Page 27 of Cold Hard Cash

“Any brothers or sisters?”

“Only child.”

“Parents?”

“My dad is... around. Sort of. It’s complicated. And my mom... she died when I was very little.”

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” Rowena said, her lips pouting softly. “My mom died when I was really little, too. So did Roddy’s.”

“I’m sorry.” Jimmy meant it. He knew all too well the pain of losing a parent. He drank some more, brave enough to ask, “You and Cold don’t have the same mother?”

“Oh! No!” Rowena laughed loudly. “Boris, our father, was really big into spreading his seed anywhere he could. There’s probably a dozen of us little Legrands running around Central, but Roddy and I are the only ones he ever claimed. And that’s because he had to, you know...” She trailed off expectantly.

Jimmy shrugged helplessly, clearly confused. He had no idea what Rowena was talking about.

“You really don’t know anything about us,” Rowena said, amazed by the depth of his ignorance. “Okay, so. My mother was one of Don Rafaello Luchesi’s cousins. The Luchesi family that used to control Strassen Springs?”

“Right,” Jimmy said, nodding. “The ones Cold ran off.”

“Yup. This was while they were like at the height of their power. Because my mother was part of the family, Boris had to step up and marry her. They stayed together until I was, eh, four? She left and we never heard from her again until the cops called us to identify her body.”

“Jesus, I’m really sorry,” Jimmy said, cringing in sympathy. “What happened?”

“It’s okay, really,” Rowena assured him. “Super long time ago. And well, she was drunk. Ran a stoplight, crashed her car.” She shrugged. “I don’t really remember her very well to be honest, so, it’s hard to miss somebody you didn’t really know.”

“What about Cold’s mom?” Jimmy was dying for any information about his mysterious business partner.

“She was a jazz singer in one of the Luchesi family’s clubs. Suzanne de Villeneuve. Fancy, right? Ah, she was so gorgeous,” Rowena gushed. “I’ll have to show you a picture of her tonight, she was just fuckin’ beautiful.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah, duh, Cold is hosting the party at his house,” Rowena explained with a roll of her eyes, quickly getting back on track. “Anyway. She was this super popular singer, like, was working on a record deal until she got pregnant with Roddy. The Luchesis were super pissed with Boris for putting their little rising star outta commission.

“She was gonna go back to her singing career after she had him because the Luchesis were gonna get profits off her record sales. They were the ones that were fundin’ her, you see. There was all this pressure on her to perform again as soon as possible. But she died right after giving birth to Roddy, and ohhh, the Luchesis were furious with Boris. They blamed him for gettin’ her knocked up.”

Jimmy was aghast as he listened to the intense tale, not even realizing he had finished his drink until he tried to take another sip and found the mug empty. Rowena was quick to notice, refilling it and topping off her own.

“Don Rafaello said Boris and baby Roddy owed him all this money because it was their fault Suzanne died,” Rowena went on. “So, Roddy was literally born as like a fuckin’ mafia indentured servant. He’s been working for them since he could fuckin’ crawl. Odd jobs at first, dirtier stuff as he got older. Roughin’ people up, robbing places, whatever they wanted.”

Jimmy frowned, his heart aching for the man that Cold might have become had he been born in a different world. He gulped back his drink, hissing at the brain freeze as he asked, “Wait. Okay, not that I don’t appreciate it, but... why are you telling me all of this?”

“Well, it’s not like any of it is a big secret,” Rowena drawled. “And besides, you need to know if you and Roddy are gonna keep seeing each other.”

Jimmy blushed. “It’s just, uh, a business deal.”

“Right,” Rowena snorted. “Because my brother totally does this all the time.” She cackled wickedly, pouring the last of the slush from the blender into their glasses with an additional splash of Goldschlager.

“Doesn’t he?” Jimmy pressed, frowning. “I mean, not like all the time... but...”

“Despite whatever Maury the Mouth told you, no, he does not. He may not admit it, but you’re the first person to get this kinda deal.”

Jimmy didn’t know what to say to that, filling the silence with more alcohol. It made him question his current circumstances even more. What exactly had he gotten himself into?

“I know screwin’ around for a few days may not seem like a really big deal to you, but trust me,” Rowena said, sliding off the counter, “it totally is. He likes you. And maybe if you know more about Cold and try to understand him, well...” She smiled hopefully. “Maybe you’ll get the chance to get to know Roddy.”

“I’d like that,” Jimmy admitted. The alcohol was making him warm all over, and soon he couldn’t stop smiling at the thought of actually being close to Roddy.

No, Cold. His deal was with Cold.