Page 67 of Shattered Love

Dominic

“Hey, handsome.”

My eyes widen. I can hear her voice. “Avery.”

That magic laugh rings out as she appearsin front of me.

“Beautiful.” I grab her tightly. “God, I've missed you, baby. I missed you so fucking much.”

She places her small hands over my heart. “I've been here, Dominic, the whole time. I've been here.”

I lift her hands, kissing each of her delicate fingertips.

I remember the warehouse. “It was Molly.”

She nods.“Yes, she had us all fooled.”

I claim her lips as mine pull her closer my fingers finding their way into her hair tangling I feel it all of it. We pull back staring at each other lost in a time that just belongs to us.

Juliet. My eyes widen. “Baby—” I try to swallow.

Avery smiles one of those smiles that take my breath away. “It's okay, handsome. Our girl needs you. She needs you to chase her monsters away.” Her fingers trace my every feature.

“She’s beautiful just like you, she’s sweet, but she’s got sass.”

She shakes her head when a full laugh comes out of her. “Oh, she is going to drive you crazy.”

I kiss her forehead. “I know. She’s exactly like her mama.”

Avery places her hand on my cheek. “She’s just like you, too. She is part of both of us.”

I slam my mouth down on hers. “I love you Avery, only you. Forever.”

She starts to fade. “I love you, Dominic Stone.”

I step forward.

“So fucking much.”

I try to grab her. “Avery, don’t leave me, baby, please.”

I feel her smile as if it was the sun on my face. “I’m not going anywhere. You are. Give our baby girl a kiss from me. I'll find you, Dominic, in your dreams. I will find you, always.”

I wakewith a start and the machines beep around me.

“Beautiful.” I search the room before reality hits me.

I rub my chest, waiting for the pain. Fuck, it hurts. I close my eyes. I know she was here. I can still feel her, but for the first time in my life, I walked away from her. Juliet needs me alive. She needs her dad to chase away the monsters, just like I promised I would.

I stand up, ripping the tubes away from me and hissing as the needle comes out of my arm, but nothing is stopping me from going after her. The machines around me are going crazy.

A man dressed in an expensive suit walks in to my room. “Stone, cool down.”

I turn toward his voice. He’s certainly not a fucking doctor.

That’s when I take in the room. It’s not a normal hospital room. It’s too new, too expensive.

“Where am I?”

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