Page 100 of Ties That Bind Us

I chewed on the inside of my lip. It wasn’t going to be easy, that was for sure. Eight minutes to break in, find Ava, and get out was going to be pushing it even if I didn’t run into any of Asnikov’s men. I already knew the place was crawling with them, I could see their shadows in the windows as I waited. Not to mention the place was huge—there were a hundred places they could be holding her. “And what if we need more time?”

My dad’s face hardened. “Nick, you don’t have more time. If their reserves show up and you don’t have Ava, you throw that shit and you get the fuck out of there, am I clear?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. No. No fucking way. He honestly expected me to blow the place up not knowing if Ava was still in there? He may still be in charge, but he was out of his mind. I was either coming out of there with my wife or I wasn’t coming out at all.

He seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. “Just do your job, and it won’t come to that.” His tone was low so only I could hear.

“All right. Listen up,” he barked at the other men. “This is a rescue mission, our top priority is getting Ava out of there alive. You take out anyone who gets in your way.”

The group of men nodded and we hung tight behind the cars until it was time to move. I led the group, approaching Alek’s soldiers from the side. They didn’t even see us coming before Leo and Zane had dropped them, snapping both of their necks silently. So far, everything was going according to plan. Now if only we could keep it that way.

Zane blew the door out and we charged inside. The noise drew the attention of a couple of Alek’s men who were sitting around a table playing cards. They scrambled up, searching for weapons when they saw us, but we were too quick.

“We’ll hold them off. You go find her,” my dad ordered.

I nodded, breaking off from the rest of the group and heading for the hallways. The main room was filling up fast—men were coming from all directions, having heard the ruckus. We didn’t speak but I knew Zane was at my heels, covering me.

I swept every room, looking for any sign of Ava. She had to be here somewhere. When we got to the last doorway, it was shut. I made eye contact with Zane, and he nodded in agreement, so I counted to three and kicked it in.

Ava was sitting in the center of the room bound to a wooden chair. She was unconscious, her body limp and bruised, but at least she was breathing.

“Fuck,” I hissed, dropping my gun and rushing to her side. “Ava, baby, please, can you hear me?” I lightly tapped her cheek trying to wake her up. Blood streaked her face and was caked in her hair. The restraints they had her in were cutting into her wrists and ankles, and there was a large pool of blood underneath the chair. I had no idea where it had all come from, but I could see a few stab wounds and other shallow cuts.

“Mmm,” she moaned, stirring slightly.

One of Alek’s guys stepped out of the shadows with his gun drawn. Zane sprayed him with bullets before he could even take a step forward, and the smell of gun smoke filled the air. “We need to get out, Nick,” Zane said, glancing over his shoulder.

We could hear more people coming, which meant their extra troops had probably shown up. My heart was torn between finding Alek and making him pay for this, and getting Ava to safety. My concern for Ava won out, and I grabbed my knife, using it to loosen the restraints on her arms, then scooped her into mine.

Zane cleared the hallway and took the grenade from me. “I’ll hold them off and you get Ava out the back door.”

I was so focused on Ava that I couldn’t think straight, and I appreciated Zane taking charge. I had her in my arms, but that was only half the battle. Now we needed to get everyone out of here safely. My dad and Leo and the rest of our guys were keeping things at bay in the main room, but a few other troops had found their way down the hallway, and we could hear them going through the empty rooms. Our timing had to be perfect. Zane had to pull the pin and throw the grenade at the exact right time so it would stop the men but wouldn’t hurt any of us.

Zane peeked into the hallway, then nodded at me. It was time. He went first, fanning his gun in all directions. I followed him out and right as we got into the hallway, a few of Alek’s men showed up. “Go!” Zane barked, pulling the pin out of the grenade. I ran out as fast as I could, and right when the fresh night air hit my face, three bullets pierced my back. I fell to the ground on top of Ava.

“Nick!” Zane shrieked, rushing to my side.

My mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood and I couldn’t answer. Pain pulsed through my body and my breath became short.

“Nick,” Ava whispered as everything went black.

Chapter 42

Ava

I could hardly breathe as I sat in the hospital chair next to Nick’s bed, looking at his motionless body. He was hooked up to so many machines that I wasn’t even sure what each one was monitoring anymore. There was one for fluids, one for his heart rate, one for his antibiotics, and about a dozen more I didn’t know. He had made it through surgery, and now all we could do was wait. Except it had been twelve hours and he still hadn’t woken up. He looked so weak and pale lying in front of me. The surgeon had taken two bullets out of him, but the third one, the one closest to his heart, had been too splintered to remove.

I had left his side only long enough for the doctor to clear me. This was entirely my fault, and I wanted to be there the second he woke up. I didn’t know if my family even knew what had happened, and I didn’t have my phone to call them. Leo had gone back to the penthouse to get a few things for us, and he was going to grab it for me so I could call them.

Making that call was something I’d been dreading from the very second I was rescued. This was my dad’s fault after all. He was the reason I was kidnapped, and the reason Nick was lying in this hospital bed. It made me sick to my stomach, and the thought of seeing him or even speaking to him right now was infuriating. My family—the family Nick and I were building—was in shambles, and I had no idea how we’d ever recover. If I ever had any doubts about the things Nick had told me about my father, all it took was twenty-four hours being beaten and tortured for my father’s sins to make me see the light. I knew I’d have to talk to my dad and my entire family eventually, but I wanted to put it off as long as I could. Right now, I was having a hard time separating anyone else in my family from him and his mistakes. Battle lines had been drawn, and it felt like my family were all on the opposite side. I didn’t want to let myself think about my dad right now, though. Nick needed me, and this time I was going to put him and our relationship first.

A few fresh tears trickled down my cheek and fell onto the hand that clutched Nick’s. I needed him to know I was here, and right now this was the only way I could communicate with him. The nurse said he could hear me talking, and even though I wasn’t convinced, I had spent the last hour apologizing for everything. Maybe if I rehearsed the words now, it would make it easier when I said them to him in person. I had to pray to God I got that opportunity. There was a sound at the door, and I looked up right as Gio slipped in.

“Hi, Ava.” He smiled gently. “How are you feeling?”

I sniffled, wiping the remaining tears off of my cheek. “I’m doing okay. I can leave so you can—”

“Nonsense.” He cut me off, his lips turning up in a sympathetic smile. “I actually came to see if you wanted to take a walk with me to the cafeteria. The coffee here is pretty shitty, but it gets the job done, and I know you haven’t left his side since they brought him back.”

---