Page 34 of Chasing Kings

Don’t give him any money, her inner voice chided, but she tried to shut it out, even though all signs pointed to that being the root of this whole situation.

“I owe someone a lot of money.”

Yup, just like she’d feared.

“I don’t have any money, Ethan. I’m not rich.” She racked her brain, trying to fathom some way she might be able to help, but she didn’t have that kind of money.

He shook his head, but the movement seemed to hurt him. “No, no. I don’t need your money. I need to get money, and I need your help, but I’m not asking you to give me anything.”

Sam leaned against the bathroom counter and regarded him with careful consideration. She wanted to go to him, hold him and solve his problem in any way she could. But if trouble were baseball, Sam was batting in the minors and Julian and his thugs were in the All-Star game.

“How can I help? If I can help.”

Ethan raked one wide palm through his hair, the dark curls seeming more wild and unruly than ever before, giving him an unhinged and dangerous appeal. A traitorous twinge made her lady parts tingle, but she tamped it down to focus on the issue at hand.

“Do you know anything about playing poker?” he asked.

“Poker? Are you serious? Like…Texas Hold ’Em? Seven-Card Stud? That sort of thing?”

“Yeah.”

“I know my ex spent a lot of unnecessary time online playing it, but otherwise I don’t know much at all. What does this have to do with anything? Do you have a gambling debt?”

He ignored her question and asked, “Have you ever played?”

“Once or twice, in college.”

“Do you think if I showed you a few things you might be able to play a hand or two?”

Now the nagging suspicions that had been starting to quiet down came bubbling back to the surface at a hard boil. Something was definitely weird about what he was asking her. He needed money, but he wanted her to play poker? And why wasn’t he telling her anything?

“You want me to play poker for you? I assume to win you whatever money you need?”

“Yes.”

“Here’s a question for you. Why couldn’t you play poker for yourself?”

Ethan made a face and averted his gaze, as if he couldn’t decide whether to tell her the truth or make up a believable lie on the spot.

“I can’t go into the casinos.”

“Why not?”

“Because the man I owe money to has made sure it’s not an option for me.”

“The guy from the MGM? Julian? Yeah, he seems like a really fair guy to be indebted to. How much do you owe him? And why?”

“Ten thousand dollars.”

Sam let out her breath in a whoosh. Her old Corolla at home wasn’t worth ten grand. The down payment on her little house had barely been more than that when she’d bought it five years earlier. What in God’s name had Ethan needed money for so badly he would borrow it from a guy who was, well…a douchebag?

“What was the money for? Was it for drugs? I’m not going to help you if I’m paying off your drug dealer.”

“I’m clean, I swear to God. There’s a chance the money ended up buying drugs, but that wasn’t why I borrowed it.”

“Tell me why, and maybe I’ll help.”

“It was for a production investment. Kelly—the other Samantha Hart, that’s her real name—she said she had a sure-fire plan if we could get the money ASAP. I should have known better. Kelly has had…problems. But I never thought she’d fuck off with my money and leave me in a lurch. Anyway, I was supposed to have more time to pay this guy off, but he’s calling it in now, and if I don’t get him his cash…he owns me.”

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