Page 29 of Primal Urges

Caden watched, confused and in pain, as Dre continued to beat the man to a bloody pulp. After what felt like an eternity, two guards rushed in and pulled Dre off DeSantis.

Bleeding and feeling lightheaded, Caden collapsed against the shower wall and watched as the guards pulled a snarling Dre out of the shower just moments before a third guard rushed in to tend to Caden and his wounds.

Caden spent the next three days in the infirmary attempting to avoid infection. His assassin’s blade wasn’t exactly the most sanitary of objects.

When he was finally permitted to return to his cell, he discovered that Dre had been moved to another wing of the prison, and his would-be assassin had been placed in solitary for a week. No further attempts had been made on his life during the rest of his two-year stay in prison.

Trailing his fingers along his scar, he wondered what Marcus and the guys would think if they discovered the confusing thoughts he was having about their latest brother. Would they view it as reprehensible? An act of betrayal? Would they treat him differently?

Marcus had never given him a reason to suspect that he would treat anyone differently based on whom they chose to sleep with. In fact, Marcus went out of his way to show him and the other guys from the crew just how much he appreciated them.

Caden had just turned twenty-four when he took the fall for Marcus and his brothers. They had been transporting cocaine and heroin over state lines when the police flagged down their van. Knowing they had been caught, Caden insisted that Marcus and Ace slip out of the van as they were driving across a bridge before he pulled over and allowed the police to search their vehicle.

At first, Marcus had protested, insisting that he was their leader and he would never abandon his crew. But Caden pushed back, arguing that he was part of the family and family protected one another. While Marcus might be the leader, he also had other responsibilities that he needed to tend to. Caden would take the hit for the crew and, in time, rejoin them as a free man.

Luckily, a judge took pity on Cade and only sentenced him to two years in prison, removing the heroin charge—something to do with issues of chain of custody while processing the heroin into evidence.

During the next two years, Marcus and rotating members of the crew stopped by to visit Cade. They added money to his commissary and even smuggled in a few items of pleasure—one of them being a pocket pussy for those long and lonely nights while his roommate was sleeping.

Caden had laughed his ass off when he saw the silicone pussy. The guys really were the best.

“I’ll never forget what you did for Ace and me,” Marcus said to Cade once during his weekly visits.

While Marcus wanted to do the right thing for his crew, he also wanted to protect his stepbrother, Ace. The thought of Ace being sent to prison, where Marcus couldn’t protect him, was something that Cade knew weighed heavily on the man. It was one of the reasons he pushed so hard when Marcus tried to remain in the vehicle with him when they were about to be pulled over. Caden knew the struggle his boss was facing and decided to remove the decision from his hands.

Taking a breath, Caden ran his hand across the condensation that had accumulated on the bathroom mirror. They had all been through a lot of shit together as a crew, and no matter what, they always had each other’s backs.

He hoped that, no matter what happened in the future, they would always continue to have his.

9

LUCAS

Taking a deep breath, Lucas knocked on the office door before he lost his courage or talked himself out of it for the thousandth time that day.

You can do this. He’s a reasonable boss. Plus, it’s a win-win for both of them.

Still, Marcus had been so nice to him these past few weeks that he felt guilty asking him for another favor.

What if he says no?

Then he does, and you find something else to make up the difference.

“Come in,” Marcus growled from the other side of the door.

Perhaps this wasn’t a good time after all.

Still holding his breath, he turned the knob and stepped into the tiny office.

“Luc. Everything okay? What can I do for you?” Marcus asked, looking up from the file folder he had opened on his desk.

Lucas closed the door behind him, then stood awkwardly in front of his boss’s desk.

He could feel his knees begin to shake.

Fuck, why was he such a chicken in front of these big, strong men?

“Umm, well. I’ve noticed that the bar could use a bit of cleaning.”

---