Page 91 of Primal Urges

“So when did you find me?” Lucas asked, staring into the fire as the flames danced over the wood.

“A little over two weeks ago. A coworker of mine saw that video of you singing that was posted online. It took me a bit of time to figure out which bar it was, but I happened to glimpse a reflection of the bar’s name in one of the windows in the background. It was just a quick snapshot, so I almost missed it. After that, it was only a matter of time before I was able to confirm that you were, in fact, in New Mexico. I arrived in town about a week ago.”

“You’ve been in town for a week?” Lucas gasped, snapping his head toward his bastard of an ex.

“Yes. I had to do a little recon first. See what it was that my little hummingbird was up to. Then I saw you with…him.”

“Did you start the fire?” Lucas asked, already knowing the answer.

Darryl nodded. “That asshole thought he could take what was mine.”

Trying to keep his emotions in check, Lucas clenched his teeth and focused on the flames before him. He needed to remain calm.

A rough, meaty paw slid across his lap and settled on his hand. Darryl gave Lucas’s hand a squeeze.

“Don’t worry, my little hummingbird. In time, I’ll forgive you for what you’ve done. Betraying my love like that. Leaving me and then sleeping with that miscreant of a man. If you can even call him that. Tomorrow, we’ll be back home, and then you can begin earning back my respect and my trust.”

Hearing Darryl’s words made Lucas’s blood boil. This was how psychological manipulation began. Trying to make the victim feel like it was their fault and that somehow they owed it to their abuser to make things right.

Like hell. There was no fucking way he was ever going back to that life.

Tonight, it all ended, one way or another.

“Grab me another beer,” his ex ordered, tossing the empty bottle on the dirt beside them.

Lucas stood up, taking a step past the man he had grown to hate.

Slap!

Darryl’s hand smacked Lucas’s ass with all the power he had remembered.

Without thinking, Lucas spun around and slapped his ex across the face.

Lucas froze. His eyes went wide when he realized what he had just done. He hadn’t meant to slap his ex; it was just a natural reaction to someone slapping your ass without your permission.

Rage flashed across Darryl’s eyes.

He knew what was coming next.

In an instant, Darryl was on his feet, grabbing Lucas by the throat. His big, meaty fingers dug into Lucas’s soft flesh.

Flashes appeared of all the past assaults, all the bruises, broken jaw, and even dislocated shoulder from when he had lost track of time and ended up coming home from rehearsals three hours too late. Darryl had been fuming that night. He chasedLucas into their apartment stairwell before grabbing him hard by the arm and shoving him down the stairs. He didn’t go to a hospital that night. Instead, he stayed with a dislocated shoulder for six hours until Darryl brought one of his cop buddies over to reset his shoulder.

Cops looking out for cops. There was a code of silence they all lived by.

Lucas struggled, clawing at Darryl’s hands as they tightened around his throat.

“I’m going to teach you respect once again,boy.You’ve been running wild for way too long for my liking,” his ex snarled into his ear. “It’s time I remind you who’s in charge here.”

Lights flashed across Lucas’s eyes as Darryl’s fist connected with his cheek. He held his breath, waiting for the next blow. There was always a second blow.

Right on schedule, Lucas keeled over when his ex’s fist landed in his gut.

Fingers digging into the dirt beneath him, he tried to catch his breath.

Anger began to build. He needed to remain calm and in control. If he went at Darryl with all that he had, Darryl would have him pinned on his back and broken in a matter of minutes. His ex was a beast of a man and outweighed Lucas by at least sixty pounds.

No. Lucas needed to play things right, submit, and regain his ex’s trust and confidence. He needed his ex to believe he had won and that Lucas was his once again.

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