“A hundred and twenty-seven stabs is a little much for self-defense,” Jimmy grumbled.
“I’ll start working on the witnesses,” Christine went on as if she hadn’t heard Jimmy. “The ones that will claim your relationship with the victim was romantic need to be handled. One of them is testifying as part of a plea deal to reduce his sentence—”
“He’s an inmate?” Jimmy scoffed.
“Right here in Westchester,” Christine confirmed.
Jimmy felt an uncomfortable knot curling up in his stomach. Cold wasn’t in prison alone after all; Tamerlane, an assassin, was here, too.
“He will not be a problem,” Cold said calmly. “Find out what you can about the other two. They were a very unpleasant surprise.”
“By the time I’m done with them, they won’t be able to testify that the sky is blue,” Christine promised. “I’ll shred them in deposition.”
“Who is the prosecutor?” Cold asked. “Is it Blalock?”
“Yes,” Christine replied, flipping another page with a frown. “The feds being here is troublesome. You’ll need to sweep your home very, very thoroughly.”
“Like, for bugs?” Jimmy shifted in his chair, and his underwear tugged in a few very uncomfortable places. “You think they’re going to bug the house?”
“Of course they are,” Christine said dryly. “Your phones as well. Any places you frequent. They’re going to be watching you. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried sending in someone undercover.”
“Fuck.”
“Just keep your nose clean and your mouth shut. You’ll be fine. You can refuse to be questioned, and if they try to pick you up, call me immediately. Do not say a word without me being present.”
“Got it.”
“Jimmy,” Cold said, reaching over to lightly touch his arm. “Christine and I need to speak in private now.”
“What happened to trusting me?” Jimmy narrowed his eyes.
“Patience,” Cold replied, his thumb brushing over Jimmy’s elbow. “Remember that waiting can be very... rewarding.”
Jimmy bit the inside of his lip. His balls hurt so badly that he couldn’t even close his legs. He cleared his throat as he mumbled, “Yup.”
“Let Jerry take you home,” Cold went on, slowly withdrawing his hand. “Tell Lorre he is free to move on once the police have finished their search.”
“What about Jules?”
“He already knows what to do.”
“Fine,” Jimmy said, standing up quickly. He didn’t want to be upset, but he was frustrated in many different ways. He felt like some progress had been made today, and that was something at least. He tried to smile, saying softly, “I trust you.”
“Good.” Cold took his hand and kissed his palm. “Now go. I’ll see you tomorrow at the arraignment.”
Knowing Cold wasn’t a fan of public affection, Jimmy wasn’t going to try for a farewell kiss. He made to leave without one, pleasantly surprised when Cold pulled him down for a firm kiss.
Jimmy sighed against his lips, “I love you.”
“I know,” was Cold’s coy reply.
“Hmmph.” Jimmy should have known better than to expect that he could hear those words spoken in return again. He snorted indignantly. “Well, you look terrible in orange.”
“Not true, and it doesn’t matter because I will not be wearing it for long.”
Jimmy wanted to believe him. Even with Cold’s careful planning, there was so much that could go wrong. He found Jules and Jerry in the waiting room, the two of them sitting on opposite sides and glaring at each other like they were gunslingers in an old Western.
They put aside their grudges to shield Jimmy as they pushed their way through a new crowd of reporters to get to the car.
