Primal (Wrong Side of the Tracks 2)

Lightheaded, he closed the door behind them, but three more sets of eyes were already turning his way. “Hi,” he uttered in a choked voice.

“Mark! Make Dane some hot chocolate!” Mom yelled into the living room. “And call Patricia! Tell her Dane is back. Are you hurt?” she asked, exasperated, pulling away to get a better look at him, but tears were streaming down her face.

Dane swallowed, trying to control his emotions when they rushed through him like bolts of lightning. Jag remained at the back of his mind, but no matter how much he yearned to find out whether his man was fine, this was where he belonged and was most needed.

Mark, Dane’s teen brother, clashed with him so hard it knocked the air out of Dane’s chest, and while, unlike the girls now jumping at Dane’s feet, he’d said nothing, his eyes were distinctly red when he pulled away.

“I’ll get on with that hot chocolate,” Mark said and wobbled toward the kitchen. Alyssa and Amelia both wore Disney princess costumes Patricia had made for them out of thrift shop finds, and, with the music still playing loudly in the living room, they hung off Dane as if they were twin monkeys.

Where were you?

Did you go abroad?

Were you working?

Those were only a few of the questions shooting out of the girls’ mouths, and the speed at which they conducted their interview made Dane’s head spin after weeks of silence in Jag’s company.

Megan’s childlike yet somber voice cut through the buzz like one of those heated knives. “Did you forget about us?”

Dane’s heart stopped as he glanced at Megan. She stood behind the kitchen counter in a hoodie that was way too big on her, and with a thick book in hand. Her lips were pale from squeezing together, and she wouldn’t look up when Mom shushed her.

“How can you say that? Don’t listen to people who don’t know your brother!”

But Megan was right. Dane had forgotten about them. He’d selfishly chosen to enjoy his time with Jag instead of working on a way to reunite with those who mattered and needed him.

Nauseated, he put down the two youngest girls and hurried to Megan’s side, hugging her as soon as he was on one knee. “No. No, I was ill and couldn’t get to you. I would never forget about you.”

She sniffed and hugged him back, not even caring that one of her precious books dropped to the floor. “I missed you,” she uttered.

Dane swallowed the rock in his throat. “I missed you too. But it’ll be fine, I promise.”

The three girls fussed over him endlessly, but as the song in the living room changed, Dad raised his hand to get everyone’s attention. “I think this has been a lot to take in. How about you kids shower and get changed, and we find out what Dane needs tonight?”

It took many more hugs and a promise that Dane would come upstairs at bedtime, but the girls were eventually gone and the rest of them moved to the small, cluttered kitchen with orange walls and cupboards that were falling apart, mended with superglue, tape, and children’s drawings. Dane’s parents initially refused to let Mark stay, but he was already in high school and mature for his age, so they gave in.

As the air filled with the rich aroma of cocoa, the four of them sat around the rickety table. Dane had hoped he’d get some more time to think, but Mom didn’t waste a moment and asked the question he knew he’d have to answer.

“Dane… What happened?”

With the amount of time he’d spent on his own in the past few weeks, Dane should have given much more thought to the answers he’d need to give once the captivity was over.

“Uh… I had an accident, and for a while I wasn’t sure who I was.” Because if he said anything about the beating, or the abduction, they’d insist on going to the police, and no matter what Jag had done, Dane didn’t want to see him in prison. Rob was another story, but he had a whole motorcycle gang behind him, and how would Dane explain getting involved with people like that? Him. The nerd of the family. The IT guy.

Mark frowned, staring at Dane from under longish bangs. “Are you saying you lost your memory?”

“Yes.”

Mom squeezed his hand harder, but it was Dad who spoke. “Have you been in the hospital? Did it only come back now? We need to get some brain scans done.”

Dane stiffened and hid behind his mug. “We can’t afford that! And I’m fine now. Seriously, you shouldn’t worry.”

“What we can’t afford is to lose you,” Dad said, swallowing hard, and Mom rubbed his back in a soothing motion.

Mark watched Dane with a squint that revealed his doubts about the truthfulness of the cover story, but Dane had already committed to it and wouldn’t back down. “But I’m fine. Everything’s back to normal.”