Page 88 of Cold Hard Cash

“Hey!” Dario waved, blissfully ignorant of what debauchery had occurred right where he was sitting. He frowned when he saw Jules following Jimmy and quirked his brows at all the suits in tow. “What’s going on?”

“Everything’s fine,” Jules rumbled, sitting at a table close to the stage. The other men scattered around the club taking various defensive positions. “Totally fine.”

“Uh, no. The last time I saw this many goons? You were getting somebody ready for a wooden onesie. Is it the Luchesis?”

“Hearin’ things?”

“Just that the Luchesis are back, wanting to make a move against Cold,” Dario replied, tapping one of the piano’s keys. “They figure he’s gonna go down for killing Dickie, and the Gentlemen won’t be able to hang on without him.”

“Huh.” Jules hummed. “That so?”

Dario looked annoyed at not having any of his information confirmed. He sighed and looked over at Jimmy. “Rowena tells me we have a big ol’ birthday party to get ready for?”

“Yes!” Jimmy clapped his hands together. “I’m gonna be singing with you guys, like, twice a week now, so I know I have a ton to learn—”

“Hey, hey, you’ll be fine,” Dario reassured him. “You’re a super quick study, and I can totally send you some of the music to work on at home.” He cracked his knuckles. “What I wanna hear about now is what you’re planning on doing to make Cold’s birthday an event to remember.”

“Well…” Jimmy grinned, scratching the back of his head. “Actually, I do maybe have a few ideas.”

“Cool! C’mon, Buckaroo. Let’s see what you got cookin’.”

The next few hours were spent rehearsing Jimmy’s songs that he had picked out for the party. A few Dario made faces at and nixed right away, but one or two he was excited about reworking for the show.

They had almost completed the setlist, and both Dario and Jimmy were proud of the final number they had come up with.

Dario was grinning from ear to ear after they finished a quick rehearsal, gushing, “Oh, this is gonna be so good.”

Even Jules seemed to dig it, saying, “Can’t wait to see the Boss’ face. I still say you should pop out of a big cake though.”

“No cake.” Dario groaned. “That’s for, like, bachelor parties and cheesy strip clubs. This is gonna be classy, but you know, with some teeth.”

Jimmy beamed, hoping Cold would enjoy it. He and Dario had worked so hard, and he was looking forward to Friday. “Okay. So, you wanna run through it one more time?”

“From the top,” Dario agreed.

Jules’ phone went off, and he lumbered to his feet as he answered it. “Talk.” He looked up at the stage, frowning as he listened. He didn’t seem to like what the person on the other line had to say. “You gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me.”

Jimmy tensed. “Everything okay, Jules?”

“You two,” Jules barked, pointing at him and Dario, “stay put until I get back.”

Jimmy frowned and looked worriedly back at Dario.

“Hey! What’s going on?” Dario called to Jules.

“Stay the fuck put, I said!” Jules snapped, heading to the front of the club. Two of the suited men went with him, and their guns were already drawn.

Jimmy backed toward the piano, his heart thumping with dread. “What the crap is going on?”

“I have no idea.” Dario got to his feet. “But I have a bad feeling about this.”

Two gunshots rang out, making Jimmy jump. “Oh fuck! What the fuck?”

The rest of the suited men bolted to the front of the club, and more shots rang out.

“Okay, time to go!” Dario grabbed Jimmy’s arm and dragged him toward the back of the stage as the gunfire continued.

It sounded closer.