Behind the Lens (Behind the Lives) (31 page)

Kara
gritted her teeth, furious with Dante, especially after all his talk about not
being a whore. “Offer the
prostitutka
some money and he whips out his
dick, stuff love, he doesn’t know the meaning of the word. Well, he won’t be
able to whore himself any more if I rip off his dick.”

Jade’s
face dropped. “No, you can’t let him know, he told me to keep it a secret.”

“I
don’t care,” Kara spat. “I’m going to kill him.”

Jade
held out his hands, blocking her way. “Please don’t do this, you’ll ruin
everything. I’ll pay you whatever you want; I’m worth a lot of money.”

Kara
shoved him into the door. “No one can ever buy my husband.”

Jade’s
eyes widened. “Your what?”

“Husband.”
She unhitched the blanket and pointed at the
We Are One
tattoo across
her heart. “We exchanged tattoos instead of rings.”

Jade
shook his head. “But, that can’t be right. He never said anything, and you
weren’t with him, that Beth woman was.”

“We’re
still married,” she breathed out, her anger now draining, sorrow replacing it,
because Dante didn’t care about her—or Beth, money his true lover.

“But
why didn’t he tell me?”

“Because
he doesn’t know.”

Jade’s
brows pulled together. “How can he not know?”

“He
was drunk when we got married.”

“Then
it can’t be legal.”

“It
is.”

“But,
why would you keep it a secret from him?”

“Because
if Craven found out, I’d get my face carved up along with my family. He’s
already done it to someone else who tried to stay with Dante.”

“That’s
absurd, Nigel wouldn’t do such a thing; he’s a respected businessman.”

“He
owns a porn club, that’s not exactly respectable, now is it?”

A
bang on the bathroom door made both of them jump. “What are you two doin’ in
there?” Dante sniggered. “Cos I know it’s not each other.”

Kara
dug her nails into her palms, wanting to use them to rip him to shreds. “We’re
talking business, so go wait in the lounge,” she said, then whispered to Jade,
“And he’s
my
business, so leave.”

“With
pleasure, and I’ll be taking him with me.”

“No
you won’t.”

“I
most certainly will, because he’s agreed to live with me.”

“He
what?”

“He’s
going to live with me and work for me.”

“As
your lover?”

“As
a singer for the moment, but we all know where he’ll end up: At the top of the
charts and on top of me.”

Lowering
her voice, Kara jabbed Jade in the chest. “That’s not going to happen, so I’ll
give you one last warning, leave Dante alone and don’t you dare say a word to
him about this whole porn business, because if he finds out, he’ll go fucking
crazy.”

“What
do you mean: if he finds out?”

“That
he’s being filmed.”

Jade
stared at her in shock.

She
frowned at him. “Don’t you know he’s unaware of being filmed?”

“I
had no idea.”

“But
you said you spoke to Ant.”

“He
never told me. All he said was that Dante’s embarrassed about his job, so not
to mention it.”

“You’re
a fool to believe that.”

“How
would I know he was lying? Especially since a number of the porn stars in his
videos go to the soirees?”

“But
Dante never went, and he’s the most popular. Didn’t you think that was
suspicious?”

“Not
after what Anthony said, and Dante’s huge chip on his shoulder about being
called a whore
makes it believable.”

“More
like a condom on his shoulder, because he
is
a whore, you proved that.”

Jade
glared at her. “And that’s precisely why he should be with me, and not you.
You’re more concerned with bringing him down than lifting him up, because, if you
haven’t noticed, that poor man is suffering. And by the way, you calling him a
whore is hypocritical, considering what
you
do for a living.”

Kara
went silent, knowing Jade spoke the truth. It was just... God, she was biting
back because she was frustrated, jealous, and wanted Dante so bad it hurt, and
she felt like she was losing him all over again, and worse, to a man, someone
she couldn’t compete with, unlike Beth. Plus, Jade would be able to provide for
him, but ... could Dante love a man? She didn’t think so, especially since he’d
never shown any interest in them before, but then why was he moving in with
Jade? Had he changed that much since they’d been together? No! Of course not,
it was just for the money, because there was pure lust in his eyes when he’d
looked at her, which she would use, whether it was to his detriment or not. She
was too selfish to give him up again, even if it was to a better person, which
she believed Jade was, because he obviously cared more about Dante’s well-being
than his own desires, whereas her desires consumed everything.

“You’re
right,” she said. “I shouldn’t have said that about him.”

“Yes,
you shouldn’t have, and back to Anthony. Nigel needs to be told about what that
brute is doing to Dante, because it can’t continue.”

“He
already knows, which is why I’m here.”

Jade
shook his head. “I still can’t believe a man of Nigel’s calibre would do such a
thing.”

“That’s
because he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He fooled me when I first met him
too.” A bang on the door made Kara jump.

“Get
the fuck outta there, Jade,” Dante yelled. “I’m ready to leave.”

Kara
thrust a finger at Jade. “Remember: don’t utter a word about what I said or
I’ll tell him what
you
said.”

Jade’s
eyes flashed with anger. “I’ll keep quiet, but I’m still not backing down, cos
Dante’s mine.” He opened the door, then took a step back into Kara.

Dante
moved forward, looming over Jade. “What did you just say to her?”

“Ah—”

“It
sounded like you said I wuz yours!”

Jade
laughed nervously. “You misheard me.”

Dante
grabbed Jade’s shirt. “Like hell I did, and I warned you what I would do if you
opened your big mouth.”

“I
promise, I didn’t tell her anything.”

Dante
turned his hard gaze on Kara. “Is this true?”

She
stared back, not knowing what to say, because she really wanted to say
yes
,
but knew she should say
no
, but...

Dante’s
jaw clenched, her silence giving him his answer. He shoved Jade into the shower
wall. “You lying li’l prick,” he snarled, lifting a fist.

Jade
covered his face and squealed: “She works for Craven!”

Dante
froze. “What?”

“She’s
a porn star; she’s been filming you for Craven.”

Kara’s
face dropped, Jade’s confession blindsiding her. “I-I am not,” she stuttered.

“Yes,
she is,” Jade continued. “And she’s here because Craven told her to get you
back.”

Kara
went to counteract, but knew it was too late, the expression on Dante’s face
telling her he believed Jade. Dante let go of Jade, his gaze now firmly fixed
on Kara, his eyes growing darker, blacker than the night. “You returned the day
I quit.”

“It’s
not what it looks like,
dragi,
” she said.

“Don’t
call me
dragi!
” He advanced on her, making Kara back up into the basin.
“How long have you been working for Craven?”

Kara
held out her hands. “Don’t let this ruin what we have.”

“We
have nuthin’!” He grabbed her by the hair, and yanked it back. “So answer me!”

“Since
I arrived in New Zealand.”

He
let go of her, his emotions playing across his face, twisting it. “Why are you
doin’ this to me?”

“Because
I was ordered to, and I love you.”

“Don’t
lie!”

“I’m
not lying!” Kara screamed, no longer able to contain herself. “I’m the one
who’s suffered, not you! They forced me to do this; then after I fell for you
they threatened to murder my family if I didn’t leave you, and they would’ve
cut up my face like they did to Cindy.” She finally stopped, the pure shock on
his face slapping her mouth shut.

“Cindy
Tate?”

Kara
nodded, too upset to utter a yes.

“Is
she alright?”

“She’s
badly scarred.”

Dante
blinked, his face horrified. “Were you both sent to spy on me?”

“They
filmed you having sex,” Jade said, behind Dante.

Dante
spun around. “What?”

“That’s
how I know you. I’m a member of Craven’s porn club, and up until a minute ago,
I thought you were working for him as one of the main attractions.”

“What?!
But how?”

“The
scenes were mostly in your bedroom, so there must be cameras hidden in there.”

Dante
turned to Kara. “Is this true?”

“
Da
.”

Dante
put his hands to his head. “This can’t be real.”

“It
is,” Jade said. “I pay a million dollars a year to be a member of the club, and
the party I’m taking you to, is for the series you star in.”

“This
must be why people call me a whore.” Dante glared at Kara. “And you’re
responsible.”

“Craven
is, not me, I didn’t have a choice.”

“Yes
you did!” Dante yelled. “You used me to make money.”

“No,
I was used too!”

“You
knew about this, I didn’t!” He took off past Jade. Kara ran after him with Jade
following close behind, everyone piling into Dante’s bedroom. He started
searching it, his eyes going everywhere, then he walked up to the computer and
pulled out the camera used for Skyping. He threw it against the wall, yelling
out in rage, then spun around. “Where are the others?!” he yelled at Kara.

She
looked up at the light fixture above his head. “I didn’t tell him!” she
screamed at it, “Jade did! Please don’t hurt my family; they have nothing to do
with this!”

Dante’s
gaze shot to where she was looking. He grabbed a chair and climbed onto it,
then searched around the shade. He pulled it off, yanking out the wire attached
to it, then jumped off the chair, his intense glare asking Kara where the
others were. Her eyes went to the clock she had given him, the tiny camera
holding the hands together, something no one would suspect.

Dante
turned to it. “I should kill you for this,” he spoke into the camera, “but I
know you’ll hurt my family as well as Kara’s, even Jade...”

Kara
felt Jade tense next to her. She wanted to hit him, to yell at him for causing
this, for being so naive and stupid as to think he would get off scot-free from
Craven’s vengeance, but she kept quiet, knowing that Jade would soon learn the
consequences of his big mouth.

Dante
continued talking to the camera, “If you leave everyone alone, I will let this
pass, even though I want to bury you. I won’t say a word to Ash, won’t allow anyone
to find out, and will let you sell whatever smut you filmed of me.” His back
stiffened, then he spun around, his gaze shooting to Kara. “Did he film Ash
too?”

Kara
shook her head.

Dante
let out a sigh, so deep it felt like it was coming from his soul. He turned
back to the camera. “Take our money and let us go, don’t come after us and this
will be over. I will walk away, not cause any trouble, just as long as you do
the same.”

Silence
filled the room as though Dante was waiting for a reply. He stood there for
what seemed like forever, just staring at the camera, then hung his head, obviously
knowing he couldn’t do a thing without severe ramifications for his family—and
hers.

Kara
rushed to the desk, snatched up her phone, then headed into the passage. She
dialled the number for her mother, fear making her hand shake.

After
several seconds, a soft voice answered: “
Molim.
”

“Marina?
Why are you out?” Kara said in surprise, her sister’s stay in the mental
institute not voluntary.

“I
need to protect mother,” Marina whispered, her vocal chords having been damaged
from screaming.

“Why?”

“Because
the Devil’s minions are watching her.”

Chills
ran through Kara. She wasn’t sure whether Marina was talking about Craven’s
connections or her sister’s own demons—the creatures Marina dreamed up and saw
everywhere.

“Don’t
worry,
sistra
,” Marina said. “I won’t fail you like I did Father.”

Kara
bowed her head at the memory of seeing him gunned down as Marina screamed
herself hoarse. Then the gun had been turned on Marina, silencing her with a
bullet to the head. But instead of being killed, she’d lain there unmoving,
shock taking over and saving her life. The bullet had wedged into her skull, a
whisper away from her brain, although it had damaged her nerves, leaving her mentally
impaired, seeing things no one else could.