Page 53 of Ties That Bind Us

A week after Ava moved in with me, I pulled into the parking lot of the Moretti warehouse to have a little chat with her father. I wanted to get this out of the way as soon as possible. Alessandro was not high on my priority list, especially since Ava was living with me now, but I had been putting this off all week. He needed to know that I had told Ava the truth after the other night, and I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to like it.

My dad called as I turned off the car. “Nick, I know you’re going to Miami this afternoon, but I’ve got a job for you. Can you swing by the warehouse?”

Shit. I scratched my head, not wanting to deal with any of this today. I was traveling to Miami to visit one of our underperforming vendors and I was already on edge about that. If I had to take someone out today . . .

“It’s not what you’re thinking. I just can’t explain it over the phone, can you come by?” My dad interrupted my thoughts.

“Sure,” I conceded. “I’m running an errand, and then I’ll be over.”

He paused. “What kind of errand?”

I clenched my jaw. “One that I can’t explain over the phone,” I said, using his own words against him. He didn’t need to approve every decision I made. I was going to be Don soon; I could make my own choices, and confronting Alessandro was one of them.

“See you soon.” My dad hung up before I could respond.

Now I really had to get this over with. I was hoping to see Ava before I left, and if these “errands” took me too long, I wouldn’t be able to. We’d fallen into an easy routine now that she was living with me, and I loved every second of it. Coming home to her every evening was more than I ever could have imagined, and although she was hesitant at first, I could tell it was a big relief for her too. It amazed me how well she was adapting, especially since she had been so vehemently against our marriage in the beginning. It was new for both of us, but so far things were working out even better than I expected.

I headed inside the warehouse, determined to have a few words with Alessandro. His door was open, so I didn’t bother knocking to let him know I was there.

I cleared my throat, and he looked up from his desk.

“Nick! Good to see you, I didn’t know you were coming by.” He stood up to greet me and shook my hand. “Ava’s only been living with you a week, are you having trouble with my darling daughter already?” He smirked as he sat back down.

“Quite the opposite actually, it’s going really well,” I gloated. “I actually came by to let you know I told her what happened with Andrew.”

Alessandro’s face hardened, and I could see the vein in his neck pulsing. “I thought we agreed to keep her out of that.”

I couldn’t help but scoff a little bit. His interpretation of discussions were much different than mine. And what exactly did he expect after Vince’s display at dinner the other night? “You agreed, Alessandro. I’m not gonna leave her in the dark about what happened, especially when our marriage is on the line. And Vince’s outburst didn’t give me much choice.”

“Your marriage was never on the line,” Alessandro spat. “Ava will do what I tell her to do, despite what she knows or doesn’t know.”

“I guess that’s where you and I differ. I feel like she should know things that pertain to her. From now on, she will.”

Alessandro stiffened in his chair. “You’re not going to tell me how to run my family, Nick.”

“Fortunately,”—I stood up—“as soon as Ava and I are married, she becomes my family. And per our agreement, any decision you make, like withholding important information from her, will have to come through me.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here and saying that shit, Caponelli.” He gritted his teeth and leaned back in his chair.

“Just want to be sure we’re all on the same page now that we’re going to be family.” I smiled. “Especially where Ava is concerned. I’ll see you later.”

I got up and headed out of his office. One thing down. By the time I got to my dad’s, he was heading out for a meeting. I met him in the parking lot and he briefed me.

Alek Asnikov had bought a house in our area. Just three short miles from the Morettis’ warehouse, actually. Dad wanted me to pay Alek a visit to see what was going on and let him know we were aware of his move. It seemed tedious, but a small show of force could go a long way.

The house wasn’t fancy by any means. He had chosen a quiet suburban neighborhood where he was certain to stick out like a sore thumb. I’d be willing to bet he wasn’t actually living here, which made it all the more suspicious.

I knocked on the door and heard footsteps approaching after a few minutes. I put my hand on the butt of my gun, just in case. Alek opened the door, and if he was surprised to see me, he didn’t show it.

“I was planning to have a housewarming party in a few weeks, but since you’re here . . .” He gestured, opening the door wide for me.

“No need.” I shook my head. “Just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood.”

“Well, thank you.” He smirked. “I hear business is booming around here.”

“Not for you, it isn’t. I can think of a few people you might piss off with this purchase,” I warned.

“Certainly not you, though, right, Nick? I would think you have bigger things on your plate, like your impending nuptials, than to worry about my real estate investments.”

---