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What Trev had overheard Howell and Sal talking about had some potential though. Maybe it would even be enough to unsettle Jupiter so he’d let his guard down and Trev could get his hands on that damn key.

Then again, it might only piss Jupiter off and accomplish nothing.

He had to use this information carefully, and chances were high that Jupiter already knew what his little mafia friends really thought of him.

“So.” Trev clapped his hands. “What now?”

“We wait,” Jupiter replied simply.

“Wow. Fucking awesome.”

“I’m stepping out.” Jupiter grabbed the doorknob. “I trust you won’t find any clever ways to escape while I’m gone?”

“Stepping out?” Trev narrowed his eyes. “Stepping out where?”

“Don’t worry, baby doll. I’ll be right back.”

“Right.” Trev scowled as the door shut.

He immediately got to his feet, trying again to brace himself on the bed and pull the chain free from the wall. When that didn’t work, he hopped down to search the room. There had to be something here he could use.

The fridge was full of cheap beer, and Trev didn’t think he could use the tab from a can to pick the padlock. He grabbed the chair and tried whacking it against the wall, hoping to catch where the chain was bolted into the concrete.

All that did was make a bunch of noise, scuff up the wall, and hurt his shoulder.

Fuck.

Trev froze when he heard the side door opening, and he quickly returned the chair. He dashed back into bed to pretend he hadn’t been trying to escape again, and he listened intently.

Someone had walked into one of the other rooms, perhaps the bathroom.

There was a pause, the door shut, and then someone went back outside.

Huh.

Trev listened for a bit longer, but he didn’t hear anything else of note.

Being kidnapped and held hostage was fucking boring.

He figured he should be grateful that it wasn’t more exciting, but he had no idea what to do with himself. He rolled over to hug the lockbox to his chest. What remained of his future was inside here, and he’d be damned if he let anything happen to it.

He dozed for a little while, waking again when Jupiter brought him breakfast.

As promised, it was pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. He was too hungry to worry about the food being tampered with and dove right in. He did take his time licking cream off his fingers, but Jupiter was back on his phone and ignoring him.

“You know, they say sixty percent of men are losing their eyesight faster because of excessive screen time,” Trev said.

“Is that so?” Jupiter didn’t look up.

“No, I just made that up so you’d pay attention to me.” Trev slurped whipped cream off his fingers. “Come on.”

“I’m busy.”

“Doing what?”

Jupiter sighed, glancing up at Trev. “What do you want?”

“If you’re taking requests, getting the fucking collar off would be top of the list.”