Page 18 of Ties That Bind Us

He chuckled, baiting me to turn around. “You’re wrong, you know.”

I paused, stealing a glance over my shoulder. “Oh?”

“This isn’t a game to me, Ava. That’s not the person I am. Give me a chance to prove that.”

“I’m sure you’ll find somebody willing to take you up on that offer. And if you don’t . . .” I shrugged. “I have a feeling you’ll figure out some way to find me.”

Chapter 6

Nick

I was oh for three.

I haven’t won a single round with this girl. If we were playing baseball, this would already be over. I would have struck out, swung right out of my shoes. Lucky for me, I fucking hated baseball. I was more of a boxing person, and there was only one rule in boxing—never give up. You never count yourself out, you keep fighting until one of two things happen. You either win or you physically cannot fight anymore. And that was exactly what I intended to do with Ava.

When I pulled into the warehouse, it was already bustling. My father was meeting with Alessandro Moretti this morning, and that would be the end of whatever alliance we had with them. The supplier issue had been taken care of and now we could all be back in our own lanes, the way it should be.

Our relationship with the Morettis hadn’t always been so volatile. About four years ago things had been peaceful, and we worked alongside each other and helped each other out, functioning as a cohesive team instead of bitter rivals. To say we were friends might have been a stretch, but we were civil. Nothing stays civil for very long in the Mafia world, though.

Andrew Moretti’s death was a turning point for both of our families, and nothing would ever be the same. Jesus, I hadn’t thought about Andrew in a while. It was almost four years ago that he’d died. That I’d watched my friend bleed to death on a dirty apartment floor. The deafening ring of the gun, the vacant look in his eyes as his body slumped over, the crimson spattered on the wall behind him—those were the things that haunted my nightmares to this very day.

Alessandro had five children but I had never met his daughters or even his wife, as was typical for a lot of the families we worked with. He had a strong philosophy of keeping them out of anything to do with the business, and to be honest, I hardly knew they existed. Andrew was his youngest son, and when we met, we instantly clicked. Both of us felt like we had something to prove to our families, and were eager to show it. I was a little more reserved but Andrew wanted to be involved in everything. He was loyal and sincere, and had a heart for others, but he was also arrogant and impulsive. He’d seek out any confrontation he could, and dragged us into some really shitty situations. Eventually, I had to pull back and just watch his crazy antics from afar. It was as if he was a junkie and danger was his drug. He craved it, almost thrived on it. My father always used to say that his rash decisions would wind up getting someone killed, but no one imagined it would be Andrew himself. Or that the shot that killed him would come from me.

It ended any chance we ever had of working together unless it was absolutely necessary. There was so much animosity between the two families now, and battle lines were drawn. We could come together when there was a common enemy or threat, but aside from that, it just didn’t happen.

I loosened my tie as I sauntered into the office, trying to suppress my thoughts of Andrew. I didn’t have time to let myself go there today; I was already distracted enough from my little rendezvous with Ava this morning. What the hell was it about this girl that had me so enamored, and how the hell was I going to put an end to it?

When I walked into the office, I was a little surprised to find Leo sitting at the desk. Normally, he would be at Pancho’s on Mondays, regrouping after the weekend rush. The place was technically mine, but Leo ran it. It had been given to me years ago in a business deal by a guy who couldn’t pay off his debt. At the time, I had no use for a floundering restaurant, but Leo had taken a special interest in it. Now it was one of our most lucrative side businesses, and one of the most popular spots in the city.

I threw myself into the chair in front of him, sighing dramatically.

“Long morning?” He kept his eyes fixed on the stack of papers in front of him.

“I saw her again,” I mumbled, wallowing in my own self-pity. How pathetic could I get? This girl was seriously getting to me, and it was completely uncharted territory. I wasn’t used to being on this side of things.

“You what? The girl from the hotel?” I had suddenly piqued his interest and he glanced up. “What the fuck happened?”

“I was speaking in a business class this morning, turns out she’s studying to be a lawyer. We ran into each other and she left. Again.” I shoved my hand through my hair in frustration. Rejection certainly did not suit me, and admitting it out loud to my little brother only added insult to injury.

A smirk grew on Leo’s face and soon he was all-out laughing.

“Something funny to you?” I glared, gritting my teeth. I was already in a foul mood even without his unneeded amusement at my expense.

“She’s denied you, what, three times now?” Leo reminded me. “When are you going to give it a rest?”

“Never.” I clenched my fist at his suggestion. Clearly he didn’t understand. I didn’t expect him to, though. A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have either. Not until I tasted Ava. Not until I felt her sweet lips trailing along my neck. Not until her arms wrapped mercilessly around me, and her soft voice begged for more. Not until I’d gotten butterflies in my stomach at the sound of her laughter—something I’d never in my life felt before. The scariest part of it all was that, somewhere, I had crossed the line from just physical attraction to emotional attraction as well. The girl was under my skin, and Leo couldn’t possibly grasp what that meant unless he experienced it for himself.

He shook his head disapprovingly. “I’m all for you chasing after love, bro, but that’s not what this is. This is a game to you—you like her because she doesn’t like you and you can’t accept that. You better stop this shit before you get yourself in over your head.”

A part of me believed he was right. I had never been rejected like this by a woman, and it was really eating at me. That wasn’t all of it, though. Like I had told Ava, it wasn’t just about that for me. It was about how easy she was to be around, and how much I wanted to make her laugh. Her laugh was the most beautiful sound in the world, and I had been hearing it in my dreams for weeks. I wanted to know what made her smile, what made her cry, what her favorite ice cream was. She was brilliant and witty and she couldn’t care less about who I was or what I was supposed to be. I had only gotten to see a small peek into her life; imagine if I had more time to spend than just a few stolen minutes. It was about her drive to be someone other than what her family wanted her to be—I knew how draining that was better than anyone. I understood Ava. And I was sure if she gave me half the chance, she would understand me too.

“When are you gonna get your head on straight, man?” Leo asked.

“He better have his head on straight right now.” My father chastised us from behind me, coming into the office and slamming the door behind him. He wasn’t angry, just always liked to put an emphasis on things. I had gotten good at distinguishing real anger from what was for show early on in my life.

“Don’t listen to Leo. Everything is fine,” I hissed, glaring at my brother and sending a clear message that I didn’t want my dirty laundry aired in front of our father. “How was the meeting?”

My father shifted his weight, setting his jaw. I could tell immediately there was something on his mind, and I already knew I wasn’t going to like it.

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