“It’s nice, isn’t it? I know it’s only temporary, but the ability to relax even for a short time is nice.”
“Yes it is, Elizabeth. I’ll see you guys later, have fun.” Anastasia smiled and then closed the door to Elizabeth’s apartment behind her.
“Hey you.” She turned when she heard Dakota’s voice.
“Hey you yourself.” She grinned when he planted a loud kiss on her lips. “Long day?” she asked, noting the darkness in his eyes.
He nodded, and the smile he had faked vanished. “Hell of a long day.”
He unlocked the door and they walked into the living room together.
“Want to talk about it?” she asked.
He nodded. “Anything going on?” he asked, motioning to the room.
“No, we’re clear right now.”
“I think the Trepidos are getting worse.”
“What do you mean?” Her back straightened.
“We had three more suicides today. Perfectly happy, normal people who for twenty-four hours leading up to their deaths were exhibiting paranoia and panic attacks.”
“That must be why Vincent was here earlier. Son of a bitch.” She stood and rubbed her hands over her face.
“He was here? What did he say?”
“That he was only checking in on me, but he came right after Tony and I had finished sparring. I’m worried it may have alerted him some.”
“Shit.”
“The Trepidos were supposed to be leaving this world alone. I wonder if they aren’t falling in line as Vincent had predicted.” She was so incredibly sad for those who had lost their lives at the hands of the monsters, but part of her was glad things were going according to Vincent’s plan. Maybe that meant Terrenia was able to buy a little more time so they could get there and warn them.
“We have to figure out a way to stop him.”
Anastasia nodded. “We will, Dakota.”
“So many people are depending on us, and we are stuck here and expected to go on like nothing is wrong!” He slammed his fist down on the counter.
“I know.” Anastasia’s heart hurt every day for those trapped back in Terrenia, for her family and for those who had already lost their lives to Vincent’s madness. How much longer were they expected to go on like this? she wondered. “We will find a way, Dakota. You can’t lose faith.” She wrapped her arms around him and leaned into his back.
She smiled when she felt his hands grip hers on his waist.
“I love you, Ana.”
“I love you too. Now, I have an important question for you,” she said as she turned him to face her. “What do you want for dinner?”
“This is delicious,” Anastasia said around a mouthful of Chinese takeout. She had never eaten it before, since Monica had always cooked.
“Isn’t it? Tastes even better the next day too,” Dakota said, taking a big bite.
“I missed so much,” she said after she swallowed her food.
“Not that much. Chinese food is pretty much the highlight,” Dakota offered, trying to make her feel better.
Anastasia looked at him and he laughed. “What? You really didn’t miss that much. You had your own adventure going on.”
“That’s definitely true.”
“What is it?”
“Do you ever wish we were normal?”
Dakota laughed, and some of his water came out his nose.
“You okay?” she asked, smiling.
“Yeah. What do you mean, normal?”
“You know what I mean. Not prophesized, no magic, no weight of the world on our shoulders.”
“Honestly?” Dakota took a seat next to her on the floor.
“Of course.”
“What you went through as a kid, what we’re both dealing with now, it’s turning us into the people we are meant to be. Do I wish we could catch a break and not have near-death experiences every other day, yes, of course, but I wouldn’t change who we are.”
“Well put.”
“Thanks.” He smiled, and they stared at each other for a moment.
His hair was longer than it had been when she had seen him in that alley. The light stubble on his face gave him a hard look, but his eyes were as kind and as clear as they had ever been.
“Thank you for never leaving me.” She smiled and took another bite of her food.
“We’re home, kids!” Elizabeth practically sang as she and Tony came through the front door.
“How was your night?” Dakota asked from his seat on the floor.
“It was lovely.” Elizabeth kissed him loudly on the top of his head.
“How was the spaghetti?” Anastasia asked Tony.
“Delicious.” He grinned. “The food here is amazing.”
“That it is,” Anastasia agreed.
“How was your night?” he asked as he lowered his large frame to the floor next to her.
“Nice. Chinese?” she asked, holding her fork up for him to taste.
“Chinese?”
“It’s a type of food, originates in China, which is another country in this world,” Dakota answered, amused.
Tony took the bite and his eyes lit up. “That is amazing! Is there more?”
“Here, finish mine,” Anastasia offered, “I am stuffed.”
“Where do you put that food, Tony?” Elizabeth wondered.
“Here.” He flexed his bicep and grinned at her.
“Can you two please just get a room?” Dakota laughed.
“We have one,” Elizabeth said with a wink. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, my hospital’s Christmas party is coming up soon, and you are all going with me. If we are still here, that is.”
“Christmas?” Anastasia asked, surprised. “Already?”
“It’s December first, my dear,” Elizabeth said softly.
“Wow.”
Dakota nodded in agreement. “When is the party?” Dakota asked her.
“This coming Saturday.”
“We will be there.” He smiled.
“I am exhausted.” Anastasia stood slowly and headed for the bedroom. “Goodnight guys, see you in the morning.”
“I’ll be in soon.” Dakota stopped her and kissed her loudly.
“I got the ring,” Dakota said quietly once Anastasia had shut the bedroom door behind her. He had been so excited to show it to his mother and Tony that he had almost rushed Anastasia off to bed the second they walked in the door.
“Let us see!” Elizabeth whispered loudly.
Dakota pulled the small velvet box out of his pocket and showed it to them.
“Oh, Dakota.” Elizabeth’s eyes filled with tears. “It looks lovely.”
“It is beautiful, Dakota,” Tony said, staring at the princess cut diamond set in white gold.
“It was mom’s,” he responded proudly. “I had it resized and coated in white gold. It was yellow gold before.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Tony said with a laugh, “but whatever you did worked. Anastasia is going to love it.”
“Thanks.” Dakota closed the box and put it in his pocket.
“When are you going to give it to her?” Elizabeth asked.
“I’m not sure. But you mentioned the Christmas party, so maybe then?”
“I think that would be great, Dakota.” Elizabeth hugged him and Tony shook his hand.
“I’m grateful you two reunited.”
“Thanks, Tony.”
He hoped Anastasia was going to be as happy as they believed she was going to be. He knew she loved him and that they were going to get married, but he worried that she was more affected by being stranded here than she was letting on. Ten years of fighting a war that still wasn’t resolved definitely left its mark.
“Are you ready to go?” Dakota asked Anastasia as she slipped on a pair of heels for the first time.
“Yes, if I don’t break a leg first,” she said, trying to keep her balance.
“You will do perfect.”
“Here goes,” she said
to herself as she stepped out of the bathroom.
Dakota’s breath caught in his chest. The black dress started just above her knees and fit her like a glove. Her back was bare, and the colors of the phoenix on her back showed beautifully through her hair that fell in curls to her waist. She had makeup on for the first time since she had been a teenager. She didn’t need the makeup, though, Dakota thought to himself.
“You are gorgeous.”
Anastasia blushed. “Hardly. It’s the makeup.”
“Anastasia, you don’t need to wear makeup to look gorgeous. Trust me, it’s not that.”
“You look amazing as well, Dakota Parker.” She gripped the front of his sport coat and pulled him in for a deep kiss.
“We could just stay in, forgo this silly party.”
“It’s your mother’s Christmas party. We can’t skip it.”
“Why not? It’s not like she wants to go either.” He gripped her hips and ran his hands up her bare back. “Come on, we could stay in and have our own party.”
Anastasia laughed as she leaned into his body. She stopped when her mouth was a mere inch from his. “We have to go, Dakota.”
“Party pooper.”
Anastasia laughed and turned to the door when Elizabeth and Tony walked in. Tony looked like a man of this world in his dark suit, but you could see the lines of a warrior on his face. He loved being here, Anastasia knew, but being trapped away from his people, who needed his help, was wearing on him. It was wearing on all of them.
“You look lovely, Anastasia.” Elizabeth hugged her and then turned to face the three of them. “Thank you all so much for coming with me tonight. With everything we have going on it’s just one more thing we have to do, but I’m grateful that you are all with me.” She smiled at Tony.
“Elizabeth, we wouldn’t miss it.” Anastasia nudged Dakota.
“Shall we?” Tony asked, and headed for the door.
It had been nearly a month since Vincent had intercepted Anastasia’s attempt at reaching Carmen. They had been searching for a way back to Terrenia every day since with no luck.
Anastasia could feel Vincent there, lurking, almost every day, so trying to formulate a plan to save Terrenia was more difficult than they had originally thought it would be. They had decided to take the fight straight to Vincent—take him out and the block would fall, she hoped. Then they would be able to reach Terrenia and warn everyone and be there to help them to fight the Trepidos if it came to that.
They hadn’t nailed out the details yet, but at least it was a plan, and that was something.
Dakota hadn’t gone back into the field yet, his abdomen still healing, but he was scheduled to get off desk duty in a week. Tony and Anastasia had been working on wedding plans whenever Vincent was peeking, and their war plans when he wasn’t.
Anastasia felt the weight of her dagger that she had strapped to her thigh, and she knew that both Tony and Dakota were both carrying weapons, ready for anything that might come their way.
They drove the short distance to the building in downtown Seattle where the party was being held. Anastasia kept her eyes on everything they passed, looking for any sign of unrest. She wasn’t sure why, but lately she was beginning to feel as if something was coming for them, and it was making her steadily more paranoid of the outside world.
“Elizabeth, you look lovely.” The doctor who had met them at the door when they had brought Dakota in met them at the entrance now. “Although that is no surprise, as you always do.” Richard smiled and waved for them to go into the conference room. If he had noticed Tony’s glare at his words, then he hid it well.
Dozens of men and women dressed exquisitely filled the room. Some danced, while others stood and spoke among smaller groups. Anastasia couldn’t have felt more out of place. She felt the anxiety building in her chest and did her best to push it aside. She had never liked crowds before, and that dislike had only grown throughout the years.
“You okay?” Dakota whispered to her, and she felt his hand on the small of her back.
“Yes, just not a fan of crowds.”
“I remember.” He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek.
She looked up at Tony, surprised to see that he looked completely at ease.
“This is wonderful.” He laughed as he looked around. “Everyone looks like they are having such fun!”
Elizabeth giggled. “Just wait until people start hitting the bar. That’s when things typically get more interesting.”
“I think I’m going to use the restroom.” Anastasia turned and kissed Dakota.
“Need me to walk you?” he asked.
“No, that’s all right. I’m sure I can find it.”
“I can go with you,” Elizabeth offered.
“No, honest, you guys. I will be fine.” Anastasia smiled again and then turned for the bathroom.
Once inside, she took a deep breath. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was perfect, and to anyone else she looked like any other normal girl, but all she saw when she looked at herself was someone bracing for a fight. She used to long for normalcy. Had wished that she could have been one of those girls who shopped and partied, but now that dream seemed like it was a million miles away.
“Love your dress.” A woman had stumbled out of the bathroom stall, obviously drunk.
“Thanks, are you okay?” Anastasia asked, reaching to help her to the sink.
“I am perfect,” she slurred.
“Do you need help?”
“Nope. I got this, girl.” She giggled and began washing her hands.
Anastasia stepped back out into the party and did her best to relax. This was Elizabeth’s night, and Anastasia wanted to make sure she got the chance to enjoy it. She looked around the room and saw Tony and Elizabeth dancing. Anastasia couldn’t help but be surprised at how well they moved together. There had been nights where the Terrenians would play music and dance, but she had never seen Tony at any of the gatherings.
Elizabeth was elated at the chance to dance. She hadn’t gone dancing since before Dakota had been born. George had always been too busy with work to accompany her to any of her work parties, and any time they had been around others who were dancing, there had always been a reason not to.
She giggled as Tony spun her around, and then gasped when his mouth found hers.
“I didn’t know you could dance,” she said softly as he lifted his mouth and looked down at her.
“Back in Terrenia, we often had gatherings where we would dance and play music. I have to admit, though, it has been some time since I danced. I hadn’t attended one of the festivals since before my wife was killed.”
Elizabeth noted the pain in his eyes. Maybe that was one of the reasons they got along so well—they both knew what it felt like to lose someone.
“You wouldn’t be able to tell, Tony. You are a magnificent dancer.” She smiled at him and he grinned back, although it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I have a lovely partner.”
He spun her around again, and when the song ended, he released her and bowed. She felt like a princess.
“Shall we get a drink?” he asked, motioning towards the bar.
“We shall.” She took his hand and followed him to the bar, where Dakota waited for Anastasia.
“Is Anastasia not back yet?” Elizabeth wondered.
“She’s right there,” Dakota pointed to the crowd. “You all right?” he asked when Anastasia came to stand next to him.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She smiled smoothly.
“Want to dance?”
“I would love to, except I’m not sure how,” Anastasia admitted.
“That’s okay, I do.”
Dakota pulled her onto the dance floor for a slow rendition of Where Are You Christmas.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he whispered into her ear.
“You already said that.”
“So beautiful that I wanted to mention it again.”
“You l
ook handsome.”
“You already mentioned that,” he repeated her earlier statement.
“So handsome I wanted to mention it again.”
He laughed and kissed her softly. “Can you believe it’s already Christmas?” he asked her.
“No, it’s hard to imagine that people are out there shopping for Christmas presents when it feels as if the world is falling apart.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry, Dakota.”
“Don’t apologize, Ana. It’s been an incredibly stressful last ten years, wouldn’t you say?”
“Try lifetime,” she said, half jokingly. “But it’s getting better.” She smiled when he bent his head to kiss her again.
“I have something for you,” he said softly, but when she didn’t respond, he looked down at her face, which had lost all color. “Ana?”
Her focus was pulled when alarms began going off in her head. Something wasn’t right. She released Dakota and moved quickly through the crowd of other dancers until she was next to Elizabeth and Tony.
At their surprised looks, Anastasia nodded towards the group of men who had just come into the conference room. Although they were dressed in black suits, they didn’t look like they were there for the drinks and dancing.
“Tony, get Elizabeth out of sight,” Anastasia whispered at him, smiling so she wouldn’t draw attention to them.
“Anastasia, what is going on?” Dakota asked when he reached them. Anastasia nodded towards the men again, and Dakota reached for his gun.
“Wait, Dakota,” she said, stopping him. “Get her out of here, quietly, Dakota,” she told him.
“I’m not leaving you, Ana.”
“You have to, Dakota. You are not ready for a fight.”
“I damn well am,” he argued, but Elizabeth stepped forward.
“No you aren’t, Dakota. We need to go. If you stay you will only be a distraction for her.”
Dakota glared at his mother. He was damn well tired of being called a distraction. Still, he knew she was right, and Tony had a better chance of keeping Anastasia alive than he did.
“Let’s go, Mom.” Dakota gripped her hand and pulled her casually towards the exit.
The Fighter (Prophecy Series Book 2) Page 15
