Chapter 145: 41| Blood-1

Blood ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ Chapter 41: Blood (Anastasia's POV) Standing in front of the mirror that night as I got dressed, it felt a little surreal to me. The case that Dante and I had worked our asses off on these past few months could be finished tonight. Ethan could finally be caught, and the murders could finally come to an end. Although no bodies had turned up these past few weeks, tonight could end it all for good. No one would have to live in fear of a psychotic artist who went around killing people aimlessly. "What are you looking at?" I asked, my eyes meeting Dante's through the mirror as I slipped into my dress. He stood still behind me, leaning against the wall, and watched me for several seconds before finally stepping forward to help me. "I'm worried, Anastasia," he said quietly. The soft lavender silk dress flowed all the way down to my feet and hugged my waist nicely. My right shoulder was left bare while the fabric was tied into a delicate bow by Dante at my left shoulder. "It's risky," Dante added, "and it's making me doubt myself. Going tonight was my idea." "You're overthinking," I told him. "What if you get hurt?" he asked, his arms dropping before going around my waist as I spun in his arms to face him. Taking his face in my hands, I shook him lightly. "Stop," I whispered firmly. He let out a slow breath. "Hey," I laughed softly, tilting my head to find his eyes when he looked away from me. "We'll be okay," I reassured him, "you know we will, of course we will. Just one more night, Dante, and then this will all be over. Let's just get this fucking over with, hmm?" He stared at me for several beats while my hands slipped off and down his chest. "Hmm?" I asked again. "Fuck," he groaned quietly, grabbing either side of my face as he leaned down and smashed his lips against mine. I stumbled back simply because of the intensity of the kiss and the way it made me weak in the knees. His hand dropped to my waist instantly to catch me as I held him tighter, my lips slowly moving against his while he deepened the kiss. I gasped slightly as we broke the kiss, which left me breathless. All I could do was stare at him for several seconds. "Come on," he said, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. "We don't want to be late." Taking my hand, he led the way out. Throughout the drive, I could feel the underlying tension, and while I did my best to take Dante's mind off it, I didn't think it was working. He still seemed out of it when we arrived and entered the hall. There were undoubtedly more people filling up the gallery than any of the other events in the past… including familiar faces. "Amara," I said, surprise washing over me. "Hi," she laughed, squeezing me in a tight hug. I hadn't seen her in what felt like a long time. My social life went for a complete toss when I started working on this case, but I was used to that. It happened almost every time I was assigned a big case. I glanced over as Tristan and Dante exchanged a brief hug. "Hi, honey," Dante smirked. "Hi, sweetheart," Tristan mused, both of them chuckling. I knew that Tristan knew some details of our case that he wasn't meant to, but it was inevitable after he and Amara were present at one of these events. As we shifted through the room, I felt a familiar arm loop around my waist. "Hey," Rose sang. Dante quickly kissed my cheek before whispering in my ear, "I'll be right back." Turning to face Rose completely, I gave her a hug. "Oh, look who your boyfriend's talking to," she muttered, rolling her eyes. I glanced over and saw Dante talking with Kai. "The family enmity is still going strong as always, huh?" I asked. "We're born for hatred," Rose shrugged. "Fuck, he's coming over. That's my cue, Ana." With a quick hug, she escaped Kai by a mere second. "Anastasia," Kai greeted, holding out a hand for me. God, he's always so formal. "Kai," I mirrored, shaking his hand. My eyes drifted to the unfamiliar face standing between Kai and Dante. I'd certainly seen him somewhere… just couldn't remember. "And you are?" I asked, extending a hand. "Nathan," the man said, shaking my hand. "Nathan Davenport." Right… The friend Kai introduced Dante to. It was my first time officially meeting him, which made sense since Dante mentioned that Nathan wasn't much of a social butterfly either. I wasn't expecting the hint of a British accent, though. Throughout the night, we grouped and regrouped with our friends, but Dante never left my side. We were still as cautious as ever, waiting for a fucking bloodbath to unfold right before our eyes. The minutes turned to hours, and the event continued without any interruptions. I couldn't figure it out… Was it just the calm before the storm? Because everything was going far too smoothly. The closer it got to midnight, the more prepared Dante and I got for the final show-stopping reveal. Anxiety was gnawing at me on the inside. I was terrified of seeing another bloody and gruesome body. "Baby," Dante said quietly, pulling me to the corner of the room with him. Lifting a hand, he tucked my hair behind my ear and lightly ran his thumb over my cheek. "Are you okay?" "Mm-hmm," I nodded with a sigh. "What are you thinking?" he asked. "I'm just growing nervous," I mumbled, glancing at the crowd. I felt a bit stupid since I reassured Dante earlier tonight. "I know I shouldn't act like this, especially after I told you-" He cut me off, slowly shaking his head. "Don't do that," he whispered, "if you need reassurance, I'm here to give it to you, Anastasia."