Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
“Okay.” A determined nod from Delaney. “Noted.”
She was handling the whole situation surprisingly well.
No way could he not admire her. But, then again, he’d always admired Delaney.
Mostly, he’d wished that he could be as kind as her.
Her heart had been so big when she’d been a kid, and it had just stayed wide open and generous when she’d become an adult.
Back when she’d been a teen, Delaney had been the one to organize the group who volunteered at the local food pantry.
Delaney had been the one to get other high schoolers to spend Saturdays walking dogs at the animal shelter.
Delaney had been the one in charge of coat drives, shoe drives…
hell, had there been a drive she hadn’t been involved with?
And he knew plenty about the work she’d been doing in Milan.
Yeah, fine, he liked to keep tabs on her.
Sue him. She’d gone to design school, and from all accounts, Delaney was a fabulous costume designer, but in her free time, she worked with local kids in their theater productions.
She designed all the costumes for them, and he knew she did it for free.
Now that she had her grandfather’s fortune, he didn’t think Delaney was about to become some spoiled, pampered princess. That just wasn’t her. In fact…
He brought her hand to his lips as they began to walk through the casino. His gaze swept the scene, taking in every threat. His body was alert and ready to attack at any moment. “What are you going to do?” Nash asked her.
Her body drifted toward the right. He, of course, drifted with her.
“Do?” Delaney repeated. Her eyes were on a massive slot machine. One that had to be over fifteen feet tall and had a handle that was easily the size of Delaney’s head.
“With your grandfather’s money. The houses. The fortune.”
Her head turned toward him, and her cute nose scrunched. “Pretty sure that’s all ill-gotten gains.”
His lips twitched at “ill-gotten gains” because no one in the world but Delaney would actually use that phrase.
Her gaze darted back to the massive slot machine, then returned to him. “I figure at this point, the CIA will probably seize everything, won’t they?”
Probably. Yes.
“I’ll just go back to living my life the way I did before I met my grandfather.”
He tensed. I was there before. Will you go back to me? “But what if you did get to keep it all? What would you do?”
“I’d set up some charities. Actually, I’d love to do this sort of innovation tank program.” Her eyes lit up. Brighter. Golden. “I read about this online. You find these great people with ideas but no backing. People who just need a little help. If I had that money, I could help.” Easy words.
I could help.
Words he’d heard before.
When he’d been a dumbass high school teen. Older than Delaney. And his damn truck had broken down. Delaney had casually strolled up and paused by his ride. She’d frowned at the steam coming from beneath the hood. I could help. Her words. If you want.
He’d started to dismiss her, his pride hurt because his little sister’s gorgeous friend was offering to help him. But Delaney’s dad had owned the best garage in town, and she could, in fact, help. She could. She had. She’d changed his whole world that day.
Delaney had loved her dad so freaking much. She used to spend hours and hours with him in that garage. And…she doesn’t know that her grandfather had him killed.
Nash swallowed.
“What’s the plan?” Delaney leaned toward him. “I know you have a whole master plan, and I think I should be clued in on it, don’t you agree?”
“The plan is to see and be seen. To attract attention.” She’d be attracting plenty of attention in that killer red dress.
“How?” Delaney asked. She glanced around the casino. “Everyone is playing. No one is looking twice at us.”
So wrong. The men were doing double takes at Delaney. Annoying. He glared at one guy who hurriedly glanced back down at the cards in front of him. The joker needed to be playing blackjack and not staring at Delaney’s legs.
“How?” Delaney repeated. She was back to staring at the massive slot machine. The pale, white lights at the top flashed and rolled, and chiming music spilled from the machine every few moments.
“We’ll play at the tables. Win big or lose big, but the result will be the same. One of Kurt’s casinos is right next door to this place.”
Her head whipped toward him. “Right next door?” A squeak.
“Yeah, so I’m betting someone here…” Probably a few someones. “Someone will have ties to Kurt. A plant that he has in place to watch the competition. Those eyes will find you. Me. And we’ll go from there.” Once we are spotted, that intel will be reported to Kurt right away.
“Okay.” Her shoulders squared. “Okay.”
Again, she was handling the whole situation surprisingly well. “Maybe you’re in the wrong business.” He wanted to see her smile. “Forget costume design. You could have a career in the spy world.”
No smile flashed. “I don’t think so. I hate lies.”
Fuck.
“How did you know I have a career in costume design?”
Nash swallowed. “You always loved design. Figured you stayed with it.”
Her stare was breaking his heart. No, breaking him. She’d just said she hated lies. So, screw it. He’d give her the truth. “I found you,” Nash admitted.
“I don’t follow.”
“I would check on you. Seek you out. Make sure you were safe.”
“You…stalked me?”
“Stalk is such a negative word. Can’t we say I looked out for you?”
Her mouth was wide open. Gently, he slid his finger beneath her chin and pressed up. “I wanted you to be safe. I didn’t interfere.”
Her hand rose to curl around his wrist. “You know I’m a costume designer because you’ve been watching me.”
Yes.
“Why didn’t you ever approach me?”
“Because I thought you hated me.” Partial truth. “Because it wasn’t safe for me to be in your life.”
Her thick lashes fluttered. “Why wasn’t it safe?”
He didn’t speak. Voices drifted around them.
“I looked for you, too,” Delaney confessed.
His fingers lingered beneath her chin.
“But you weren’t there. You were never there.”
Yes, I was. I was watching you. So many times. He leaned forward, and his lips brushed against hers. They needed to look like the besotted couple. Considering that he was besotted, it was an easy enough role for him to play. He eased back. Cleared his throat. “Let’s go play.”
“We are going to finish this conversation later. You will explain why it wasn’t safe.”
He’d spent years hoping to make her life safe. Only to find out that her freaking fiancé wanted to kill her. Maybe she is only gonna be safe with me. Or maybe Nash was just telling himself shit he wanted to believe.
Delaney inched toward the massive slot machine. “This is going to sound crazy but, um, I’ve never gambled before.” Another little inch toward the machine as it chimed loudly. “And I think I’d really like to start with this guy.”
With the biggest slot machine in the whole casino? One that was so huge just because it was a tourist trap? “Delaney, you aren’t going to win there.” He hated to disillusion her. Hell, wasn’t that the whole reason he clung so tightly to his secrets?
“I never really thought life was about winning. Thought it was about being happy.” Her eyes were on the machine. “Yanking down that ginormous handle and watching the numbers spin will thrill my little heart.” A determined nod. “Seriously.”
He swiped his card over the machine. You had me at “thrill my little heart.” When he had it in his power, he would do anything to make her happy. “Go for it.”
“Nash, you just put one hundred dollars on this machine.”
“Yeah, well, I wanted your heart to be thrilled.”
She laughed.
He took a step back.
Delaney frowned. “Nash, what’s wrong?”
He could not speak.
Her brows rose. “Is there danger?” Her gaze flew around the crowded casino. “Some sort of threat?”
Fuck, no. He would never step back if there was a threat. He frowned at her. Then he put another hundred in the machine as a credit.
“What are you doing?”
He’d been hoping to hear her laugh again. Because it was a sound he’d missed far more than he’d ever realized. “You want more money?”
“No!” She pushed his hand away from the machine. “This is more than enough. In fact, it’s too much.”
The woman was an heiress. Granted, she was the heiress to a crime fortune, but an heiress nonetheless. Two hundred dollars was not too much in her world.
“Do I have to play it all?” Delaney fretted. “Can we get some of it back?”
A guy in khaki pants and a polo walked by, his gaze sliding down Delaney’s legs.
Nash moved into his path. “Really? You gonna stare at my wife like that with me right the hell next to her?”
All of the color fled from the man’s face. He turned and practically ran away.
“Nash!”
Right. Dammit. Jaw locking, he looked at his wife. His real wife. He’d told her, twice, that they were truly married, but she hadn’t understood. Should he go for a third time?
“Nash, can we get some of the money back?”
Screw the money. “Play it all.”
“All? At once?” She nibbled on her lower lip. “That feels like a lot.”
“There are max and minimum bets. You don’t have to play it all.
But if you want to, have the hell at it.
” He scraped a hand over his jaw. Felt the stubble there and realized that he needed to shave soon.
Especially if he was planning to get close to her delicate skin again. And he was. Definitely planning that.
She crept closer to the machine. “Do I just pull this big lever?”
“You can. Or you can just hit this button.” He pointed to the button near the front of the machine.
Her nose scrunched again. “Why would you hit the little button when you can pull this giant lever?”