Free #LUCKY (The Empire Series Book 2) by Nicole Hite Page A

should be asking you the same. I got a call from someone telling me to be here to find out. I can see you are occupied." Looking toward Demi, "I guess this relationship really is complicated."
        "Sweetheart, you have no idea what you're talking about," Demi snickered.
        "What? Is it just sex? Is that all I was, too?" Sam questioned as the fury rose in her chest.
        "Sam, it was never just about sex with us."
        "Let her come up and find out what is going on," Demi offered with a smirk.
        "I tried to keep you as far away from this as possible. I’m so sorry. Take my hand, darlin'," questioning her sanity the entire flight up the staircase, Sam huffed in defeat.
        As they approached the first private room, Demi knocked on the door. Meeting her gaze was a giant bouncer.
        "Demi," he acknowledged.
        What she saw next was not at all what she was expecting.

8
    “You gotta know when hold em, know when to fold em.”
    E ntering the room , Sam was immediately overwhelmed by smoke, and stench of alcohol. In the center of the room was a giant, green, half-moon shaped table, and five chairs.
    "What the fuck is going on here? Are you gambling illegally? Is this why you've been ignoring me and forcing me away?"
    "Ashley over there...," Declan pointed to a beautiful redhead women snuggled up to Demi Pepper herself. "...Runs this circuit. Whenever there's a game, Demi let's me know, and I go to whatever location is designated. We alternate the location in order to eliminate getting caught."
    "You tell anyone, and you can kiss that interview goodbye. If you try to publish it, I'll sue your ass so quick, it will make your head spin," Demi threatened.
    Pulling Sam into his side, he whispered into to ear. "I owe Ashley a lot of money, Sam. I needed cash desperately when I got out of college. I had just taken a job at Beckley, and could barely pay rent, let alone my student loans. I was doing really well for a long time until everything started to go downhill. That's the real reason Megan left me. She didn't want to be seen with a broke loser, so instead of breaking it off, she went off with some other chump."
    Sam's heart crumbled listening to Declan's story. Thankfully he wasn't off fucking some girl, but he still had a lot of issues -concerns she wanted to work on with him. He didn't deserve to go through this by himself.
    "How much do you owe, Dec?" Sam asked in a tiny voice.
    "Almost fifty grand," he grimaced.
    "I can tap into my trust fund and we can get you out of this right now. Walk away with no strings attached," she offered.
    "I can't let you do that, darlin'. This is my mess. I need to get myself out of it. You don't deserve to be dragged into it," he said, brushing her pink cheek, and kissing her forehead.
    "What happens if you lose tonight?" Sam looked at him apprehensively as she ran her hand across his chest.
    "I'm...I'm not exactly sure," he fumbled. "Something tells me those guys over there will have a say in the matter," he stated as he nodded to the beefy bouncers guarding the doors staring at Sami and Dec.
    Ashley was staring, too - scanning Sam from head to toe, licking her lips at her obvious interest. Clearly, Ashley had intentions of her own, which had nothing to do with Demi. A shiver ran down Sam's spine thinking at the annihilation Ashley could bring. She was beautiful, but Sam could tell she could bring the pain, whether from her own fists, or from her bouncers. One way or another, she was going to get what she wanted.
    "Fine, but if things start to go south you are pulling out. Deal?" Sam looked at Declan with sorrow in her eyes, horrified as to what would happen if he lost everything. She couldn't bear to see anything happen to him.
    "Deal," he leaned in and gave her the deepest kiss he could muster. Sam felt it all the way to her toes the way he took control of their hunger.
    "Are we going to sit around all night watching this ridiculous display, or are we going to