Rise of the Notorious

When Empires Fall
had me hooked from the first page. Katie Jennings does a great job of capturing my imagination and keeping my attention from beginning to end. I felt as though I was a friend of the Vasser family and wanted to visit the hotel. I was so disappointed to get to the last page and not know what happens next. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. Katie Jennings has a five star book that could easily become an award winning movie. Don’t pass this one up—it is a true winner.

–
Readers’ Favorite
–

I enjoyed
When Empires Fall
, the fact that you don’t know what will happen, you don’t know who to love and who to hate, and that it is filled with so much drama. The author did a wonderful job with the flow of the story.

– Christina's Book Reviews –

This book has it all—murder, intrigue, and romance. Just as in all the great soaps, I was not ready for this episode to be over. I can’t wait to get my hands on the nest book. I hope that she deals with Linc and his Louisiana home more.

– Voracious Reader –

Jennings’ writing is excellent, the formatting attractive, and the pacing spot on. I found myself drawn into their world, an unwitting player in the drama of their lives. The story carried me along all the way to its dramatic conclusion. I loved this story and look forward to more from this wonderful author. Well done!

– Richard C. Hale, author of “Near Sighted” –

Cover design by Katie Jennings

Interior book design, eBook design and by Blue Harvest Creative

www.blueharvestcreative.com

Prologue quotation written by William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra

Rise of the Notorious

Copyright © 2013, 2014 Katie Jennings

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published by

Sapphire Royale Publishing

Print ISBN Numbers:

ISBN-13: 978-0615797328

ISBN-10: 0615797326

Visit the author at:

www.katieajennings.com

www.facebook.com/authorkatiejennings

www.twitter.com/dryadquartet

www.katieajennings.wordpress.com

To those who live for romance and would die for family.

T
hey say only clever creatures can survive the desert heat. After all, the desert is nothing more than a sweltering wasteland that has claimed more lives than it has given, which makes it more of a graveyard than a flourishing habitat. Regardless, man was either foolish enough, or maybe greedy enough, to build a playground in the middle of Hell.

Then they’d had the audacity to call it a fertile plain.
Las Vegas
.

What a glorious contradiction.

Madison Vasser despised the desert with all of her being. She was a creature made for colder climates, for snowdrifts and icy streets. Her ivory skin welcomed a cool winter chill, and scornfully burned under the red-hot desert sun. But, like many others, she had learned to adapt to her new home, as the reward for staying was too great to relinquish.

She was nineteen, she was ambitious, and she was in love.

Her smile was instinctive and more than a little wicked as she sauntered through her family’s lavish casino, her golden dress fitted to her curves and cropped short above her knees. Men in the casino faltered and stared as she passed, stunned by her radiance, moved by the passion so clear in her expression. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and was taking it without reservation. There was no
asking
, no
begging
—only ambition and victory. And she was the master of both.

She’d come to Vegas a year before to serve her family’s empire. Now, as she walked through the casino, she had to marvel at her grandfather’s brilliance to build in the godforsaken desert in the first place. Despite appearances, it really was a powerful city. The money that traded hands was layered thick with hopeful sweat and anxious tears, and the people loved it. They flocked to it, never having fully sated themselves with the escapist thrill of bright lights and lost inhibitions.

The hotel itself thrived, rising like a glittering beacon of refuge out of the dusty sand and drier-than-hell rock. It towered over its neighbors, both larger and taller than anything else within several hundred miles. Cyrus had insisted upon it, had purposely designed it so the sapphire and gold “V” shone boldly and brilliantly from atop the glass walled building for all to see. No one entering Las Vegas would have any doubt who was the top dog in town or who ruled the landscape like a king rules an empire.

The Vasser name was as powerful as it was timeless. And, as her grandfather was apt to say, it was the tower of strength.

She made her way out of the bustling casino and passed by the hotel’s premiere French restaurant,
Soleil
, deciding to grab a bottle of wine for later. It was somewhat of an anniversary, as one year had passed since she had arrived in Las Vegas.

Oh, and how things had changed since then.

She may have hated the desert, but there was no denying that it had given her an incredible gift, one she would've gone to Hell and back for.

Wyatt Bailey, the man who’d come from nowhere and shamelessly set fire to her heart.

He’d been virtually nothing when she found him—just a blackjack dealer with a mysterious past working for her uncle—with no car, and a crappy apartment. Despite his shortcomings, she took him under her wing and gave him everything.

Within a few months she got him promoted to pit boss, moved his meager belongings into her suite at the hotel, and bought him a brand new Mercedes SLR and new designer clothes. Most importantly she gave him her heart, and in return, he changed her entire world.