Final Author's Note:

Well, ladies, it's time to end yet another story. *wipes tears* You are all so nice. I don't think I had a single negative review. I love you all! Thanks to everyone who read my story and for those people who kept coming back to read more. It's the greatest compliment. Special thanks to Harsh who recommended my stories to other people, to Momina who read my story even though she *should* be studying for SATs. My stories come first, right? And naturally of course to Anne for being my reading test dummy.

The inspiration for this story.... hell it was too long to remember. Julie Garwood does have a hand in it. Her killer, Monk from Killjoy used to leave roses behind to show he had completed his job. I liked the idea, but didn't want to copy it. Besides that would be to close to the Vial Killer so I came up with the secret admirer idea. Like all my ideas for stories, i have to toy with them for awhile until I really figure out what I am doing.

So for that reason it may take me a bit of time before Blood-Streaked is on fictionpress because I haven't figured out yet what to put in the summary. That's the hardest part. However since you are all such faithful readers, I'll put up here what I have written so far. It's the prologue, but not all of it, nonetheless Enjoy!

Blood-Streaked

Lila Pierce was the top criminal profiler in North America. She knew it and so did her government. Her government also knew they would have to pay her well to keep her. Lila was a businesswoman after all. Every case she was given either was solved or was far closer to being solved than it would ever be without her help. Other countries and lawful forces everywhere offered her better wages from time to time and when they did, Uncle Sam paid dearly to keep her.

Lila's curiosity could never be contained as a child, especially when it came to human behaviour. At first she had aimed to become a psychiatrist so she could study the human mind, but then an incident in her youth changed everything. She wasn't only interested in the human mind. She wanted to know about criminal minds. What drove someone to commit murder? Why did one feel entitled to take another's life?

Lila wasn't interested in the murders committed by the insane, passionate, vengeful or greedy. She wanted to know those who killed for the sake of killing. She wanted to comprehend what made people into unfeeling monsters who took life without a care. She wanted to learn their motivations, desires and needs.

She did. When someone with Lila's determination set out to learn something, they did. They answered all questions they sought to know and ones they didn't. Lila could read about killers, interviewed them and could tell you exactly how their minds worked. She could interpret their next moves by putting herself in their position. It was what a criminal profiler did. Did that mean criminal profilers had criminal minds? No, of course not. Did Lila have a criminal mind? Most definitely.

A guarded secret unbeknownst to all but a select few in the world was that Lila herself was one of the best assassins money could afford. She didn't kill for money, but that's not to say she would do it for free. She made sure she got an ample amount for any jobs she undertook. The thing that made her truly unique and dangerous to people in the criminal underworld and above was the simple fact she seemed to fancy other assassins as her target. She was a predator hunting other predators, for hunting prey was just too damn easy.

The one man who introduced her to his world teasingly called her an avenging angel for she never killed anyone who she felt didn't deserve it. Others referred to her as The Raven because she left a black feather behind to acknowledge she completed her job and because the name Raven was sexless. They knew precious little about The Raven and Lila intended to keep it that way.

The Raven wasn't her secret nighttime life. No, oddly enough it was her reality while Lila Pierce, though it was her actual name, was nothing but a façade. The blond, blue eyed beauty everyone believed was a rigid, prudish woman did not exist at all. Lila thanked whoever invented contacts and non-permanent hair-dye. They had become a morning ritual for Lila as she woke up and transformed herself into a completely different person.

She had just finished dying her hair strawberry-blonde when The Raven's cellphone rang. She knew it was him, her connection, the one who brought her into this world and would die before revealing her identity to anyone. He was the one people came to when they needed The Raven to do a job for them.

Just to be safe, Lila activated the voice modulator before answering. "Raven."

He laughed. "What, you don't trust me honey?"

"Is there a chance someone is listening in?" she asked, though she knew there wasn't. Sure, she trusted him, but not to a full extent. To trust anyone that much would be her downfall. She simply asked because it took a moment for her computer to make sure the line was secure, safe and untapped.

"You already know the answer to that, so I won't dignify that with an answer," he huffed and Lila smiled as she turned off the modulator.

"Alright, what do you want?" she asked as she popped in her contacts. They were specially designed for her eyes which minimized the visible rings around the iris that screamed contacts. Under normal vision, it would seem to be her natural colour. Under careful inspection and scrutiny, one would be unsure.

Lila checked her watch. If he went into his normal dramatics, she would be late. Her goal was to keep the conversation short as possible. After hunting around in her closet, she found a pair pantyhose and began pulling it over her legs.

"Now that's better. Did I tell you how much I love hearing your pretty voice? I love it now when it's husky and slightly annoyed. Not when you are the all whispery and soft blonde. Now baby, you know how much I've done for you, right?"

"Landon," Lila cut in, "Tell me about the job."

He took a deep breath which meant she wasn't going to like it. "It's not a normal job. It's a personal favour. As I recall, you owe me one but I have never called it in. well, I am now. I want you to eradicate Cole Wickham."

Lila frowned while she shrugged into her blazer. She grabbed her briefcase, put on her sensible pumps with only one inch heels and walked out the door. Now minding what she was going to say out loud. She knew Cole Wickham and met him personally at his sister's wedding. He seemed to be a perfectly nice guy, attractive and very charming. He seemed to be just another playboy.

"Why?" she demanded, which was unprecedented. Lila never cared as to why she was to kill anyone before. The less she knew about her subject, the better.

"Why? Because I am Landon and I asked you to, isn't that enough?"

Lila sighed. She would have the opportunity, seeing all the guests that were invited to the sister's wedding were being invited again for the anniversary. He would be there and Landon was right. He asked her to, she wouldn't be in his debt no more and since when did she develop morals anyway? Lila sighed. On the night of his sister's wedding, Cole Wickham would die. "Alright, I'll do it, but for twice the normal price."

"That's my girl," Landon laughed.

"Any preference on how he goes?" she questioned.

There was a pause. "Don't ask, but he has to die handcuffed to his own bed."