CHAPTER ONE —
( two souls don't just meet by accident. )

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eight years ago.

THE CONTINENTAL
New York City

        For the city that never sleeps, it had its fair share of hotel and apartment buildings that always seemed to have vacancies for wandering souls that had no clue on where to go during the night.

The Continental was no exception. Although, this hotel was different from the other typical ones you'd find down every street of New York City. Hitmen, assassins, notorious murderers, mob bosses and just about everyone in the criminal underworld could use the Continental Hotel as a safe haven for whenever they deemed necessary. Whether that be to hide away from others out for their blood, or just to simply spend the night at a five star hotel that had top-of-the-line security.

The lobby was constantly busy at any hour of the night, with its reception operated by a concierge named Charon; a kind and well mannered man with whom upheld the Continental's rule of no business to be conducted on the Hotel's premises. Various individuals, many of whom had different professions, sat in the lobby, lounging around in chairs and reading magazines to pass up the time before a new contract would be sent out to them. To anyone, this space would seem normal, almost boring, but they were all waiting. Waiting for a text that would send them on their feet and to their next contract kill.

It was a fairly chilly night, November coming to an end and Winter approaching just around the corner. Coats were wrapped around everyone's bodies, gloves over their hands and boots on their feet. It wasn't until the Continental's doors opened at just past three in the morning did nearly everyone in the lobby shifted their attention to the new arrival.

Walking as if she belonged on a red carpet, surrounded by individuals that would spend hours upon hours taking her photo and selling them for far more than she's worth, Diana Anderson walked through the Continental's lobby without a single care in the world. Her black coat wrapped around her body, her hands grasping her purse, her lips plump and painted a crimson red. The staccato clicks of her black stilettos on the marble floors echoing off of the granite walls being the only noise in the lobby now. She was used to the stares. Hell, she craved the attention. It's part of what makes her do so well out in the field. Men tended to misjudge the woman, simply seeing her as a sexual object that they could just use to their dick's desire. A piece of arm candy that would do their bidding for them. When in reality, it was quite the opposite.

They were the ones being used. They were the ones that would be used to her own personal desires before she would ultimately slit their throats and let them bleed out in their beds. Or bathrooms. Or living rooms. Or just about any room in any joint. Wherever she could get her contract kill alone and vulnerable.

She stopped in front of the front counter, a small smile on her face as an old friend of hers glanced up and made eye contact with her. She opened up her purse with a soft click and pulled out just a single golden coin. Sliding it across the bench without a single word spoken, Charon glanced down at it before briefly nodding his head with a small smile and gesturing to the vacant lounges behind Diana.

Diana nodded her head in appreciation and clicked her purse shut before swiftly turning around on the spot, not expecting anyone to be standing at a close proximity to her. A rather firm chest collided into her own, causing Diana to instantly drop her purse upon the impact of the body. Before she could react, the man reached down to pick up the purse, and Diana noticed how everyone in the room were watching the interaction intensively, their undivided attention on the pair who, in the moment, didn't know the counterpart and their nickname known in the criminal underworld.

"Woah, baby. Watch where you're walking," Diana's voice purred out, trying to make the man fawn over her with just her voice alone like she had done so many other times before.

The man, unfazed however, stood back up to his natural height and looked down at the woman. A small cut on his forehead from a recent contract assignment that still had blood oozing out of, his dark shoulder-length hair oily and a sweaty mess upon his head, his dark eyes staring directly and intently back into her own. "Sorry about that," he responded, his voice gruff as he held Diana's purse out to her.

The man had never seen a woman quite like Diana before. Sure, there were plenty of stunningly beautiful women all across the globe that had caught his eyes and tried to take his soul, but no one quite like the woman standing before him. Her brown hair reaching just past her breasts that looked as soft as the clouds in the night's sky, her bright blue eyes staring right back into his almost black ones, seemingly trying to lure him in like a predator would to its prey. Her soul tried to capture his very own, but he knew he couldn't allow it. He wouldn't allow it, not with the job he had. And besides, he barely knew this woman. Why did he suddenly have an obsession with her just based on her looks and voice alone?

Diana reached into her coats pockets and pulled out a small handkerchief, reaching up to the man's face to lightly dab at the cut on his forehead. He didn't flinch at her touch, just watched as her eyes stayed trained to his forehead. "Just came back from an assignment, or just a fun little task?" She asked lightly.

"Contract. Of course," he instantly responded. Diana hummed softly and pulled the handkerchief away once she was done, admiring the work she had done when she noticed the bleeding had stopped and the dried up blood that stained his forehead was cleaned up. "I can take the handkerchief. I wouldn't want you having to clean my blood off of it."

Diana chuckled softly under her breath and looked back into his eyes. "Of course, you wouldn't. Not like I haven't done anything of the sorts before."

The corner of his lips faintly lifted upwards at her response. "Right."

"Ms. Anderson, your room is ready," Charon said from behind the woman.

Diana watched as the man in front of her's eyebrows rose just the faintest, realisation finally flashing through his eyes as his brain registered who was standing before him. She turned on the spot before a word could be spoken and smiled politely at the darker skinned man, taking the key out from his grasp. "Thank you, Charon."

"Enjoy your stay," he smiled back at her and then looked down at the guest list in front of him, going back to work in an instant.

Diana turned around and walked straight past the man she was speaking to before, knowing he was going to stop her and say something to her despite her abrupt departure from him. She had played this game of cat and mouse before, and she knew how a man's brain worked.

"You're the Baobhan Sith?" The same gruff voice from before called out from behind her.

A small smirk appeared on Diana's lips, knowing she had won and turned back around to face him. "Expecting someone else?"

The man frowned, seemingly at a lost for words as he shook his head. "No, just surprised, is all. Wasn't expecting you to look—"

"Like I'm capable of taking out a room full of men within seconds just from my appearance alone?"

His lips twitched upwards again at her response. He liked her attitude, he liked her beauty, he liked her and he didn't even properly know who she was yet. "I was going to say "strikingly beautiful"," he corrected.

Diana felt her heart thump just a tad harder than it normally does when she talks to men, which was an unnatural feeling for the woman. But she didn't let that faze her or bring down her persona. "Oh, good. Otherwise you and I would have to have a little chat about how I should be perceived by you, Johnathan Wick."

John instantly frowned. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, at a lost for words. "I didn't even tell you my name."

Diana threw John his wallet, the one she had taken from his suit's pocket upon first speaking to him and while he was too busy captivated in her appearance. "No, you didn't," she smirked lightly and turned around on the spot, swaying her hips softly as she headed straight towards the elevator to get to her room. Diana stepped into the elevator and turned around to face him. She pressed her floor's number and locked eyes with him from across the lobby. "I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the future, Baba Yaga."

The last little piece of the Baobhan Sith before the elevator doors slid shut that John saw was her sending him a very seductive wink and then she was gone. Just like his battered and bruised soul that he promised he would never give to a single living soul.