Bond and M avoiding prison sentence (3)
I believe the answer is:
tie
'bond' is the definition.
(both can mean a connection)
'm avoiding prison sentence' is the wordplay.
'avoiding' is a deletion indicator.
'prison sentence' becomes 'time' (as in 'doing time').
'time' with 'm' removed is 'TIE'.
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for tie that I've seen before include "Knot; limit" , "Affiliation" , "Neck-cloth" , "'Fasten, with string say (3)'" , "Neckwear item" .)