Page 43 of Ready to Cash Out

“No way!” Trev barked. “I have to piss right fucking now. Do you want me to pee in your car? Because I will. I have a very small bladder and?—”

“Fine.” Jupiter took the key out of his pocket. “Come here. We’re going to make this quick. Emil is coming with a car.”

Trev walked up to him, tilting his head back. “Should I be on my knees?”

Jupiter snorted and unlocked the padlock. He grabbed Trev’s arm, wordlessly escorting him to the bathroom. “Hurry up.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” Trev scoffed, waiting for Jupiter to shut the door before using the toilet.

Shit.

Today was not going well.

He’d probably pushed Jupiter too far and his chances of getting close enough to steal that damn key were likely zilch now.

It did make him curious though—why was Jupiter working for people who hated him? Was that normal in organized crime? Trev had no idea, and he told himself he shouldn’t really care. He was only interested because of how he could use that and any other information to manipulate Jupiter.

After all, he was running out of time.

If Trev was being moved, that might mean that Boss Cold had made a decision. God only knew what the Luchesi family had asked for, and Trev sincerely doubted Cold would be willing to make any deal for him.

He didn’t know Trev from shit, so why would he?

Would family really mean that much to him?

Trev could be headed to a new location to be disposed of if Cold had refused to bargain for him. This might be the fucking end—a short trip to the quarry, to some sort of landfill, and that would be it.

Shit, shit, shit.

Trev sighed as he went to the sink to wash up.

As far as plans went, this one felt pretty stupid. It might be true that Cold especially valued family, but it still seemed like a strange concept to base an entire plot on. He hoped they were right though.

His entire fate hinged on whether or not some mafia boss wanted to have a reunion with a half-brother he’d never known even existed.

Or if Trev could still manage to escape.

Without that damn key though, he was fucked. There wasn’t much he could do with a broken plastic knife, and Jupiter didn’t seem to be a big fan of his right now.

Shit, shitty, shit, shit.

Trev glanced at the soap bottle, something catching his eye that hadn’t been there before. It was tucked underneath the bottle, almost invisible except when he looked directly down through the translucent orange goop.

It was a key.

Chapter

Seven

A key.

It was a key.

Trev stared at it for a long moment, honestly in shock and his thoughts zooming at maximum speed. He would have noticed a key if it had been here earlier. He wouldn’t have missed that.

Trev tensed.

He’d remembered hearing someone coming back into the building earlier, but who?

---