by K. L. Hiers
“We came in right around the juicy ‘fuck, right there, sir’ and decided to wait!” Valdemar happily replied, raising his voice higher to imitate Jimmy’s passionate moaning.
“Valdemar,” Cold warned.
“Sorry, Boss!” Valdemar giggled with absolutely no hint of remorse.
“If you’re, uhm, available, Boss?” Thirdsies called hesitantly. He sounded very upset. “We need to see you. About the guy with the thing? You know?”
“I’ll be right there,” Cold said firmly, his expression hardening. He watched Jimmy get dressed, sighing, “My apologies, Jimmy. Duty calls.”
“It’s all right. I’ll be here,” Jimmy said, stretching back out on the couch with a warm smile. He winked as he added, “Master.”
Cold rolled his eyes again, but he was smiling when he gave Jimmy a parting kiss. “Mmmm,” he purred, “I can tell you that ‘Master’ expects you to go upstairs, take off your clothes, and spread yourself open for me... I want you wet and waiting by the time I come back.”
Jimmy moaned softly at the thought, nodding, “Fuck. Yes, sir!”
“Uh uh,” Cold teased. “Yes, what?”
“Mmm. Yes, Master.”
* * *
Jimmy woke up with a smile on his face and Cold’s arms wrapped around his waist. He’d prepped himself in anticipation of Cold’s return as requested and was not disappointed when he finally came home to thoroughly ravage him. He didn’t ask about what Thirdsies and Valdemar had needed him for; asking questions would probably lead to answers he didn’t want to hear.
They showered and dressed for the day, and Jimmy was surprised when he didn’t see his father at breakfast. He looked to Cold for guidance, asking, “Should I go wake him up?”
“He’s spent almost twenty years with people telling him when to get up and when to sleep,” Cold replied, sipping at his coffee. “Leave him be.”
Jimmy thanked Jerry for his breakfast and ate in silence. All he wanted to do was help his father, and Cold’s advice made him feel useless.
“He will come down when he is ready,” Cold soothed.
Jimmy nodded, picking at his eggs with a forlorn sigh. His head jerked up when he heard someone walking in. He was hoping to see his father, but instead he saw the giant figure of Julian Price lumbering in.
“Morning, Boss,” Jules grumbled in his gravelly tone. He jerked his head at Jimmy. “Twigs.”
“Good morning, Jules!” Jimmy greeted, waving his fork.
“Any news?” Cold asked casually, though Jimmy caught the impatience in his expression.
“It’s a go,” Jules replied obediently. “Surveyors have been all over the block. Might be six months, might be a year. But it’s a done deal.”
Cold didn’t like that answer, scowling heavily as he said, “Fine. Just keep me posted.”
“Everything okay?” Jimmy asked, frowning in concern.
“It’s fine,” Cold snapped. He cleared his throat, saying in a softer tone, “It’s fine, Jimmy.”
“Don’t worry that pretty head of yours,” Jules chuckled. “Boss has got this handled.”
“Mm, morning,” David’s sleepy voice announced, shuffling in and blinking at everyone. He was still wearing his pajamas and his hair hadn’t been brushed. “Having some sort of a meeting?”
“Just passing through,” Jules said, turning to offer his hand to David. “You must be Big Twigs.”
David actually laughed, shaking Jules’ hand as he said, “I guess I am? David Poe, a pleasure. Wow, you’re a big one, aren’t you? You must be Jules Price. Tamerlane told me a lot about you.”
“Oh, yeah? Some of it may have even been true,” Jules laughed heartily.
“Good morning, Dad!” Jimmy piped up. “How’d you sleep?”
“Pretty damn good,” David replied, walking over to kiss Jimmy’s forehead before sitting back down at the end of the table as he had last night. “Still woke up at six thinking I was going to hear call.”
“It gets easier,” Jules said sympathetically. “Being in the joint shapes you a certain way. Hard to break back out.”
“Spoken like a man who’s done some time,” David said with a wry smile.
Jules smirked, which then grew into a giant joyful leer when he saw Jerry swooshing in to bring David coffee.
Jerry was glaring contemptuously and very much looked like he wanted to throw the scalding beverage at Jules.
They’d both been courting the same woman, Dr. Madeline Queen, and Jules had been the victor. Jerry had not been very happy about it, especially since Jules liked to rub it in his face whenever he could.
“Hey, Jerry,” Jules greeted cheerfully. “Guess where I was last night?”
“Face down in the gutter, rolling around in a pile of your own disgusting filth because your head is as stupid as your feet?” Jerry retorted sweetly.
“I was with the Doc,” Jules sighed longingly. “We had us a swell fucking time.”
“Ugh, that poor woman,” Jerry groaned. “Ah, well. She is a doctor; she’ll be able to write herself a prescription for whatever venereal diseases you’ve spread to her.”
“Hey, hey!” Jules barked angrily, puffing up his chest and staring Jerry down. “What are you trying to say, you fuckin’ twat?”
“Eh, my apologies, monsieur. I forget how weak your brain is. Let me try using smaller words—”
“Enough,” Cold warned, holding up his hand for silence.
Jimmy tried to bury his face in his plate, swallowing back a fit of giggles.
Sniffing stubbornly, Jerry ignored Jules’ sneering and asked David politely, “How do you like your eggs, monsieur?”
“Mmm, just the coffee for now,” David said, doing his level best not to laugh over the hilarious exchange. “Thank you, Jerry.”
Jerry looked to Cold for instruction. “Anything else, Monsieur Cold? More coffee? Perhaps throw Monsieur Price out into the trash?”
“Once David here is ready, please bring the car around,” Cold replied sternly, ignoring his last comment. “There are some errands he and Jimmy need to run today.”
“Oh, we don’t really need a limo, do we?” David glanced over at Jimmy for confirmation. “I really just want to go see Maury and go to the cemetery.”
“I must insist,” Cold said politely.
“All right,” David chuckled, holding his hands up. He smirked playfully at Jimmy. “Living the big life now, aren’t you, son?”
“Yeah,” Jimmy said shyly. “I guess I am.”
“I take care of what’s mine,” Cold explained fondly. “Jimmy is very important to me, and if I cannot be with him, I want him accompanied by someone I trust.”
“You’re not coming with us?” Jimmy frowned.
“I have business,” Cold replied with a shake of his head, nodding toward where Jules was still hovering.
“Okay,” Jimmy said with a faint frown, returning to his eggs. It was hard not to worry about Cold, especially when it felt like something was going on. Not that it was unusual for the Gentlemen to pop in like this, but so many of them in a short amount of time was troubling.
“I’ll be home to join you all for dinner,” Cold said, sliding his hand under the table to squeeze Jimmy’s knee. “I promise.”
Jimmy’s frown immediately turned into a bright smile at the simple touch. Even though he would miss Cold’s company today, it would be nice to have some alone time with his father.
“Well, mm, I guess we’re all waiting on me, huh?” David smiled, taking another big gulp of coffee. “Let me just get to the bottom of this cup and we’ll go.”
“Sounds great, Dad!”
David finished his coffee and headed upstairs to get dressed. Cold kissed Jimmy farewell and quickly left with Jules. Jimmy waited aimlessly by the front door with Jerry, asking him, “Do you know where the Strassen Springs Memorial Garden is?”
“Oui, monsieur,” Jerry said with a polite nod of his head.
“Do you have family buried th
ere...? Or...?”
“No,” Jerry smiled, “but Monsieur Cold knows your mother is buried there. He made sure that I could take you there should you have ever asked me.”
“Remind me to thank him later.” Jimmy blushed, touched by Cold’s often discreet affections.
David joined them, showered and dressed in another set of his new clothes, saying cheerfully, “All right, slugger! I’m ready! Let’s go see Maury the fuckin’ Mouth!”
“Dad!” Jimmy laughed, absolutely scandalized to hear his father curse.
“What?” David grinned. “I’ve served time! I think I’ve earned the right to drop an f-bomb or two.”
“Make sure you do it in front of Maury ‘cause otherwise he will never believe me.”
* * *
Maury’s Pawn Shop was in the heart of downtown Strassen Springs, a small store packed to the brim with a diverse assortment of wares. There was a large counter limiting access to the back where more large shelves were overflowing with trinkets and knick-knacks. It had a unique smell of dust and grease, a scent that Jimmy was always happy to breathe in.
While his father had been in prison, Maury was Jimmy’s only friend. Until meeting Cold, Maury was also the only other person who had believed in his father’s innocence.
Arm in arm, Jimmy was bouncing with excitement as he led David inside. “Hey, Maury! I got a surprise for you!”
“I already fuckin’ know who it is!” Maury’s gruff voice called back. “When the fuck will yous learn that I got cameras fuckin’ everywhere? Hang on! I’m waddling my fat ass out there as fast as I can!”
David froze in front of the counter, tears in his eyes when he saw Maury’s stout form come hurrying to meet him. “Hey, Maury!”
Maury pushed his way around the counter and dragged David down into a fierce hug. He hung onto his neck, blubbering passionately, “Hey, you good-lookin’ son of a bitch! Fuck me sideways, is it fuckin’ good to see yous!”
David had to bend over to accommodate Maury’s lacking height, hugging him back just as eagerly. “It is good to be seen! Wow!” He pulled back with a big grin. “You look exactly the same.”
“True beauty never fuckin’ fades,” Maury cackled, playfully smacking David’s cheek. “But you, ugh. Look at yous! You got fuckin’ old!”
David laughed, wiping at his eyes as he said, “Yeah, I damn sure did.”
“Hey, kiddo!” Maury greeted Jimmy, bringing him into a tight hug and smacking his back. “How’s it goin’?”
“Great!” Jimmy exclaimed. “Everything is so freakin’ great! It still doesn’t feel totally real.” He smiled warmly at his father. “Like, I’m going to close my eyes and you’re just going to poof away.”
“Trust me,” David sighed. “I know the feeling all too well, son.” He eyed Maury with a renewed burst of happiness, teasing, “So, I heard you’re the one that introduced Jimmy to Roderick?”
“Me?” Maury scoffed, glancing sideways at Jimmy.
Jimmy tried to use every muscle in his face to plead with Maury not to tell his father the truth.
Scrunching up his brow, Maury stammered, “Uh, well, you see... when Boss Cold bought me out, eh... He was really interested in, in, uh, Jimmy here... Yous know, ‘cause they got so much in common. They both likes dicks... and uh...”
“So, you were playing matchmaker?” David pressed with an amused smile.
“Yeah! Exactly!” Maury said loudly, nodding his head eagerly.
“Well, I’m really glad that you did,” David said, “because I’ve never seen Jimmy so happy.”
Jimmy blushed immediately, unable to resist a giant grin. “Aw, Dad, I really am. Like, so very happy.”
“As long as he’s good to you, I’m happy for you,” David said, “but I do hope you’re not planning to ever represent him.”
“Huh?”
“When you finish law school,” David clarified. “Might be a tiny bit of a conflict of interest, don’t you think?”
“I guess I hadn’t really thought about it like that,” Jimmy said, scratching the back of his neck. “I want to help people, innocent people, and Cold is a lot of things, but...”
“Innocent sure as fuck ain’t one of them,” Maury finished for him with a snort.
“But deep down, he’s seriously a really good person!” Jimmy insisted passionately.
“I know that,” David soothed. “Look, it’s thanks to his not-so innocent connections that we were able to get me out of jail and get justice for your mother. Being a criminal doesn’t disqualify him from being a good man, and I appreciate everything he’s done, but I don’t want to see you compromising yourself.”
“I won’t,” Jimmy said firmly, even as his stomach swam awkwardly. “I know who Cold is. Yes, it’s difficult sometimes to wrap my head around the things he does, but I do love him. And he loves me.”
“He’d fuckin’ better,” David said with a wink, affectionately patting Jimmy’s shoulder.
“Wait, what in seven flyin’ fucks did I just fuckin’ hear?” Maury cackled madly. He stared at David as if he’d just grown a second head, gasping, “Somebody got all fuckin’ hard and shit while they were in the big house, huh? I ain’t never in my fuckin’ life heard yous cuss!”
“First time for everything!” David laughed, Maury’s colorful declarations easing the tension that had been building. He beamed at his old friend, asking seriously, “Look, I know it’s during business hours, but would you like to come with us to see Eliza?”
“Holy fuck,” Maury gaped, his brow pinching in sympathy. “That’s fuckin’ right. You’ve never even been out to her fuckin’ grave. Goddamn that fucker Duplin, goddamn him right up Satan’s hiney hole.”
“Now there’s someone I definitely don’t want to see,” David sighed, the lines of his face drawing back and his age showing through. “Maybe one day I can forgive him, but that day is not today.”
“Never sounds fuckin’ good to me,” Maury snorted, waddling toward the door. “Come on, let’s go see Eliza.”
“You’re sure it’s okay to close up for a little while?” Jimmy asked as he and David followed Maury out.
“Are yous fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” Maury scoffed. “This is my fuckin’ place. I’ll burn it down if I fuckin’ want to!”
“Doesn’t Cold technically own it?” Jimmy asked with a sly smile.
“Bah!” Maury waved his hands, ushering them onto the sidewalk to lock up. “I ain’t fuckin’ scared of him. Big ol’ tall and ugly should be scared of me and my fuckin’ wrinkly balls hauntin’ him for all of his days.”
“What?” David asked, staring between them and completely clueless as to what any of that meant. “I sense a story here.”
“Oh, it’s a doozy!” Maury snickered, slapping David’s back. “Come on, I’ll tell yous all about it on the way.”
Jerry was there to open the limo door for them, and he greeted them with a cordial smile. He tipped his head to Jimmy, asking politely, “To the cemetery, monsieur?”
“Could we stop somewhere nice for flowers first?” Jimmy fidgeted, glancing anxiously inside the limo. Maury was telling a very enraptured David about the time he threatened to haunt Boss Cold by waving his genitals in his face. “I feel like we should have something, you know?”
“I know just the place,” Jerry said with a knowing smile. “Trust me, monsieur.”
“You’re the best, Jerry!”
Jerry stopped at a local flower shop where Jimmy discovered that he could get whatever he wanted without question. “For the Boss,” the owner told him, graciously helping Jimmy pick out a large bouquet of sunflowers. They had always been his mother’s favorite, and he offered them to his father to take.
David smiled sadly when he saw them. “They’re perfect,” he said, cradling them to his chest. “Thank you.”
To Strassen Springs Memorial Gardens they went, a lush and well-manicured cemetery with lots of trees and flowering bushes. Jerry even knew where to park to find Eliza�
�s grave, a simple granite headstone with her name chiseled across it with the words ‘Mother, Wife, Friend’ below.
Jimmy took his father’s hand, feeling it shaking in his, and gave it a squeeze. Maury took off his hat as he followed them toward the grave. It had been some time since Jimmy had visited here, but the grave was clean and freshly weeded.
He wondered if Cold had anything to do with it, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth despite the sad occasion.
David touched the top of the headstone, tears freely falling down his cheeks. He fell to one knee and bowed his head as his shoulders shook with silent sobs.
Jimmy crouched next to him and wrapped his arms around him. He was crying before he knew it, whispering urgently, “It’s okay, Dad. It’s okay.”
David inhaled sharply, a whimper leaving his lips next. He was still holding the flowers, pressing a hand to his face as he cried.
Maury stood behind them and dropped a hand on each of their shoulders. He was sniffling with them, his eyes wet as he mumbled, “Eliza was one hell of a woman. She was my friend... and I... I miss her every fuckin’ day.”
“She was my world,” David gasped, forcing a smile despite his sobs. “She was my everything. She was just... She was perfect.” His fingers tightened around the flowers, and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. “I wish I could have been there to see that bastard go down. I wish... Sometimes I wish I could have done it myself.”
Jimmy shivered at the memory, still able to hear the gunshot ringing when the traitor Rufus Corman had been murdered. It was the final act of Cold’s master plan, tricking his enemy, Matteo Luchesi, into killing Corman for him. Police raided the club, and Matteo was killed when he refused to surrender.
“That’s the anger talkin’,” Maury grunted, squeezing David’s shoulder. “Don’t listen to it. C’mon. Eliza wouldn’t want ya’ talkin’ like that. She’s finally at peace, David. Just let all that shit go down in the ground with her.”
“You’re right. You’re right, Maury.” David wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. He took another deep breath, gently resting the flowers by her headstone. “She’d be so mad at me for even thinking something like that.”
