Ties That Bind Us (EBOOK PUBLISHED)

Chapter 6

Nick

0-3.

I hadn't won a single round with this girl. If we were playing baseball, I'd be down for the count already. Struck out, swinging 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 fight until you physically cannot fight anymore. And that was exactly what I intended to do with Ava.

When I pulled in to the warehouse, it was already bustling. Now that the shit with the Morettis was done, we could get back to business as usual. My father was meeting with Liam this morning and that would be the end of whatever alliance we had with them and we'd all be back in our lanes the way it should be. It hadn't always been so volatile between us. There was a time when things had been peaceful, where 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 still civil. Nothing stays civil for very long in the mafia world though.

Andrew'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. He was Liam's youngest son, but when we met, the animosity between our fathers didn't matter. We clicked instantly, and I considered him to be one of my best friends. He was loyal and sincere and had a heart for others. The kid was a natural-born comedian, always making everybody laugh and willing to do just about anything for a joke. He loved pleasing others, and eventually, that would be his demise. It was almost five years ago that he died. That a bullet from my gun killed him. That I 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 red spattered on the wall behind him—those were the things that still haunted my nightmares to this very day.

I loosened my tie as I sauntered into the office, trying to suppress my thoughts of Andrew right back down. I didn't have time to let myself go there today, and I was already distracted enough form 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 Micah sitting at the desk. Normally, he would be at the restaurant on Mondays, regrouping after the weekend rush. The place was technically mine, but Micah 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 Micah had taken a special interest in it and 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 but arched an eyebrow at me.

"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 for me. 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 his eyes met mine. "What the fuck happened?"

"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 rubbed salt in the wound.

A smirk grew on Micah'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 this morning without his unneeded amusement at my expense.