Page 104 of Ready to Cash Out

“And fuck you too!” Trev spat.

Mickey smiled and it was extremely unsettling.

“I appreciate your honesty but not your tone,” Cold said. “You’re free to go whenever you’d like, but Mr. Prospero is staying here.”

“You used me as bait,” Trev realized out loud. “You asshole. You knew Jupiter would come for me.”

“I knew the chances of him strolling right to my front door were much greater if you were here, yes. And now that he is, you no longer need to be.”

“I’m not going anywhere without him.”

“Ah, yes.” Cold looked amused. “Because you claimed him as your prisoner.”

“Damn skippy.”

“It’s all right, Trev,” Jupiter said. “We’ll talk and figure this out.”

Cold walked into the parlor, taking the same chair as before. Mickey remained posed at the doorway, his eyes on Jupiter as he followed Cold to take the chair opposite him.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Trev bit out as he stomped over to stand beside Jupiter. There was another chair, but he was too wound up to sit. “I have claimed you and boom, that’s it. So, we can go.”

“If only you had the actual resources to protect your claim.” Cold smiled. “I think it’s safe to say that Mr. Prospero will be staying here as my guest for the foreseeable future. You, of course, are welcome to remain or free to go if you so choose.”

“Not going anywhere without Jupiter,” Trev said firmly. “Kinda weird I have to keep saying that.”

“I think it’s kind of weird you believe you have any say in it.”

Trev wanted to strangle him.

Maybe this was what having an older sibling was like.

Or maybe it was simply Cold trying to flex his big gangster dick and shut him up. He could easily have any of his guys drag Trev out of here, but he’d allowed Trev to stay. That had to mean something, and Trev wasn’t going to give up.

“Look.” Jupiter cleared his throat. “If you already know about the hit, fine. But I can still help you, Boss Cold.”

Cold did not appear interested. “Is that so?”

“The drugs. The pipeline with the FBI. Whatever you want to know.”

“So quick to burn your bridges with your family,” Cold noted. “You can see why I hesitate to trust you. After all, if it’s so easy to throw away your own blood, I am wondering why I should form an alliance with you.”

“Well, you’ve confirmed they want to kill me.” Jupiter snorted. “I think that should tell you everything you need to know.” He narrowed his eyes. “Besides, I don’t imagine blood really means all that much to you.”

“No.” Cold smiled. “But it still has value.”

“You want to ransom me back to my own family?” Jupiter frowned slightly. “Why? You already know they’ll just kill me.”

“Do you know anything about the park construction in Perry City?”

“Park? What park?”

“The park over by the Cannery?” Trev quirked his brows.

Cold eyed him expectantly.

“It’s some big city park in a rough spot of town that they’ve been trying to spruce up for years.” Trev glanced at Jupiter with a smirk. “It’s how I knew that the club had been renovated, remember? Water damage from a pipe or something.”

“A pipe?” Cold arched his brow.

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