Page 70 of Ties That Bind Us

“Nick!” I giggled. “I’ll go! Just let me walk!” I could hardly get the words out I was laughing so hard.

“Nope, you had your chance.” Nick slapped my butt lightly. “Now we’re doing things my way.”

Chapter 27

Nick

The second we touched down in Saint Lucia, it was like a huge weight was lifted off of Ava’s shoulders. I could almost see the stress melting away before my eyes. At first, I was hesitant about this trip, but seeing how she was already responding, I knew it was the right thing to do. Getting her out of New York was the only way I knew how to protect her until she was my wife, and if all went according to plan, she would be in five days’ time.

We got to Saint Lucia at six thirty in the morning, and it was a quick trip from the airport to our resort. Our villa sat about a hundred yards into the ocean, right in the middle of the beautiful turquoise water. There was a boardwalk out to it, and you could watch fish racing alongside of you the entire way. There was a small number of other villas out there, but we were far enough away to have privacy with our own hot tub and pool on the deck. Back on shore, there was a beach club where more resort guests stayed. There was a spa, a few large pools, a theater, and several restaurants. Ava was like a little kid at Disney, taking in all the sights, and it was adorable to watch.

Once we had settled in, we took a walk along the beach, and I insisted that she rest for a little while. She had fallen asleep on the plane, but it wasn’t restful, and she was going to need all her energy for the week I had planned. It was only seconds after she lay down on the giant feather bed that she was sound asleep. I kissed her forehead before slipping out onto the deck to check in on things. Ava had overheard my conversation with Vince last night, and I wasn’t taking any chances this time, so I walked a little ways down the boardwalk.

Vince picked up on the third ring. “Can you just fucking leave this alone and enjoy your time away?” He chuckled, knowing full well I wasn’t going to leave this alone. I didn’t have it in me to be so hands off.

“Trust me, I am definitely going to enjoy my time away, but I want to make sure things are in order there first.” I smiled. Vince and Leo would have it handled, but this was the control freak in me. I was thousands of miles away and needed to have my hands in this somehow. “Does Joey know what to do?”

“Joey took your credit card and booked a room in Chicago. He’s got the burner phone we attached to your number. He’s going to stay there the entire weekend and be sure not to be seen by anyone. I already planted the seed to my dad that Ava is in Cape Cod visiting some friends and you’re out of town on business, but he doesn’t know where. He thinks I’m house-sitting.” Vince chuckled. “Anyway, if he shows up in Chicago, then we’ll know he’s tracking you.”

“Perfect.” Vince, Leo, and I had concocted this plan to bait Alessandro. If our worries were true and he was trying to take me out, he needed opportunity, and we were going to provide him with one. At least, we were going to make him think he had one. He wasn’t stupid enough to try anything himself, but if he sent anyone to Chicago, we’d know what he was after. I had booked mine and Ava’s entire trip under a false name so that he couldn’t find out where we really were. For at least for the first few days I needed to keep her busy enough not to talk to her family so she couldn’t let anyone know we were out of the country.

“I’ll call you if anything develops but if I don’t, don’t call me. We can’t take any chances of my dad seeing us in contact.” I could hear Vince banging stuff around in the background.

“Got it. I think I’ll be pretty busy here,” I chided, letting his mind wander where it may.

“Watch it, moron. That’s my sister you’re talking about.”

“You’re the one who told me to find something to keep me busy.”

“I’m hanging up before you say something that’s going to make me slit your throat.”

I couldn’t quite tell if he was kidding or not, but I wasn’t going to push it. I enjoyed busting his balls a little bit, but Vince and I were finally on good terms after years of being at odds. I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that, especially when things were so volatile with Alessandro.

“Fine. Keep me updated.” I chuckled, hanging up the phone.

I made my way back to our room to find Ava still fast asleep. Her swimsuit and cover-up were draped over a nearby chair, meaning she was completely naked beneath the sheets—exactly how I wanted her. I bit my thumb trying to keep myself from ambushing her. We both needed some sleep; the rest could come later.

I slipped my own clothes off and climbed into the bed next to her, wrapping my body around her protectively. She stirred slightly but melted into my body.

“Good morning.” A sleepy smile played at her lips.

“Shhh. It’s not morning yet. Go back to sleep,” I tried to coax, wrapping my arms tighter around her and burying my face in the bare skin between her shoulder blades.

Ava pulled out of my embrace, not having any of it. “No, come on” she whined. “We’re at the beach, we can sleep later.”

I groaned, rolling over. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

She giggled, kissing my cheek. “Please, baby!” She jumped out of bed and I watched as she slipped the swimsuit back on and tied her long hair into a bun on the top of her head.

“All right, all right, all right.” I faked frustration and swung my body out of bed. “We can go swim on one condition.”

I walked toward her slowly and wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me.

“What’s that?”

My fingertips trailed up her spine until I reached the back of her swimsuit, then gently tugged the strings. She gasped slightly as it fell to the floor. “This stays here.”

“Nick, no . . .” Her eyes widened but her protests fell on deaf ears. I put my finger to her lips to silence her.

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