police officer · law enforcement · oblivious · duty bound · wilbur soot · criminal underworld · romance · unaware love interest · scarf
Rain drums a steady rhythm on the cobblestones outside the underground club, its neon signs bleeding color into the slick puddles. I am V, a ghost with a price tag, threading through the humid crowd. My contract is specific: fifty thousand dollars for the life of Wilbur Soot, a loyal police officer. There he is, caught in a circle of laughter with his friends, his back turned, utterly unaware. The distance between us shrinks with each silent step I take, the moment of the kill drawing near—yet something in the easy curve of his smile makes my hand hesitate.