Sinful Empire (The Anti-Heroes Collection Book 3)

by Meghan March

  My gaze darts from the giant diamond to her face. Studying her makeup-free features, it finally hits me. “You’re Tana Vines.”

  Tana Vines was the Female Country Artist of the Year about ten years back, and her husband was awarded Entertainer of the Year at least four or five times during that time. They’re country music legends. A true power couple.

  She holds out her hand and I shake it, operating purely on instinct.

  “Yes, I am,” she says. “It’s nice to meet you, Holly Wix.”

  Two bottles of wine later, Tana and I lay sprawled on chaise lounges beside her indoor pool. Behind the gated walls, and in the presence of someone I listened to on the radio in junior high, I finally have a chance to unburden all the crap that has been filling my head for months.

  “Six more months? That’s a hell of a long time to put up with JC’s bullshit. Not to mention keeping your own legs closed. Good Lord, girl. Aren’t you dying to get some dick?” Tana asked.

  An embarrassed laugh escapes my lips. “Um, I’ve been pretty preoccupied with learning the ropes, I guess.”

  “Well, shit. I’d be dying for dick.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my position with the label. I have a feeling that if my picture ended up in the paper the way JC’s has, the double standards would have me out on my butt so fast, I couldn’t even yell ‘Bingo!’ first.”

  Tana rolls onto her side and faces me. “That’s probably the truth, but it don’t make it fair. The only reason they’re covering his ass is the shelf of awards he’s got from five years ago, and all the money they’ve got invested in him. You’re the perfect image booster. But you’re right—you’re expendable if you step out of line.”

  I already looked up to Tana as a country idol, but now I have to say I have a bit of a girl crush. She doesn’t sugarcoat anything, and it’s refreshing in this world of people who say one thing and mean something completely different.

  “Who’s expendable?”

  A deep voice echoes through the pool room as Mick Vines walks in. The man—a living country legend—picks up one of the empty bottles on the table between our lounge chairs. “And damn, Tana. I’ve been lookin’ for you for a half hour.”

  “Gemma knew where I was.” Gemma, I learned, was Tana and Mick’s live-in nanny.

  Tana sits up as Mick sets the bottle down and leans over to press a kiss to her lips.

  “There. Been lookin’ for that. My little bit a sugar.”

  I turn my head away as Tana wraps her hand around the back of his neck and pulls him in for another kiss, this one not nearly so innocent. She doesn’t seem to care that I’m intruding on their intimate moment. And it’s a moment that makes me wish even more that I wasn’t trapped in this mess.

  Not that I’m looking for what they have—because I’m truly not. I’m not looking for that kind of happily-ever-after for a good five or ten years. I’m too young for that, and my focus is on my career, exactly where it’s supposed to be when you’re standing on the edge of achieving the dream you’ve had since you were ten years old.

  But even on that edge, I’m still only a puppet with the label pulling the strings. Six months in, and I’m already sick and tired of being yanked in the directions they want me to go. What could I accomplish if only I could cut those tethers and come into my own? But slicing those ties would mean sacrificing what I’ve already accomplished, and that’s not an option.

  Mick stands tall again and notices me for the first time. “Who’s our guest, babe?”

  It’s much less of a surprise that he doesn’t recognize me than it was for Tana to make the connection. Honestly, I’m still a nobody in this industry. I’m working my tail off on becoming a somebody, and I’ve got fans, but to someone at Mick Vines’s level, I’ll always be a nobody.

  I smile and hold out my hand. “Holly Wix.”

  His eyes narrow as he shakes my outstretched hand. “I’ve heard your name. Why have I heard your name?”

  I’m stunned that there’s even a hint of recognition in him. My stomach turns in big flopping waves, and Tana jumps in, saving me from bumbling whatever explanation is about to fall from my lips.

  “I picked up Holly in the checkout line while we bonded over how much it blows to see yourself on the front of a gossip rag.”

  Mick’s gaze narrows further before it lights with knowledge. “Wix. You’re the hot young thing JC Hughes has on his arm these days.”

  I cringe at the description, because that’s not how I want to be known. But that’s what happens when you sign a deal with the devil.

  Tana slaps his thigh from her seated position. “And she’s touring with Boone Thrasher because she’s the hottest new talent to hit the stage since Carrie and Miranda.”

  Her adamant statement throws me for a loop, and those nervous waves in my belly glimmer with pride.

  Mick rocks back on the heels of his tooled black leather boots. “Ain’t heard her sing yet, but I’ve sure seen her picture.”

  I wince, pride doused.

  “And that’s the problem. The label has backed her into a corner, and they’ve made the JC situation a requirement. She can’t get out of it,” Tana explains.

  Mick studies me. “Who you with, girl?”

  “Homegrown. They signed me when I won Country Dreams.”

  “Ah.” Mick nods twice. “Now I know where I first heard your name. And you probably signed a devil’s bargain to get your ‘million-dollar recording contract’ after you won.”

  It isn’t even a question. Mick knows how the game is played.

  “It was that or keep working at a bowling alley in BFE, Kentucky, and never taking my shot. At least this got me to Nashville.”

  He raises a hand. “No need to get defensive. I’m not judging. We all take the route we need to take to get here, but that means living with the consequences. How long are you stuck with this JC bullshit? I’m assuming you have to suck it up and smile on his arm to help shine up his image and get some good press. Besides, we all know he’s been on the edge of casino-playing retirement for a more than a few years now.”

  Dang. Mick really does know how the game is played. I guess you couldn’t be in Nashville as long as he has without learning all the pitfalls.

  “Six months,” Tana offers. “And it’s not like when our managers hooked us up. JC doesn’t seem to care either way if he hurts Holly’s career.”

  I swivel my head around to stare at Tana. “I didn’t know that you . . .” I glance back to Mick. “Really? Your relationship started out as a publicity stunt?”

  Tana laughs. “Of course it did. Why else do you think I’d get involved with such a man-whore? I needed some street cred, and he was getting all the wrong kinds of press for sleeping with everything with tits.”

  “Jesus, baby. That’s ancient history—and we kept that shit quiet for a reason.”

  “I’m just saying that sometimes it actually works out fine,” Tana says.

  Mick shakes his head. “Back to the point of this conversation.” Aiming his stare at me, he continues. “You could be fucked in six months if JC keeps this shit up. You’ve got sympathy on your side right now, but if you keep laying down and taking it, you’re just going to look like a fool.”

  Tana slaps his thigh again. “Not helping.”

  Her husband reaches down and grabs her hand. “Quit, woman, or I’ll spank your ass even harder tonight.”

  Tana’s face flushes a bright red, and I decide to let the comment go without trying to figure out exactly what they’re talking about.

  Mick releases her hand and grabs the magazine shoved between the wine bottles. “This the rag with the cheating dick?”

  Shaking her head, Tana grabs it from his hand. “Nope, that’s the one with the hot billionaire dick I’m going to marry if you decide to leave me for some country starlet.”

  I catch a glimpse of the cover. It’s a copy of Forbes, and there’s a stupidly handsome dark-haired man on
the cover.

  The headline reads: Creighton Karas Crushes Competition.

  “What are you talking about, woman? You’d bury me out back if I so much as looked at another woman,” Mick grumbles.

  Tana’s lyrical laugh echoes off the walls. “Damn right, and don’t you forget it.”

  I snatch the magazine out of his hand to get a closer look.

  “Whoa, girl. Calm down.”

  I wave him off, the wine dulling the instincts that would otherwise have me continuing to bow and scrape in his country-music royalty presence.

  “Shhh. I need to look at him.” I’m not sure why I need silence to do that, but apparently the large bottle of wine I drank says I do.

  The man is gorgeous, but he looks cocky and arrogant. I flip the magazine open and page through it until I find another picture of him.

  I win because losing isn’t an option.

  —Creighton Karas

  I know I’m truly drunk when the only thought filtering through my brain is how much I’d like to be his prize when he’s winning. Where the hell did that come from? And like I’d even know what to do with a man like that. He’s so far out of my league, it’s not even funny.

  I glance over at Mick and Tana, who are once again locked in a tangle of lips and limbs.

  And . . . that’s my cue to leave.

  I slap the magazine shut and rise on shaky legs. “I should probably get going.”

  Tana pulls away from Mick and raises an eyebrow in my direction. “Honey, you ain’t driving anywhere. I’ll go make up a guest room. It’s the very least I can do since I got you shitfaced.”

  “Not necessary. I should get home. I have . . . a plant that needs water. Or something.”

  I squint because I can’t remember if my plant is dead or alive. I haven’t watered it in as long as I can remember. Apparently I’m thinking too hard about plants, which might be alive or dead, and not concentrating on my balance because I tip forward.

  Mick catches me with an outstretched palm. “Come on, honey. We’re putting you up tonight. Won’t hear anything different.”

  He turns me around and marches me toward the door that leads into the sprawling mansion. “Besides, it seems like someone needs to take you under their wing so you don’t get chewed up and spit out by this bitch of an industry. My wife isn’t exactly the type to bring home strays, so she must’ve seen something in you needing a little protection. We’re gonna make sure you have it.”

  My eyes burn, and I blink back the unexpected tears. I’ve been in this town for six months, essentially friendless, and in one night I’ve apparently been adopted by two people I never thought I would ever have a chance to meet.

  “G’night, Holly. I’ll see you in the morning, sweets,” Tana calls from behind me.

  Apart from those blissful moments standing onstage, for the first time in months I have a genuine smile on my face, and I feel like I belong somewhere.

  It doesn’t last long.

  Claim your free copy of Dirty Billionaire by clicking here.

  Acknowledgments

  I knew Mount and Keira’s story was special when Mount stormed into my brain in October 2016 and took up residence. He was demanding. Commanding. Consuming. When it was finally his turn, he flipped my world on its head by unleashing an even more epic story than I knew was coming. I knew within three days of drafting that there was no way this could be contained in one book. I poured my heart and soul and every raw emotion into this project, and it almost broke me. One thing is for certain—I couldn’t have done this alone. Every book takes a village, but this story took an army.

  Although I usually save him for last, I have to thank my incredible man for holding all the pieces of me together when I was falling apart due to lack of sleep, deadline stress, and the twists and turns of the most intense plot I’ve ever conquered. He’s my biggest cheerleader and greatest strength. Thank you, JDW, for all that you do. I love you so much.

  Angela Smith – Wow. We rocked what seemed like the impossible task. Thank you for being there every step of the way as I worked my way through this story. You are truly an amazing woman, and I am so grateful to have you on my team and as a cherished friend.

  My JJL Crew – You gave me the pep talks to end all pep talks, especially Mo, to get my ass in gear and finish this book when I thought it would break me. We can never, ever break up. Love you all.

  Pam Berehulke – As always, you are the calm in the tempestuous storm of my ever-changing schedule. Please, please, never stop doing what you do. I absolutely love working with you on every project we tackle. Thank you so much for your attention to detail and flawless professionalism.

  Danielle Sanchez – Even when my creative muse decides to disrupt all of our best-laid plans, you adapt and change as quickly as I do. Thank you for your support and ideas and encouragement.

  Jamie Lynn – I can’t thank you enough for keeping me sane and holding down the fort when I disappear into the dark depths of the writing cave. I am so lucky to have you on my team, and I can’t wait to see where we go next!

  Kim and Natasha – Thank you for being extraordinary beta readers and helping me make sure Mount and Keira’s story was everything I hoped it could be. Your time is a gift, and I appreciate it more than you know.

  Julie Deaton and Michelle Lim – You are my rock-star proofreaders! Thank you for your eagle eyes and fabulously fast turnaround!

  Letitia Hassar – When one cover morphed into three, you rocked amazing designs. Thank you for your creativity and skills!

  Sara Eirew – Thank you for capturing the perfect images for this trilogy!

  Connect with Meghan

  I’d love to hear from you. Connect with me at:

  Website: www.meghanmarch.com

  Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

  About the Author

  Meghan March has been known to wear camo face paint and tromp around in the woods wearing mud-covered boots, all while sporting a perfect manicure. She’s also impulsive, easily entertained, and absolutely unapologetic about the fact that she loves to read and write smut.

  Her past lives include slinging auto parts, selling lingerie, making custom jewelry, and practicing corporate law. Writing books about dirty-talking alpha males and the strong, sassy women who bring them to their knees is by far the most fabulous job she’s ever had.

  She loves hearing from her readers at meghanmarchbooks@gmail.com.

  Also by Meghan March

  Savage Trilogy

  (Spring 2018)

  Savage Prince

  Mount Trilogy

  Ruthless King

  Defiant Queen

  Sinful Empire

  Standalone

  Take Me Back

  Bad Judgment

  Beneath Series:

  Beneath This Mask

  Beneath This Ink

  Beneath These Chains

  Beneath These Scars

  Beneath These Lies

  Beneath These Shadows

  Beneath The Truth

  Flash Bang Series:

  Flash Bang

  Hard Charger

  Dirty Billionaire Trilogy:

  Dirty Billionaire

  Dirty Pleasures

  Dirty Together

  Dirty Girl Duet:

  Dirty Girl

  Dirty Love

  Real Duet:

  Real Good Man

  Real Good Love

  Real Dirty Duet:

  Real Dirty

  Real Sexy

 

 

 
re-buttons">share