The Gamble
Author: Eve Carter
Book Description
Cam
I love the game. It's my life, my dream, and today I put my name in for the NFL Draft picks this year. That's right. I'm quitting college as a junior. A degree can wait. My dream can't.
Sure, this is a gamble but if I wait, I could get injured or worse, meet a chick.
So I made rules. No girls. No relationships. Absolutely, nothing to come between the NFL and me.
Piece of cake, right?
I thought so too, but then I met Allie on a spring break road trip with my best bud, AJ.
They say every superhero has his kryptonite. Well, Allie Artemis may very well be my downfall. Sexy lips and long dark hair makes her the biggest gamble of all. My career is on the line and a relationship could ruin every chance I have with the NFL.
Allie
Most people don't wake up one day and say: Hey, I want a crazy life running away from my past. Well, I'm not most people. Some call me hard-core but don't let my attitude fool you. It's just a self-defense mechanism. I'm really hurting inside. With my life crashing down around me, I have to find a way out. I never asked Cam Landsborough to save me but he sure looked like a superhero that night.
I don't usually take risks, but I figured there was a decent chance that Cam could be my ticket to freedom. I know, it's a gamble, but what other choice do I have? Call me a gold digger if you like, but I prefer the term "escape artist".
Don't miss The Gamble, Eve Carter's latest bad boy romance.
Cam
"Brake!" I screamed. "Jesus-fuck AJ, BRAKE!"
My life flashed before my eyes, or at least I thought it did. The words and a massive adrenaline spike burst at the same time.
"Fuuck!"
Just my luck. I'm gonna die before I have the chance to make it to the NFL Draft picks.
A behemoth of a semi-truck just swerved inches from the front of our car, cutting us off, barely missing the left front bumper. AJ yanked the wheel and the car jerked to the right. Without thinking, I threw my hands out against the dashboard to brace myself, but the seatbelt cut into my shoulder and stopped me. I was left flapping my arms in front of me like two spaghetti noodles. I looked like an idiot, but at least I had good reflexes.
Then there was a loud pop, the kind of sound that makes your heart leap into your throat.
"Fuck!" AJ repeated my sentiments, followed by a litany of foul language as he wrestled the wheel to straighten the car. "Dumb, motherfucker, goddamn, son of a bitch!"
I held on as the car swerved, zigzagging down the road, until AJ managed to muscle it to the side. Our small compact came to a crunching stop when the tires hit loose gravel on the shoulder of the interstate we'd been driving on for the past several hours.
My friend took a break from his expletives long enough to say, "My fucking tire just blew!"
Why am I not surprised? He'd been driving like a bat out of hell ever since we left campus. You'd think we were on some kind of road race, instead of heading to Vegas for spring break. The old car, and the tires, probably baked dry as a raisin, couldn't handle the hot pavement. No wonder it blew.
Ever since I'd submitted my declaration for the draft list for the NFL, I figured I was on my way to realizing my big dream. I couldn't afford to have anything, or anyone, jeopardize it now. Maybe spring break in Vegas wasn't such a good idea after all.
I turned to AJ, my body still wired on adrenaline and said, "What the fuck, man? You tryin' to kill me?"
"Mother fucking, fuck, fuck, fuck!" AJ punctuated the last three words, pounding a fist on the steering wheel.
As usual, he was overreacting. It was just a flat tire. No biggy.
I shot him a sidelong glance. "What the hell, man? Do you have Tourette's?"
"Fuck, yeah!" He blew out a breath, trying to shake off the frustration, and ran a hand through his hair. "Traffic induced Tourette's."
"You're an asshole." I grinned. Now that I wasn't dying and we were both actually okay, I found my friend's tantrum rather comical for being such a burly football player. "Man up," I said. "Don't be such a pussy."
"Right back at ya, bro."
AJ clicked off his seatbelt and jumped out of the car to go check the tire.
I did the same and kicked open the passenger door. An unwelcome blast of hot desert air nearly hit me back in the face when I stepped out to join AJ. He was standing at the front right corner of the car, hands on his hips, staring at the tire and shaking his head.
"Well, you're crappy, piece of shit car has done it again," I said, walking up to join him. "Get many chicks with this ghetto ride?"