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F or a long moment, Hiram, Noah and Anne all stared at her. All three of them were shocked. Anne was the one who broke the silence.

“You told him to go to hell, right, Cece?”

“No,” Celia said, taking a sip of wine. “I told him I’d think about it.”

“Why would you even consider living with that asshole?” Noah leaned closer, his expression furious. “He’s not your friend, Celia. He doesn’t want what’s best for you. He only wants to use you.”

Celia leaned against the back of the bar stool. “What makes you say that, Noah? Can you read Nick’s mind?”

“Don’t have to read his mind,” Noah said immediately, scowling. “His words and actions tell me what’s going on with him. And whatever it is, it’s not something that will be good for you. I guarantee you that.”

Celia grabbed Noah’s wrist. “Cut it out, Noah,” she said, tightening her grip on him. “He’s not going to betray me, and I’m not going to betray him. But we had to acknowledge that we both had weapons to use. He’s not talking about me to the FBI and I’m not telling Murray where Nick lives. Okay? Can you cool your jets now?”

Noah frowned. “How’s he going to nail his father without your testimony?”

Holding Noah’s stare, she said, “Nick has some damned incriminating pictures and videos.” She swallowed hard, still unable to understand how a parent could do what Bobby Doyle had done. “He’s going to give them to the FBI. If they’re as horrible as Nick says they were, Bobby Doyle will be locked up for the rest of his miserable life.”

She glanced at the people sitting at the bar. Her family. “Nick and I both have something we can hold over each other. So we have to trust one another. Me, that Nick won’t tell the FBI about me. And Nick? He has to trust that I won’t tell his father where he is.”

“And how, exactly, is living together going to prevent that?” Noah got into her face. “Unless you’re together twenty-four seven, and I hope to God that wasn’t part of his scheme.”

At that, Celia looked up at Noah. Frowned at him. “Of course it wasn’t. You think I’m stupid? That I’d even consider that kind of ‘living together’ with a guy I barely know?”

“You’re considering moving in with him,” Noah said immediately. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have mentioned it to us.”

Celia drew a deep breath. Blew it out slowly. “Clearly, it’s an out-of-nowhere suggestion,” she said. “Sounds weird and creepy. But once we talked about it, it made an odd kind of sense. We know nothing about each other. Even though there’s always been a spark between us, neither of us could act on it while I worked for his father.” She smiled and swirled the wine remaining in her glass. “And then his father tried to kill me., which should have doused any sparks I felt for Nick.”

“But clearly it didn’t,” Anne said quietly.

Still staring at her wine, Celia shook her head. “No. It didn’t. And that’s a problem. Getting involved with Nick comes with a whole pile of complications.” She looked at the three people staring at her with varying expressions of shock, horror and confusion. “I’m not saying we’re getting involved,” she said. “Living together is just learning if we can trust each other. If Nick tells the FBI about me, I’ll die. If I tell his father where he is, he’ll most likely die. Right now, neither of us trusts the other. But we need to trust each other.”

“Thought you said I’d be with Nick when he talked to the FBI,” Noah said.

Celia swiveled to look at him. “You will be. But will you be with him when he’s not talking to the FBI? Because he could call them at any time and tell them about me.”

When Noah started yelling, she held up her hand. When he quieted, she said, “I don’t think he’s going to do that. And I’m certainly not going to call Bobby Doyle and tell him where Nick is. What Nick and I have right now is mutually assured destruction. We need to get to know one another better so we can trust each other. I have to believe he won’t betray me, and he has to believe the same about me.”

“And living together is going to solve all your problems?” Noah scoffed.

“Of course not,” Celia said. “But I really know nothing about Nick. And he knows nothing about me.” She stared down at the dregs of her wine, desperately wanting another glass and knowing it wouldn’t be a good idea. Not tonight.

Swallowing, she continued, “When I worked for Bobby Doyle, I had a huge crush on Nick. He was always pleasant to me, unlike some of the men who worked for Bobby Doyle.” She shook her head. “One of his men actually grabbed me in the kitchen, shortly after I started working for Doyle.” Celia grinned. “I learned early on when working in kitchens how to aim a knee to send a message, and I never had to do it more than once. But Nick saw it happen. He grabbed the guy around the neck and hauled him away. I never saw that guy again. Never asked Nick what he’d done, but I’m sure he told the guy that if he ever saw him around the Doyle compound, he’d tell his father what he’d done. And the guy would have disappeared permanently.”

“You’re actually thinking about this, aren’t you, Cece?” Anne said.

“I am,” Celia replied, without looking at her sister. “I’ll talk to Nick some more about it. Make sure we’re on the same page about the details, and then I’ll make my decision.”

Hiram hadn’t said a word to Celia, but he’d listened to what everyone else had to say. Finally he reached out and took her hand. “Do you think this is in your best interest?” he asked.

Celia tilted her head. She hadn’t thought about it that way. Finally, she nodded slowly. “Yeah. I do,” she said. “I don’t want Nick outing me to the FBI. Telling them what happened to me. And staying in his apartment, getting to know him better, is the best way for me to judge if he’s telling me the truth.

“As for Nick? He doesn’t want his father to find him. I would never tell Bobby Doyle where Nick is, but he doesn’t know me well enough to realize that.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “How can I trust my life to him when he doesn’t even know me? This sound like a crazy scheme, but I think it’s exactly what I need to do.”

Celia looked down the bar at her family. “Please don’t try to convince me that I’m making a huge mistake. If it turns out that way, it’s on me and I’ll deal with it.”

Anne frowned at her. “It sounds as if you’ve already made up your mind.”

Celia shrugged one shoulder. “I’ll spend a lot of time thinking about it. But, yeah. I think I’m gonna do it. What could go wrong?”

Noah, Anne and Hiram exchanged a long look. Finally Noah said, “You could die, Celia. And this time you wouldn’t climb out of the grave. That’s what could go wrong if Bobby Doyle figures out where Nick is.”

“He’s not going to figure it out unless one of you tells him. And I trust you all to keep your mouths shut.” Celia looked at each of them and sighed. “I can tell that you’re all worried sick about this idea. Trust me, I’ll give it a lot of thought before I make up my mind. And I’m going to check out Nick’s apartment too, just to make sure I’ll have privacy. He said it’s a three-bedroom, though, so I should be fine.”

Anne stared at her, frowning. “When did you get so reckless, Cece?”

“When I was shot but crawled out of the grave,” she said immediately. “For the record, I don’t think I’m being reckless about this issue. I think I’m considering an idea, weighing the pros and cons and making a rational, logical decision.”

Hiram reached over the bar and took Celia’s hand. “It’s either the bravest or the most stupid decision you could ever make. We’ll see after a few weeks which one it turns out to be.”

“Thanks, Hiram,” Celia said, squeezing his hand. “I appreciate your support.”