Page 1 of Cold Hard Cash

Chapter one

Eighty-six dollars and nineteen cents.

Jimmy Poe counted it all out, staring in dismay at the money on his counter. It wasn’t enough, not even close.

He’d lost his job at the grocery store that morning because he’d been over an hour late for the third time already that week. Sixteen out of the twenty days he was scheduled to work this month, he’d either been late or had called off.

Too many absences, too many tardies, his manager had told him.

He was fired.

Jimmy had begged, desperate for one more chance. He’d had a meeting with his father’s attorney about hopefully getting a new trial soon and he’d lost track of time. It would never happen again, not ever, he’d pleaded.

His manager, not moved in the slightest, had given him his last check and quickly shown him the door. Defeated and sullen, Jimmy had cashed the measly check and returned home, only to find more bad news awaited him.

Rent was overdue. It had been for some time, and an eviction notice greeted him on his apartment door. He lightly banged his head against the frame, groaning loudly and fighting back a wave of tears. Today had easily been one of the worst days of his entire life.

And he still had one more errand to run, the worst one of all.

He had to go explain to his loan shark why he couldn’t make a payment this month. Considering he hadn’t paid last month…

He didn’t expect the conversation to go very well.

Now, staring at his eighty-six dollars and nineteen cents, Jimmy sighed miserably and then looked about his tiny apartment with a frown. He’d already pawned anything of value weeks ago to buy groceries. He didn’t even own a television anymore, much less a cell phone. He’d checked his ratty sofa twice for loose change and even between the cushions of his recliner.

He was so fucked.

Jimmy scraped the money off the counter, every last penny, and carefully tucked it all away into his pocket. Taking a deep breath, he headed out to see Maury, praying he’d find him in a generous mood.

Maurice Martine was a shark with a legendary reputation. People called him Maury the Mouth, as he was known for being quite chatty and for his long, wide lips. Once upon a time, he’d also been known to be pretty fierce with a crowbar if payment hadn’t arrived in a timely manner.

In his golden years now, he was a tad tamer, and he’d been in Jimmy’s life since he was a child. Maury was still a bit rough around the edges, but he was the one friend Jimmy had.

Maury had been the only one to offer support after Jimmy’s father was arrested, the only other person who believed in his innocence.

It was a shock to find Maury nearly in tears and wringing his hands when Jimmy arrived at his downtown pawn shop. “Hey, kid. We gotta talk.”

“Look, I know I’m a tiny bit behind.” Jimmy bit his lip, anxious. “But I can give you, like, twenty bucks? Maybe thirty? I’ve just gotta make sure I can get some ramen or something while I look for another job and—”

“Thirty bucks? Come the fuck on, kid!” Maury smacked Jimmy upside the back of his head. “You’re supposed to pay me a grand a month! Thirty is a fuckin’ joke!”

“Ow!” Jimmy yelped and rubbed his scalp where Maury had popped him. “Hey, I’m really trying!”

“Listen, kid,” Maury said, still visibly upset. “Listen fuckin’ good. Cold’s bought me out. The whole block. I can’t… I can’t gives you no more extensions. He wants his money, and he wants it now.”

Jimmy’s eyes widened, his breath seizing in his throat.

Roderick Legrand—Cold.

Better known as Boss Cold, a mob ruler who owned practically every inch of Strassen Springs. Ruthless, savage, and too smart for the cops to ever pin anything on him, whether drugs, gambling, whatever. If it was illegal, it didn’t happen within city limits without his blessing.

“But… It’s…” Jimmy gawked and quickly did the math in his head. “I owe you over a hundred thousand dollars! I-I don’t have it! You’ve been letting me make payments for months! I’ve been trying!”

“No, kid.” Maury shook his head, sighing heavily. “Try a quarter of a million bucks. Cold’s hit all outstanding accounts with a penalty. You gotta pay up or he’s gonna start breaking bones. Okay?”

Jimmy felt faint. “I don’t… I don’t have anything.” Tears fought to escape as he collapsed on Maury’s rickety sofa, holding his face in his hands as despair took over. He was a breath away from sobbing. “I already sold my car last year, I just lost my job, I’m about to be evicted from my apartment. I don’t even have a hundred dollars to my name. I have absolutely nothing.”

Maury twisted his fingers. “Well… there is something.”