Page 77 of Ties That Bind Us

“I’m sure that will be easy. There are a lot of defense attorneys in the city.”

“Actually, I had another idea. The only reason I was going to be a defense attorney was for my father, and that seems kind of obsolete now. I was thinking about maybe working with victims of abuse. Becoming a prosecutor and helping them confront their abusers and move on.”

“Baby, that sounds incredible, I think that’s a great idea.”

“Thanks!” She let out a sigh of relief. “I’ll only have to take a few extra classes, but I think it will be good. And Columbia even has this really awesome program where you get to work with victims and help them through the legal process so that they can hold their abusers accountable. It’s kind of perfect for me.”

“Ava, that’s incredible. It does sound perfect for you. And I’m so proud of you for choosing to do something for yourself.”

“Well, it’s all thanks to you and your faith in me.” She smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Ava. More than anything.”

She fell asleep on my shoulder and slept for the rest of the flight. It seemed like I had eased her fears at least for the time being, but I knew the worst was yet to come. It was one thing to be okay with all of this when we were thirty-thousand feet in the air. It was going to be a lot harder when we were facing her family, mostly her father.

I had a few choice words I wanted to have with him, but I wasn’t going to put Ava in a situation where she had to listen to them. As far as I was concerned, I didn’t want her around him without me being there as well. He was a snake, and now that I had her away from him, I would stop at nothing to destroy him.

Chapter 31

Nick

I had always loved New York this time of year. The leaves on the trees were just starting to turn and the weather was getting chillier. The streets were thinning out of tourists, who had all gone home after their summer adventures, and things were quieting down, if only a little bit. My dad thought it was the perfect time of year for fishing, and when we were younger, he used to take us all the time. We hadn’t been in years, though. Maybe once all this shit with Alessandro and the Russians was done, we could go.

I loved the weather, but after spending the last several days in the tropics, it was a harsh walk from my car to my dad’s office. The warehouse was busy today, and I waved at a few people as I made my way to his office in the back corner. I hadn’t talked to him since the day of the shooting, and a lot had changed since then. I knew he’d be pissed that I’d left him in the dark about setting Alessandro up with the hotel, and marrying Ava in Saint Lucia, but this was something I had to handle on my own. I would be Don in a few weeks, and I stood by my decisions. He’d come around to it once he understood what we were dealing with.

When I opened the door, he looked up from his computer briefly and smirked. “Well, welcome home, nice of you to come into work for a change.”

“I worked a majority of the time I was down there, actually. Ava was pissed about it.”

“As she should be.” He shut his laptop loudly and slid it to the corner of his desk. “You should have taken advantage of the vacation while you had the chance. Once you’re Don, vacations come few and far between.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I let out a sharp laugh. He was right, I could count on one hand the number of times my dad had taken a real vacation since he took over for my grandfather. We traveled frequently, but it was always wrapped around the business in some way. “How have things been here?”

“Chaotic.” He shook his head, sighing. “You’ll be happy to hear the Morettis put a hit out on the Russian who shot up the dress shop.”

“Good.” I nodded, even though I already knew that. Vince and I had been in touch over the last few days and he was keeping me updated on how things were progressing over there. For the most part, Alessandro was laying low, which I figured was a result of his botched plan to frame me for cheating on his daughter.

“I’m not so sure.” My dad frowned. “I’ve known the Asnikovs a long time, and a move like this will only fuel their fire. I know how upset everyone is, but I’m worried it’s going to put everyone in even more danger.”

“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that, actually.” I shifted my weight. This wasn’t exactly how I had planned on telling my father that I was married, but nothing about mine and Ava’s relationship had gone according to plan. “I want full security on Ava at all times.”

My dad’s face fell. “Nick, you know I can’t authorize that. Ava is part of Alessandro’s family and that means she is his responsibility until—”

“Until we are married. I’m aware of the rules.” I pulled a copy of our marriage certificate out of my pocket and handed it to him. We’d done everything completely legally, and as of this morning, our license had been filed with the City of New York as well. Our marriage was airtight; there would be no loopholes Alessandro could find.

My father’s brow furrowed as he unfolded the sheet carefully. His eyes scanned the document, widening as he realized what I was saying.

“Nick, tell me you didn’t fucking marry her in Saint Lucia,” he seethed. Not exactly the reaction I was expecting.

“I married her in Saint Lucia,” I said, smirking.

“Jesus Christ.” He threw his head back dramatically. “Do you have any idea what this is going to do? Does Alessandro know about this?”

“No, he doesn’t.” I frowned, getting a little defensive. I had thought this entire thing out, and he had no right to question it. “I know exactly what this is going to do. It’s going to keep Ava safe, and as far away from Alessandro as possible.”

“This is outrageous. Don’t expect me to believe you thought about this any further than how it would benefit you,” he hissed, standing up. “You’re going to put us in the middle of a war with both the Morettis and the Asnikovs. You think we’re equipped for something like that?”

“This isn’t about business, Dad.” I gritted my teeth. “I love Ava, and I don’t give two shits what Alessandro thinks of it. He is a bastard who has been playing us from the beginning. He’s been abusing Ava her entire life. Leo said you wanted us to move the wedding up anyway—I don’t know why you’re so angry about this.”

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