Chapter one.

Xena weaved her way through the crowded airplane aisle, her ticket clutched tightly in her hand.

She scanned the row numbers, her eyes darting left and right, silently praying her seat would be by the window.

Finally, she spotted it, a window seat. Relief washed over her as she approached, only to notice a woman already seated in the adjacent seat, headphones on, eyes closed, seemingly lost in her music.

"Um... sorry, excuse me." Xena said politeness. The woman's eyes fluttered open, and she quickly straightened up.

"Oh! Sure, sure, sorry about that." the woman replied, moving aside to let Xena pass.

Xena offered a polite smile and slid into her seat, settling in with a deep breath.

As soon as she was seated, Xena turned her gaze out the window.

This was the first time she would travel so far from home, leaving behind her Nana and her little brother Diego, who was just eleven.

The thought tugged at her heart, a mixture of excitement and sadness swirling within her.

A soft beeping from her phone snapped her out of her thoughts. Shifting slightly, she pulled it out of her back pocket.

The screen lit up with a message, and as she read it, a soft giggle escaped her lips.

It was a picture of Diego and Nana making silly faces, accompanied by a note:

"Have fun, sis! I can't wait to see you next week!"

"Aww, that's adorable." came a voice from beside her.

Xena's head turned to find the woman beside her peeking at her phone. She stiffened slightly, her smile fading.

No privacy, huh?

The woman seemed to catch on to Xena's discomfort and quickly apologized.

"Oh, sorry. That was nosy of me."

Xena gave a noncommittal hum and returned her attention to her phone. But the woman wasn't done.

"First time going to New York?" she asked, her tone light and conversational.

"Do I need to answer her?" She thought debating if to ignore her but decided against it.

At least the woman seemed to be trying to make friendly conversation. She gave a small nod. "Yeah."

"Was that your brother in the picture?" the woman continued, gesturing toward Xena's phone.

"Yeah." Xena replied, her voice softening. "That's Diego. And this is my first time leaving him and my Nana."

"Oh, I get that. Family is hard to leave behind. Are you visiting someone in New York?"

"My best friend." Xena answered, glancing at the woman.

There was something curious about the way she stared at her, trying to read between the lines of her words. It made Xena a bit uneasy.

"She thinks my life is boring." Xena added with a small laugh.

"She insisted I come and spend a week with her, just to get out and not miss out on life, her words."

The woman's gaze didn't waver. Instead, her lips curved into a knowing smile.

"You don't seem thrilled about the idea."

Xena blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Your voice says, 'I'm excited to visit my friend,' but your eyes... they say, 'I don't really want to go.' Am I wrong?"

Xena's mouth fell open in disbelief. How did this woman pick up on that?

"I'm fine with going." she said, her tone signaling that the subject was closed.

The woman raised her hands slightly in a gesture of surrender.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to overstep. But let me just say this... be careful in New York. It's a great place to have fun, but danger... danger roams freely there too."

Xena's brow furrowed. "Every country has danger roaming around. You just have to be cautious."

The woman chuckled lightly, her tone shifting to something almost playful yet ominous.

"True. But you... you're beautiful and almost too vulnerable. The kind that turns heads and lure in danger... and makes you the perfect target. Just... watch your back."

With that, the woman popped her earbuds back in and leaned against her seat, closing her eyes as if the conversation never happened.

Xena stared at her for a long moment.

Why would a complete stranger warn me like that? she wondered.

And why did her words feel like more than just idle advice?

~~~&~~~

10 hours later.

Xena's voice was full of excitement as she spoke into her phone with Best friend..

"Yeah, I'm at the airport... Goodness, calm down, haha. Yeah, sure, see you in a bit." She hung up the call, a grin spreading across her face as she felt the thrill of being in New York City for the first time.

As she walked out of the terminal, she couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

The night sky above was clear, and the lights of the city glittered, illuminating everything around her.

It was colder than she had expected, the chill of the night air sipped through her jacket.

"I should let Nana know, I just landed" She quickly typed out a message to her Nana, letting her know she had arrived safely.

She was so caught up in her texting, that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings.

She suddenly collided with someone.

Her phone slipped from her hands, falling with a soft thud.

"I'm so sorry!" she immediately apologized, bending down to pick it up.

But before she could reach for it, a hand appeared in front of her, effortlessly picking the phone up first.

Xena’s gaze instinctively lifted to meet the person’s face, and she froze.

The grey eyes was what she noticed first, they were stormy, and oddly mesmerizing.

Even in the dim light of the city, those eyes had a depth that held her in place.

She couldn’t tear her gaze away, and before she realized it, she had been staring at the man for far too long.

Flustered, she snapped out of it, quickly looking away, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“I-I’m sorry.” she stammered, extending her hand out in a silent request for her phone.

But he didn’t immediately hand it over. Instead, he continued to stand there.

Xena tried to focus on something else, anything else, but her eyes couldn’t help but flicker back up to him.

And that’s when she truly took him in.

He was tall, incredibly tall, and his broad shoulders and frame were impossible to miss even in the dark.

He was on long, black coat and though he was standing perfectly still, she could tell how muscular he was, his physique, his posture, it was all undeniable.

His jawline was almost too perfect, and a scar ran just below it, adding a rugged edge to his otherwise handsome face.

Her attention drifted to his lips, full and still. They were sexy, but there was no warmth to them.

He didn’t smile.

Not once. The lack of a smile should’ve been off-putting, yet it only seemed to add to his allure.

But the more she looked, the more she felt it, a sense of danger that lurked beneath his stoic exterior.

This man didn’t just look handsome, he looked dangerous.

And that realization made her pulse quicken in a way she couldn’t explain.

Swallowing hard, Xena quickly tore her eyes away from him again, stepping back slightly.