Behind the Secrets (Behind the Lives #4) (19 page)

Dante lowered the chair a little. “He
wuz raped and sexually assaulted, yet he questions your assault? That’s fuckin’
unbelievable.”

“It’s not,” Ash spoke up. “You know what
happened to Johno. He spent two fuckin’ years in prison before it wuz proven he
didn’t rape his neighbour.
That
is why I don’t judge without knowing
all
the facts, which is also why Saul will be given a chance to state his side
of the story.”

“Beth—”

“Wouldn’t be alive if it wuzn’t for him.
He blew his cover to save her from putting a bullet in her head. Not to forget,
he saved Sledge’s life as well as rescued Corey. You could at least give him a chance
to prove his innocence.”

Dante lifted the chair again. “You’re
still a fuckin’ bastard. After your rape, you wouldn’t have wanted to be
treated like you’re treating Beth now.”

“The difference is I’m not a liar. Cry
wolf too many times and people become sceptical. Also, don’t think she’ll walk
away scot-free if I find out she’s lied again.”

“Are you threatening her?!”

“If she’s lying do ya think she should
go unpunished?”

“She’s not lying! So, fuck off and don’t
come back!”

“Just hear me out. Johno almost
committed suicide cos of the lying ho who got him put away. Can you imagine
what would happen to Saul if
he
got locked up? He’s a fuckin’ cop, he’ll
pro’bly get shanked. If Beth isn’t tellin’ the truth, that’s akin to murder.”

“She
is
telling the truth!”

“You better hope so, cos I won’t
tolerate one more lie from her. I may not touch her, but I will let
everyone
know what kind of woman she is.” Ash turned to go.

Dante smashed the chair against his bed,
swearing at his brother.

Ash spun around. “You needa pull your head
in, Dante, and fast, cos you’re heading for the psyche ward again if you keep
losing your shit.”

“You’re provoking me!”

“I’m provoking you? I’m the one she
cheated on! With you! So, you can go get fucked if you think I’m gonna tiptoe round
you.” His eyes moved to Beth, a grimace following. “You know what, I hope the baby
is
Saul’s, cos I want you gone from our lives—
for good
.” He
turned and left the room.

Dante dropped the remains of the chair
and pulled Beth into a hug. “Don’t listen to that bastard, I know you wouldn’t
lie ’bout sumpthin’ like this. I trust you fully.”

Beth buried her face into his shoulder,
knowing he shouldn’t, but also knowing she couldn’t admit the baby was Ash’s.
She didn’t want that callous bastard anywhere near her child. Dante was the man
she loved, the one who should be her child’s father.

And he would be.

Beth wrapped her arms around Dante,
knowing she needed to keep her secret—no matter what.

“Will you marry me?” Dante asked.

Beth went still, not believing what she
was hearing.

He pulled back. “Will you?”

Jade cut her off before she could reply.
“Aren’t you married to Kara already?”

Beth looked over at him, having forgotten
he was still by the bed.

Dante grimaced. “It can’t be legal, I wuz
blotto at the time. Hell, I didn’t even remember it happening. And if it is
legal,” he breathed out, looking upset, “I’ll file for a divorce.” His gaze
dropped to Beth’s stomach. “Cos my place is with my woman and child. I wanna be
a good father,” he looked up, “and husband.”

Beth breathed out. “Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“I will marry you.”

15

Saul

“There’s a woman in a cell asking for
you,” Sarah said.

Saul looked up from his desk, feeling
like death warmed up, his hangover killing him. “What’s her name?”

Sarah leaned against the doorframe.
“Kara. I can’t remember her last name, other than it rhymes with her
personality.”

“Eh?”

“She’s a
bitch
.”

Exhaling loudly, Saul pushed out of his
chair, knowing exactly who it was. “That’ll be Kara Radich. What’s she in for?”

“Apparently she assaulted her boyfriend,
knocking him out.”

His eyebrows shot up. “As in Dante
Rata?”

“Yeah, that gorgeous guy involved in the
Torres case.” She shook her head. “If I had a man like that, I wouldn’t be
knocking him out, I’d be—”

“
Sarah
,” Saul said in a warning
tone.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s
a comment, not an action, and it’s not like
you
should comment after I
had to drive your drunk arse home. You were supposed to be watching that woman,
not fucking her.”

Saul ran a hand over his head. “I know, and
I regret what I did.”

“I bet you do. You’re wincing at everything,
not to mention sweating like a bastard. You’ve only just gotten back to work;
you can’t go out drinking all night and fucking kids.”

“Josie isn’t a kid, she’s twenty-one.”

“While you’re thirty-eight, you dirty
old man.”

Saul glared at her. “How about you keep
your nose out of my private life?”

“No. I’m concerned about you, Saul.
That’s
why I’m commenting on it, and you were the one who asked me to drive you home.
That wasn’t part of my job; I did it because you’re my friend, so don’t get all
high and mighty with me, I won’t stand for it.”

Saul exhaled. “Just give me a break this
time; I’ve got one hell of a headache.”

“And we know who’s to blame for that.”

“
Sarah—
”

“I know, give poor hungover you a break.
Well, I guess I have to, since you need to go deal with that Kara woman.”

Saul walked around his desk. “Is Dante Rata
all right?”

“Yeah, it was only a concussion. Kara
claims it was an accident, while the other woman said it was an assault.”

“What other woman?” Saul asked, hoping
it wasn’t Beth.

“The one involved in the Torres case—Beth
Connor.”

Saul swore in his head. “Is she here?”

“No, Kara’s claiming Beth’s framed her.
As if. I’ve met Beth and she was nice—unlike that screaming banshee.” Sarah
placed a finger in her ear and wiggled it about. “Man, she’s got a pair of powerful
lungs on her. My ears are still ringing from going near that bitch.”

“You still need to get someone to question
Dante before you take anything further with Kara.”

A cheeky smile played across her lips. “Yeah,
no problem, I’ll do it. I wouldn’t mind meeting him.”

“Don’t get any ideas, that guy’s a
manwhore.”

“I said
meeting
, not
fucking
,
after all, my name’s not Saul.”

He grimaced at her. “You’re going to
make me pay for a while, aren’t you?”

“I most certainly am.” Smiling, she swept
a hand towards the door. “Go see Kara, so she shuts up. She says she won’t stop
yelling until she speaks to you.”

“Okay, I’ll deal with her.”

He headed out of his office, ignoring
the other cops walking down the passage. Sarah ran past him, stopping in front
of a cell. On the other side of the door, a woman was yelling at the top of her
lungs, “I want Saul, get me Saul!”

“He’s here!” Sarah barked back. “So shut
the hell up!” She unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Saul stepped into the cell. Kara was
standing in the centre of the room, wearing stilettos and a curve-hugging dress
any hooker would be proud to own. Her long blonde hair was a tangled mess,
while her eyes were bloodshot, giving the impression she’d been crying.

“Finally!” Kara tottered over to him,
her expression angry. “What took you so long? I asked for you ages ago.”

“
Firstly
, I only just heard about
you being here, and
secondly
, I’m not a lawyer who you can order about.
I’m a cop, who doesn’t do favours for career criminals.”

“I’m not a criminal!”

“Then explain why you’re here.”

“
Beth Connor.
She lied about me
attacking Dante to get me out of the way.”

“Then how did he get hurt?”

She grimaced, her pale blue eyes pained.
“I accidentally pushed him too hard. You can’t arrest me for a simple push, it
wasn’t a strike.”

“Why were you pushing him?”

“Because he went back on his word. He
promised he would stay with me, then that bitch Beth gets pregnant and bam, he dumps
me like I mean nothing to him.”

Saul’s brows shot up. “Beth’s pregnant?”

“Yes, because Dante’s too stupid to use
condoms. When he gets horny, what little brain he has evaporates completely.”
Kara placed a hand on Saul’s arm, giving him one of her sexy smiles. “So, can
you get me out?”

Saul removed her hand from his arm.
“Don’t think you can flirt your way out of this.” He went to leave. She grabbed
his arm, making him turn back. Not saying a word, he looked down at her hand.

She whipped it back, her expression now
concerned. “You can’t leave me here. I need to see Dante.”

“You should stay clear of him.”

“That’s not your decision to make.”

“It is if you want me to get you out.”

“But I need to be with him, not that
lying, stuck-up, conniving witch, who he doesn’t even want.”

“Look, Kara, if he dumped you you’re the
one he doesn’t want, so deal with it.”

“You’re wrong. If he truly wanted Beth, he
wouldn’t have taken a knife to himself after finding out she was pregnant.”

Saul’s eyebrows shot up. “He did what?”

“After he chose to be with me, she shows
up. The next day I find out he’s hurt himself and is in a psyche ward. And she
thinks I’m dangerous to him? She’s the dangerous one. She drove him to lose it.
I was willing to play nice with her, but not after she lied to the cops about
me assaulting him.”

“Mr. Rata’s flatmate confirmed Miss Connor’s
account,” Sarah said from the doorway.

Kara’s eyes shot to her. “Jade wasn’t
even there when it happened! He’s also the one who encouraged her to lie so
they could get rid of me. He’s been constantly calling the cops on me, saying
I’ve been harassing him and Dante. He’s a liar like Beth, but unlike her, he
doesn’t have a chance with Dante.”

Saul cut in, “Is he still after Dante?”

She nodded. “The delusional idiot thinks
he’s Dante’s boyfriend. He also touches him without permission. Dante tells him
to stop, but he never listens. I want Dante out of that house and away from
that pervert and Beth.”

“If Dante wants to stay there—”

“He’s only there because Jade’s holding
a music contract over his head.”

“I’m sure Dante’s big enough to take
care of Jade. I can’t see him allowing Jade to push him around.”

Kara grimaced. “That’s because you don’t
understand the way Dante thinks. He’s so used to people using and abusing him
that he doesn’t see what Jade’s doing is wrong, and when something happens that
does upset him, he just blanks it out, like it’s never happened. So, can you
get me out? Because you know those charges are lies.”

“I know nothing, Kara, because you
are
capable of hurting people. You forget that I do know you well.”

“Which means you should also know I
wouldn’t hurt Dante. I love him unconditionally.”

He exhaled, believing her in regards to
that. He’d seen her place a gun to her head and pull the trigger in a Russian
roulette game so that Dante didn’t have to, her love undeniable.

“So...” she paused, “can you get me
out?”

“I’ll do my best.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Saul, I knew
you’d come through for me. I could tell you were different from the rest of
Craven’s crew when you were undercover. It made sense when I found out you were
a cop. You’re a good man.”

Saul refrained from grimacing, knowing
he was far from good. “I have to go; I’ll leave you with my colleague.”

Kara’s eyes went to Sarah. “Can you get
another cop for me? That Amazonian has been nothing but a bitch to me.”

Sarah pushed away from the door and
stalked over to Kara, her expression angry. “I brought you Saul yet you insult
me?”

Kara spat something back in Croatian.

“Whatever you said,” Sarah snapped, “you’re
times two.”

Kara smirked. “No, I don’t like licking pussy;
it was only part of my job description.”

Sarah’s eyes went wide. “I’m not a
lesbian!”

“Then put on some makeup, you look like
you’ve just come back from muff diving.”

Saul turned to Sarah quickly, blocking
her from Kara. “Get Liam, he can deal with her,” he said, knowing Sarah was
about to lose her temper.

Sarah glared at Kara for a few seconds,
then spun around and stalked out, muttering she loved men.

Saul turned back to Kara. “You really do
bite the hand that feeds you.”

“She was rude to me earlier.”

“She got me here so I could help you.”

“Only because I wouldn’t shut up,
otherwise that Amazonian bitch wouldn’t have done a thing.”

“Watch what you say, she’s my friend.”

“Don’t get all touchy, I’m the one in
jail, not her, plus you owe me for allowing Big Mack to beat me up.” She
sneered at him. “Did you enjoy seeing me getting beaten to a pulp?”

Saul grimaced. “I couldn’t do a thing, I
was undercover. If I’d stopped him, I would’ve blown it.”

“You blew your cover for Beth. Is that
why you’re giving me trouble?”

“I’m not giving you trouble, I said I
would help you, but you’re making me seriously reconsider my decision.”

She held out her hands. “I’m sorry; I
speak before I think sometimes. I’m also sorry for upsetting your friend. I
just need another officer so I can lay charges against Beth and Jade for placing
false allegations against me.”

“I wouldn’t recommend doing that, it
won’t go anywhere.”

“Why not? They tried to frame me for
something I didn’t do.”

“I’m sure Dante won’t take too kindly to
you trying to put away the mother of his baby.”

She grimaced. “I’m better suited to
Dante than that pretentious bitch. He’s crazy like me, whereas she’s too
precious for her own good.” She smiled. “Hey, you’re gorgeous. How about you
seduce her, so she can leave me and Dante the hell alone? It’ll work out for
all of us, considering you’re hot for the bitch.”

He grimaced. “I don’t appreciate your
suggestion.” He turned to leave.

“Why are you getting precious?” Kara
said. “It’s obvious you have a hard-on for her.”

Saul slammed the door shut and stalked
back to Kara, who quickly backed up. He pointed a finger at her face. “You saw
nothing.
You heard
nothing
.”

She held out her hands once again, her
expression surprised. “Okay, okay, whatever you say.”

“Good, and you better keep it that way,
because, Kara, I can get you deported if you make any trouble for me.”

She shook her head vigorously. “You
can’t do that; I’m a New Zealand citizen now.”

“Your citizenship was illegal, bought by
Craven. I have all the details, so keep your mouth shut or you’ll be sent back
to Bosnia.”

“I promise I won’t say a word, I’m not
stupid, I know you’re my friend—”

“Get it into your thick head I’m not
your friend, which means the next time you get thrown into jail, don’t ask for
me. This is the last time I want to see you until the trial.” He looked down at
her dress, grimacing at the blood staining the bottom of it. “You’re bleeding.”

She dropped her gaze, her expression
surprised.

Not caring, Saul spun around and stalked
out, spotting Sarah’s partner walking towards the cell. “Get the prisoner a
sanitary pad.”

Liam turned and headed for the
storeroom, disappearing inside it. Saul continued down the corridor, what Kara
had said bothering him. If she’d noticed how he’d looked at Beth, then maybe
others had too, and if Beth laid a complaint against him ... no, she wouldn’t,
or she would’ve done it already. He ran a hand over his head, wishing he’d
never met her, the woman a bad experience he just wanted to forget.

A hand touched his back as he entered
the foyer. He turned to find Sarah staring at him with a worried expression.
“Are you all right?” she asked.