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N ick’s heart pounded against his chest, beating so hard it felt as if it would leap out of his rib cage. He’d been devastated when he thought Celia had died. Completely wrecked. And now, after finding her alive and well, she’d just agreed to move into his apartment.

Platonically, but that was okay. They needed time to get to know each other, away from the toxic vibe at his father’s house. Away from the scowling disapproval of Celia’s brother-in-law. Their time together would be limited, because Celia worked long hours. But he did, too. So he’d make the most of the time they spent together.

He swiveled to face Celia on the couch. “When do you want to move in here?”

She drew a deep, shuddering breath. Blew it out. “Might as well rip off the band-aid and do it right away.” She grimaced. “I don’t want to listen to Noah telling me all the reasons this is a bad idea. If it’s a done deal, maybe he’ll shut up.”

“You could tell your sister to make sure he lays off you,” Nick said. “I know the two of you have a deep bond.” He hesitated. Celia had talked about her mother and the chaotic life she and Anne had led with her. Would she want to be reminded of that?

Hell, go on as you mean to continue . “I may be out of line, but it sounds like you had a rough childhood. Anne was your ally. Always there for you. I’m sure she’ll be on your side in this, too.”

Celia studied him for a long moment, then slowly nodded. “Yeah,” she said, certainty in her voice. “She will. She’s always wanted what was best for me, just like I always want what’s best for her. She’ll be on my side in this, too.”

“Good.” Taking a chance, Nick reached for Celia’s hand. Twined their fingers together. “When do you want to move your stuff over here?”

Celia stared at their joined hands. As she studied their laced-together fingers, she smiled. “Since I already decided I want to do this, there’s no point in waiting a long time to jump into it. I’ll bring some stuff over today.” She sighed. “I don’t have much. I had to leave everything at your father’s house.” She swallowed, and Nick watched the ripple of muscle in her neck, wishing he had the right to put his mouth on her throat. Feel it vibrate beneath his lips.

She turned to him and one side of her mouth curled up. “Someone boxed up everything from my room, because Anne’s former neighbors, who came to the wedding, told me a box had been delivered for her. It was from Las Vegas, and they brought it into their apartment so it wasn’t sitting in the hallway. I talked to them at the wedding, and they’re going to send it to The Trailhead when they get home.” She smiled. “They took a side trip to Glacier National Park, and they’re going to Yellowstone, too. So it may take a while. But I have everything I need for now.”

She frowned, and he saw sadness in her eyes. “There’s something you’re missing,” he said.

She smiled, but he could see it was forced. “My knives,” she said, staring at her hands. “I bought them after I got my first job out of culinary school. They were really nice, high-quality knives. Whoever packed that box of my possessions probably didn’t realize those knives in the kitchen were mine.” She forced a smile. “The next chef your father hires will probably be blown away that he bought Shun knives for his kitchen.”

Nick frowned. “Shun knives? I’ve never heard of that brand.”

“They’re Japanese,” Celia said. “Beloved by serious chefs. Not so well known to casual cooks.”

“Want me to have someone look to see if they’re still in the kitchen?” he asked her. “Maybe we could figure out a way to get them to you.”

Celia stared at him, her eyes wide with horror. “Oh, my God! No ! You managed to get away, and no one’s found you yet. They think I’m dead. Retrieving my knives isn’t worth the risk. Please, Nick. No more talk about my knives. They’re gone, and I’ve accepted that. They’re the cost of saving my own life. I shouldn’t have even mentioned them.”

He held up his hands. “Please don’t freak out, Celia. I promise I won’t try to get those knives back for you. Won’t contact anyone at my father’s house.”

“Thank you,” she said. Her chest was rising and falling too fast. He frowned. He didn’t want her to feel stressed. Worried.

As if she could read his mind, Celia slapped a hand over her heart. “You almost gave me heart failure. Don’t ever talk about going back to Vegas or seeing your father or contacting anyone at his house again.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, surprised at how… good it felt to have Celia be so concerned about him. “No more talk about my father or going back to Vegas. I’m done with that city. Done with my father, too.”

“Unless he somehow finds us,” Celia muttered.

Nick shook his head. “He’s not going to find either of us,” he said. “Murray was already here, and he didn’t find me. He has no idea where I am. And Murray didn’t see you, either. Pretty sure we’re good.”

“You’ll have to keep telling me that,” Celia said, staring down at her lap. “I still have nightmares about being shot and buried in the desert.”

Nick took her hand, and she clung to him. “Of course you do,” he said, stroking one finger over the back of her hand. “It was horrific, and you barely escaped dying. It’s a miracle that you survived.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “And I’m very aware that luck played a huge role in me walking away from that grave.” She drew in a deep breath. “And you ending up here in Helena, too? It feels like… like it was a sign.”

Nick leaned closer. “What kind of sign, Celia?”

She drew in a shaky breath. “Like we were meant to be.”

He reared back a little. Stared at her for a long moment. “Is that why you agreed to move in here with me? Because you think your survival was a sign ?”

“Of course not,” she said, sitting up. Her back was ramrod straight, and fire shot from her eyes. “You think that’s why I agreed to live with you? Because I saw some kind of damn omen that I should?”

“Not what I meant, Celia,” he said.

“Then what did you mean?” she asked.

He stared down at his hands, trying to figure out how to explain it to her. “I wanted you the whole time you worked for my father,” he said without looking up at her. “Fantasized all kinds of scenarios where we were together. Then Alice took me downstairs to help her, and when I went back upstairs, you, Fingers and Murray were gone. I drove out to find you, but in my heart, I was afraid you were already dead. Certain I’d never see you again. I was devastated. Broken. And then I saw them, driving back to my father’s house, and you weren’t in the car. And I knew you were gone.

“I wanted to kill my father. Wrap my hands around his neck and squeeze until he was dead. And the scary thing about that is I didn’t feel horrible. Or guilty. I wanted him dead. Wanted to be the one who killed him.

“And knowing he’d killed you, I couldn’t live in that house with him any longer. That, most of all, is what prompted me to get out of my father’s house. I couldn’t bear living with the man who’d condemned you to death. Especially since you hadn’t done anything wrong. I had to get away from him. Start over. Live my own life. I figured he’d never find me here in Helena. And then Murray showed up.”

Celia reached for his hand. Wrapped her fingers around his. “I need to tell you something, Nick.”

He looked at her face and was shocked at how… how sick she looked. “What is it?”

“Your father didn’t have any proof, and never will, but I was recording him. That bug he found in his desk? I planted that. I’d been recording him the whole time I was living in your house.”

Nick stared at her, shocked. “ You planted that bug?”

“Yes. I did.” She bit her lip. “I’ve been debating whether I should tell you before I move in with you. Part of me said that it’s in the past. Over and done with. But I’m not sorry I did it. Once the Gaming Commission gets those tapes, they’ll shut your father down. And if they do nothing? I’ll make sure the Las Vegas newspapers get copies of the tapes.”

She reached for his hand. “Your father is a monster,” she said. “He doesn’t deserve to live a life where he’s free to continue to hurt people. He belongs in prison, and I hope I can help put him there. I won’t talk to the FBI, but you can give them a copy of the tapes.”

“Why did they want you to tape him?” Nick asked.

“The Nevada Gaming Commission contacted me shortly after I started working for your father.” She swallowed, and he saw that same ripple in her throat. But this time, instead of wanting to touch it, or kiss it, he just wanted to hear the rest of her story.

“They suspected he was skimming money from some of the slot machines in the casinos, and they wanted proof,” Celia continued. “So they could shut him down. Prosecute him.”

Nick stared at her, shocked. “Did you find proof?”

“I’m not even sure. I listened to some of the recordings, and it sounded as if your father had men at the casinos who messed with the slot machines. I took the recordings with me when I left, because I didn’t want anyone to find them. Once that box is shipped to The Trailhead, Anne and Noah will have both my will and the recordings. They’ll take both to the gaming commission.”

She held his gaze. “They’re gonna pay me a lot of money for those recordings. Enough that Anne and I can open the restaurant we always wanted to open.”

“I… I don’t know what to say, Celia,” Nick said.

Staring at her lap, Celia cleared her throat. “I couldn’t move in here with you with that secret between us. I knew I had to tell you, but I was terrified. I had no idea what you would say?”

“So why did you tell me?” Nick asked slowly.

Celia drew a deep breath. She lifted her head and met his gaze. “I don’t want any secrets between us,” she said. “Especially secrets that are corrosive, like this one is. However you feel about your father, he’s still your father. And I was spying on him. Recording all his conversations. Once they hear those tapes, the gaming commission will probably ban your father and anyone who works for him from going into any casino in Las Vegas.”

“Good,” Nick said, shocked at how vehement his voice sounded. “My father has never had to face consequences for anything he’s done. It’s time he pays the price for all the horrible things he’s done.”

“It’s not going to bring back to life any of the people he’s killed,” Celia said.

“No, it won’t,” Nick said. “But he’ll lose a lot of money because of what you did. I think that’s the one punishment that would upset him. Maybe even worse than prison.”

Nick sighed. “My father is a man with no conscience. A genuine sociopath. He does what he wants without considering anyone else.” He swallowed, remembering the horrifying video of Fingers beating his brother to death.

He reached for Celia’s hand and wrapped his fingers around hers. “You did what you thought was the right thing to do. It’ll damage my father, but he deserves to be damaged. He needs to be held accountable.”

“Yes. He does. And I was the person who was in the position to do it,” she said, straightening her spine. “Living in his house gave me the opportunity to record his phone calls.” She held Nick’s gaze. “I’m happy I did it,” she said. “And I hope he pays the price for what he’s done.”

“I do, too,” Nick said. “Being banned from the casinos is gonna hit him where it hurts.”

Celia swiveled to face him. “A financial hit isn’t what I wanted. But we need to take this one step at a time, Nick.”

He took her hands. “You’re right. There’s no way to make my father pay for everything he’s done all at once. Losing the money from the casinos is a good first step. But there’s a lot more he has to be held accountable for.”

“I agree. But I have nothing else.” She swiveled to face him. “Maybe we can make copies of those tapes for the FBI. Besides the casino business, there may be recordings of him ordering hits. Doing other illegal stuff.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Nick said.

He felt Celia’s eyes on him and finally looked up to meet her gaze. She swallowed once, then said, “You look… sad. Like you’re upset that I recorded your father and plan to turn the tapes over to the gaming commission. If you want to change your mind about having me move in here, I understand.” She stood up and walked to the door. “I’ll wait to hear from you before I start bringing my stuff over here.” She smiled at him, but Nick could tell it was forced. “I’m sure I’ll see you again, Nick. Helena’s a small town.” She smiled, but it was more of a grimace. “Take care,” she whispered.

She had the door open and was stepping onto the landing when Nick leaped off the couch. Ran to the door and yanked it wide open. “Celia, wait. Come back inside. We’re not done talking.”

She turned around slowly to face him, and he saw pools of sadness in her eyes. “I think we are, Nick.” She swallowed. “I’ll see you around.”

As she headed for the first step, he grabbed her hand. Drew her back into the apartment. “Celia, I don’t hold this against you. You did the right thing by going along with the Gaming Commission’s idea of taping my father. You did it to stop him from cheating the casinos and the people who play those slot machines. How could I argue with that? How could I hold that against you? You were trying to do the right thing.”

“Yeah, but I betrayed your father.”

“You taped a monster, doing monstrous things.” Nick shook his head. “And he’s not my father. He’s my sperm donor. Nothing more than that. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful mother. She’s the one who raised me. Taught me what was right and what was wrong. Was always there for me.”

Celia touched his arm. “I’m sorry you lost her so young. She sounds like a wonderful woman. I wish I’d had the chance to meet her.”

Nick smiled. “She would have loved meeting you. Loved knowing that I’d found someone like you.”

Celia bent her head. “I’m gonna go, Nick. Think about whether you want to live with the woman who betrayed your father. I hope you still do, but I’ll completely understand if you don’t. I’m not going to pack anything, or move anything here, until I hear from you. Okay?”

He wanted to say it wasn’t okay. Wanted to tell Celia that he wanted her to move in with him more than ever. But before he could tell her that, she was out the door. He heard her running down the stairs and yanking open the door. But as he opened his mouth to call her back, the outside door closed with a muted click.

He couldn’t follow Celia. She was returning to The Trailhead to work. So he’d have to wait for tonight to tell her he didn’t care that she’d been recording his father for the Gaming Commission. How proud he was of her. And how much he still wanted her to live with him.