And why did he come back?
My whole body is pounding with nerves as we finally get Dominic through my front door. John puts him on the couch and looks at me expectantly for his next instructions.
I don’t know what he needs to do.
I don’t know whatI’mabout to do here.
“Erm, can you wait outside the door?” I ask him, my voice shaking like crazy. “I’ll let you know if I need anything. Is that cool?”
I don’t know if he is, but he nods anyway.
Thank God.
I can see why it’s useful now to have guys on the payroll.
Once he’s gone, I grab my medical equipment and do what I can to clean Dominic up, to see what’s going on underneath the surface.
It looks like he’s been stabbed a couple of times, but the wounds aren’t too deep, thank goodness. His wound from the ambush at the cabin has also been ripped open. He’s going to get through this fine.
My heart starts to calm down as I realize that while Dominic looks bad, he’s going to be okay. He’s definitely going to be fine. I’m not going to lose him right now.
I don’t ever want to lose him.
Ever.
I know he ran away from me, and I do still kinda hate him for that, but if there was a reason behind it, some kind of reasonable explanation, then maybe we can work on things and move forwards.
He loves me.
I can’t forget about that.
I haven’t forgotten about that.
Dominic doesn’t seem like the type of man to throw the L word around easily, but he said it to me. He told me that he loves me, which means something.
I love him too.
As soon as I allow that emotion to come flying free, unlocking the box I have kept it in ever since I met him, a weight lifts off my shoulders.
I love him and I don’t want to keep fighting that anymore.
Not only do I need Dominic in my life, but our unborn baby does, too.
With my hand on my belly, a tear leaks down my cheek.
“Dominic, please don’t slip away from me,” I murmur under my breath. I wish he could hear me, I wish he was here with me. “I need you. I want you. I love you.”
He cracks his eyes open, just a little bit, and peers at me. I don’t know if he can hear me, but I keep on talking anyway. It’s time to say everything that I’ve not been brave enough to say until now.
But nothing is guaranteed, so if I don’t speak now, it might never happen.
“I need you, and so does our baby, Dominic. I’m pregnant.”
I take his hand and press it to my belly, wondering if he can pick up on what I’m saying. I don’t get any clue that he’s conscious enough, but I hope he senses that he’s wanted, that he’s needed. Me and our baby need him to fight and survive. No matter what.
Dominic
Isabella, I want to whisper as I reach out across the bed to touch her.
But I shouldn’t speak. I shouldn’t make any noise because I don’t want to disturb the bundle of joy in her arms.
Our little baby.
My little family.
This is the life I’ve always wanted.
I didn’t even know this is the life that I wanted. I thought I was happy living my isolated lone wolf life. Being a bad ass in the military and now working for good money, using the skills that I already have.
But really, all I’ve ever wanted is a family of my own, just like this.
This is love, real love. The sort of love I didn’t think a man like me could find.
Having her at long last-despite everything that we’ve been through and how hard it’s been to get here-is amazing.
I will never take Isabella for granted. I will cherish every single moment…
Wait.
But what’s that?
There’s a hand reaching out, a gnarly hand, almost monster like, and it’s seconds away from grabbing Isabella.
I try to bolt upright, knowing I need to sit to protect her, but my body is pinned down. There’s a weight on top of me, straddling across me, keeping me on the mattress as a figure takes Isabella and my baby away from me.
Henry.
Holy shit.
None of this is real. I must be deep somewhere in my subconscious, and everything that I have been through is starting to come to the surface, rolling through me in the worst possible way.
Henry is taking my family from me, surrounded by faceless men. But the man behind him has a face, and it’s one I really don’t want to see.
Vincenzo Lucchese.
My heart damn near stops beating when I spot the murderous look in his eye.
He wants me dead, I can feel it.
He’s the sort of man who won’t stop until there isn’t any air left in my lungs, and I can’t even defend myself because I can’t speak. I can’t even reassure my wife and child who are screaming at me for help.
My instincts rise, tension flooding my body. I can even feel myself rising up in the bed at long last. But not in the dream. That all seems to be fading away and I can’t grasp back onto it-however hard I try.
Isabella, I want to scream at the top of my lungs. Isabella, I need you…
As if I’ve summoned her, the door swings open and her beautiful face appears. She’s in her scrubs, just like she was when I first met her, when she thought I was William Bonell.
Is this a dream as well?
“Oh, Dominic, you’re awake.” She frowns at me. “How are you feeling? I don’t think you should be sitting up at the moment. Let me check you over first. I want to make sure you’re okay before you do any damage to yourself, all right?”
The softness of her skin as she touched me sends a shudder down my spine. This is definitely real, not a dream.
Especially because I can see how upset she looks.
Or is she pissed?