Behind the Lens (Behind the Lives) (32 page)

“Are
you safe?” Marina asked.

“I
am.”

“I
don’t believe you. You cannot hide the pain in your voice no more than I can
hide the scars on my body. So, I will come to you, but until then, don’t
breathe the Devil’s air, because if he hears you exhale, you will not survive
like I did. The bullet will spread its poison, taking you from me, and I did
not suffer for my baby
sistra
to die so young. And you know what will
happen if your soul leaves this earth before its time.”

Kara
knew exactly what her sister meant: If she died Marina would kill everyone
involved, like she’d done to the soldiers responsible for their father’s death.
Her sister had tracked them over a two year period, taking their hearts in
revenge—the reason she was incarcerated.

“How
did you get out of the hospital?” Kara asked.

“I
escaped with God’s help. Now, keep safe, dear
sistra
. Hold on for a few
more days, then I will cut the weeds from your world.
Nazdravlje
,”
Marina said before hanging up, the ‘
God bless you’
always her parting
words.

“Who
were you speaking to?” Dante asked.

“My
sistra
,” Kara said, turning to face him. She jumped as the phone went
off in her hand. She answered it, hearing Saul’s deep voice.

“You’ve
been a very careless girl, Kara,” Saul said.

“It
wasn’t my fault! Jade told Dante, not me! So you can’t harm my family.”

“I
won’t as long as you do one thing.”

“What?”

“Put
Dante on the phone.”

Kara
went silent, because it couldn’t be that simple.

“Kara,”
Saul said. “Craven doesn’t need to know about this—”

“You
haven’t told him?”

“No,
and if you want to keep it that way put Dante on the phone. I will sort out
this mess, so no one gets hurt.”

Kara
didn’t believe him, but still handed Dante the phone, because she had no other
option.

Dante
placed the phone to his ear. “Yes?” He paused. “You heard what I said in the
room?” He frowned, looking like he was listening intently, then all of a sudden
his face turned into a mask of terror, then he screamed, “If you hurt her—” He
clenched onto the phone, the veins in his neck looking ready to burst. “I’ll be
there,” he spat out, then he threw the phone at the wall; Kara’s mobile
shattering upon impact.

“What
did he say?” Kara asked, unconcerned with the phone, since she had a spare one
in her car.

“He
wants to exchange Beth for me.”

“What?”
she gasped.

“He
has Beth and will kill her if I don’t go to him, but it has to be without Ash’s
knowledge.” He looked at the door as though expecting his brother to be
standing there, listening in, but only Jade stared back, like an innocent child
not understanding what was happening. “Saul said you hafta take me to the main studio,”
he told Jade.

Jade
shook his head. “I’ll take you to the police station instead.”

“No,
that’ll get Beth killed.”

“But
if you go,
you
could get killed.”

“No
I won’t.”

“How
can you know that?”

“Cos
they want me to work as a whore.”

17

Dante

Dante shot out the front
door, heading for Jade’s Ferrari, which was parked by the kerb. Kara yelled at
him to stop.

He followed
Jade through the gate. “Go back inside.”

“No
,
you
go inside. Jade can take me,” she said, slipping past him.

Dante
pulled her away from the car. “There’s no fuckin’ way you’re goin’, Beth’s
life’s at risk.”

She
yanked free from his grip and jabbed at his chest. “I don’t give a damn about
her, only you! And if you leave I’ll tell Ash.”

“Then
you’ll kill him!” Dante yelled, losing his temper. His eyes shot to his
property, praying that Ash hadn’t heard. When Ash didn’t come running out, he
leaned towards Kara. “If you tell Ash he’ll storm over to Craven’s guns
blazing, no questions asked, and get his thick skull shot. So if you truly love
me, then you’ll keep quiet, cos if Ash dies I will go in guns blazing too and
will end up in the grave next to him.”

Her
eyes told him she believed every word. “I won’t tell him,” she said softly.
“But you still can’t go to Saul. You don’t know what they do to their sex
workers. I do. You’ll be dehumanised, made to do disgusting things, which will
repulse and humiliate you, and, Dante, I know you’re strong, I am too, but even
I have considered swallowing pills and never waking up again, and I can’t stand
to see you willingly submit yourself to that. You need to protect yourself.
Beth got herself caught, you didn’t.”

“It
doesn’t matter, I love her.”

“And
I love you,
dragi,
and I don’t mean ‘darling’, I mean ‘dear’, because
you are ‘dear’ to me, which is why I won’t allow you to go through that
depravity. It will kill your soul. So, let me go to Saul, I’ll sort things out.
I’ll get Beth back for you, whether I want to or not.”

Dante
closed his eyes for a moment, getting his emotions under control, the woman
getting to him, then he opened them and pulled her into his arms, giving her a
kiss on the forehead. “I love you too,” he murmured against her skin, “which is
why you’re not goin’.”

She
wrapped her arms around him. “Then you aren’t either.”

He
pulled free. “You know I have to.”

“That’s
not true; you don’t have to do anything for that woman.”

“I
would do the same for you.”

She
shook her head. “I wouldn’t let you,” she said, her blue eyes glistening with
unshed tears.

He
kissed her forehead again, then pushed her aside and jumped into the Ferrari,
locking the door before she could react.

Kara
tried to open it. “Don’t do this!” she screamed, hitting the glass.

“Stop
fuckin’ around!” Dante yelled at Jade. “Go!”

Looking
panicked, Jade revved the engine, then did a U-turn. Dante glanced back at
Kara, who was running after the car, yelling at him to come back.

As
they turned onto Banks Street, Jade pulled over to the side of the road. “I
agree with Kara,” he said, his voice soft, like he thought he would get yelled
at. “I don’t want you going either.”

“Just
do as you’re told, Jade.”

“No,
you should go to the police.”

“You
know why I can’t.”

“I
don’t care! You’re more important than that woman.”

“Just
start the car,” Dante gritted out.

“No.”

“Start
the fuckin’ car!” Dante yelled, finally losing his patience.

Jade
flinched, then started trembling, but Dante was beyond caring. A flood of
obscenities spilled out of his mouth, his condition taking over his senses,
everything building up in his head. He gripped onto the seat and concentrated
on his breathing, willing himself to calm down, because this wasn’t going to do
anyone any fucking good!

Jade’s
hand tentatively touched his lap. “Are you alright?” he asked, his voice
wavering.

Dante
nodded, although he didn’t feel it. “Just gimme a minute.” He continued
inhaling and exhaling until his heart felt like it was back in his chest. “Now
drive,” he said, his voice almost sounding normal. “Or I swear I’ll tear you
apart.”

Jade
started the engine and put his foot on the accelerator. Not wanting to face
him, Dante looked out of the window. Everyday life flashed by, people doing
normal things, like mowing lawns, walking their dogs, pushing prams or kicking
a ball about. He wished he could be like them, live an ordinary life, because
anything was better than his one.

Within
fifteen minutes they were heading down the motorway, the grey tarmac a road to
damnation, but it didn’t matter whether it was or not, just as long as Beth was
going to be alright.

Ten
minutes later, Jade turned off at Mt. Wellington, the over-path bridge now
behind them. The car stopped at a set of lights. “Please don’t make me take you
there,” Jade said, his hands shaking, like he expected Dante to shout at him
again.

“I
don’t have a choice. Saul doesn’t make empty threats.”

“But
you can’t trade yourself for Beth.”

Dante
turned to him. “Why not? I’ve already whored myself for you, so why can’t I do
it for someone I love?”

Jade
opened his mouth, then jumped as someone blasted their horn, the light having
turned green. He turned into an industrial area, where grey and white buildings
lined the street. “You’re a strong person,” he said, driving far too slow for
Dante’s liking. “But I don’t think you’re strong enough for this. You’ll crack
again.”

“It
doesn’t matter; I’ve made my bed, so now I hafta literally fuck in it.”

“No!”
Jade swerved over to the kerb, making Dante pitch forward against his seatbelt.
“They can’t make you do this. This is a free country; no one can force you to
do anything here.”

Dante
rubbed his chest. “Then you’re living in a dream world.”

“No,
you
are! The police are good in this country; they’ll catch these thugs
and get your girlfriend back.”

“Only
in my dreams.”

“Stop
thinking like that, you need to think logically.”

“I
am. So drive,” Dante said, feeling defeated, knowing no matter what Jade said
it wouldn’t make a difference.

“No!”

Dante
turned to Jade, surprised to see the guy crying, his pretty face just as
desperate as Kara’s had been.

Jade
wiped his cheeks. “You can yell at me, even beat me up, but I’m not driving you
there.”

Dante
placed a hand on Jade’s lap, making the man go still, then he slipped a hand
into Jade’s pocket and pulled out his phone. He held it up. “It’ll be safer for
you if you don’t come anyway, I will just get the address from Saul.”

Jade
reached over, trying to snatch the phone off him. “Give it back.”

Dante
pocketed it, then grabbed Jade’s face, making him go still again. “Just go
home, Jade, this isn’t your concern.”

“You
are my concern,” Jade said, keeping his eyes on Dante.

Dante
smiled sadly at him. “Thank you.”

“For
what?”

“For
actually caring ’bout me.”

“I
don’t just care about you, I love you.”

“You
can’t say that, you hardly know me.”

“Yes,
I do, I’ve watched your DVDs every day, even the unedited ones without sex. And
I lied to you; I knew all along you could sing. I used to play those parts in
the videos over and over again, especially the song that went ‘
Sava teho
techi
’
.
Your voice was so full of emotion. I cried when you cried.”

“
Sava
tiho te
č
e
,” Dante said. “My
grandfather sung it at my mother’s funeral.” He let go of Jade, upset that
people had seen something so personal. He rubbed at his face, things starting
to get too much again.

Jade
placed a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Dante
looked sideways at him. “I don’t blame you; you didn’t understand what you were
watching.”

“No,
I should be sorry, because even now knowing you weren’t aware of being filmed,
I still would’ve watched you. You’re like a drug; I’m addicted to you. Even
when you were scratching your rear or getting high or yelling at someone, I
still loved every second. I loved the words you said to your family, to your
lovers, and whether you were making love, trashing your room or singing like an
angel, I was in heaven. I’m completely and utterly in love with you.”

Dante
shook his head. “You love a commodity, not me.”

“No,
I love
you
, the real
you
, and whenever I could, I’d come out to
Claydon just to get a glimpse of you, and that time you let me blow you, I was
beyond heaven, didn’t even care when you threatened me afterwards, because I
had been with you so intimately. I was your lover for that moment in time, and
I couldn’t have been happier. And I’ve been watching you ever since I first
heard about the club two years ago, and I paid extra to get your earlier videos
when you first started dating Kara.”

Dante
stared at him, shocked that it had been going on for so long. He understood
that Kara had started it, but it hadn’t fully registered that people had been
watching him every day and every night for over four years. And Jade’s
confession freaked him out too. He knew ... bloody knew it that the guy had been
stalking him. His mates had laughed at him, said he was imagining it, but he
hadn’t! And Jesus, for the guy to be watching him every day, that was just
fucked up.

“I
know I sound crazy, but I’m not,” Jade said, starting to cry again. “I’m not.
It’s you; you make people love you without even knowing it. It’s like you’re
totally oblivious to the world around you, how people look at you. At the pub,
people were openly staring at you well before you jumped up on the stage. And
it was obvious that you didn’t have a clue, too lost in your own world to see
how you affect people.”

Dante
shook his head. “People only stare cos they know what they can get outta me:
Sex or drugs.”

“No,
it’s not that. They were enthralled by you.”

“Enthralled?
Stop talking rubbish.”

“I’m
not, it’s true!” Jade’s face bunched up. “That’s why Saul wants to use you.”

“You
mean Craven, Saul’s just his lackey.”

“Then,
that’s why Craven wants to use you, because he knows you have that affect on
people. And it’s not right; you can’t allow them to take advantage of you.”

Dante
exhaled, knowing the guy was meaning well, plus he was kind of touched that
Jade actually cared for him, even if it was in a fucked up way. He took Jade’s
face in his hands and kissed him on the lips, wanting to repay him. “That’s to
say sorry for hurting you, and thank you for caring. You’re a nice person. I
hope you find someone who’ll treat you right.”

“You.”

Dante
shook his head. “I don’t treat people right, I’m an arsehole.”

“No,
you’re the best person I’ve ever met.”

“You’re
wrong, but thanks anyway.” He gave Jade another kiss, this one on the forehead,
then turned and got out of the car.

Jade
yelled at him to get back in. Dante keyed in Saul’s number and started walking,
trying his best to ignore Jade as he followed him in the Ferrari.

Saul
answered the phone. “Hello, Mr. Park.”

“No,
it’s me,” Dante said. “I swiped Jade’s phone and ditched him, cos he wuz giving
me trouble, but don’t hurt him, he’s part of the deal for me to come in.”

“That’s
fine, I just need you,” Saul said. “Where are you now?”

“Somewhere
in Mt. Wellington.” Dante stopped at a sign, relaying the name of the road to
Saul.

“You’re
two streets away. Head in the direction of Otahuhu.” Saul gave him the address
and described the building, adding, “and no one will touch Jade, he’s worth too
much, unless he goes to the police, then he’ll become a pauper in the eyes of
Craven.”

Dante
stopped. “You can’t hurt him!”

“Why?
Do you actually care for the pipsqueak?”

“He’s
a friend, so promise me he doesn’t get touched.”

“How
sweet, you do care.”

“Promise!”

“I
promise that the pipsqueak won’t get hurt, though, I will still need to
threaten him to make sure he keeps quiet, he just doesn’t need to know it’s all
talk and no bite. Is that acceptable?” Saul said, sounding sarcastic.

“Yes.”

“Good,
now get here, because you’re wasting my Sunday. I do have a life.”

“You’re
taking mine, so I don’t give a fuck ’bout yours!” Dante hung up and turned back
to Jade, who was now full out yelling at him to get in the car. “Stay away,
Jade, I’ll be fine, and don’t go to the cops, cos Saul
will
have you
killed.” Blowing him a kiss, he took off down the closest driveway and scaled
the fence, dreading what he was running to.