Page 20 of Primal Urges

What self-respecting guy in their twenties didn’t beat his meat to porn on his cell phone?

FYI, don’t ever pick up a guy’s cell phone. You don’t want to know what microbes or bodily fluids are caked onto that thing.

You’ve. Been. Warned.

“So, how will I get ahold of you?” Alexis asked, still not convinced that Lucas was telling the truth.

“How about we meet up tomorrow around eleven? This will give us a few hours to practice before our shift starts at night. You got a place where we can practice?”

Alexis nodded and then wrote down her home address on a bar napkin. “We’ve got a large garage that we can practice in and a portable stereo that can play music.”

“That sounds perfect,” Lucas said, glancing up at Cade before blushing and glancing away just as quickly. “Got to run,” he muttered before dashing back around the bar and disappearing into the back once more.

Caden was confused. Something didn’t feel right about the elusive Lucas Braden.

He spotted Marcus sitting in a booth toward the back of the bar, scrolling through his cell phone, and decided that he should probably go and have a chat with his boss.

“Hey, boss, got a sec?”

Marcus placed his phone down on the table and nodded. “Sure, what’s up?”

Caden slid onto the bench across from him and did a quick scan of the bar to make sure that no one was in earshot of their conversation.

“I was just wondering about Luc. What do you know about the guy?”

“What do you mean?” Marcus asked, confusion and concern growing on his face.

“Well, where did he move from? What did he do for work before moving here? The guy always changes the subject whenever you ask him anything personal. Did you know that the dude doesn’t even have a cell phone?”

Marcus glanced over at where Lucas was wiping down a table and wiping sweat off his forehead.

“Why? Has he done something that I should be concerned about? Has he done anything inappropriate?”

Caden’s brows furrowed as he shook his head.

“No, not that I’m aware of. I’m just saying there’s something off about the kid. There’s something that he’s hiding. I can feel it.”

If the boy was dangerous, Caden needed to protect his family. All the guys in the gang were under his protection. Even his massive six-foot-four beast of a boss.

Marcus’s jaw tightened. He interlocked his fingers, then leaned forward on the table.

“Look around this bar. Everyone in this place has secrets—things that we don’t want the world to know about. Our lusts, our desires, our demons, even our pasts. We all carry our own baggage. Some may weigh heavier than others. But ultimately, it is our baggage to carry. All of us are entitled to our secrets—to decide when and with whom we will share those secrets. Is Lucas not entitled to his secrets? His own story to protect and keep hidden if he so chooses?”

His boss was right. Caden was no saint. He’d done his fair share of activities that would have landed him in jail or earned him a first-class ticket to that eternal after-party buried deep beneath the earth’s core.

“Not having a cell phone, while uncommon, may be due to legitimate reasons. You’re probably also wondering what someone like Lucas is doing working in a place like this?”

Caden nodded. He was dying to ask his boss but didn’t want to question his decisions. Marcus might be a nice guy, but he also had a temper that you didn’t want directed at you.

“One of the first questions Lucas asked me when he walked into the bar was about our hiring process—specifically, whether we conduct background checks or call for references.”

Caden’s head snapped in the direction of the young man, who was now busy tucking in chairs that patrons seemed to leave anywhere they liked. Caden once found a chair sitting outside the women’s washroom. Did women stand guard while they peed?

“See? So he is a criminal!” Caden declared triumphantly. He wasn’t crazy, after all.

Marcus shook his head in disappointment.

“What are some of the reasons that someone might not want a background check conducted on them?”

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