Page 89 of Primal Urges

Neither did drugging him and leaving town with his psycho ex-boyfriend.

“Boss, can we check the cameras to see what Luc was up to earlier today?” Caden asked, the pit in his stomach tightening.

With each minute they wasted, Luc and his ex got further away. They needed to find him.

“Yeah, that’s a smart move,” Marcus noted, straightening up and motioning for Cade and Ace to follow him.

They all crowded into Marcus’s office and huddled around his laptop as he scrolled through the bar’s surveillance feeds.

It didn’t take them long to find Lucas. He entered the bar just after three, then headed downstairs into the basement. Then they watched as Lucas walked over to the lamp that hung on the wall and turned it, causing the hidden wall to shift, giving him access to the area Marcus had restricted for crew business only.

“I thought only a select few knew about the room?” Marcus grumbled, glancing over at Cade and giving him a stern look.

Marcus could punish him later, but right now, he needed to focus on the boy’s movements.

Once in the hidden room, they watched as Lucas picked up a cloth sack and…

Caden’s eyes went wide as he watched the once sweet and innocent man collect his instruments of death. He wasn’t sure what the boy’s intentions were, but judging by what he was collecting, it probably wasn’t good.

Closing the wall behind him, Lucas crept back up the stairs and exited the bar using the back exit. He didn’t say goodbye or even glance over his shoulder. He was solely focused on the steps in front of him.

“It appears that our boy has a plan of his own,” Marcus noted, pressing pause on the video feed.

“What do you think he is going to do?” Ace asked, looking a little green in the face.

“Nothing good, I’m afraid.” Marcus turned to Cade. “Who knew your boy was so dark? Make sure you don’t ever forget an anniversary or birthday, bud.”

Caden gave him a glare. This wasn’t the time for jokes.

“We need to rescue him,” Caden said, slamming the laptop closed and straightening up.

“I hate to tell you, Cade, but I think we all underestimated that bashful little twink. Something tells me he is a lot more dangerous than we give him credit for.”

At that moment, Marcus’s phone rang.

“It’s the sheriff.”

28

LUCAS

As predicted, once Lucas finished drugging Caden and stepped outside the house, Darryl was waiting. He’d been sitting in a shitty unremarkable car that most people wouldn’t even notice, watching the house like any high-functioning stalker.

Lucas was used to his ex’s obsessive behavior. In the beginning, he thought it was cute, his boyfriend waiting for him or surprising him when he was out getting a coffee with friends. But as time went on, the possessiveness became something out of a horror movie.

He was not allowed to hang out with his friends. On the rare occasions that he was able to convince Darryl to let him go meet up with some people, his ex would magically show up or wait for him in the parking lot or some other creepy location.

Darryl even monitored his timing and movements. God forbid Lucas deviated from his schedule or stopped off at a store to pick something up unexpectedly. He would get berated when he got home and accused of cheating on his ex. Those nights always ended with hours of pleading and trying to convince his ex that he was not unfaithful and that he still loved him.

It wasn’t until the end that Lucas realized how toxic their relationship really had been. By then, leaving his ex was nearly impossible.

Things really got scary when Darryl convinced his cop buddies to slowly patrol the area.

The police culture, especially in LA, was a big old boys’ club. They looked out for one another and did what was necessary to protect each other. That was one of the reasons Lucas had been so careful not to use any sort of technology or service that might create a digital trail or allow Darryl to somehow find him. He hadn’t been counting on somebody videotaping him and then posting it online without his permission.

People really needed to think before they posted. Life was more than justlikesandfollowers.

Sadly, that mindless drone mentality was sweeping across the nation.

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