Page 162 of Ready to Cash Out

Trev headed out to the street and around the block toward the front of the restaurant. One of the men from the security detail was on the ground, not moving, and sirens heralded the imminent arrival of emergency services, cops, or both.

Trev didn’t want to be around for either, and a quick scan of the area revealed no friendly faces. He had no idea where Jules was, and he saw no sign of Jerry, Lorre, or the limo.

Not even masturbating guy was here.

Trev did notice that the two men he and Cold had potentially identified as cops were gone. He wasn’t sure if that made him feel better or worse. He kept walking, suddenly wishing he wasn’t wearing a bright fucking pink dress shirt or that he had pink hair.

Kinda made him easy to spot.

Trev had done his best to memorize the route back to Cold’s home and quickly set off on foot. It would take hours at this rate, but he wanted to keep moving. He happened to see his reflection in a store window and grimaced.

Fuck, he was still covered in blood.

There was a cafe ahead with a few outdoor tables. He stopped to swipe a cloth napkin and an abandoned glass of what he hoped was water. He doused the napkin and then continued walking, wiping off his face and neck and everywhere else he thought there might be blood.

Shit, shit, shit.

He really needed to change clothes too, but his options were limited. Trying to steal something from one of the nearby shops risked police attention, and he doubted he could convince anyone to give him their clothes. Trading was probably out too.

Especially since his still had blood on them.

He could feel it sticking to his neck in a few places and shuddered.

Ten thousand showers weren’t going to be enough to wash this feeling away.

He wished Jupiter was here.

He wanted to jump into his arms and hug him close, to breathe him in and listen to him tell Trev that everything was going to be okay, that everything was going to be all right.

Even if it was a lie.

A green sedan rolled up to the sidewalk and Trev walked faster. He couldn’t see who was driving, but he doubted it could be anyone friendly?—

“Trev!” someone shouted.

Trev whirled around stupidly when he recognized the voice. “Juicy?”

Juicy was indeed behind the wheel,

He was smiling like an absolute moron.

He was also wearing a hospital gown.

Trev stared.

Juicy waved. “Come on! Let’s go!”

“What the fuck are you doing? What the fuck happened?” Trev quickly ran around to jump into the passenger seat. “Wait, can you drive?”

“Of course I can drive!” Juicy huffed as he pulled back onto the street with no turn signal. “I’ve been driving since before you were born!”

“Okay, yes! Got it!” Trev buckled up, grimacing as someone honked their horn behind them. “So, uh, what are you doing here? Why are you in a hospital gown?”

“Oh right!” Juicy nodded. “Jupiter was worried about you.”

Trev waited.

Juicy drove.

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