Hard Earned Cash: A Dark Mafia Romance

by K. L. Hiers

  “Yes,” Cold replied, cupping the back of Jimmy’s head and petting his hair. “He was across the street, waiting for my signal. He knew I wanted to kill Cristian myself, but I didn’t care about the others.”

  “He made those shots from across the street? Through those dirty little windows?” Jimmy was actually quite impressed though he was still horrified. “It was such a tiny room! What if he freakin’ screwed up?”

  “A chance I had to take. Make no mistake, Jimmy. The Luchesis would not have let us leave there alive. The only reason I agreed to be led down into that basement is because I trust Tamerlane’s skill. He told me he could make the shot, I believed him.”

  “Guess we don’t have to worry about them showing up to the wedding now,” Jimmy grumbled, making a mental note to never piss off Mickey Tamerlane.

  “On the contrary,” Cold chuckled darkly, “Luigi Luchesi is still alive. He managed to escape.”

  “Shit! And you really think he’s still gonna come to our wedding?”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  “Wait, wait, wait!” Jimmy sat up, glaring down at Cold. “Did you invite the Luchesi family to kill them all at our wedding? What kind of Game of Thrones shit were you freakin’ thinking?”

  “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to,” Cold warned.

  Crossing his arms firmly, Jimmy argued, “I think I have a right to know if you are planning to use our wedding, the wedding you made me plan, to murder people.”

  “I am not planning to kill anyone,” Cold said carefully.

  “That’s a bullshit answer!” Jimmy growled. “If not you, then what about Tamerlane? Or Jules? Your finger may not be pulling the trigger, but you’re still killing these people!”

  “And?” Cold asked, his voice eerily flat. “We’ve been over this before. There are aspects of my business that you will find offensive and questionable—”

  “At our wedding!” Jimmy cut in angrily. “Our fucking wedding, Rod!”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “I love you,” Jimmy said quietly, some of the prior heat lost as his lower lip began to tremble. “Rod, I love you so much, but...”

  “Do you trust me, Jimmy?” Cold repeated, reaching for Jimmy’s hand and squeezing it.

  Jimmy stared into Cold’s icy eyes and felt his heart skip a few beats. There was no doubt in his mind that Cold would do anything for him. He loved him, without question, and the lengths Cold would go to for him were without end.

  Even while he was trapped in that basement, he knew that as long as Cold had blood running in his veins that he would come for him.

  Always.

  “Yes,” Jimmy whispered. “I trust you.” He saw a flash of blood. “But sometimes, Rod, I’m scared.”

  “Of me?” Cold tried to hide it, but he was hurt by the unspoken implication.

  “For you,” Jimmy said firmly, leaning in to kiss Cold’s lips to reassure him. “You’re dangerous, I know that. But the world is dangerous, too. Even with all your perfect planning, we both could have died because of a bunch of freakin’ onions.”

  “Onions,” Cold scoffed and laughed disgustedly at himself.

  Jimmy grinned at the sheer ridiculousness of it all and before he knew it, he was laughing, too. He laughed until his ribs were aching and he collapsed in Cold’s strong arms. “Ugh! I will never be able to eat onions ever again.”

  “I’m having Jerry ban them from the house,” Cold snorted.

  “How did you find out about the onion thing? Charlie?”

  “Yes, he told me afterward. He has a contact within the U.S. marshals who was very happy to assist us.” Cold rubbed Jimmy’s shoulders with a smirk. “His contact is also the one who bravely killed the Luchesi men who assassinated Mr. Potolsky.”

  “But the Luchesis didn’t... ooohhh!” Jimmy turned his head to look up at Cold. “You really do think of everything, don’t you? I mean, other than onions.”

  Cold rolled his eyes. “I certainly try to.”

  “So, the Luchesi family is taking all the heat for the fire and Mr. Potolsky?”

  “Yes, and the bodies that will ultimately be discovered in that basement. That noose will rest on Luigi’s neck, an inner conflict of the family is how we’ll spin it.”

  “It’s so easy for you to play with people’s lives,” Jimmy mused. “To lie, to manipulate...”

  “I will do whatever is necessary to protect what’s mine,” Cold said, punctuating the last word with a soft growl. Eyeing him hungrily, his grip on Jimmy was firm.

  “Anything?” Jimmy whispered, a very familiar warmth beginning to tighten up in his loins from the ravenous way Cold was looking at him.

  “For you, Jimmy Poe, there is nothing I wouldn’t do,” Cold promised him, sealing his words with a passionate kiss.

  “Oh, Rod,” Jimmy moaned quietly, his body already responding to Cold’s words and his touch. He wanted to act on them, trying to fuel his kisses with his desire, but his ribs had nothing nice to say when he pressed against Cold. His lean body jerked involuntarily, and a small groan of pain worked its way up from the back of his throat despite his best efforts to stifle it.

  “Jimmy,” Cold murmured, frowning with concern and starting to pull away. “You should rest.”

  Jimmy stuck out his sore bottom lip, pouting. “Come on, I’m fine! I can do this!”

  Cold did not look convinced.

  “Please, Rod,” Jimmy said earnestly. “After everything...” He closed his eyes. “I just... I need you.”

  Cold hesitated, but something in his expression shifted when Jimmy looked down at him again. “Get on your back,” he urged, offering his arms to help Jimmy roll over. “Easy now.”

  Wincing, Jimmy managed to flip onto his back with minimal discomfort. He began to untie his robe, but Cold quickly took over.

  “Let me.” Cold cautiously unwrapped Jimmy as if he was made of glass and began to slide his hands over Jimmy’s bare chest. He was careful not to press too hard, positioning himself between Jimmy’s legs and bowing his head down for a kiss. “I’ve got you,” he whispered. “I’ll take care of you, Jimmy.”

  Jimmy reached up to pet Cold’s hair, sliding his hands down his shoulders to help him shrug off his robe. He eagerly took in Cold’s naked body, staring down where their cocks brushed together as Cold rolled his hips. They were both hard, and their shafts rubbed together in the most delicious way.

  Cold kept moving, slow and steady, pressing his thick cock up against Jimmy’s. His brow was tight with concentration, focused on keeping Jimmy’s cock pinned against his stomach with his own and grinding down.

  “Mmm... Rod...” Jimmy held onto Cold’s shoulders, sinking back into the mattress and loving the hot friction. Cold felt so good rubbing up against him, and he could see his own dick starting to glisten with pre-cum. He tried to grab Cold’s cock and lift up his hips to offer himself, but he grunted as a shock of pain lit up his abdomen.

  “Not tonight,” Cold said, shaking his head. He held his weight on one hand, reaching down to curl his long fingers around both of their cocks.

  Jimmy sighed, too sore to protest, groaning at the skillful way Cold began to stroke them together. The heat of Cold’s cock against his own felt fantastic, and his fingers were gripping him in all the right places. He looked up to Cold’s face, moaning softly, “It’s good... it feels good...”

  Cold held his gaze and rolled his hips in time with his hand. “When you’re healed up, I am going to take you apart, piece by piece...”

  Jimmy’s stomach clenched from the heated words; he bit down on his lower lip and whined at the sensations moving across his body.

  “I am going to devour every inch of you,” Cold went on, his tone becoming strained as his hand began to speed up. “I’m going to spend hours making you mine, making you come, making you scream my fuckin’ name...”

  “Ah, fuck!” Jimmy cried out, feeling his thighs starting to tense. The intense way Cold was looking at
him, like he really did want to consume him completely, combined with his filthy words, was making him ache, and the urge to come was overwhelming. “Rod, oh, fuck! I want it! I want you!”

  “You’ll have me,” Cold promised fiercely. “Over... and over... and over...” He claimed Jimmy’s lips in a ferocious kiss, plunging his tongue deep into his mouth with a low groan of pleasure.

  “Mmm, mmm!” Jimmy thrust up into Cold’s hand, his cock pulsing load after load all over his fingers. He didn’t even feel the ache in his nose or his lips, all of his senses focused only on the ecstasy overtaking him.

  Cold kept stroking them, his grip slick now from Jimmy’s cum and frantically driving himself to his own end. He stuttered as his climax followed only seconds later, still pressing his lips to Jimmy’s and letting them linger.

  Jimmy twitched, too sensitive to withstand Cold’s relentless grip after coming so hard. He panted quietly, struggling to keep their kiss going and enjoying the dwindling shudders of bliss. “Mm, fuck. Rod... I love you. I fuckin’ love you so much.”

  “I would do anything for you, Jimmy,” Cold replied, resting his brow against Jimmy’s.

  “I know,” Jimmy replied, taking a deep breath and stroking Cold’s hair. “I know you would.”

  Cold stayed like that for several seconds before murmuring, “Stay here.”

  “Where else would I go?” Jimmy laughed.

  “Hmmph.” Cold kissed him and got out of bed, heading into the bathroom.

  Jimmy stretched out on the bed, sated but still quite sore, grunting as he felt his muscles complain. Ow, and his nose. His nose really hurt, but every kiss had been so worth it. He smiled when Cold came back with a washcloth in hand, damp and warm, and began to wipe him down.

  “How are you feeling?” Cold asked.

  “Like my nose is broken,” Jimmy said with a soft snort. “I’m okay, really. Dr. Queen said I should heal up in a few weeks.”

  Cold gently touched Jimmy’s cheek, surveying his nose skeptically.

  “Am I really still beautiful?” Jimmy asked jokingly.

  “Always,” Cold said, shifting Jimmy’s legs so he could pull the covers up over him and slide in beside him. “Is there anything I can get you?”

  “Not unless you wanna go for round two,” Jimmy teased, laughing when Cold rolled his eyes.

  “What you will do now is take your medicine from Dr. Queen and get some rest,” Cold ordered firmly.

  “See, when you get all bossy like that, it has the opposite effect of what you’re trying to accomplish,” Jimmy fussed as Cold handed him a pill and a glass of water. He gulped it down, muttering, “Or should I say, not accomplish.”

  “Go to sleep, Jimmy.”

  “I’ve been sleeping all day!” Jimmy groaned. “Besides, I’m hungry.”

  “Hmmph. What would you like?”

  “Could Jerry make me a Philly cheesesteak?” Jimmy paused. “But uh, hold the onions, please. Definitely no onions.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jimmy gauged the passing days by measuring the decreased swelling of his nose and the fading of his bruises. It took over a week for him to feel comfortable facing his own reflection. His nose remained tender and his ribs hitched if he moved the wrong way, but he was thankful he looked like himself again.

  The furniture on the patio by the pool was all replaced, and Cold had the concrete refinished to hide all evidence of the firefight. Jimmy still hadn’t been out there since, and he wasn’t sure when he’d feel up to it.

  He avoided the news as much as he could, although it was impossible to ignore what was going on with his father and Maury constantly checking in on him. There was so much happening in Strassen Springs, and they were both very worried about him.

  The city was still left reeling by the awful fire and the basement massacre that was discovered the following day. As Cold predicted, all fingers were pointing at the Luchesi family, and the Gentlemen were never mentioned in the investigation.

  As previously predicted, Marco Luchesi’s body was cremated accidentally, and the funeral home responsible was facing a terrible lawsuit. There was also another fire at the medical examiner’s office and an unexplained break-in at the SSPD. A ton of evidence was stolen, including the murder weapon and all the DNA samples for Cold’s case.

  Cold didn’t comment, and Jimmy didn’t ask. He didn’t need to. He knew it was Charlie. It wasn’t long after when the police chief’s face was all over the television with the nasty details of his titillating affair on every reporter’s lips.

  His wife was going to be filing for divorce, and he was asked to step down from his position as chief, no doubt to be replaced by someone that Cold favored.

  Jimmy distantly hoped it was everything that Charlie had wanted, unable to resist a brief pang of sympathy for the disgraced police chief. Even though he knew that Charlie had his reasons, he wondered how he could live with himself after doing something like that.

  How could he look in the mirror and face himself?

  Jimmy was soon asking the same question, having just sent another dishonest text message to his father about how he was doing that evening. He hadn’t dared tell him or Maury about the kidnapping, not wanting either of them to worry about him. He also hadn’t seen them because he didn’t want to lie about his bruised face.

  He was already lying about so many other things.

  Staring deeply into his own eyes in the bathroom mirror, he finally understood why Cold lied so much. The urge to protect the ones he cared about outweighed the need to tell the truth. It troubled him, keeping such secrets, but sparing his friends and family pain was worth it.

  At least, that’s what he was telling himself.

  Jimmy wasn’t sure if he truly recognized the face looking back at him. Maybe Dr. Queen hadn’t reset his nose correctly, or perhaps it was knowing the man he was a year ago would have never lied so blatantly to his loved ones, and yet here he was.

  He closed his eyes.

  What sort of things would he find himself doing in another year?

  Or the year after that?

  Where would it stop?

  The lies were a start to a slippery slope that he wasn’t sure if he could manage. He loved Cold, he wanted to be with him, but he didn’t know what would happen if their two worlds continued to merge together.

  At a minimum, he certainly wouldn’t be sleeping ever again.

  The nightmares... had become overwhelming.

  Jimmy pushed his troubled thoughts aside, brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed. It was barely eight o’clock, but he was exhausted. He hadn’t been sleeping at all, and Cold had been keeping late hours preparing for the next court date.

  The murder charges against him would certainly be dropped, Jimmy knew. All of the evidence had been destroyed, every witness was dead, and now there wasn’t even a body. Cold would walk away a free man.

  But at what cost?

  Countless people had died, dozens of lives had been ruined, and the wedding was still looming on the horizon.

  It was all payment to secure Cold’s freedom, and despite Jimmy’s instinctive reaction to condemn the heinous acts, he realized that he was grateful. All of it, whether paid in blood or cash, allowed him to be with the man he loved.

  The nightmares, he decided solemnly, were his own price to pay.

  Jimmy flicked off the bathroom light and walked through the bedroom to Cold’s office to check on him. He lightly tapped on the door before entering, offering a wave and a somber smile. “Hi.”

  Cold was seated at his desk, hunched over his ledgers with his glasses perched on the end of his nose. He had been tense, focused, but melted into a languid pose when he saw Jimmy. “Mmm, already getting into bed?”

  “Tired,” Jimmy replied briefly, fidgeting with the doorknob. “Are you... staying up late?”

  There was a longing in Jimmy’s tone, trying not to be too obvious. They hadn’t been intimate in their usual way since Jimmy was taken. He want
ed Cold’s rough touch, his sultry commands, and the absolute gratification that no one else in the universe could provide.

  But Cold had been holding back, and Jimmy didn’t know why.

  Cold sighed quietly in reply, leaning back in his chair and setting his glasses on the desk.

  Jimmy was prepared for rejection, saying quickly, “It’s okay. I know you’re busy with the hearing and uh, just let me know if there’s anything I can do—”

  “Stay,” Cold said, smiling softly. “Please.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.” Cold patted his thigh. “Come here.”

  Jimmy practically sprinted over to Cold, jumping into his lap and snuggling close. He kissed him, running his hands over his chest with a happy hum. “Mm, I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve been right here,” Cold chuckled, holding Jimmy’s hip.

  “You do know it’s possible for you to be in the next room and still feel a million miles away, right?”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yup.”

  “What is it, Jimmy?” Cold asked, his hand squeezing.

  “I just miss you,” Jimmy replied, wiggling in protest. “We haven’t... you know.”

  “Haven’t what?” Cold asked coyly.

  Jimmy glared.

  “You’re still hurt,” Cold said, lightly tracing Jimmy’s bottom lip. “The things we normally do... could aggravate your injuries.”

  “But I feel fine!” Jimmy argued, turning his body so he could straddle Cold’s hips. “I need you, Rod. I need... I need you to punish me, to fucking own me, I need, I need—”

  I need to feel alive, I need to feel like myself again...

  “Shhhh,” Cold soothed, his thumb pressing over Jimmy’s lips to silence him. The movement was gentle, but Cold’s eyes were growing dark. “You’re in your head, Mr. Poe, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, sir,” Jimmy replied quietly, a shock of lust pooling in his loins. He closed his eyes. “I don’t like...”

  “Don’t like what?” Cold pressed.

  “I don’t like who I am when I look in the mirror.”