Page 27 of Ready to Cash Out

Jupiter dragged Trev toward the SUV.

“Hey, hey! My fucking lockbox!” Trev flailed furiously. “I need it!”

“We’re fucking leaving. You can either come quietly or I’ll put you in the trunk.”

Trev glanced at Jupiter’s jacket where he knew the gun was. This was not a fight he was going to win, not right now, and he had to be smart. “Let me grab the damn box and I’ll behave, okay?”

Jupiter didn’t say anything, but he turned back around. He still didn’t release Trev, choosing to bend down and grab the box himself. He shoved it at Trev, grunting. “Let’s go.”

Trev let Jupiter take him to the SUV, and he obediently sat in the passenger seat. He thought about running again, but he was pretty sure Jupiter might shoot him. Perhaps not anywhere lethal, but at least in the leg or something.

Jupiter got behind the wheel, cranking the engine and then peeling out away from the apartment. He made a face at the thump-thump-thump of the flat tire.

Trev smiled. “That’s going to absolutely ruin your rim.”

“Don’t worry, baby doll. We’re not going far.” Jupiter snorted as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He tapped a few buttons, clearly texting.

“You know that’s really dangerous.”

Jupiter finished the message. “There. Happy?”

“Overjoyed.” Trev smirked as he saw the sparkle of glitter on Jupiter’s face when they passed a streetlight. “You should wear glitter more often. Really makes your eyes pop.”

“Quiet now.”

Trev tried to map out where they were headed, but he couldn’t even hazard a guess. It wasn’t back to the club, and all he could tell was that Jupiter was taking them out of the city. With as slow as Jupiter was driving because of the flat tire, Trev considered jumping out. He’d get scuffed up for sure, but he could try to run again.

He snuck his hand over to the door handle, keeping his eyes on the road and looking for what could be a potentially safe spot to land. His mind clicked away as he struggled to come up with a better idea than jumping out of a moving vehicle, and he came up with nothing.

Adrenaline flooded his guts and nauseated him, and he took a few quiet breaths to ready himself. This was going to hurt, but probably not as much as whatever Jupiter and his stupid mobster buddies were going to do with him.

Fuck it.

He unbuckled his seat belt and pulled on the handle, heaving all of his weight against the door.

It didn’t open.

“Child locks are on.” Jupiter didn’t even look his way. “Gotta love ’em.”

“Shit,” Trev mumbled.

“Put your seat belt back on.”

“Fuck off.” Trev thought about hitting Jupiter with the lockbox, but he didn’t have long to think on it.

Jupiter pulled over on a dark side street, and Trev couldn’t see enough of the buildings to get his bearings. He thought it might be the storage facility near the highway, but he wasn’t sure.

Headlights flashed at them from a vehicle parked a few yards down the street.

“Your chariot awaits.” Jupiter got out of the car and then came around to let Trev out. “Best behavior, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Trev said sarcastically, though he didn’t miss how it made Jupiter smile.

“Good boy.” Jupiter took Trev’s arm and led him to the other car.

Trev dragged his feet so Jupiter would have to pull him along, and he grimaced when he saw Sal and Emiliano stepping out of another black SUV. “Do gangsters get package deals on big, stupid SUVs? Is that why you all drive them?”

“Sure do.” Jupiter snorted. “Family discount.”

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