Behind the Lens (Behind the Lives) (3 page)

“What
happened to your head, Ash?” Hunter asked.

Ash
shifted about. “Banged it.”

“How?”

“Wuzn’t
lookin’ where I wuz goin’.”

Hunter
scowled. “You’re lying. What really happened?”

Ash
put a hand on Hunter’s back and steered him towards an empty couch in the far
corner.

“You’re
making me nervous, son,” Hunter said, sitting down.

Ash
frowned. “I’m not your son, Sledge is.”

“You’re
a son to me, and I didn’t bring up your brother.”

“You
should’ve.”

Hunter’s
brows pulled together. “What’s this about?”

“Me
and Dante wanna tell Sledge and Juliet they’re adopted, and that you’re their
father.”

“No!”
Hunter yelled, then lowered his voice as everyone in the room turned to look at
him. “Don’t you dare,” he growled.

“They
have every right to know, and it’s wrong that you call me son and ignore your
real one.”

Hunter
pointed a finger at Ash. “I don’t give a damn whether it’s biological or not,
you’re my son, and I’ve never connected with the twins, Sledge especially. He’s
a harsh kid, who hardly ever talks to me.”

“Cos
he doesn’t know you’re his father.”

“And
I want it to stay that way.”

“You
have no right to steal his heritage. Both him and Juliet don’t even realise
they have Italian and Tongan blood. Christ, they speak Croatian better than I
do. How do ya think they’ll feel when they find out they’ve been brought up in
the wrong culture?”

“Devastated.
Which is why you need to keep your big mouth shut. Have you even considered the
consequences of what will happen when the twins find out your grandparents
aren’t theirs, especially after they were raised by them?”

“It
still has to be done.”

“Says
you. And you promised to keep this a secret. You know how I feel about them.”

“It’s
not their fault your woman died.”

“No,
it’s mine for gettin’ her pregnant, and if I hadn’t done that, she would still
be alive—”

“—and
the twins wouldn’t exist,” Ash snapped. “I’m sorry Joanna died after giving
birth, but you should stop punishing Sledge and Juliet for sumpthin’ they had
no control over.”

Hunter
shook his head. “It’s too late now. What’s the point of dredging up the past?
And if you did, you won’t come out of this unscathed either. How do ya think
the twins will react when they realise you knew all along?”

“Upset,
but I ain’t backing down, it’s happening whether you’re on board or not.”

Hunter
leaned forward, his eyes flashing with anger. “Then why didja even bother to
tell me? Cos ya don’t give a shit ’bout what I think.”

“I
do care; I just wish you’d accept that it’s the right thing to do.”

“I
fed and clothed you, looked after you when you were suicidal, and yet you can’t
even gimme this one thing?”

Ash’s
face hardened. “I’m giving up the house for you.”

“What?”

“It’s
being sold to pay off the three-hundred grand you owe Craven, so we don’t hafta
work for him anymore.”

Fear
filled Hunter’s eyes. “You can’t quit.”

“Too
late, it’s done.”

Hunter
shook his head. “No, you’re putting everyone in danger.”

“No
I’m not; he’s agreed to take the money.”

“Like
hell he did!” Hunter yelled, again grabbing the attention of the other
occupants in the room. “He’s lying, he won’t let you free.
Ever
.”

“Then
why did he accept my offer?”

“I
don’t know, but I don’t owe that bastard nowhere near that amount, fifty grand
at tops, and he said I didn’t hafta pay it back, and I only told ja that BS
’bout the three-hundred grand to stop ya from quitting, cos the only way people
leave his employment is through a coffin.”

Ash
shook his head. “You’re lying, my mate quit chauffeuring for him, and he’s
still alive.”

“When
did he quit?”

“Just
over three months back.”

“When
wuz the last time you saw him?”

“A
few days after he quit.”

“Have
ya seen him recently?”

“No,
he moved overseas.”

“Have
ya phoned him, spoken to him at all since then?”

“No.”

“Then
he’s dead.”

Ash
leaned closer to Hunter. “He is
not
dead.”

“I’d
bet three-hundred grand he is.”

Ash
got to his feet, shaking with anger. “He is
not
dead, you psychotic
bastard.”

Hunter
reared up on Ash, making Dante push in between them. “Calm down both of you.”

Hunter
glared past him at Ash, looking like he wanted to yell, but instead his voice
came out dangerously low. “I may be psychotic, but
you
, Ash, live in a
fantasy world more than I do. You’ve worked for Craven for ten years, yet you
don’t even know the shit you’ve gotten yourself into. Craven has a name for
employees who quit:
Liabilities
. He knows you don’t like him, so what
assurances does he have once you’re out from under his hand? None, cos you’re a
witness in waiting in
his
mind.”

“I
wouldn’t rat.”

“You
might say that now, but what happens when the cops turn up at your doorstep,
putting bogus charges on you to get at Craven? It’s happened to me, that year
in prison all trumped up BS to get me to nark.”

“That
wuz a real charge.”

“It
may have been, but the coppers were after Craven, not me. They tried to make me
nark on him, said they’d let me walk if I did, but I refused, cos he would’ve
killed me, or if not me, you or Dante or maybe one of the twins. I know that,
but you, you think you’re safe, and cos of it you’ll nark on him to stay outta
prison. That, son, makes you a liability who needs to be taken out.”

“I
don’t believe you, cos he could’ve easily threatened my family, like the last
time I tried to quit, but he didn’t. He wants the money, and if I wuz him, I’d
let us go for three-hundred grand too.”

“Three-hundred
grand is Monopoly money to him. He has his finger in every illegal pie there
is. Now, if you gave him three
million
, then yeah, he might consider
it.”

Ash
stepped away from Hunter, his expression disgusted. “I know why you’re doin’
this. You want us to keep working for that bastard so you get to keep your
ready supply of drugs.”

“Keep
your voice down,” Hunter hissed. “And you’re wrong, I’m clean.”

“You’re
a drug addict for life whether you’re clean or not. One shot of coke and it’ll
be all on again.”

Hunter
raised a finger. “I
am
clean, and
you
, boy, are delusional if you
think Craven will sit back and do nuthin’.”

Ash’s
lip curled. “I ain’t a boy anymore; I’m the head of the family.”

“No,
I
am, and you have no right to sell my house.”

“Not
my fault you were stupid enough to put it under my name, now suffer the
consequences for gettin’ me tied in with Craven.”

“I
never pushed you into working for Craven, I wuz dead against it, so don’t you
mouth off at me, boy.”

Ash
threw his hands up in the air. “Believe what ya want, it’ll change nuthin’.
We’re free from Craven, and I’ve done my duty telling you. See ya when you get
out, cos I ain’t discussing this again.” He turned to leave.

“You
ain’t goin’ nowhere.” Hunter bashed into Ash from behind, ramming him into a
wall.

Dante
launched himself at Hunter, grabbing him around the neck. “Let him go!”

“Not
until he agrees to ask Craven for your job back!” Hunter yelled.

Ash
flung his head back, butting Hunter in the face, then rammed his forehead into
the wall. Hunter let go and grabbed his bloodied nose, looking stunned. Guards
rushed at him, taking hold of his arms. Hunter let them as he stared at Ash,
who slumped onto the floor, cradling his forehead. Dante dropped down in front
of Ash, removing his brother’s hands to see the damage. Blood leaked from the
bruises that were already there, the rest of the skin reddening to match it. A
nurse ran over to help.

Hunter
called out, “Is Ash alright?”

Dante
jump to his feet as the guards pulled Hunter away. He followed them, one of the
guards yelling at him to back off. “I’m not gonna retaliate,” Dante said,
making the guards stop. “My brother hit his head on purpose.”

“Why
did he do that?” Hunter asked, the blood from his nose dripping onto his
sweatshirt.

“You
shouldn’t have rammed him into the wall, he’s been abused.”

“I
know, but that happened ten years ago.”

Dante
shook his head. “It happened again this week.”

“What
do ya mean?” Hunter said, looking confused.

“Chaz
escaped prison and kidnapped him. You can take an educated guess on what went
down.”

Hunter’s
face fell. “Oh God, no.” He looked over at Ash, who was being tended to by a
nurse. “I’m sorry, Ash, I didn’t know!”

Ash
glanced up, his eyes haunted as the nurse wound gauze around his head.

“Lemme
go!” Hunter yelled at the guards. “He’s my son! I wanna go to my son!”

Dante
shook his head. “Not today, wait until he’s stable.”

“But
he won’t come back.” Hunter looked at Ash. “I love you, son, I didn’t meana
hurt you, you must know that.”

Without
responding, Ash got to his feet and went for the door, asking the nurse to let
him out.

“Don’t
walk away from me!” Hunter yelled. “You’re everything to me.”

Ash
turned, his eyes flashing. “Sledge and Juliet should be everything to you, not
me! How can you ignore your own flesh and blood?”

“You’re
my flesh and blood, you’re my soul.”

Ash
shook his head, then turned to the door.

Hunter
looked like he was about to cry. “Everything I’ve done is to protect you and
this family. Please go back to Craven or it’ll all be for nuthin’.”

Ash
yelled at the nurse, “Lemme out!” The nurse swiped her card over the monitor.

“I
hafta go,” Dante said to Hunter.

“First
tell me you believe me ’bout Craven.”

“I
believe you,” Dante said, just saying it to calm Hunter down. “And I promise
I’ll sort this mess out with him.”

“Thanks,
and make sure that Ash knows I didn’t meana hurt him. I would never hurt him on
purpose.”

“’Kay.”
Dante patted Hunter’s arm, then strode to the door, indicating for the nurse to
let him out. He exited both doorways, relieved to find that Ash was waiting for
him in the reception area.

Ash
got up from the couch and headed for the exit, punching the security guard in
the face. The man crumpled to the floor. “That’s for insulting my bro!” Ash
yelled at him, then headed for Dante’s Holden, parked on the other side of the
darkened car park.

Covering
his nose, the guard pushed to his feet. “You won’t be allowed in here again!”
he shouted, his voice partially muffled by his hand

“That’s
what he wants,” Dante said as he walked past, feeling no satisfaction over the
guard getting hurt.

***

Dante turned off the main
road and drove past Claydon Primary School, the night tucking a dark blanket
over the buildings. “I think we should ask Craven for our jobs back,” he said,
hoping Ash didn’t bite his head off for saying it, but he knew he had to,
because it had been bothering him the whole ride back, Hunter’s words now
getting to him. “I can do the work for both of us, so Craven doesn’t needa know
you’re out.”

Ash
shook his head. “You can’t carry the business on your own, and if this is ’bout
what Hunter said, ignore him, he’s full of shit.”

“I
thought so at first too, but ... I don’t think he would’ve barrelled into you
like that over drugs, he loves you, bro, and he did look scared.”

“Then
why did Craven accept our offer?”

“Cos
you threatened to kill him if he didn’t,” Dante said, turning onto their road,
the streetlamps few and far between.

“He
could’ve threatened us back, used our family against us like the last time, but
he didn’t, and anyway, who in their right mind would turn down three-hundred
grand?”

“Three-hundred
grand that Hunter may not owe him.”

“I
told ja not to believe Hunter, he’s nuts, he attacked me.”

“No,
he wuz tryna stop ya from leaving.”

“Bullshit.
He rammed me into that wall hard. He’s loco.”

“Maybe,”
Dante steered the Holden onto their driveway, parking behind Ash’s Chevy, “but
you’re just as nuts, cos he wuzn’t the one who hurt your head. You bashed it
into that wall like some psychotic looney tune. No sane person would do that.”