That also meant exposing himself to his lawman boyfriend, Alexi Taylor. The truth was hard for Alexi to take, but he knows how to focus on what’s really important; taking out an international murder corporation and not taking down his murderous lover. With Richard Tate, one of the Killing Game’s key players in their possession, the four unlikely heroes are about to enter into the next phase of this plan. To Russia with no love they go.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “I’m not trying to control you, Alexi,” I said.

  “Sounds like it when you tell me that I’m not a cop but a vigilante,” Alexi retorted.

  “It’s just that I want you to get into that mindset. As a cop, you think a certain way… I just don’t have time to humor that kind of rationale at the moment,” I said as I steered the car closer to my base of operations.

  He scoffed. “You think I’m going to get bent out of shape about the guy you kidnapped, is that it?”

  I shrugged as I turned down the road leading to my home. “Maybe.”

  “You don’t trust me?”

  I looked at him for a quick second. “I trust you, Alexi. Notice how you’re not blindfolded as I drive you to my one and only home that I share with my partner.”

  Alexi looked out of the window, no doubt taking in the landscape and noting locations. “I see. Yeah, I guess you do trust me.” He turned back to me. “I know what I’m getting myself into. I know I can’t follow police procedures if what you’re saying is really all true.”

  “It is.”

  “Then I’m just someone with some knowledge who wants to help,” Alexi said.

  “Okay.”

  “You said you killed other people, who?”

  “Do you really want to know?” I cut him another look.

  “I want to know who I’ve been fucking all this time, yeah.”

  I sighed, because I really didn’t want to get into all of that. I didn’t want Alexi to look at me any worse than he had when he discovered I was Cobra. “I haven’t really kept count.”

  “Jesus… how many people have you murdered when you don’t even keep track?”

  “It’s not like I take trophies, Alexi. I’ve been at this vigilante game for a few months. I’ve taken down assholes who’ve tried to kill me, who’ve killed other people that the police have no knowledge of. I’ve stopped crimes as they’re happening, saving people who would have been victims otherwise. Am I supposed to feel bad for taking out scum who put themselves out there to harm innocents?” I asked and looked at him, taking full advantage of the red light.

  Alexi didn’t reply right away, it seemed as though he was really thinking about what I had said. “The attack at the private airport, Richard Tate’s plane, you did that?”

  I nodded. “It was the only chance I had to grab Richard’s sneaky ass before he could get away. I only killed those who attacked me. His bodyguard tortured the fuck out of me when they had their chance, so yeah, I was happy to pay him back.”

  Alexi frowned. “Tortured you? When? How?”

  The light turned green and I hit the gas. “I’ll tell you everything when we get to my home. We’re almost there.”

  Two minutes later, I was pulling into my secret lair that too many people knew about for my taste. Alexi was checking everything out that he could see, then he opened the car door and climbed out. I did the same.

  “So, this is where you live?” he asked.

  “And operate out of, yeah,” I said.

  Jorden came around the corner carrying a mug I was sure was full of coffee. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Detective. Like I said, I’ve heard so much about you,” he said, extending the mug to Alexi, who took it and gave its contents a good sniff.

  “I make some damn good coffee, trust me,” Jordan bragged.

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Alexi replied, then took a sip, proving that he was trusting us. The expression he made after swallowing proved that Jordan did, in fact, make a damned good pot of coffee. “This is good.”

  “Told ya.” Jordan smiled and I swore, I just wanted to kiss the hell out of him. That smile could bring me such joy. I didn’t see how anyone who loved Jordan couldn’t love that smile. How they could cast him out of their lives and never see that smile again. Fuck his family, as far as I was concerned. I was his family. “Why don’t you follow me, I’ll give you the grand tour,” he said, taking Alexi’s arm into his.

  “We have a humble abode, not much grandness, ya know. Nothing to really ‘show’,” I told Jordan.

  “Really, I was just referring to my work station,” Jordan quipped as he tossed me a wink over his shoulder.

  I chuckled as he led Alexi to his computer superstation as I liked to call it on occasion.

  “I know this damn thing isn’t legal,” Alexi remarked as he looked at the multiple screens, not to mention printers and other equipment that was used for forging certain documents and whatnot.

  “Oh, some of it’s legal. Now, what I do with all of it… well, that’s questionable,” Jordan stated.

  “So, this is the cop?” Bishop asked as he came out of the upstairs bathroom. He made his way downstairs, then walked over to Alexi, hand out for a shake and his face fully exposed.

  Alexi cocked his head sideways, but shook the proffered hand. “And you are?”

  “You can call me Bishop and I go by the Black Knight,” Bishop said, not bothering to give Alexi his surname, which I g
uessed was smart. He was exposing enough as it was. But then again, he should since this was all his idea.

  “Ahhh, the Black Knight. I’ve heard of you,” Alexi said, nodded in acknowledgement.

  “Well, that’s good… I hope.” Bishop smiled.

  “It is. And you can call me Alexi. Unlike some vigilantes… ” Alexi paused to toss me a scolding look. “You haven’t taken the full extent of the law into your hands. Leaving justice to do its job.”

  Bishop nodded. “I try to help where I can.”

  “Oh, blow me,” I retorted.

  Alexi snorted. “Don’t be childish, Eric.”

  “Well, don’t be slick with the insults,” I shot back.

  My cop boyfriend, who I hoped wasn’t my ex, didn’t bother to respond to that. Instead he looked around my home more thoroughly, taking every detail in, I was sure. He then turned to me. “All right, Eric, why don’t you fill me in from the beginning.”

  I gestured to the sofa so we could get comfortable while I gave him the full story. Not just from the point of discovering the Killing Game, but from the moment I’d been Enhanced. He sipped three cups of coffee during my recount of events and when I had finally brought him up to date, he asked for something stronger than the coffee.

  “No can do, baby, I need you fully sober,” I said.

  “I can make you an expresso,” Jordan offered.

  Alexi pointed at him. “That’ll do, thank you.” He handed the coffee mug back to Jordan, who took it into the kitchen to work his magic.

  “So, now you know all about me being Enhanced and why I became a vigilante,” I said, and hoped he thought my motivation was noble enough to give me… give us a second chance.

  He nodded. “I do. You’ve had it rough, but you’ve made the best of it. I do admire that.”

  “To his credit, he’s used his abilities to save people,” Bishop said. “Me too.”

  “And what’s your story?” Alexi asked.

  “Well, I was actually born this way,” Bishop revealed, and that shocked the shit out of me.

  “Wait, what? You were born with the ability to read people’s minds and go invisible?” I blurted out.

  Bishop nodded. “Some of us are just born with these gifts. Of course, it has put us at risk from our governments who have found out. We’re very rare and we’ve been experimented on so the world’s governments and other secret terrorist cells can create the perfect super soldiers. Or whatever the fuck kind of magic they hope will make them the most powerful. Even when they inject humans like you with the serums they’ve created, it’s no guarantee the human survives. Most don’t. That’s why they thought you were a failed test.”

  I nodded, because that was exactly what had happened. They thought I had died and they buried my ass along with others who didn’t make it. I was the lucky one, but seeing as I’d been lied to, I knew better than to stick around.

  “So, what made you decide to use your abilities to become a vigilante?” Alexi asked.

  Alexi seemed to have a better hold on all this new information than I did. I was still reeling from finding out enhanced humans were born as well as created.

  “Like Eric, I wanted to do good. To use these gifts for a purpose more lofty than just parlor tricks.”

  “Meaning?” I asked, wanting to know what he’d been doing with his time prior to becoming a vigilante.

  He shrugged. “Before I became too famous, I used my ability to read people’s minds to pretend that I was a medium. That life felt cheap and I hated deceiving people, so one day, I just stopped. A week later, I got a job at a bank and discovered that the general manager was secretly robbing clients’ accounts. I got the evidence I needed to expose him and send him to jail. That didn’t feel cheap or empty. So, that’s when I decided to start fighting crime.”

  Alexi nodded and Bishop was done with his story in time for Jordan to return with that cup of expresso for my cop. He thanked Jordan, then took a sip and coughed. “Oh boy… that is… fucking strong,” he sputtered as he cleared his throat.

  “Oh no, did I make it too strong?” Jordan asked.

  After another cough, Alexi shook his head. “It’s fine. No worries.”

  “I can make you another cup.”

  “Really, it’s fine,” Alexi proclaimed.

  “J, why don’t you show Alexi what we have on the Killing Game thus far, and also the names Bishop was able to get us so he knows how vast this cesspool is.” I looked at Alexi. “And keep in mind, we’re still in the shallow end with these names.”

  Alexi nodded, then took another sip of the coffee that was obviously strong enough to put extra hair on his chest. Not that I was complaining about that. He rose from the sofa and followed Jordan back over to the computer. Bishop and I joined them and listened as Jordan went over the details he had gathered from our combined intel.

  “So, you three are meeting with Zia in Russia?” Alexi asked after being caught up even more.

  I nodded. “And you and J will be listening in.”

  Alexi looked at all the equipment I used for my missions and nodded approvingly. “You’ve certainly got the right shit. All military grade.”

  “Only thing I want for Christmas is a drone,” Jordan said.

  “Santa is working on that,” I said with a chuckle, then kissed Jordan’s temple. When I righted myself, I caught Alexi cocking an eyebrow at me. “What?”

  “Nothing,” he said dismissively.

  I realized what was going on and how my intimacy with Jordan had piqued his interest and maybe jealousy. “We are friends with benefits,” I admitted, getting it out in the open.

  “I’m not judging. You’ve been spying on me for months, you know who I’ve been fucking on rare occasions,” Alexi said.

  “I… never mind,” I said, letting my words fade.

  “What?”

  I looked around at the audience we had and took Alexi to an area across the way where I hoped they couldn’t hear us talking. “I hope we still have a salvageable relationship and can take it deeper,” I confessed.

  Alexi stared at me long enough for me to start to worry.

  “Like I said, never mind… we don’t have to think about that—” I rattled off before Alexi’s lips took control of mine, shutting me up. It was everything I was hoping, that we still had something between us. Then a snake of doubt slithered its way into my thoughts. What if this was a kiss goodbye? Oh god, I hoped not.

  Alexi pulled away and I opened my eyes to look at the man I’d fallen in love with. “I love you, too, Eric. I’m not going to stand here and pretend that I understand how you can be this amazing, kind, generous, funny, and frankly, normal human being and do what you do in the shadows. How some part of you must shut down to let that sleeping dragon inside rise and burn shit to cinders. How you can just turn off your humanity and kill.”

  “Yeah, I get it,” I commented, because he really was going on. “Honestly, I can’t fully explain it either. I just know I do what I think is fair. These people get what they deserve, Alexi. And I’m the only who can make sure that happens. I believe it is my humanity that gives me the drive to do what I do.”

  “So… you don’t always have a murderous urge?” Alexi asked, still trying to get a handle on who I was.

  I shook my head. “No. And I don’t always kill people committing crimes. Just the ones that bring it on themselves. I don’t know.” I shrugged both shoulders. “When I’m in that moment of judgment, I’m not conflicted. I know what I’m doing is right. With them dead, many others will live.”

  Alexi sighed and wiped at his eyebrow, then looked at me when he was done. “I don’t know what the future holds for us. I just know I need time. But this isn’t us breaking up, that much I’m sure of. I just need time to process it all.”

  I nodded. That answer was better than “no” in any case, so I accepted it. “I’ll give you all the time you need.” I hugged him and he hugged me back and that was good. When I released him, I kissed him a
nd he didn’t turn away. Another good sign. “In the meantime, I want you to meet Richard Tate.”

  “I’ve been wanting to meet him, but before you introduce us, maybe we can use me as a resource to get information,” Alexi said.

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “He doesn’t know about me. We can have Bishop join me as he goes invisible and touches Richard. I’ll ask Richard some questions, Bishop reads his mind for the real answers,” Alexi said.

  Holy shit. That was a great idea. “But that means he’ll see your face,” I pointed out cautiously.

  “He’ll see your faces tomorrow as you’re pretending to be his bodyguards,” Alexi said.

  “This may work to get us the information he’s been heavily guarding,” Bishop chimed in.

  “How long have you been listening to us?” I asked him.

  Bishop held up both hands. “Only got closer to the convo when I heard my name mentioned. I swear, I wasn’t eavesdropping on your little private moment.”

  I rolled my eyes and decided to let it go. “Again, he’ll see your face. You’re a cop, I don’t want him exposing you.”

  “Mind if I chime in?” Jordan stated.

  “Sure, what you got?” I asked.

  “Alexi uses the comm to communicate what he wants to ask into your ear. You pretend to be someone else, one of those asshole criminals you took down. Someone Richard probably wouldn’t give two shits about. That way, if he sees your face, it doesn’t matter,” Jordan said, proving why he was the brains of our operation.

  “Why don’t I just use the face Richard is used to seeing?” I asked, not understanding why I needed to take on a new form if Alexi wasn’t going to expose himself.

  “Because, Eric, he’s guarded himself against you. He’s guarded himself against Bishop. You need to be someone else, someone he thinks is here to help him. That might prompt him to lower that guard and you’ll be able to get answers to questions you couldn’t get before,” Jordan said.

  “This sounds like a solid plan,” Alexi pointed out.