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“You think he does this for every fuckin’ body?” Jules laughed. “Think he asks me to babysit every twink he’s been fuckin’? Nah. He’s a hit it and quit it kinda guy. But you, well. You do somethin’ to him. Got him all stirred up.”
“I do?” Jimmy smiled shyly.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Thought you were supposed to be college educated and shit. Wake up, Twig. I knew he was fucked the moment you two met.”
“How?”
“Uh, ’cause he didn’t break your fuckin’ hands when you grabbed him?”
Jimmy decided to take that as the compliment it was meant to be. “Why… why doesn’t he like that? Being touched, I mean. Is it because of Boris?”
Jules didn’t say anything, and his eyes remained glued on the road.
“Look, I’m sorry for asking,” Jimmy said quickly, worried he had made a terrible mistake by digging. “I just… I don’t want to fuck this up.”
“Ain’t my place to tell you.”
Jimmy did his best to not let his disappointment show through from being denied an explanation. “So, what do I do?”
“Whatever the fuck you’ve been doing. Just be patient. Boss needs time. Don’t take it personal. ’Cause it ain’t about you, it’s about him. Lotta hands been on him, and all they did was hurt for a long time.”
Jimmy thought of the glimpse of scars he had seen before, so much pain packed into a small swath of flesh. A lot of hands made Jimmy jump to the worst conclusion.
Did that mean Boris wasn’t the only one who’d abused Cold? Jimmy didn’t dare ask, but he had to wonder.
They pulled up to Jimmy’s apartment, and Jules escorted him upstairs and waited while Jimmy changed into a T-shirt and jeans. He freshened up, grabbed the check Rowena had given him, and let Jules lead him back to the car.
“What’s your bank?” Jules asked, pulling back out into traffic.
“Um, well, I don’t exactly have one.” Jimmy smiled sheepishly. “I used to bank with Strassen Springs First? But my account is super in the hole.”
“So, where the hell we goin’?”
“You know Martine’s Pawn?”
“You bank with Maury the Mouth? The loan shark?”
“Yeah. You know, the benefits are really good. There’s no overdraft fees, free checking, never have to wait in line.”
“Cute. You’ll need to get set up legit at some point. Especially with you and Cold gettin’ cozy, pigs will use anything they can to get to him.”
“Got it,” Jimmy said, nodding firmly.
They pulled up to Maury’s shop, Jules squinting as he looked around. “Yeah, I know this block. Used to be a jewelry store over there, right?”
“Uh-huh. My mom used to work there. It’s how my family met Maury.”
“It was a fuckin’ front.” Jules cackled. “The Luchesis used to launder their money through here.”
Jimmy was horrified. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, ’cause me and Boss used to run the cash. One of our first jobs together when we were kids.”
“My mom was working for the mob?” Jimmy hissed in disbelief.
“Ah, I’m sure they went straight at some point.” Jules shrugged. “Come on, Twig.” He herded Jimmy into the shop, the bell ringing and announcing their arrival.
Maury came out of the back, shouting, “Who the fuck is that?”
