Page 30 of Cold Hard Cash

Jimmy wasn’t sure if that was to make himself feel better about sleeping with Cold, or if he truly believed that some crimes were acceptable depending on the circumstances.

Trying to decide if murder was ever justified was not a debate Jimmy’s alcohol-addled brain was equipped to handle. He sat up, resting his face in his hands, shaking his head as he said, “Wow... just two whole years, huh?”

“Uh huh,” Rowena drawled, returning to the fitting room to change again. “Boris tried putting his hands on Roddy, and well, Roddy decided it was going to be the last time.”

“And that’s why Rod—shit, I mean Cold, that’s why he doesn’t like to be touched,” Jimmy added quietly. “Because of Boris.”

Rowena stepped back out in her original outfit with the golden dress draped over her arm, offering a sympathetic smile. “Yeah,” she said, “and well... there’s some other shit. It’s just... ugh.”

“What is it?” Jimmy asked with a frown.

Rowena sighed, her hands on her hips as she struggled to find the right thing to say. “For Roddy, it’s all about trust. It’s not that he doesn’t like to be touched, I mean, fuck. I think he fuckin’ craves it. But it has to be on his terms. You just need to be patient with him, okay?”

“I can do that.” Jimmy nodded, perhaps too eagerly, quickly added, “You know, because of our deal.”

“Right,” Rowena said slyly. “The deal.”

“Yup,” Jimmy said indignantly, breaking into a big, goofy grin, “and that’s all I’m gonna say.”

“Mmmm, then it sounds like you need another drink,” Rowena taunted, grabbing Jimmy’s hands and hauling him to his feet. “We’ve got just one more stop to go! We’ve gotta get your suit for tonight, and we can drink on the way.”

“More drinking?” Jimmy laughed incredulously, delighted by Rowena’s wicked cackling.

“Duh!” She bought the dress and dragged him back to the limo, another round poured in seconds as they toasted again.

“Thank you,” Jimmy said, gulping back his drink before Rowena tried to cram it down his throat. “Seriously.”

“For what?” Rowena asked, cocking her head curiously.

“For this. All of this!” Jimmy exclaimed, moving to sit right beside her with a sweet grin. “I can’t remember the last time I just, like, hung out with someone. And the clothes, my God, you didn’t have to do so much for me. I’ve been having so much fun. This is just... it’s amazing. You’re amazing.”

“Awww, sweetie!” Rowena gushed, throwing her arms around Jimmy and hugging him tight. “I know I’m amazing, you don’t have to tell me. But seriously, I’m happy to doll you up. It’s been fun!”

“Thank you! Today is just... wow. Today has been a super crazy day. I still can’t actually believe this is really happening to me.”

“You just wait until the party,” Rowena promised, waggling her eyebrows. “We are gonna have an awesome time.”

Jimmy grinned. “You really are an incredible woman, Miss Legrand.”

“Come on, quit with that mushy shit,” Rowena groaned, giggling drunkenly. “You’ve gotta stay in awesome happy party mode.”

“Right, so, what is the party for? Is it someone’s birthday?” Jimmy asked, making a face as he took another sip of his very sweet drink.

“It’s a welcome home party,” Rowena chimed happily. “Mickey Tamerlane just got out of jail.”

“Mickey Tamerlane? The Shadow?” Jimmy’s jaw dropped. “Isn’t he... a hitman?”

“Yup!” Rowena said with a sly grin. “He’s one of Cold’s original Gentlemen.”

“Who?” Jimmy asked helplessly. He really needed to get a computer.

“The Gentlemen, that’s our little family of criminals,” Rowena explained with a happy grin. “The best of the best of Strassen Springs’ not so law-abiding citizens. None of them are Italian, you see, so the Luchesis never really wanted anything to do with them. Pretty much treated them all like trash, said none of them were worth a fuck. But along came Roddy, who definitely has no love for the Luchesis, and he brought them all together. He could see how much potential they had, and he formed his own family, the Gentlemen. That’s how he was able to run the Luchesis out of town.”

“So, that’s who’s gonna be there tonight?” Jimmy squeaked. “All the Gentlemen?”

“Don’t worry,” Rowena soothed, “they’re all loyal to Roddy and if he says hands off, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. It’s only the closest family there tonight, and everybody is chill. Ugh, except that creep Corman, but don’t worry about him. He’s just weird.”

Rowena considered for a moment, sipping at her drink as she added, “And well, Tamerlane is a little feisty, but he’s just pissed off that Lorre cheated on him while he was locked up. Ugh, and truthfully, Pym would have never done it, but he thought Tamerlane and Lorre were through, but they really weren’t. It also pretty much killed Pym’s chances with Thirdsies, because Godddd, does Thirdsies hate Lorre because he fucked over his grandpa this one time.”