Page 45 of Ready to Cash Out

“Sal’s orders,” he replied. “Take it up with him, Jupe.”

“Don’t fucking call me that.” Jupiter’s scowl deepened, and he sat back in the seat. He pulled out his phone.

“I’ll call you whatever I want.” He and the other man shared a hearty laugh.

Trev filed that away for now and stayed silent. He could tell Jupiter was extremely pissed, and he busied himself looking out the window to figure out where they were headed.

Toward the city, and yet still in the middle of nowhere.

It was a maze of more tiny back roads Trev wasn’t familiar with, and he could only imagine what sort of crap fest a place called the nest was going to be.

When they rolled up to an actual mansion, Trev did his best to not let his surprise show. He didn’t know enough about architecture to identify much beyond the big marble columns and fancy fountain, but he could definitely say it was the largest house he’d ever seen in person.

There was an honest to God butler waiting for them at the front door with another man in a dark suit.

“You guys buy your suits wholesale at the same place you get your ugly ass cars?” Trev mumbled.

Jupiter silenced him with a glare.

Asshole.

They parked, and then the butler and the other suited man opened the front car doors. The driver handed off the keys to the man in the suit, and the butler came to open Trev’s door.

Every muscle tensed and he tightened his grip on the lockbox. Maybe he could make a run for it?—

Jupiter’s hand slid over the back of Trev’s neck and gently squeezed. “Don’t even think about it.”

Asshole.

The door opened and Trev hopped out, well aware of Jupiter right behind him. He must have looked like he still wanted to run because Jupiter grabbed the back of his neck again. “Mm, Daddy.”

“Quiet,” Jupiter warned, using his grip to steer Trev toward the house.

The front door was opened by—who else—another man in a suit, and Jupiter guided Trev through a large foyer and then directly up a big set of twisting stairs. Everything was white and gold, looked very expensive, and Trev barely had a second to take it all in before Jupiter was shoving him into a lush bedroom.

The furniture was gold, gaudy, and upholstered in purple velvet. The bed was made up with matching purple linens, the floor was covered in thick orange shag rugs, and it was somehow the fanciest and yet also the most hideous room Trev had ever seen.

He immediately noticed the large windows opposite the bed, and he wondered how far of a drop it was to the ground from this floor.

Jupiter squeezed the back of his neck. “You’re going to stay here and be good, aren’t you, baby doll?”

“Uh-huh. So very good.”

“Stay put.” Jupiter eyed him. “I mean it.”

“What?” Trev batted his eyes. “You don’t trust me?”

Jupiter smirked. “No.”

“That’s a shame. Trust is essential for every relationship, you know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Jupiter headed back through the door.

To Trev’s surprise, he didn’t close it. Trev peeked out into the hall, finding a new suited man standing guard by the top of the stairs.

The man smiled and made a kissy face.

Trev smiled sweetly and flipped him off. He ducked back into the room and sighed in frustration. He checked the windows, and they were all locked. There were two doors, but one led to a bathroom and the other was a closet.

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