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“But I wasn’t,” Jimmy soothed, alarmed to see Cold so vulnerable. He swallowed thickly. “I’m still here.”

Eyes wide, Cold’s entire body tensed as if ready to run. “Yes, you are.”

“And I’m still yours.” Jimmy pressed his naked form against Cold’s fully clothed one and gently squeezed his wrist.

The words seemed to calm Cold, and he moved his other hand down the small of Jimmy’s back. “Yes,” he confirmed with a breathy sigh. “You are.”

Jimmy pressed as close as he could, and he smiled as Cold released his neck to stroke his fingers through his hair. Jimmy rested his hands on Cold’s chest, taking a deep breath as he said, “I’m not going anywhere… We have an arrangement, right? I’m going to hold up my end of it. Are you?”

Cold had resumed his confident persona, though his eyes were warmer as he looked over Jimmy’s smiling face. “I suppose this means you’re declining my offer for the ring?”

“Definitely.”

“You’re a fool.” Cold brushed his palm over the top of Jimmy’s ass.

Nodding in agreement, Jimmy arched his hips. “Probably.”

Cold’s fingers slid between Jimmy’s cheeks, circling his hole. He let a dry fingertip breach him and smirked as Jimmy squirmed. “You’re willing to risk your life for this?”

“Everything.” Jimmy whimpered as Cold’s fingers continued to tease him.

“What?”

“I’d risk everything,” Jimmy said earnestly, his eyes locking with Cold’s.

Cold pursed his lips in concentration, as if he was debating Jimmy’s sincerity. “You really would,” he said after a moment, his gaze focused on Jimmy’s mouth.

“Yes, sir.” Jimmy moaned when he was rewarded with another torturous slide of Cold’s fingers.

“I’m not a good man, Mr. Poe,” Cold murmured. “I might just be selfish enough to let you.”

“So. Our deal?”

“Remains unchanged, but I still want that ring.”

“Wait, why?”

“Let me have the ring, and I will personally oversee getting your father’s case reopened at my own expense,” Cold said, both hands now palming Jimmy’s cheeks and spreading them. “I’ll make sure he’s freed from prison.”

“Really?” Jimmy tried not to let himself get distracted, but it was hard to think straight with Cold touching him like that. “You would… Mmm, fuck, you would do that for me?”

“For the ring,” Cold corrected.

Jimmy remembered the way that Luchesi guy had looked at the ring.

The initials.

There had to be something he was missing, something important right in front of him, but he couldn’t focus with Cold’s probing fingers and the promise of his father’s freedom being waved in front of him.

It was from his mother’s jewelry box, and he hated to part with anything of hers. But he didn’t even know where that particular ring had come from, and if Cold meant what he had said…

“Yes,” Jimmy agreed. “If you free my father, the ring is yours.”

“Ring first. Courts will take time.”

“No, free my dad first,” Jimmy argued, gritting his teeth as Cold traced around his hole. “Then… then you can have it.”

“No, I need it now.” Cold popped one of his fingers into his mouth before sliding the slick digit between Jimmy’s cheeks.