Primal (Wrong Side of the Tracks 2)

“Where were you all this time?” Mark muttered, squeezing his mug of cocoa. “It’s been tough without you.”

Mom shushed him. “Don’t put pressure on him. He’s just come back.”

Shame twisted in Dane’s gut. Mark had a job, but he could only work so much while in school, and Patricia was trying to get through college with Dane’s help. Dad hadn’t been able to go back to work after his accident, and the family budget was always tight.

Dane chewed on his lip and looked down at the little bump under his loose T-shirt, where he’d hidden the cash Jag had found for him. He didn’t have a decent explanation for how it came into his possession, but knowing it would solve their family’s problems for a while made him reach under his clothes and remove the thick wads of cash nevertheless.

Silence fell over the kitchen as he placed them in the middle of the table, and Dad must have picked up on the change of atmosphere despite being unable to see what happened. “What is it?” he asked.

Mom took a deep breath and glanced at Dane, her face tense as if it was made of wax and about to break. “He brought a lot of money.”

Mark gave Dane a worried look but he still reached for one of the bundles. Dane had counted it before, and it amounted to just over seven thousand. Not quite a lottery win, but still a decent chunk for their family budget.

“What did you do, Dane?” Dad asked with a deep sigh and pushed back his gray hair.

Dane rubbed his forehead with a deep sigh. “I know this sounds like a lie, but I found it. In a mattress I slept on. Figured there was no need to leave it to rot, right?” he asked, meeting Mom’s gaze, but she shook her head and rose to pace around the kitchen.

“You can’t expect us to believe all this. Did you get involved with drugs or something? We’re not that short on cash!”

Yes, they were, but that was beside the point.

“I didn’t steal it, and I didn’t get it for any illegal jobs. I swear!”

“In that case, we should call the police and inform them you’ve returned safely,” Dad said in a stern tone, shutting Dane up.

In that moment, he knew he couldn’t stay.

Rob was still out there, and if he found out Dane was alive he might not only hurt Dane’s family but also Jag—for not doing the job he and his friends had been hired to do.

How could he have not considered this? He should have known coming back wouldn’t solve all of his problems.

“Can that… wait at least until tomorrow?” he muttered.

Mark’s face scrunched with suspicion, but they’d always had each other’s back, and it wasn’t about to change tonight. “Yeah, let’s let Dane rest and take a shower. He looks like he needs one.”

Mom took a long, exasperated breath. “I don’t like this, Dane. But you know we love you no matter what.”

Dad nodded, though his expression was grim. “We’re just happy you’re back and in one piece.”

But Dane could sense they all knew this wasn’t the end of trouble. That there would be more problems falling on their shoulders soon, and Dane hated himself for causing so much heartbreak.

A car door slammed outside, and Dane rose from the table even before Patricia entered the house, still in her yellow and red work uniform.

She gave a little shriek and ran straight into his arms, but loss weighed heavily on Dane’s heart as he hugged his eldest sister. All these weeks, he’d been so focused on coming back to his family, only to now be confronted with the fact that he couldn’t stay with them.

Someone would come after him tomorrow, or the day after. Just the thought of his little sisters being taken hostage by Rob, of his brother getting accidentally shot because he tried to fight off an intruder, or his parents hurt in any way, was making him sick to his stomach.

Fucking Rob had been an irresponsible, dangerous choice, but he should have never gotten involved in the bastard’s dirty business. Rob couldn't let the motorcycle club find out that he was stealing from them and had tampered with the evidence, and that meant the one other person who knew the truth, Dane, could not stay alive.

And so Dane couldn’t go back to Jag either, no matter how much he’d promised himself in his heart that he’d make it all work. If after all they’d been through, he brought down Rob’s wrath on his beloved caveman, he’d never forgive himself.

He wouldn’t even get to say goodbye to the one man who loved and cherished him as if Dane didn’t have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders alone.

Chapter 15 – Jag