Page 48 of Cold Hard Cash

Cold had kissed him. He had freaking kissed him. Sure, it was only his cheek, and it was probably because he thought Jimmy was asleep—

“Good night, Mr. Poe,” Cold said softly, ever so smug. Jimmy couldhearhim smirking. He knew.

“Uhhh... good night,” Jimmy stammered. His cheeks were hot, his heart hammering excitedly in his chest.

“Get some sleep,” he said, chuckling lightly as he rolled over away from Jimmy to get settled. “You’ve more than earned it.”

Jimmy was beaming, grinning like an absolute fool. Cold did care about him. It wasn’t the arrangement he was so concerned with, it was Jimmy that he wanted to hold onto. After all, why else cut his nightly payments except to extend their time together? Why take such good care of him? Whyfreakingkiss him?

Jimmy didn’t know how long it took him to finally doze off after that, but he dreamed of warm snuggles and a hand resting on his arm. When he woke up, groggy and confused, there was indeed something warm next to him.

It was Cold.

At some point in the night, Jimmy had cuddled right up to him. Their legs were tangled together and Jimmy’s arm was thrown over Cold’s chest, fingers curled in the fabric of his pajamas. Cold was stretched out on his back, hand lightly resting on Jimmy’s forearm. Cold had made no effort to move him, letting him snuggle all he wanted.

Jimmy smiled, nuzzling his cheek against Cold’s shoulder and falling right back asleep. When he woke up again, Cold was gone and sunlight peeked in through the heavy curtain. Jimmy flailed around for a few more minutes, yawning as he finally made himself sit up. There was no sign of Cold, but there was a small box and a note sitting on the bedside table.

He picked up the note first, smiling when he saw Cold’s familiar handwriting.

You start your new job today. Rowena will drive you.

Be at work by 12:00. Do not be late.

Be back here tonight at midnight.

-RL

Jimmy grinned, popping open the box and finding inside a brand new smartphone. It had a shiny red case, and there was a sticky note with the password stuck on the back. He fiddled with the phone, seeing there was already one entry listed under the contacts section.

It didn’t have a name, only a snowflake emoji. Cute.

He already knew the first person he was going to call.

“Martine’s Pawn, whadya fuckin’ want?” a gruff voice demanded.

“Maury! It’s me! Jimmy!” he exclaimed excitedly.

“Jimmy! Hey! How the fuck are ya?” Maury’s tone instantly softened. “Where ya been? Stopped by your place last night, ya wasn’t there.”

“Oh, Maury,” Jimmy sighed, chuckling as he raked a hand through his hair. “You are never going to believe where I am right now.”

Chapter Eleven

“Why wouldn’t I fuckin’ believe you? You ain’t never lied to me, kid,” Maury said, his voice sounding incredibly distressed. “Come on.”

“No! I just mean, it’s so crazy,” Jimmy laughed. “I’m at Cold’s ridiculous freakin’ mansion. I think he likes me? Like,likelikes me? I mean, he broke someone’s nose for touching me, which is super sick, but I guess he meant it, well, in a nice gangster way—”

“Huh?” Maury was stunned.

“Oh! Right! So, apparently Cold was just using me to try and get to Augustus because of this whole Dickie White thing, but we made a new deal! It’s okay! And God, I had a crazy panic attack for the first time in years—”

“Jimmy, motherfucker, slow the hell down!” Maury pleaded. “For fuck’s sake, kid. Take a breath.”

Jimmy did as instructed, grinning from ear to ear. “Oh, Maury,” he gushed, a swarm of rapid butterflies invading his entire digestive system. “I think I’m starting to fall—”

“Fuck, don’t you say it, don’t you fuckin’ say it!” Maury wailed. “Fuck! Kid! Dick and heart, remember? You’re gettin’ them all mixed up!”

“But my heart’s bigger than my dick!” Jimmy protested, frowning when he realized how terrible that sounded. “I meant... uhm.”