Call My Bluff

by Elizabeth Knox

  I pull back and gaze into her eyes. I have no right to ask this. Her life is here. I barely know her. But there’s something about Ember that makes me want to be better. To make this world better for her.

  “Ember, you need a job,” I say matter-of-factly.

  “Ah, yeah, we’ve established that.”

  “How do you feel about Chicago?”

  Her eyes widen. “It’s windy, why?”

  “Phoenix, I’m not ready to say goodbye to you yet. What do you think about coming to Chicago, and we can work on finding you a job? The club has a ton of places where we could employ you, or I’m sure there’s a casino that will take on someone with your… talents.” I waggle my brows.

  Her eyes widen. “While that sounds tempting, I have nowhere to live, Viper.”

  “You can live at the club, or I’ll get you a place. Semantics. All I know is I want you back in Chicago with me. What do you say?”

  Ember’s eyes light up, the gold shining through the brightest I’ve ever seen as she lunges at me, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Yes. Yes, Viper, I say yes. Hell, yes, I’m going to Chicago!”

  Thrusting forward, I kiss her for all she’s worth.

  I thought this trip was going to end in war, that vengeance was the point in all of this. Turns out vengeance was never the key factor—it was love.

  Or at least the possibility of love.

  Vex and Izzy are happily married.

  Nio and Grace are dating.

  And as for me, I’m bringing a phoenix home to light my fire.

  The next generation might be doing things a little differently as in love, not war.

  But the one thing I know for sure, Chicago’s definitely starting to look up.

  The End

  Go back to the beginning…

  The Defiance MC Series

  BLURB

  We’re brothers.

  Bound together, not by blood but by grit.

  Our club - constantly under siege by mafia, yakuza, or from our broken pasts.

  Our loyalty - strong, but only to those who remain true.

  Even through the chaos, we find hope.

  Hope for a better tomorrow.

  One where we’re not constantly at war. Fighting until the bitter end - for freedom or blood. Whichever comes first.

  Through the carnage, a glimmer shines.

  A spark of new life, of love.

  These stories aren’t merely about brothers, love and family—they’re about chaos, betrayal, conflict and turmoil.

  Life—it’s worth living.

  Because we are Defiance.

  Find out more in the Chicago Defiance Series Books or Box Set.

  Resistance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 1

  Penance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 2

  Deviance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 3

  Sufferance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 4

  Acceptance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 5

  Balance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 6

  Defiance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 7

  Allegiance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 8

  Chicago Defiance Box Set

  Like your books in audio?

  Resistance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Audiobook 1

  Penance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Audiobook 2

  Deviance – The Chicago Defiance MC Series Audiobook 3

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  About the Author

  K E Osborn

  With a flair for all things creative, International Bestselling Author K E Osborn, is drawn to the written word. Exciting worlds and characters flow through her veins, coming to life on the page as she laughs, cries, and becomes enveloped in the storyline right along with you. She’s entirely at home when writing sassy heroines and alpha males that rise from the ashes of their pasts.

  K E Osborn comforts herself with tea and Netflix, after all, who doesn’t love a good binge?

  Turn lust into love at www.keosbornauthor.com

  Played With A Made Man

  Rae B. Lake

  Acknowledgement

  To my own made man, you keep me strong and making sure that I know my worth. Thank you for always being there for me and helping me keep my eyes on the prize.

  To my gorgeous girls, never forget your worth. You are both priceless. Stay strong even when it feels like the entire world is crumbling around you.

  To my readers, family and friends, I can’t wait for you guys to dive into my take on the Croatian Mob. Thank you all for staying with me on this journey and I hope you enjoy this story!

  Chapter One

  Kaja

  I couldn’t believe it; I look down at my hand. Two Kings peeking up at me, I would wait for the river but I was sure with the third King already showing that I had this hand in my pocket. My pile of chips was impressive but at an 8-man table I was surprised that I didn’t have more.

  I looked over toward Alexis, his pile never seemed to dwindle even when he lost, it was almost as if he had a never-ending supply of chips. I was determined to knock him out of the ring. He was arrogant, a showboat and he didn’t show me any respect. I was a made man, he should have been licking the shit off my designer A. Testoni lace ups.

  The river ran, four of hearts, it did nothing for me and honestly nothing for anyone else.

  I waited my turn and flipped over my cards to show my winning hand. There was a round of groans and cursing but it was Alexis Nicol Sr. who really made a show of losing.

  “ Motherfuck boy, you are riding high off that beginner’s luck ain’t you.” He smiled and pushed the far end of my winning pot toward me. I collected it without a word to him, something about him was off but as long as I was winning, I wasn’t going to engage him.

  “Look at that sexy ass, I wonder what it would look like with my cock shoved deep in it.” One of the players said on the other side of the room. It was loud enough for me to hear every word and to garner my attention. I turned to see a woman cringing away from his grip. It was evident that she didn’t want to be touched but she didn’t say a word. It was none of my business but something about her held my eye. Her hair was long but stringy looking, and I could see the green brown looking bruise on her face from here. This girl was not being taken care of. Again, it was none of my business but the more I tried to look away from her and focus on the game in front of me the more I felt the need to stare at the beautiful woman.

  “You in or what?” Alexis asked drawing my attention back to what I was supposed to be doing, His son sat to his side peering every so often over his father’s shoulder, taking tips, I guess.

  I threw my hand in, a deuce and a five, it wasn’t going to cut it. Not at this table.

  I watched the woman again; she was serving drinks. I put my hand up to get her attention and slowly she made her way in my direction. She looked down at the table I was sitting at and for some reason she hesitated and watched the hand being played. She shook her head slowly and c
ontinued on her way to where I was.

  Alexis Sr. leaned over in the chair and smacked the woman hard on the ass causing the few drinks that she did have on the tray to slosh back and forth spilling some liquid on her top. “Why don’t you get under this table here, I am sure you give better service on your knees.” He laughed loud and his son joined in on humiliating the poor woman. She turned slightly toward Alexis and I could tell by her body language that she wanted to speak out but she didn’t say a word. She turned back in my direction and continued to walk toward me. She leaned down in front of me and placed a cup of dark liquor on the table.

  On a whisper I heard her say, ‘guarda le sue mani’ she stood up and went about her business. I was tempted to ask her what she said but the fact that she whispered it to me made me think that maybe she was trying to pull my coattail about something. I knew when to keep my cards close to my chest. The only problem was I knew very little in Italian, just enough to recognize it. I placed my idle hands on the tabletop and watched as the rest of the men continued to play. After a second of trying to interpret what the woman said I gave up and went to my technology. What was the point of having computers in our pockets if we didn’t use them? I pulled out my phone and opened up google, I heard her say something about sue mani, did that mean something about my hand? I typed in what I thought was the correct way to spell what she said and of course it popped up that it was in Italian. Some of the translations were a bit off but all the ones that made sense said the same thing. Watch his hands.

  I immediately looked over to where the beautiful woman was busy handing out drinks and trying to stop people from fondling her. She was telling me that someone was playing me for a fool. Part of me wanted to bring what was going on to Felix’s attention but there was no way that I was just going to sit back and let anyone make me look like a jackass. No, I would find out what was going on, one way or the other.

  Chapter Two

  Sabina

  I wasn’t built for this, not in the least, but if the alternative was death, I would take it. My entire family were gamblers. Craps, blackjack, poker you name it and we played it. Some of us were better than others. My brother, for instance, was shit when it came to blackjack, unfortunately, that was the reason that I was here. My brother was deep in debt with Felix but instead of killing him, Felix offered a once in a lifetime deal five years hard labor and the seventy-five-thousand-dollar debt would be clear. He split the time between myself and my brother two and a half years for him and the same for me. No one told me that hard labor basically meant that I was his slave. He could loan me out whenever he wished and people did whatever they wanted with me for as long as they wanted. I had 18 months left on my half of the five years and so did my brother. It was the only thing that kept me from running away. I knew that if I did, he would take it out on Stefan and I couldn’t have that.

  Even though the boy got me in more trouble than I knew what to do with he was still my brother.

  I turned my head as one of the men at the big spenders table raised his hand to get my attention. He was new, he had to be. Most of the folks that Felix got to participate in his games were seedy and disgusting individuals. I could tell just by how this man was dressed that he was none of the sort. I walked around the table but I had to stop along the way.

  I was a master at poker, as good as anyone could get but what I was even better at was cheating. Alexis was cheating and no one seemed to notice. Either he was palming the chips or there was something inside his sleeve that was grabbing up some chips on the table. I distinctly watched him slam down ten hundred-dollar chips but when he pushed the pile to the winner only six remained. If he stole on every hand there was no way for him to lose, it was a good trick but it was the wrong company. If he was caught, they would beat him down. I shook my head and continued on my way. It wasn’t any of my business.

  *Smack*

  I tried to steady myself and not reach behind myself and rub my backside. Someone had just smacked me hard on my ass. Several of the drinks I had on the tray threatened to tip over but luckily only a small amount splashed on my shirt.

  “Why don’t you get under this table here, I am sure you give better service on your knees.”

  Alexis Nicol Sr. laughed loud and peered at me waiting for me to talk back. He knew I would be punished if I did. I had been loaned to both Alexis Sr. and Junior on several occasions. It wasn’t something that I ever wanted to experience again. I glared at him for a second, everything in my body wanting to just throw one of those drinks right in his slimy face, but I turned back to walk toward the man that was waiting for my attention.

  Suddenly as I got closer to the meticulously dressed man a dangerous and risky idea popped in my head. I couldn’t call Alexis out on my own, but if one of the other players were to see him cheating that would be a whole different beast. It would be a bit of payback to see him get his ass beat after humiliating me this time and every time before.

  I bent down to the man in front of me dropping off a cup of Jack Daniels, “Guarda le sue mani”. I watched him look up at me for a second, I shuttered slightly. His eyes were clear blue and piercing and not in a dreamy sort of way, more of a I will kill you where you stand sort of way. I could tell that he was confused and probably didn’t speak a lick of Italian but I could only hope that he would either let it go completely or try and figure it out somehow. I turned away from him and as calmly as I could manage, I walked away to tend to the next person that needed something to drink. I watched the beautiful man fold his hand and take out his phone. Outside conversations were not usually permitted at the table but phones were not taken away. I gave out a few more drinks and every once in a while I would glance over to the man trying to see if anything was happening. The longer it took the more foolish I had begun to feel about giving the tip. What if he told Felix that I was trying to get one of the players in trouble? What if he was in on it with Alexis? I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach. This was such a silly thing to do, I knew what to expect when I waited tables at one of Felix’s parties. Getting my ass slapped shouldn’t have made me react in such a way.

  I looked back over to the man, he shoved his phone back into his pocket and glanced over to me quickly before staring at the hands of the men at the table. He figured it out. He figured it out and instead of getting Felix involved he was trying to figure it out on his own.

  I breathed a sigh of relief; he wasn’t in on it and he wasn’t going to tell Felix. Maybe it would be ok. I could only pray that it was, I don’t think I could make it if Felix decided that I was to make amends with Alexis tonight. I just couldn’t stomach it.

  Finally, as the last hand was completed and Alexis pushed the pot over to the winner I watched as the man I gave the tip to zoned in on his hands. He was noticing it. It was only a matter of time now before he would see that he was being cheated. I just hoped whatever he did after that didn’t involve me.

  Chapter Three

  Kaja

  Something was wrong, Alexis’ winnings never seemed to dwindle. I watched him lose the last six hands all with big bets and his pot didn’t seem like it was getting any smaller. I prided myself on being observant and tactical. I had to make sure that he was cheating before I shot him in the fucking face. I would not be disrespected ever, especially not by no old two-bit cheat. If he was indeed cheating me, he would be a dead man before the night was over.

  “You see this is how you play; poker is a man’s game.” Alexis said loudly leaning over to where his son was sitting and showing him his cards. I plucked up the corner of my cards and saw that I was sitting on an Ace and a queen; the jack and the king were already on the table. A seven of spades and a shitty three of clubs were showing. I called everything he called; I watched the chips that he threw out. He was already up to $2200 in chips. The river turned and it was my ten of clubs. I had a straight. He turned over his hand and he had three of a kind, a good hand but not enough to beat me. I turned over my hand.

  “
Ah, you little fuck, you should have bet much more with a hand like that.” he shrugged and looked over to his son, “That’s a novice for ya.” He then pushed his side of the pot over toward me and I watched every second of it. He used the butt of his hand to move the entire pot leaving only a small space between the felt of the tabletop and his hands, but when he retracted he did so with palms facing down. His $2200 in chips suddenly became $1400.

  The fucking bastard was skimming chips.

  I jumped up from my seat, nearly jumping over the table and grabbed his arm before he could put it all the way down. I didn’t want him to throw the chips on the floor and call it an accident. I wanted to catch him quite literally with the trick up his sleeve. I pulled him out of his chair and into a standing position.

  “Hey, what the fuck do you think you are doing?” His son grabbed onto his father and everyone around the table got up. This was the last place that I wanted to have a shootout but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t. I would shoot every one of these fucks if it meant that I would protect my honor and my respect.