Ties That Bind Us

by Nicole Knight

  I blushed and stared at the lipstick stain on my coffee lid. I wasn’t sure what it was about him that made me feel so uneasy and out of control, that made me feel reckless—craving him desperately one minute and being repulsed by him the next. He was cocky and arrogant, and like he said, used to getting what he wanted. Usually, that was a hard stop for me. I was a game to him, a conquest, and once he got whatever it was he was looking for from me, he’d ride off into the sunset and I’d be left to pick up the pieces of my crumbling life. And most likely engaged to whatever suitor my father had found for me. I knew guys like Nick—hell, Jimmy had been one—the second something better came along that could hold their interest, they were gone. Letting myself think otherwise was a recipe for disaster.

  “And, for the record, I’m not stalking you. I had business here this morning. Running into you was just a pleasant coincidence.” Man, that smile was intoxicating.

  “Business?” I asked. “Are you a student here?”

  Nick laughed, choking a little on his coffee. “A student? No. I was actually here as a guest speaker for one of the business classes. A friend of mine teaches here and asked me to come talk about working with customs to run my shipping company.” Realization set in and a panicked look blanketed his face. I knew exactly what he was thinking. “Wait. Are you a student here?” He paused. “How old are you?”

  “How old do you think I am?” I toyed with him, eating up having the upper hand for once. I enjoyed watching him squirm, especially since the roles were usually reversed.

  “Don’t play with me, Ava.” He got serious, his voice filled with panic. “Are you legal?”

  “I’m twenty-three.” I smirked, finally letting him off the hook.

  Relief washed over his face. “Oh, thank God.”

  “Isn’t it a little late to be asking that question?” I took a gulp of my coffee and set it on the table between us as if I was creating some sort of barrier.

  “What are you studying?” he asked, leaning forward on his elbows and ignoring my question entirely.

  “Law. I want to be a defense attorney.” His eyes trailed my every move as I tucked a rogue piece of hair behind my ear.

  “Wow.” He brushed his thumb over his lip. “That’s awesome, are you excited?”

  “You mean am I excited to spend the next two years of my life studying for some stupid test only to work eighty hours a week in a stuffy corner office with a nice view of a park I never get to actually go to and spend my days defending drug dealers and thieves?” I arched my eyebrow at him feeling somewhat cynical this morning. “Thrilled.”

  “I can think of a lot of things I could do to you in that corner office, but, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you doing it if you’re dreading it so much?”

  “Daddy issues.” I shrugged, not able to stifle the small laugh on my lips. It sounded pitiful.

  “Daddy issues? I might be able to help you out with those.” His domineering grin was almost enough to make me ask him to describe how he planned to do that—just almost. He might have been joking, but it was a glaring reminder of just where his head was at.

  “Nick, it was nice to see you again, but I need to be going.” I stood up and grabbed my bag. Bella’s words echoed in my ear like she was the devil sitting on shoulder.

  “Ouch!” He put his hand over his heart, feigning injury. “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life but nice isn’t one of them.”

  “Do you prefer pleasant? That’s what you referred to me as a few minutes ago, right?” I teased as I stood up. Despite my worries, I couldn’t stop egging him on either.

  “Have dinner with me, Ava.” He grabbed my wrist roughly, holding me in place so dangerously close that his breath was hot against my ear as he spoke. Images of him manhandling me in that hotel room flashed through my mind. The student center suddenly got very small. Nick’s eyes locked with mine and everything around us disappeared. The hustle and bustle of students moving from class to class, the staticky radio playing over the loudspeakers, the thirsty looks Nick drew from nearly every woman in here. All of his attention was focused on me.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” I hesitated.

  “And why is that?”

  “Because I’m not your type,” I said flatly, his daring expression enough to make me forget my reasons entirely.

  “Ava, what makes you think you even know enough about me to say that?”

  “Because.” I sighed. “You can’t get through a single conversation with me without making some kind of sexual pass, you have every woman in this entire student center fawning over you, and if you remember right, you were the one who explicitly said one night and we’d never see each other again. That’s what we agreed to.”

  If it was possible, Nick leaned in even closer to me, keeping his voice low. “Well, circumstances have changed, and you can’t tell me you’re not the slightest bit curious what—”

  “Good-bye, Nick.” I cut him off abruptly and left him sitting alone at the table.

  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 w
ould 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.

  “Meeting was fabulous. Alessandro was thrilled with the way things went down, appreciated you taking care of the hit, and everything is back to business as usual,” he said casually.

  “But?” Leo asked as my dad paused.

  “But . . . as always, it’s always a little more complicated than we expect. The Russians are getting more brazen. To put a guy into our supply chain and try to discredit us is passive, but it also proves their real motives. They want to take us down. Both us and the Morettis. Alessandro and I think it might be good to work together on a more permanent basis,” my dad finally spit out, eyeing us both closely for a response.

  “What the fuck do you mean ‘more permanent’? Don’t you remember when we did that before? It didn’t work.” Leo groaned and threw his hands in the air. “I thought we were done with them.”

  My dad narrowed his eyes at Leo. “Leo, can you keep your mouth shut long enough for me to get this out? I understand you’re skeptical, but it’s not your place to question my choices.”

  Leo lowered his head.

  “I thought the idea of an alliance was out of the question,” I pressed, treading carefully. Unlike a lot of Mafia organizations, we were governed by a council. My great-grandfather had put it into place with some of his top advisors so no one man could run our organization into the ground. My father was Don, as I would be one day, but a majority of his big decisions had to go through the council first. They had outlawed an alliance with other organizations several years ago.

  “It is.” My dad nodded. “We cannot form an alliance with them in the traditional way, but we have something else in mind. A union would allow us to work alongside each other without actually being one body.”

  “A union?” Leo said, finding his voice again. His word choice was intriguing, especially since I thought that was exactly where my dad was heading with this.

  “Yes. It’s the only condition that was set by your grandfather and the rest of the council. The only way for us to work long term with the Morettis is if a member from our family and a member from theirs . . .” He trailed off.

  “Marriage,” I said aloud. As soon as the word was off my lips, I felt ill. I knew the council decree well. It was how our entire organization operated.

  “Yes,” my father said, not meeting the eyes of either one of us because we all knew what this meant. The acting Don had to be the one to marry. My father never would, he loved our mother too much to do something like this. That meant that if this really went down, it would fall on either Leo or me, and my father would step aside.

  We sat in silence for a second, contemplating the ramifications of this.

  “Is this really necessary?” Leo asked. “I mean, we’ve been functioning fine without Moretti support for years. Why the change now?”

  “It’s getting to be complicated. There are a few soldiers from the Asnikov group who moved into a neighborhood in Newark. It’s a small sliver of land that’s right between our territory and the Morettis’. Like I said, they’re getting more brazen, and now they’re not only trying to discredit us, but they’re moving in on our turf. Neither of us are strong enough to take down the Russians on our own, and if we aren’t proactive, we’ll all be at risk. By joining with them, we double our strength and there will be no way Asnik
ov and his men can compete with that.”

  I was too concerned to speak. Another group moving in was the last thing we needed, especially if they had already been funneled secure information about both us and the Morettis, but this seemed a little extreme. We didn’t even operate in the same field as the Morettis—they were in drug trade and we mostly dealt with weapons. We were generally pretty conservative in how we ran things, but Alessandro and his group were a little bit like a loose cannon. Alessandro was power hungry and greedy, and he often drew criticism from other organizations, as well as unwanted attention from law enforcement. Combining forces was risky in more ways than one. “So what exactly do we need to do?”

  My dad scratched his head, glancing at me and then looking away quickly. That told me everything I needed to know. I was going to hate what was about to come out of his mouth.

  “Nick is going to marry one of Alessandro’s daughters.”

  Six hours later, I found myself standing in the front of an upscale Italian restaurant near Times Square. I was meeting my father here, where we would be having dinner with Moretti and his daughter, and our marriage would be initiated. I could appreciate where my father was coming from in asking me to do this. It made sense for me to marry one of the Moretti girls and then take over for him as Don. We’d been preparing for the transition for years, albeit I never imagined it would be under these circumstances. Combining with the Morettis would double our force, and leave me in charge of a vast army of men. In theory, a merger like this was actually a good tactic for holding off the Russians. A more direct and violent approach would draw unwanted attention, and we were liable to lose men if a battle broke out. This was cleaner, with less risk involved, and as long as we were all on the same page, it just might actually work.

  The only problem was there was no way I was actually going to go through with this. There had to be other ways, and I was confident if I could stall long enough, I could come up with something. No way in hell was I going to be a part of an arranged marriage, even if it meant I became the Don of our family.