Behind the Lens (Behind the Lives) (34 page)

Tiana
stopped a few houses down, probably realising she wouldn’t catch him. She
headed back, yelling at Kara: “Why didja do that to him?! He’s been hurt; you
can’t do that to Ash.” When Kara didn’t reply, Tiana ran inside, returning with
her car keys. “Look after Angelo,” she said to Sledge as she jumped down the
steps.

Acknowledging
her, Sledge slid his arms under Kara and picked her up, wondering why Ash had
gone nuts over her hug and not his. He headed inside and down the passageway with
Angelo tugging on his jacket. “Go away, Angelo,” he said, placing Kara on
Dante’s bed. When his nephew didn’t listen, he shooed him out and closed the
door, then turned back to Kara, surprised by the state of the room. There was a
broken clock lying on the floor, a smashed webcam, and the lampshade lay on the
carpet a few feet away from him. He picked up the clock, then looked closer,
swearing he was seeing a tiny camera. “What’s this?” he said, showing Kara.

“A
camera.” She jumped up, causing the blanket to fall, leaving her stark naked.
Sledge’s mouth dropped open as he watched her reach for Dante’s sculptural
work, which was hanging on the wall above the bed. She took it off the hook and
started fiddling with the back, then pulled out what looked like an identical
camera to the one he was holding. She threw it on the floor, yelling, “You
perverted bastards!”

“Why
are there cameras in Dante’s room?” Sledge asked, freaked out.

“Craven
was filming Dante having sex.”

“What?!”
he yelled.

“He’s
selling the videos.”

Sledge’s
eyes widened. “You’re shitting me?”

She
shook her head.

“But
why would Craven do that? He’s into drugs, not porn.”

“He
does both, and anything else that makes money.”

“Does
Dante know?”

“He
does now, that’s why he’s gone to see Saul, to sort things out, but I don’t
trust Saul because he’s Craven and Ant’s lackey, and only does what’s best for
them, not for anyone else.”

“Ant
Torres?” Sledge said, feeling sick.

“Yes.”

He
put his hands to his head. “No, this can’t be happening.”

“What’s
wrong?”

“Ant
tried to rape Ash when they were in high school.”

Kara’s
eyes widened. “And Dante looks like Ash.”

“No
kidding, you stupid bitch! Now, fuckin’ get dressed, cos you’re taking me
there.”

Kara
grabbed her bra and underwear, pulling them on, along with a large shirt out of
Dante’s drawer.

Sledge
followed her through the doorway, stopping as Angelo poked his head out of his
bedroom. Swearing under his breath, Sledge picked his nephew up. “I’ve gotta
leave you with a neighbour,” he said, carrying the boy down the passage and
into the sitting-room. He breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight of Tiana
entering the house. Sledge put Angelo down. “I’ve gotta go.” He was out the
front door before she could say a word, sprinting for Kara’s car as the woman
revved the engine. He pushed through the gate and jumped into the front
passenger seat, almost falling out as Kara did a sharp U-turn. He slammed the
door shut and buckled in his seatbelt, the car sounding like it was going to
fall apart.

“Does
Dante know Ant will be there?” he asked.

“I
don’t think so, he just mentioned Saul.” She swerved around the corner, making
Sledge grab for the handle above the window.

“For
fuck’s sake, slow down so we get there in one piece.”

‘No,
we don’t have time.”

“Calm
down. Saul will look out for Dante, my bros trust him.”

“Well,
I don’t. He watched while this was done to me,” she said, pointing to her
bruised face.”

“I
thought your husband did that.”

“It
was a lie to get me back into Dante’s life—Craven’s idea. I work for him.” She
glanced at Sledge. “Do you have a gun?”

He
shook his head.

“Then
you can keep the engine running just in case we have to leave fast.”

“No,
I’m coming in.”

“You
will do as you’re told, now open the glove box, I’ve got a gun in there.”

Sledge
opened it, his eyes instantly latching onto the weapon. It was fucking ancient:
a bit rusted, with a barrel that spun around like he’d seen in Westerns.
Pulling it out, he looked over at Kara. She was staring at the road, her
expression vicious, as though she was imagining doing something gruesome.

She
glanced at him just before entering the motorway. “We need to kill Craven and
anyone with loyalties to him, family included.”

“What?”
he gasped, Kara’s words fucking insane.

“We
have to take them all out; otherwise they’ll come after us.”

“No,
only Ant, he’s pro’bly behind it anyway.”

“We
can’t take out the son without the father.”

Sledge
screwed up his face. “What are you on about?”

“Craven’s
Ant’s father.”

“No,
he’s not, plus they have different last names.”

“Torres
is his mother’s name. She was a prostitute who used to work for Craven, before
she got into selling electronics for him.”

“You’re
fucking with my head,” Sledge said. “Cos there’s no way in hell Ant is Craven’s
son.”

“Oh,
yes he is, he’s the Devil’s spawn through and through, that nasty streak of his
inherited from his father.” She shivered. “And his smile. I hate those
bastards’ smiles. It makes me think they’re gonna eat me alive, then spit my
bones out and sell them.”

Sledge
went silent as they zipped along the motorway, trying to take in what Kara had
said. He shook his head, unable to do so, because there was no way Ant could be
Craven’s son, otherwise Ash and Dante wouldn’t have worked for him.

“You’re
spouting rubbish,” he finally said as they turned off at Mt. Wellington. “My
bros would’ve mentioned sumpthin’ if Ant wuz Craven’s son.”

Kara
turned left, heading for the industrial area. “They pro’bly didn’t know.”

“Then
how come you do?”

“Because
Ant’s my direct boss, and he’s always complaining about his father.” She floored
it through a red light, ignoring a car as it blasted its horn at her. “So, we
have to kill Ant, Craven and Ta... No, not Talia, just the men, she won’t take
revenge unless we take Saul out...” She sighed. “Looks like we have to shoot
her too.”

“You’re
nuts.”

“No,
I’m practical. If we miss one person...” she paused, her voice cracking,
“...they will come back and kill you, make you suffer while their kid
sistra
watches you get stuck like a pig, until your heart is pulled from your
chest.”

Sledge
gaped at Kara, because the female was completely bonkers. He turned to look out
the window, preferring not to look at the freaky chick any more. She brought
the car to a stop alongside a huge, bland building—not something he’d expected
a porn studio to look like.

Kara
snatched the gun off Sledge, then slipped it into the back of her knickers, the
flimsy material not looking strong enough to hold it. She then got out of the
car and headed for the building. Sledge pushed open his door and ran after her,
stopping as she turned on him.

She
pointed at the car. “Go back,” she hissed.

He
shook his head. “He’s
my
brother.”

“Then
follow my lead, and don’t barge in, unless you want us to be fitted with
Italian swimsuits.”

“What
the hell does that mean?”

“We’ll
be swimming with the fishes, and if you don’t know what that means—”

“I know—we’ll
be dead.”

She
nodded, then headed around the corner, casually strolling towards the guard as
though she didn’t have a care in the world. The man eyed Kara up with what
looked like disgust, although he had no right to, considering the woman was gorgeous,
while the dude was fucking ugly.

“You’re
new,” Kara said to the guard, sounding almost bored, like Dante wasn’t in
there, getting raped or bashed to death. Sledge willed himself to stay still,
because all he wanted to do was to plough through the guard, the door, and
anything stopping him from getting to his brother.

The
guard ignored Kara, his gaze instead moving to Sledge. “Who are you?” he asked,
his eyes running up and down Sledge’s body, probably scanning for a gun.

“Tyson
Radich,” he said, using his grandfather’s surname. “I’m here to ask Ant Torres
for a job.”

“In
security or porn?”

“What?”
Sledge asked.

“Are
you after a job as a security guard or a porn actor?”

“Security,”
Sledge replied, now wishing that Kara would just let him knock the fucker out.
“So, is he here?”

“No,
he left a half hour ago.”

“What
’bout Saul?’

“No,
my cousin left just before Ant.”

“He’s
your cousin?” Kara said, sounding surprised, like the ugly bastard couldn’t
possibly be related to Saul.

“Not
by blood, by ethnicity, we’re both Samoans.”

Kara
shook her head like the guy was an idiot. “Did Ant leave with Dante Rata?”

The
guard sneered. “No, that whore left with Saul, he’s working Craven’s party
tomorrow; you know what I mean.”

Kara
glanced back at Sledge, her expression telling him to stay put, because right
now Sledge
really
wanted to bash the prick for insulting his bro. She
turned back to the guard. “So, is Dante fucking Saul now?”

“No!”
the guard said, sounding offended, totally not picking up on Kara’s tone,
although Sledge knew she was sourcing info. “Saul wouldn’t go with that slut.
It was just business, nothing more, and Dante’s a pussy-whore, likes to lick
clit, not arse.” He ran a hand over his gun and grinned, making his cleft
palate more pronounced. “Though, I made him suck on this to get inside.”

That
was it!
Sledge went to push Kara
aside, wanting to pummel the prick into non-existence, but Kara got to the
guard first, punching him in the nuts. She snatched his gun off him before he
hit the ground. “Open your mouth,” she said, bobbing down in front of him.

The
guy curled into a ball, cupping his crotch, looking too pained to take in what
she’d said.

“Open
your mouth!” she shouted.

He
shook his head.

“Open
it now or I’ll open it with a bullet.”

He
opened his mouth.

Kara
jammed the gun in there. “Now, you ugly bastard, if I
ever
hear you
insult my man again I will find you while you’re sleeping and cut your cock
off, you understand?”

“Yes,”
he mumbled against the gun.

She
pulled the gun out. “Good boy,” she purred, like she was talking to a dog. “I
have just one last favour to ask of you. This hunk of a man behind me wants to
work at the party tomorrow. Can you get him onto the bus?” She pointed the gun
at his crotch. “Otherwise if you can’t...”

The
guard nodded. “I can, I can.”

“And
don’t tell anyone about your little blowjob or...” She cocked the gun. “Bang!”

The
guy’s body jerked like it really went off.

She
laughed as she pushed up, then turned and walked off with the guard’s gun. The
man stared after her, looking completely horrified. She yelled over her
shoulder, “You coming, Tyson!”

Sledge
ran after her, grinning over what she’d done, thinking the bitch was crazy, but
fucking cool. He jumped into the car and slammed the door shut. “Corey told me
’bout that party, and I do wanna go,” he said, putting on his seatbelt, “but I
don’t think that dude will help me out after what ya did to him. He’ll more
likely shoot me.”

Kara
started the engine. “No, he would stab you,” she started sniggering, “with his
cock.”

Sledge
screwed up his face. “God, you’re a rude bitch.”

She
did a U-turn. “I’m certainly that, but he was still eye-fucking you.”

“He
wuz not, he wuz just checking if I had a gun.”

“Then
how come I could smell his cum?”

“You’re
mental.”

“No,
that’s my
sistra
.” She pulled out her phone and punched in a number as
she headed down the road.

“Who
you calling?”

“Saul,”
she said into the phone, ignoring Sledge. “Put Dante on.” Her eyes widened.
“No, I’m not making demands; I’m just worried about him.” She breathed out.
“Thank you, and I’m sorry, I won’t speak to you like that again.” After a few
seconds, she resumed talking, “Dante! Did they hurt you?” She smiled, relief
washing away her frown. “Speak to me in the mother tongue,” she said, probably
not wanting Saul to understand. “What did they say about you-know-who?” She
stopped at a give-way sign. “No,
dragi,
Saul’s promises mean nothing,
you can’t trust him to keep his word. Don’t be stupid, no, I didn’t call you
stupid: I just don’t want you acting stupidly. Don’t get uptight with me, be
reasonable.” Her brows shot upwards. “He did what?! I’ll kill him!!” She
exhaled loudly. “God, I never thought I’d be grateful to that bastard ever.
They want you to do what? Oh, that’s nothing, it’s just shaking hands and signing
autographs, you don’t have to do anyone if you don’t want to, just tell Saul
you’re not open to sex, he only puts the workers on who are willing. Just make
sure it’s Saul though. He’s a bastard, but at least he doesn’t force people.
Stay close to him, and don’t go near Ant again.” She paused. “Good, good, I’ll
see you at the party.” She hung up and looked at Sledge. “Apparently, Ant did
try it on with Dante, but Saul made him back off.”