Page 74 of Cold Hard Cash

One drink turned into two and then into a few rounds of shots before Rowena deemed them intoxicated enough to return to the dance floor. They danced until Jimmy’s legs begged for mercy, and then they retreated to the bar for another round.

Jimmy plopped on the barstool, stripping off his jacket and groaning. “Holy crap, no more!”

Rowena snickered, still standing and continuing to shake her hips as they waited for their drinks. “Wuss,” she teased. “Just take a breather. I’m gonna go make a few requests in a minute.”

“Can I request crutches?” Jimmy laughed, rubbing his aching thighs.

“Come on, it’s not that bad!”

“Nah. Just… Whew.” Jimmy shook his head. “It’s been a while.”

“Hey, Rowena,” a voice called out, two men approaching them with friendly smiles.

Jimmy didn’t think much of it.

After all, almost everyone here seemed to know her.

“What the fuck do you want?” Rowena spat, eyes narrowed viciously.

Jimmy blinked, startled at the sudden burst of venom. That’s when he noticed that the friendly smiles were a little too friendly, and Rowena had picked up her glass as if to throw it right at their faces.

“Just being nice, cous’,” the taller of the two said with a sneer, staring at Jimmy. “Huh. This must be Cold’s new chippie.”

Jimmy instinctively backed up against the bar. He didn’t like how these men were looking at him at all. “Who are you exactly? And how do you know who I am?”

“The tall and ugly one is Vincenzo and the short and stupid one is Gary,” Rowena answered for them. “From the very shallow end of the Luchesi gene pool. Pretty fuckin’ sure you know that you’re not welcome here.”

“Pretty sure it’s a fuckin’ free country,” Gary snapped in reply.

Vincenzo grabbed Jimmy’s wrist, his nasty glare moving to the ring on his finger. “Nice bling. Daddy Cold give you that?”

“Hey, get your hands off me!” Jimmy tried to wrench his arm away. Vincenzo wouldn’t let go, staring in confusion at the ring, and Jimmy grunted angrily. “Hey! Come on! Fuck you, dude!”

Vincenzo still wouldn’t release him. He twisted Jimmy’s arm until he yelped in pain, and that was the exact moment everything went very wrong.

“You stupid cock guzzling son of a bitch!” Rowena growled, her temper flying hot as she swung her foot back and drove her heel into Vincenzo’s crotch.

He fell like a sack of potatoes with an agonized groan and cried when Rowena kept kicking him.

“I will fucking kill you!” Rowena shouted. “You motherfucking dick weasel! Don’t you ever fucking touch him!”

The patrons around the bar scattered, screaming in alarm and trying to get out of the way. The music cut off and Jimmy was frozen, his heart racing so fast he couldn’t draw breath. He felt it skipping beats and jumping into the back of his throat. He watched in horror as Rowena continued to drive her foot into Vincenzo’s crotch, screaming like a banshee.

“You crazy fuckin’ bitch!” Gary grabbed around her shoulders and yanked her backward. She tried to smash her drink into his head but missed, roaring in frustration as she tried to wiggle away.

Jimmy lurched forward to intervene, but it was harder to breathe.

Wait, no, he really couldn’t breathe.

Vincenzo had somehow managed to get back on his feet despite the beating his manhood had taken, and he had Jimmy in a tight headlock. Jimmy clawed at his forearm, watching helplessly as Gary pulled Rowena’s hair and swung back to hit her.

His blow never landed.

A pair of strong hands seized Gary’s arm and snapped it at the wrist with a sickening crunch. Gary screamed, but a quick strike to his throat sent him gasping and choking to the floor.

Jimmy couldn’t see who their rescuer was at first. The man moved too fast for him to make out and Jimmy’s vision was getting fuzzy. Vincenzo was gone from behind him, howling in pain. Jimmy gasped and wheezed as he tried to catch his breath, holding his throat.

Rowena wrapped him up in a big hug. “Fuck, are you okay?”