Chapter Five
The bass from The Velvet Fang pulsed through the pavement as Viv and Colt stepped out of the car. The club was Morelli's pride and joy—three floors of drugs, gambling, and flesh, all wrapped up in crimson neon and cigarette smoke.
Viv adjusted the knife tucked into her boot. "Subtle or loud?"
Colt lit a cigarette, taking a slow drag. "When have we ever been subtle?"
Viv smirked. That was all the answer she needed.
They walked up to the entrance like they belonged there. The bouncer, a slab of muscle in a too-tight suit, eyed them warily. "Not on the list."
Viv tilted her head. "No shit." Then she slammed her knee into his groin so fast he didn't even have time to react before Colt grabbed the back of his head and smashed it into the doorframe.
The guy dropped like a sack of bricks.
Colt stepped over him. "Nice touch."
Viv wiped her hands on her jeans. "I aim to please."
Inside, the club was a blur of flashing lights and wasted bodies. Dancers swayed on poles, cash rained down like confetti, and half the room was too high to notice the two people walking in with murder on their minds.
Colt scanned the place. "Morelli's got a VIP section upstairs."
Viv cracked her knuckles. "Then let's go say hi."
They moved fast, slipping through the crowd. A few of Morelli's guys were scattered around, but no one was expecting trouble. Not yet.
That changed when Viv ripped a switchblade across the throat of the first guard blocking the staircase.
Colt caught the next one in the ribs with a silencer-kissed shot, shoving the body into a booth before anyone could scream.
Now the club was waking up.
"Move," Viv snapped, already taking the stairs two at a time.
They burst into the VIP lounge to find Morelli lounging on a leather couch, a half-dressed girl on his lap and a glass of whiskey in his hand. His eyes went wide as Viv aimed her pistol at his skull.
"Well, well," Morelli drawled, setting his drink down carefully. "Didn't think you had the balls to walk in here like this, Viv."
She cocked the gun. "Then you're as stupid as you look."
Morelli sighed, giving the girl on his lap a nudge. "Sweetheart, be a doll and get lost."
She scrambled away as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You really think you're walking out of here alive?"
Colt leaned against the doorframe, spinning his gun on his finger. "Depends on how much begging you plan to do."
Morelli chuckled, but there was sweat on his forehead now. "You know, Viv, if you weren't such a raging bitch, I might've kept you on payroll."
Viv smiled. Then she shot him in the kneecap.
Morelli howled, dropping onto the floor. The noise downstairs had reached full-blown chaos now—screams, gunshots, the bouncers trying to control the stampede.
Viv crouched beside him, pressing the barrel of her gun under his chin. "That bounty on my head? Call it off."
Morelli gritted his teeth. "Fuck you."
She shot his other knee.
His scream was music.
"I'm sorry," Viv said sweetly, pressing harder against his jaw. "What was that?"
Morelli was panting now, his face twisted in agony. "Okay! Okay! I'll call it off."
Viv glanced at Colt, who gave her a lazy shrug. "I say we just kill him anyway."
Morelli's eyes widened. "No, no, no—wait—"
Viv grabbed his phone from the table and shoved it into his shaking hands. "Do it. Now."
He fumbled, dialing a number with bloody fingers. When someone answered, he rasped, "It's off. The hit on Viv. Call it off."
Viv took the phone from him and lifted it to her ear. "If I hear otherwise, I come back and carve my name into his fucking chest." She hung up.
Morelli whimpered on the floor, clutching his ruined legs. "You got what you wanted. Now get the fuck out."
Viv exchanged a look with Colt.
"Yeah," she said, standing. "One more thing."
She shot Morelli in the head.
Colt whistled. "Cold."
Viv pocketed the gun. "You're welcome."
Alarms were blaring now. It was time to go.
As they sprinted for the back exit, Colt grinned. "So, what's next?"
Viv smirked. "Something fun."
They kicked open the door and disappeared into the night.