DEMON IN DISGUISE

(A Broken Lives Short Story)

Marita A. Hansen

Copyright

Demon in Disguise

(A Broken Lives Short Story)

Kindle Edition

Copyright 2018 © Marita A. Hansen

Editor: John Hudspith

Cover design © Marita A. Hansen

Cover photography by Tory Art

and sourced from https://www.istockphoto.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means whatsoever without the written permission of the author, nor circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. For subsidiary rights inquiries email: marita.a.hansen@gmail.com

All characters, names, places, and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

CONTENTS

Copyright Page

Lavinia

Dante

About the Author

More Books by Marita A. Hansen

UK English is used due to the Australian and New Zealand setting.

All other variations are also due to where the short story is set, as well as the characters’ cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. This is why some characters use different speech patterns from others.

This short story directly runs on from Smokescreen (A Broken Lives Short Story #2).

LAVINIA

“Mum, Mum, Mum!” Cleo yelled from the lounge.

“I’m busy, Cleo!” I yelled back, frustrated with my ten-year-old daughter constantly shouting at me to come over. I was late enough with getting dinner on, I didn’t need this too. Work had run overtime because of a fight between two prisoners, which had ended in one of them being taken to the infirmary, the other to the hole. I’d never wanted to be a prison guard, I’d always wanted to be a fashion designer, but life didn’t go the way I’d planned. Nothing ever went the way I planned, like dinner tonight.

I pulled out the fry pan and threw it on the stove top, knowing it was going to be fish fingers and a salad tonight instead of the roast chicken I’d wanted. Quick and easy, ready in minutes.

“Muuuum!” Cleo screamed louder, making me want to scream back at her, having had more than enough of her bad behaviour. She was a demanding little minx, full of spice and sassier than a roomful of supermodels, which was partly my fault, the rest my husband’s. I’d dressed her up like a princess since she was a baby, while Joel was way too soft on her, letting her get away with anything. He also thought her rudeness was adorable, telling me to lighten up, that she was just a kid. But then again, he was incredibly rude too, so wouldn’t see Cleo’s behaviour as a bad thing, unlike me, who didn’t stand for it.

I stormed into the lounge, ready to tell her off good and proper—until I saw what was on the TV. Or more like who.

Dante Rata.

Cleo jumped up as soon as she saw me, pointing at the image of my first boyfriend onscreen. Right at that moment, Dante lifted his hands and flicked the reporters and camera crew his middle fingers, yelling out, “Wankers!” before turning to a door. It opened before he could get a hand to it, and a stunning lilac-haired woman appeared.

“Inside quick,” she said.

Dante did just that, slipping inside an expensive Mediterranean-style house. The door slammed shut on the blonde reporter, who’d tried to stick her microphone through the opening, only just jerking it back in time to stop it from being jammed.

She shouted out, “Clara, what do you think about this?!”

When she got no response, the door remaining shut, the reporter turned to the camera. “That was Dante, New Zealand’s hottest rock star, and his partner Clara Hughes, who up until now we’d thought he’d cheated on. But it may be a case of mistaken identity. According to Dante, the viral sex tape was not of himself, but of his older brother, who apparently looks just like Dante. We will be following up on this story to find out exactly who Dante’s brother is and his connection to the famous L, who was also in the video.”

I swore under my breath, knowing the reporter was talking about Ash. He was my best friend’s partner—or had been. Tiana had visited me the week prior, crying on my shoulder after Ash had walked out on her, their Australian trip turning sour. But I’d just thought it was a tiff they’d get over—like they had before, their breakup a temporary blip in the road to their happy ever after. Yet, Ash’s betrayal of Tiana wasn’t what made my heart bang against my chest.

It was my daughter’s reaction.

Cleo looked up at me with those lovely big eyes of hers, saying the words I’d dreaded hearing ever since she was born. “Why does that man look like me, Mummy?”

And Dante did look like her—or Cleo looked like him. Although her hair was considerably longer, it consisted of the same black waves, while her dark brown, almost black eyes were a mirror reflection of his. And it wasn’t just her hair and eyes that matched, her bone structure and even the curve of her lips were eerily similar.

“Mummy,” Cleo said, still looking up at me. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to go to the toilet,” I said, rushing off, feeling like throwing up.

I ran into the toilet and closed the door behind me, leaning against it, not knowing what to say to my daughter. She thought her father was my husband, who I was currently separated from. Joel and I had a rollercoaster of a relationship, where we’d get together, have the most amazing sex, a honeymoon period of pure bliss, then I’d get annoyed with him for slacking off as well as being rude and stupid, while he’d get annoyed with me for “constantly bitching” at him, his wording, not mine. We’d fight, split, go our separate ways, miss the hell out of each other and get back together again, then everything would repeat. But this time he’d found someone new, making me scared that our separation could turn into a divorce.

I placed a hand over my rapidly beating heart, unable to handle any of this. I was stressed enough as it was, I didn’t need more stress lumped on top, especially with my money issues. Joel had missed his last child support payment, which meant I didn’t have enough to pay the rent. I’d had a screaming match with him over the phone because of it, which had resulted in him hanging up on me. Though, in all truth I was being completely unfair on him, since he shouldn’t be paying any child support considering he wasn’t Cleo’s father. And he knew it, Cleo’s resemblance to Dante irrefutable. Still, he hadn’t noticed it straight away, Joel slow on the uptake. It also helped that we’d moved to Australia before Cleo’s birth, putting distance between us and Dante. And Joel probably would’ve gone on believing Cleo was his daughter for much longer if it hadn’t been for a Christmas card that Tiana had sent a few years back, one with a photo of her, Ash, and their son on it. Angelo had looked like he could’ve been Cleo’s twin, their resemblance uncanny. Except they weren’t twins, they were first cousins, something that Joel had clearly seen. He’d thrown the card at me, calling me evil, then had walked out on me, leaving me an emotional wreck. He eventually forgave me, coming back because he loved both me and Cleo.

Only love wasn’t enough.

Which was why I was alone again, and caught in an even worse predicament. What would I say to Cleo? That her father was the famous rock star known solely as Dante, the man who had gotten mothers up in arms, trying to get his music banned from YouTube since he was too... What were the words they’d used to describe him? Provocative. Pornographic. They’d also called him a bad role model, the poster boy for sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll, the very epitome of what was wrong with the music industry. Ever since I first saw him on TV, I’d been dreading this, afraid that someone would point out how much Cleo looked like him. The more famous he became, the more afraid I became, knowing it would happen sooner rather than later.

I shook out my hands, willing myself to calm down, knowing that I either had to tell Cleo the truth or make up a plausible lie. But first I needed to tell Joel, especially since Cleo thought he was her father.

I pulled out my mobile phone from my navy-blue work pants and dialled Joel’s number, nervous about talking to him and even more nervous about telling him about what had unfolded.

The phone clicked through, his voice coming over the line. “What is it now, Lavinia?” he asked, as though I’d been pestering him constantly, his tired sounding voice almost resigned to an argument. It made me sad that I’d provoked such a reaction. I didn’t like arguing with him, never liked arguing with him no matter how much he frustrated me. I wanted him back in my bed, cuddling me, while I twirled my fingers around his long dreadlocks.

I exhaled, then just went for it, ripping the bandage off the festering wound. “Cleo saw Dante on TV. She asked why she looks like him.”

“Fuck, I knew this would happen. What did’ja tell her?” he asked, his New Zealand accent... or more particular, Māori accent strong. It hadn’t softened one bit in the years we’d been living in Australia, which was more than a decade, ever since we were sixteen, Joel having stolen the money to pay for our plane tickets.

I exhaled again, still trying to calm down. “I told her that I needed to go to the toilet and hightailed it out of there. What do I do?”

“Jesus... Why the fuck did that cunt hafta become famous?” he growled, never having liked Dante. “All this would’ve been all right if his face wuzn’t plastered over every bloody magazine, paper, and telly screen.”

“Regardless, we need to choose what we’re going to do about it. Shall I tell her he’s her father or make up a plausible lie?”

He went quiet.

“Joel?” I asked, needing him to tell me what to do. I was usually the one telling him what to do, but this... it terrified me.

He sighed audibly. “Tell her the truth, then make him pay the child support instead of lumping me with it. I’ve had enough, Lavinia. I’m struggling to pay my own bills without having to continually pay for someone else’s kid, no matter how much I love my li’l girl. But that’s the problem, she isn’t my girl, she’s Dante’s.”

“But Cleo thinks you’re her father.”

“Well, I’m not,” he growled. “And I should never have agreed to raise her as mine. I only did it cos I loved you—”

“Loved?” I said, his use of past tense cutting me.

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t, Joel. You know I still love you, with all my heart and soul. Please come back.”

He went quiet again.

“Please, Joel, that woman can’t mean more than over a decade of us being together,” I said, mentioning his new girlfriend, a skinny blonde with fake tits, who looked the complete opposite to me. I was three quarters Tongan and a quarter Japanese, although I was born and bred in Auckland, New Zealand.

“That’s the problem, Lavinia,” Joel finally answered, “you and me ... we haven’t been together this whole time. We constantly break up, and you wanna know why? Cos you’re never happy with anything I do. I never bring in enough money for you, never take you to places you think you deserve. You also constantly tell me I’m stupid, patronising me even more, and you think I wanna return for more? That woman you mentioned treats me a helluva lot better than you do. She makes me feel like a man not half a one cos I don’t earn a shitload of cash. She doesn’t even complain when she has to pay for things that I should be payin’ for cos a chunk of my money is goin’ to you, supporting a kid that isn’t even mine. I’ve had it, Lavinia, get that bastard to front up and pay for his kid. He’s Cleo’s father, not me.”

“I can’t do that, and you know it. He was thirteen when he got me pregnant. I could go to jail.”

“You were only three years older than him, a kid yourself.”

“He was underage, I wasn’t.”

He growled, “I still don’t understand why you went with him, that’s so fucked up, Lavinia. You made me believe he wuz stalking you when all along he wuz your boyfriend. I even bloody hit him for you. I should’ve seen you for what you were back then, dodged the bullet—”

“Joel!”

“It’s true! You screwed Dante, then screwed me over. This is it, Lavinia. I’m not payin’ a cent more to child support. Get that rich bastard to pay for his own kid or pay it yourself. You’re not freeloading offa me anymore.”

“What about Cleo?” I said, close to bursting into tears, tonight going to hell. “I won’t let you see her anymore if you do that!”

“You cut me off from seein’ the kid I’ve been payin’ for ever since she wuz born and I’ll go straight to the papers, tellin’ ’em who Cleo’s real father is.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Try me,” he growled.

“But I can’t ask Dante for money. I can’t!”

“Why not? He never ratted you out for fucking him, doubt he will now. Maybe if he finds out he has a daughter, he might actually throw some cash your way to shut you up, especially since he has a missus. Isn’t he living with that hot purply-haired chick? I read ’bout it in the papers that she used to be his school teacher. Maybe he won’t want her finding out he’s got another sproglet out there.”

“Are you suggesting blackmailing him?”

“It’s not exactly blackmailing, plus he should pay for Cleo, she is his.”

I grimaced, not liking that idea at all, the risk involved. “If I treated you better—”

“Whoa, hold up, Lavinia, you ain’t using me anymore. If anything, you bloody earn more money than me. And it’s your fault you can’t pay for shit with the way you spend money.”

“I won’t be using you, I love you, Joel. I miss you.”

“Miss my money, more like it.”

“No, Joel, I miss you. I love you so much.”

He didn’t reply, only breathing coming through the line.

“Please, Joel, come back, both Cleo and I miss you like crazy, and I know you care for her like she’s your own flesh and blood. I know you care for me too. Don’t let money get in the way. I won’t pester you about it anymore.”

“You will when a big bill comes up. I’ll never earn enough for you, Lavinia. You wanna be treated like a princess, yet you wanna be with me? I earn shit—”

“You’d earn more if you got a real job.”

“See!” he snapped. “That’s the problem. I consider what I do a real job, yet you’re always puttin’ it down.”

“Playing base in a cover band’s a hobby, not something that pays the bills or puts food on the table.”

“On your table, feeding Dante’s kid. You really do have a nerve, woman. And I want my own child, my own flesh and blood. Jessica wants to have babies with me, wants to raise a family that comes from me not some other dude.”

“Okay! If you come back, we can have another baby.”

“Or more like I can have my first baby, but it still won’t fix the money issue, it’ll make things worse. One more mouth to feed.”

I grimaced, knowing I had to bite the bullet to get him back, and he was right, Dante should be paying for Cleo, not him. “If I ask Dante for child support we could afford to put not only food on our table for four, but you could continue playing base without me hounding you. Dante is wealthy, he’s probably got money to throw away. If I convince him to help pay for Cleo, will you come back?” When he didn’t reply, I continued, “We won’t be struggling anymore, which means we won’t be fighting over money, and most of our arguments stem from money issues.”

“Why do ya even want me back? You’ve called me a dumb shit so many times.”

“I don’t mean to, and I love you, Joel. Have always loved you. It’s one of the reasons why I ran away with you.”

“No, you ran cos you were pregnant with Dante’s baby.”

“I admit I ran because I was scared, but I was also scared I’d lose you if I didn’t run. No matter what I say about you, I’ve always been obsessed with you, Joel. I love you, baby, and you are so damn sexy it’s not funny. I miss playing with your dreads, miss twirling them around my fingers while I kiss you. God, Joel, I can’t imagine being with any other man but you.”

He went quiet for the umpteenth time.

I pushed on, willing to lay everything on the line for him, “Please don’t give up on us. I’ll sort things out. How about I ring Tiana, get some advice on how to approach Dante?”

He huffed. “What can she do? Ash left her. He’s fucking that hermaphy chick. He’s always had a thing for L, pro’bly would’ve gone with her from the start if he hadn’t gotten Tiana preggers.”

I grimaced. I still couldn’t believe that the famous guitarist everyone called L was in fact Llewellyn Davies—the little redheaded ‘gay boy’ I’d gone to school with. At first, I hadn’t even realised that Dante’s guitarist was one and the same person as the kid from my Year Eleven class. Tiana had to point it out to me, because L looked nothing like he—or was it she—had in high school, since L was intersex.

“Poor Tiana,” I said, knowing she was heartbroken over her split with Ash. She’d visited me while in Sydney, coming over the night Ash had left her, crying on my shoulder about losing the love of her life. I’d ended up crying too, the both of us losing the men we loved. But still, I’d honestly thought she’d get back with Ash, those two made for one another.

Joel grunted. “I don’t feel sorry for her. That stupid bitch shoulda seen it comin’ cos no bird as hot as L hangs around a guy like Ash only to be friends. We all knew L had a tiny boner for Ash from day one.”

I stiffened. “Don’t be cruel, Joel! This isn’t Tiana’s fault. Ash is a lowdown, dirty dog for doing this to her.”

“Yeah, it’s always the bloke’s fault according to you.”

“I’m not talking about you, Joel, I’m talking about what Ash did to Tiana. He did her wrong, but with you I was the one who did the wrong. I’m not blaming you, I’m blaming myself for losing you. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved, so please come back.”

He went quiet. Yet again! He always did this on the phone when he didn’t want to answer me, intent on doing something totally different to what I wanted. It scared me, scared me so much that I opened my mouth to beg, to do anything to stop him from pulling away from me, but before I could get a word out, he finally answered.

 “I’ll think ’bout it,” he said.

Hope sprung up, an opening that made my heart beat faster. Because his thinking about it usually resulted in him returning. This was good, so good!

“Yes, yes, please do,” I said, missing the dumb, lazy lug like crazy, because, even though he only had a few brain cells more than Forrest Gump, it still didn’t stop my own stupid mind from loving him unconditionally. It also helped that he was an incredibly sexy man, one that always got me going.

“Never had you begging me so hard before,” he said. “What’s changed?”

Your new girlfriend. “I’m scared of losing you forever.”

“You jealous?”

“Yes,” I said, willingly putting my pride aside. I would even shove it into the garbage bin to win him back. No matter how many downfalls he had, he had more good things on his side. Plus, my heart wanted what it wanted, and Joel was it.

I continued, “Whenever we split, I always know we’ll get back together—”

He cut me off, “But this time you don’t think that?”

“Yes. I’m scared I’ve lost you to her,” I choked out, unable to stop the sob from escaping, because I was scared. I’d honestly thought this was it, that he was never coming home to me, and the thought destroyed me.

“Shit, Lavinia, don’t cry. You fuck me up bad when you cry.”

I sniffled and wiped my eyes. “I just miss you so much.”

“I miss you too, babe,” he said softly, almost a whisper, making me wonder whether his girlfriend was staying over with him.

“Then come home,” I said, emphasising the last word, because this was his home, where he belonged. I wanted my man back, to be here, not with that skinny bitch. “I promise to treat you better. I’ll support you so you can follow your dream. I’ll get completely behind you if you want to go full-time as a bassist.”

He exhaled. “The only way you’ll be able to do that is through Dante’s money.”

“I know,” I replied, realising there was no way around it now. “I’ll ring Tiana right away, ask her advice. She still gets on with Dante, even said they’re like siblings.”

“What ’bout Cleo? What are ya gonna tell the li’l one ’bout why she looks like Dante?”

I breathed out, “The truth.”

“You want me to come over so we can do it together?”

“No, this is on me. I’ve made you lie to her about being her dad for far too long. I need to do this on my own, to make her understand without upsetting you further.”

“What if she tells people? Do ya want her to be in the public eye, for reporters to dredge up your past, finding out ’bout how old you and Dante were when you made Cleo?”

“So, you want me to lie about why she looks like Dante?”

“No, deflick it.”

“You mean deflect,” I answered, Joel really not bright. It still didn’t matter. I loved him, like I loved Cleo, and with all my heart, and he actually had a point. I didn’t want Cleo in the public eye, I just wanted Dante to pay for her, to help us out, just without anyone finding out in the process.

“Yeah, deflect her question,” Joel said, “bring sumpthin’ up that she likes that’ll take her mind offa it, like goin’ to Dreamworld. She’ll instantly forget ’bout why she looks like Dante if you promise to take her there.”

“I can’t afford that.”

“You’ll be able to afford it and loads more if ya get some of Dante’s money. He’s rich and famous and all that. So, sort it.”

“And you’ll come back?”

“If you sort this money issue out, yeah, cos...” He lowered his voice to a whisper again, “I really do miss ya, babe. I miss you like crazy.”

My heart slammed against my chest. “I miss you too, baby. I’ll make this right, I’ll ring Tiana. I’ll call you after I sort things with Dante.”

“Tomorrow?”

“No, tonight. I need to do this now before I chicken out.”

“’Kay, I’ll wait for your call.” He paused for a moment, his voice once more a whisper. “Love you.”

“Love you too, Joel. Talk to you soon, hopefully with some good news.”

“I hope so too.” He hung up, leaving me exhaling with relief, his words of love and his willingness to come home turning the night into a world of smiles and possibilities.

I’m getting my man back!

I just needed to talk Dante into paying child support first. But before I could call Tiana for advice on how to go about doing that, I needed to deal with the Cleo situation I’d run from. I opened the toilet door and went back into the small, messy lounge, finding it empty. The TV was still on but Cleo was nowhere in sight. I went to her room next, not finding her there either.

“Cleo!” I called out, wondering where the little miss had gotten to.

I opened the back door of our flat and stepped outside, spotting her talking to a neighbour over the fence even though it was now dark outside. I closed the distance between us, stiffening at the words coming out of my neighbour’s mouth.

“I always thought you looked like Dante,” the teenager said to Cleo. Her eyes moved to me. “Hi, Mrs—”

“Don’t call me Mrs, Grace. You know I don’t like it, makes me feel old,” I said, trying to lighten the tension building inside of me.

“Lavinia,” Grace corrected herself. “Cleo does look like Dante. Are they related?”

“He’s a cousin of her father’s,” I said, only Dante was the father and Joel was the cousin.

Grace’s eyes went big. “Why didn’t you say?! I love Dante! Can you please, please, please get me an autograph?” She started waving her hands about, clearly getting more and more excited, what she was saying not exactly surprising since I’d heard Dante’s music blasting from her flat, a bit too loudly at times, which usually ended in her mum yelling at her to turn it off.

She continued talking excitedly, “Dante’s so beautiful. I love him so much! These two girls at my school got an autograph from him at his concert. He gave them backstage passes. I would’ve died if I were them. Can you get me a backstage pass?”

I shook my head. “Sorry, Grace, I haven’t seen him in years,” not since I broke up with him, breaking his heart in the process. I frowned, feeling guilty about that, his reaction an upsetting memory. He’d been in love with me—or had thought he was. I’d been his first girlfriend, the one who’d taken his virginity, and the first to break his heart too. But now he was the heartbreaker of a million girls’ and women’s hearts, a rock star people obsessed over. But all I obsessed over was my dumb lug of a Rastafarian man, who smoked too much weed, earned stuff all money, and commented on women’s breasts right in front of me. Joel’s reading of a woman was more often than not based on how big her mammary glands were, the guy obsessed with breasts. Regardless, I wanted him back and if I had to lie and do a bit of swindling, I would do it to make that happen.

Grace stuck out her bottom lip, clearly sulking over my reply, making me smile, the gangly girl looking funny.

“Sorry,” I repeated.

Cleo grabbed my hand and tugged on it. “Does that mean the rude man is my cousin too if he’s Daddy’s cousin?”

Yes, Dante was a rude man, had always been rude, even more so than Joel, which was a hard ask. I guessed I went for the rude, bad boy type, both of them fitting that category.

“Yes,” I said, continuing the lie, knowing it was a good enough one to explain why she looked like him without treading into dangerous waters. “Anyway, we need to have dinner. Plus, you two shouldn’t be outside at this time of night, it’s cold.”

“Cleo called out to me,” Grace answered, looking sullen.

“Don’t worry, Grace, I’m not telling you off. Cleo will see you tomorrow.”

Grace perked back up, giving me a wave before disappearing into her flat, the girl Cleo’s babysitter.

I took hold of Cleo’s hand and led her through our door, leaving her in front of the telly while I finished making dinner. By the time we’d eaten and I’d gotten her tucked into bed, I was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. But instead of flopping into bed myself, I picked up the phone and dialled Tiana. It rang for a while, finally clicking over to someone yawning.

“Ash?” Tiana asked, sounding like I’d woken her up. I grimaced, only just realising that it was much later in New Zealand than Australia. I’d been so wound up that I’d completely forgotten.

“No, it’s Lavinia,” I answered.

“Lavinia? Why are you calling me so late? It’s almost eleven here.”

“Yes, sorry, I forgot about the different time zones.”

“Don’t worry, it’s still nice to hear from you. I wish you’d move back to Auckland. I miss you so much,” Tiana said, sounding emotional.

“Likewise. Wish I was in Auckland too.”

“Then move back.”

“My job—”

“There are a few prisons here that you can work at.”

“There’s also Cleo. She’s doing well at her school, loves it there.”

“She’ll be heading into intermediate next year, so will be leaving it anyway.”

“They don’t call it intermediate in Australia, she goes straight from primary to high school, and all her friends will be moving to the same school.”

“She’ll make new friends here, and she can go to the same school as Angelo,” she said, mentioning her child with Dante’s older brother.

“And what will I tell people when they ask if Cleo and Angelo are twins? Those two look so much alike it’s ridiculous. Ash will also work out that Dante is Cleo’s father,” I said, Ash never having visited, only Tiana. “It’s one reason why I made sure that Joel never sent him any photos of Cleo.”

Tiana exhaled. “True,” she said, not sounding happy about it. She’d found out quite early on that Cleo was Dante’s, something she hadn’t wanted to hide, only doing it for me. But with my family in Australia and the Ratas in New Zealand, it hadn’t been an issue—until now, and all because of Dante’s rapidly growing fame.

“Though...” I said, needing to get to the point. “I’m going to tell Dante about Cleo.”

“What?! Really?”

“Yes, Joel has had enough of paying child support. He won’t do it anymore.”

She went quiet for a moment, then came right out with it. “So, this is about money?”

“Basically.”

“Lavinia, you can’t spring this on Dante, telling him he has a kid he doesn’t know about, then ask for money. That’s low.”

“I don’t have a choice!” I said, knowing she was right but unable to do anything about it, Dante’s money the only solution to my problems. “Joel won’t come back unless I get this child support problem fixed. I’ve also got so much debt it’s scary.”

“Can’t you ask your mum and Joel’s dad for help?”

“All their cash is tied up with their new business, and come on... Dante’s mega rich. I saw the fancy house he’s living in on the news tonight. If he can afford that he can afford to pay for his daughter, something Joel has been paying for far too long.”

“That’s not his house, it’s his manager’s, and you do realise that if this gets out you could get into a whole world of trouble? After all, Dante was thirteen when he got you pregnant.”

“No one needs to find that out, it can just be between Dante and me.”

“He doesn’t like you, at all. He holds a massive grudge against you for dumping him, so I don’t think he’ll play ball.”

“That happened years ago, and we were both kids.”

“Have you heard that Demon in Disguise song of his?”

“Yeah, it’s a big hit. I actually like it.”

“You might not now. It’s about you.”

My eyes widened. “Seriously?!” I said, in shock.

“Yes, seriously, and I don’t think he’ll be too happy hearing from you, especially if you’re trying to get money outta him.”

“Cleo’s his child, and he talked me into having sex.”

“From what you told me, it was mutual. You wanted it as much as he did.”

I grunted, her words true.

She continued, “Do you really wanna risk letting him know he has a kid? You have no idea what his reaction will be. He could even demand rights to see Cleo. Also, do ya wanna risk her finding out that Joel isn’t her real father?”

“Wouldn’t Dante more likely wanna sweep things under the carpet, maybe just pay me to be quiet? I’ve seen those campaigns to kick him off YouTube, and with that scandal involving his guitarist—”

“That wasn’t Dante,” Tiana said softly, “that was Ash.”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that Dante and his band have had one scandal after another, really angering that mothers’ group. I heard they won’t stop until they get him banned from YouTube. They probably wanna put him out of business completely. Still, I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Are you and Ash split for good now?”

“Not if I have any say in the matter. I’ve managed to get him to agree to a talk on Saturday. I’ve told him that Angelo deserves both parents under the same roof. I’ve also made promises to change for him, cos there’s no way on God’s green earth that I’m letting that liar get her hooks into him. L made me a promise that she wouldn’t steal Ash, that she wouldn’t ruin my family, but what does she go and do? Strip for Ash even when he told her to stop, basically seducing him. It was absolutely horrible to watch.”

My eyebrows winged up. “Are you talking about that viral video?” I asked, something I hadn’t seen, and wouldn’t ever see.

A soft, “Yes,” answered me.

“Whoa, Tiana,” I said, surprised she’d watched it. “Why would you put yourself through that? I know I couldn’t if it was Joel.”

“I needed to know how he felt about L, and...” A sob cut off her words.

“Oh, honey, don’t cry.”

“How can I not? He loves her, Lavinia. I could see it in the way he looked at her. And she loves him to the point of obsession. How can I stop this? Stop him from leaving me for L?”

“Make him see what he’ll lose if he splits up with you. L can’t give him babies...”

“He doesn’t want any more, he already has two kids.”

“You still have history with him, so much history that this tramp can’t compete with. Make him see that.”

“I’ll try, it’s just... I’m so scared. I only just got him back last year. I never wanted to be apart in the first place, I only left cos his drug dealing was endangering Angelo, but he’s not doing that anymore. He’s on the straight and narrow, working legit jobs. Everything was going good until he insisted on raising his ex’s baby—”

“It’s his baby too, and it’s not like it should’ve been an issue. That woman’s dead. You should’ve just raised the child as your own like Joel did with Cleo.”

“Would you have done the same for Joel if he brought another woman’s baby into your home, asking you to raise it with him?”

“Yes, cos I love Joel. I’d also know it would be a deal breaker if I didn’t.”

“You’re making me feel worse,” Tiana sobbed.

“I didn’t mean to, you made a mistake being standoffish with Lily,” I said, mentioning Ash’s daughter, “but you came around, putting things right. I remember you telling me about it.”

“Ash said it was too little too late, and he’s right, I should’ve looked after that little girl like she was my own from the get go. If I had, there wouldn’t have been such a chasm created, and moving to East Auckland made everything worse. I may love the area, but we can’t afford it. I drove him to exhaustion trying to pay for the mortgage. Put that on top of how I acted around Lily, and it made everything unbearable for him. It’s my fault he turned to L. I left the door wide open for her to take advantage of him, and she did take advantage. If anything, I don’t blame him for giving into her. I ruined our relationship. He left me cos of it, then she goes and strips, seducing him. He’s only a man, any man would want her. She looks unreal, like those pictures the comic book people draw of fantasy women, an Elfin princess warrior.”

“An Elfin princess warrior?” I asked, refraining from laughing at the description.

“You must’ve seen how she looks, she’s plastered all over the tabloids. She’s absolutely stunning. It’s a testament to Ash’s character that he held out for so long.”

I cut her off, “Tiana, honey, don’t put all the blame on yourself. He should’ve been more open to you. He’s always been a closed book, never letting you know if something’s wrong until he loses his temper, then all hell breaks loose.”

“He does do that. He ignores me when he’s mad, then loses his shit when I try to work things out. He’s always been a hard man to live with, but I love him, and I can’t just let L take him from me. At least they aren’t on good terms at the moment. I need to get him back before L tries to make up with him, cos if I don’t, I could lose him forever, and I can’t handle that.”

“Then fight for him, Tiana, like I’m fighting for Joel, which is why I need to tell Dante about Cleo.”

“Even at your daughter’s expense?”

“It won’t be at Cleo’s expense if Dante agrees to gimme some child support, it’ll benefit her. Joel will also return. That’ll benefit her too. She misses him immensely.”

“And what happens if Dante wants to see Cleo? How will you explain that to Cleo, telling her he’s her real dad? Also, he was underage when you two—”

“Please stop bringing that up,” I said, cringing at her words, what Dante and I had as kids not as untoward as she was making out. I’d been fifteen when I’d first started dating Dante, only turning sixteen partway through our relationship. We’d just been two kids caught up with the excitement of a secret relationship. And if anything, he’d looked older than his age at the time, not to mention he’d been taller than me. No one would’ve even noticed the age difference if they hadn’t known us.

I continued, “I just gotta hope that Dante doesn’t want another scandal since he’s being hounded by that mothers’ group. It could be one scandal too much, the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the saying goes.”

“So, you’re basically going to blackmail him? Cos if you are, I’m not happy about that at all. He’s like a brother to me. I don’t want you hurting him even if you are my best friend.”

“He doesn’t need to get hurt, he just needs to pay me child support and I’ll keep my mouth zipped.”

“There’s no two ways about it, Lavinia, that’s definitely blackmail. How many people do you guard in prison that have been convicted of blackmail?”

I stiffened, not appreciating her pointing that out, especially since there was one woman I knew of. “I need the money, I also need Joel, and Dante’s the means to get both. And I’d highly doubt he’d dob me in to the police. He used to rant about them constantly, spewing the most horrible things. He hates them, which isn’t surprising considering he used to be a crim.”

“I still think you should think long and hard about this, Lavinia, think about the ramifications.”

“The ramifications if I don’t do this are that I’d lose Joel, and I’d probably also get evicted from my flat since I’m struggling to pay the rent, while Dante’s living in the lap of luxury.”

“Regardless, you still needa understand all the consequences of contacting Dante.”

“I have, and I want his number.”

“Lavinia—”

“I want his number, Tiana, cos I’m doing this regardless of what you say.”

Tiana exhaled loudly. “Okay, but I did warn you.”

I grabbed a pen and paper out of my bedside drawer, writing down the number she gave me. “Thanks, Tiana, thanks so much.”

“I hope you’ll still be thanking me after you speak to Dante. Just don’t tell him that I knew about Cleo. I’m not sure he’ll forgive me for it.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you, and good luck.”

I breathed out. “I sure need it.”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I looked down at Dante’s number, my hands shaking, knowing this was it, the moment I’d dreaded for so long. But even though I was scared out of my brain, I keyed in his number, not willing to wait until tomorrow, needing to get this over and done with before I changed my mind and chickened out completely.

The phone dialled, my heart beating so loudly that I was sure it was louder than the dial tone itself. It clicked over pretty quick, a “Yeah, who’s this?” answering me, no yawn, Dante sounding wide awake, his unmistakable voice loud and clear.

I bit my lip, fear causing my throat to freeze up.

“Is that you, Kara?” he asked. When I didn’t answer, he started ranting, “Stop stalking me, you crazy bitch, I’m sick of it, leave me the hell alone. Leave my bro and L alone too cos I know it wuz you who bloody leaked that video. That wuz low even for you. Ash took your sorry arse in, gave you a room to stay in and food to eat when no one else would, and you go and backstab him like this? This is unforgiveable. You may have gotten away with pushing me around for so long, but there’s no way in hell I’m lettin’ you get away with screwing with my whanau,” he said, saying the Māori word for family. “You’re done for.” He hung up.

I swore, annoyed with myself for not talking, though I doubted I could’ve gotten a word in edgeways. Whoever this Kara was, was definitely in the dog box—where I was going to be very soon.

Taking in an even deeper breath, I dialled his number again, wincing as it clicked through to his irate voice. “Look,” he growled, “if ya don’t stop this, Kara, I’m gonna hafta take this to the coppers, slap ya with another restraining order, that’s if Ash hasn’t already gone to ’em for what you did to him cos—”

I jumped in before he could continue, “It’s Lavinia.”

He went dead quiet.

“We dated when we were kids.”

“I know who you are,” he growled. “Why the fuck are you callin’ me? How did’ja even get my number?”

“I...um...” I winced, not knowing how to tell him without it sounding bad, because it was bad. Really bad.

“If you think you can get back with me, think again,” he said. “I have a faithful woman, not a cheating ho who thinks she can put one over on me.”

I winced again, knowing I deserved that, even though it was a touch unfair since I hadn’t planned on falling in love with my stepbrother, Dante a casualty of that love.

“I don’t wanna get back with you, Dante,” I answered. “That’s not why I’m callin’.”

“Just spit out what you want.”

“You have a daughter.”

“No, I have a son,” he replied, clearly misunderstanding what I was saying.

“And a daughter.”

“What the fuck are you on ’bout?”

“Her name is Cleo. She’s ten. She looks just like you. She’s our daughter.”

“What the fuck?!”

I continued before he could say more, needing to explain myself, “You never wore a condom when we did it the first time. I just thought it couldn’t happen to me, that there was no way I could get pregnant. I know I was stupid, but I was young and caught up in the moment. So, when I found out I was pregnant I was in shock. I was also scared of what my mum and stepdad would think of me, Joel too. But most of all, I was afraid of what other people would say when they found out that I’d slept with a thirteen-year-old. Yeah, I was young too, but you were still underage. So when Joel came on to me, wanting sex, I thought that maybe if I convinced him the baby was his he’d help me. And he did, even getting the money for us to run away to Australia. But when Cleo was born, she didn’t look like either of us. However, Joel’s not too bright so he didn’t pick up on it for quite some time. He only found out when Tiana sent us a Christmas card with Angelo on it. Your nephew basically looks like a male version of Cleo. Joel left me cos of it, but eventually came back, continuing to raise Cleo as his own. And even when we separated other times, he always paid child support. But he’s had enough of it now. He’s sick of paying for another man’s child.”

“You fuckin’ bitch,” Dante growled low, his voice making the hairs on my arms stand on end. “You fuckin’ lowdown, lying cunt.”

“You don’t need to use such disgusting language,” I said, not surprised by the insults, Dante never one to mince his words, though the sheer venom in his tone did knock me back a bit. I expected anger, not hate. It made me think of his song Demon in Disguise, one of the lines coming to mind: A devilish ghoul with a pitch black soul. Did he really think of me like that?

I pushed on, needing to explain myself. “I understand what I did was wrong, but you also have to understand that I was a scared sixteen-year-old—”

“One who ran with my child,” he spat out, “made another man pay for my child. You truly are evil.”

“I didn’t do it to be cruel, I was in survival mode.”

“So, you’re in survival mode now that you know I’m famous? That you think you can get money outta me? Cos that’s why you’re callin’ now, aren’t cha? For money.”

“It’s only right that you pay for your child.”

“A child I didn’t know ’bout!”

I jolted at his shout, wincing at how loud it was.

Another voice came over the line, a woman asking Dante what was wrong. He ignored her, continuing to rant at me. “And how can I be sure this kid is even mine? After all, you’re a lying, cheating ho who fucks not only thirteen-year-olds but stepbrothers. For all I know, you could’ve fucked half the football team. I wouldn’t even be surprised if you tried it on with my brother since you have no loyalty.”

“Dante!” I snapped, absolutely horrified he thought I’d sleep with my best friend’s boyfriend, let alone a bunch of guys. I’d only had two sexual partners, unlike Dante, who I’d heard had turned into a right man-whore, even working as a stripper in his teens. But there was no use in pointing that out, because it would just piss him off even more.

“I was a kid when we split,” I defended myself, “so you can’t judge me so quickly.”

“I can judge you plenty for keeping my own child away from me—if this is even true. Prove it, prove this kid’s mine.”

“I can send you a photo.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“Why not? Cleo looks just like Angelo.”

“Maybe that’s cos she’s his half-sister.”

“She isn’t! So stop with that right now.”

“Why should I? Cos apparently my bro isn’t as clean cut with chicks as I thought he wuz. Maybe he did fuck you, but since you don’t want Tiana knowing you fucked her man, you’re laying this shit on me. You wouldn’t be the first chick to do it. One of my ex’s tried to make me believe Ash’s kid wuz mine. Plus, Ash has no money, so it’s more convenient for you to get me to pay child support.”

“Cleo is not Ash’s! I wouldn’t do that to Tiana, she’s my best friend. I tell her everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yes!”

“Which means you told her ’bout me bein’ your kid’s father?”

I snapped my mouth shut, realising that I’d unintentionally outed Tiana.

“So, you did tell her,” he said, not asked.

I winced, praying that Tiana forgave me for my slipup. “Yes.”

Dante swore, the word bitch and a few other unmentionables leaving his mouth.

“Don’t be so hard on her,” I said. “She didn’t want to keep it a secret, she wanted me to tell you as soon as she found out. But I refused to, too scared of the consequences.”

“You can spew out all the excuses you want but there’s none I’ll accept. What she did wuz unforgivable, and what you did is unforgivable.”

“Again, I’m sorry, just please don’t get aggro with Tiana, this is completely on me. She was caught between a rock and a hard place.”

“She still shoulda told me.”

“She never meant you any harm by it. She’s a sweetheart.”

“Yeah, right,” he said sarcastically. “Just tell me when I can see my kid.”

“Since I live in Australia, it really would be a lot easier for you,” and me, “if I send you photo proof. I can also send you a DNA sample from Cleo, so you can get it tested.”

“I will still needa see her in person.”

“The DNA test should be enough proof.”

“It’s not just ’bout proof, it’s ’bout her bein’ my daughter. I wanna see her.”

“But I live in Australia.”

“I’ll fly over.”

I blinked, surprised he would do that, also not wanting it. I’d much prefer to keep things under wraps so that Cleo didn’t find out, allowing her to continue believing Joel was her father.

“You gonna reply?” he said.

I cleared my throat. “You really don’t need to fly all the way from New Zealand. You must be incredibly busy with your career. All you need to do is—”

“—pay you off?” he said. “Is that what ya think I’m gonna do?”

“You can afford it. I heard you had a massive sell-out concert in Sydney, and I hear your music on the radio all the time. You must be raking it in, and it’s not like I’ll be asking for much.”

“I’m not payin’ a cent unless I see my kid, and if everything you say is true, I want her with me.”

My eyes widened, never in a million years expecting him to say that! “No! I’m her mother!” I snapped, totally bewildered by his reaction. I’d thought he’d try to buy my silence—or flat-out hang up.

“And I’m her father!” he yelled back.

“You don’t even know her!”

“I would if you didn’t steal her away from me!”

“You were thirteen-years-old at the time, a child yourself. You wouldn’t have wanted to raise her.”

“Bullshit! I’m not like other men, men who you obviously think don’t give a shit ’bout their kids. Well, I do, and if you can’t support her, I’ll look after her like I shoulda been doin’ from day dot.”

“You can’t!” I said, now panicked, also in disbelief. He was supposed to be an irresponsible rock star, someone who’d run a mile from this type of responsibility.

“I can if she’s my child,” he growled.

“I live in another country from you. Cleo’s been brought up as an Australian, she also has Australian citizenship.”

“She’s a New Zealander!”

“I’m sorry, I made a mistake, I shouldn’t have bothered you. Just forget it.”

I quickly hung up, absolutely terrified out of my wits. Within seconds, my phone was ringing, Dante obviously calling me back. I ignored it, wishing that Tiana had given me a number that wasn’t a mobile. Once the phone went silent, I rang through to her, unable to contain the sobs racking my words.

“Dante wants to take Cleo off me,” I cried, my hands shaking like crazy, everything shaking, because I was trembling from head to toe.

“You can’t be serious?” Tiana replied.

“He told me he wants to raise her himself. He was so angry, Tiana, no, he was more than angry. He was terrifying. I’m really scared. He’s rich, he could pay for expensive lawyers to get her. Oh God, what have I done?!”

“Calm down, that’s not gonna happen,” Tiana said. “This is just Dante having a knee jerk reaction. Once he’s calmed down, he’ll see he can’t look after Cleo. He has a busy rock career. His manager is also planning a tour for him, where his partner will travel with him. They can do that with a small baby, but not a ten-year-old, plus I’m not sure his partner will wanna raise Cleo, cos it won’t be Dante looking after her, it’ll be Clara. She’ll wanna have a say in this too. Honestly, this is a knee jerk reaction. Once Dante realises the reality of having a ten-year-old with no connection to his partner, he’ll realise he can’t take Cleo offa you.”

I nodded, wanting to believe it, though I still felt like throwing up. “Can you please talk to him too?”

“Um, I’m not sure it’ll be wise if I get involved, he could find out about—”

I cut her off, “He worked out that you know. I’m really sorry.”

“No, no, no, Lavinia!” she cried. “You don’t know what you just did!”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“You made me a promise. I helped you. How could you do this to me? Dante will hate me, not to mention what Ash will think. It could ruin my chances with him.”

I started bawling, unable to hold my emotions in a second longer. She swore, not something Tiana did often, if at all... until now, when I’d fucked everything up for the both of us.

“Just stop crying,” she said, now crying herself.

“I can’t,” I sobbed out, so upset I didn’t know if I could ever stop. “Please don’t hate me, Tiana, please don’t hate me.”

“I could never hate you.” She exhaled loudly. “I understand things are said when we’re upset, that things come out unintentionally. God, I know that all too well.”

“So, we can still be friends?”

“Of course! I chose to keep your secret so should shoulder the consequences too. I just hope we both come out on the other side intact.”

“I hope so too.” I breathed out, hoping it with all of my heart.

DANTE

Clara grabbed my arm, trying to stop me from tipping the coffee table over, but I still did it, so fucking enraged I could smash the house up. A stack of magazines, as well as the bowl of chips that we’d been munching on while watching a movie, fell to the floor. Our glasses also tumbled over, my one breaking as it hit the wooden bowl, spraying Coke over the white carpet.

Jade appeared in the lounge doorway in his black PJs, along with my dad, who was only in his boxers. Dad had returned home after our phone conversation, to both mine and Jade’s relief, though right now I couldn’t think about his illness, only Lavinia’s words filling my head.

“What the hell, Dante?!” Jade yelled, rushing over to the coffee table.

He let out a shriek as he stepped on the broken glass. My dad shot forward, swooping Jade up into his arms. Jade let out an even louder shriek, this one of surprise.

“Leave him to his tantrum throwing,” Dad said, “let’s look at that foot.” He turned to the door, coughing as he did it.

“Put me down, Tane!” Jade demanded loudly. “You’re unwell.”

“Nah,” Dad said, carrying my manager through the doorway as though the li’l dude was a damsel in distress.

I let out a loud exhale and ran my fingers through my hair, their interruption stopping me from continuing my rampage, but my fury remained, and so fucking deep that I still wanted to fuck shit up.

“Dante,” Clara said, capturing my attention.

She looked scared, her big steel-grey eyes sending my anger crashing down, the realisation I’d scared her slapping me in the face. I swore and pulled her into a hug, the day going from bad to utter shite. First, I’d had some dancers grope me, then the press swarmed my front yard, accusing me of having an affair with my guitarist, which was complete bullshit, then my dad told me he had lung cancer, and now I find out that I have a ten-year-old daughter?

I began to shake; what Lavinia had told me one of my biggest fears in life. The very idea that another man was raising my child made everything that my stepfather had done to me and my brother come back in a rush. The sick bastard had raped me when I was a kid. He’d also raped my older brother, murdering my mother when she’d tried to stop him. And for Lavinia to tell me that my daughter was in a household with a man who wasn’t blood, not to mention in another country? I couldn’t, just couldn’t fucking deal with it. People had phobias about bloody ridiculous things like spiders, heights, clowns... My phobia was another man living with a child of mine. Just the thought was screwing with my head, making me imagine the worst possible life for this kid.

Clara pulled out of my grip. “Who were you talking to? And did you say you had a daughter?”

I nodded, croaking out, “That wuz my first girlfriend on the phone. She told me I have a ten-year-old.”

Clara blinked at me. “You’re kidding me?”

I waved a hand at the mess I’d created. “Does this, and the fact I’m shaking like a li’l kid, tell ya I’m kidding?” I growled, unable to keep the anger from seeping into my words.

“No, of course not, but you said the child is ten. That would’ve made you—”

“Thirteen when I conceived her.”

Clara’s eyes went massive, to say she was shocked clearly an understatement.

I continued, “Looks like my bitch ex tried to pass my daughter off as her next boyfriend’s, but apparently the kid looks just like me. And get this, Tiana knows all about it.”

Which hurt like fuck.

I went for the door, intent on confronting my brother’s ex, still in disbelief that she would hide something as massive as this from me. I’d known Tiana since I was a kid, thought of her as a sister, and she’d kept this from me? I needed to hear the truth from her mouth, to hear the reason why she didn’t think I needed to be told that I had a child out there.

I snatched up my keys off the passageway side table. Clara grabbed me as I reached for the door.

“It’s too late, Dante,” she said, looking up at me with concern, my woman so much smaller than me. “Leave it for tomorrow.”

I pulled free, needing to do it now. “I can’t, I need Tiana to tell me whether it’s true.” Although deep down I knew it was, that Lavinia wouldn’t have named her best friend if it wasn’t. Plus, she was right, we did go raw the first time, too caught up in the moment to think about protection, too young to think about the consequences.

“Ring her, then,” Clara said.

“No. I needa look her in the eye, to see her say it’s true, and if she does, she also needs to see how much she’s hurt me by hiding it from me. You know I can’t handle the idea of having kids out there, of other men raising ’em, of me not bein’ able to protect ’em if things go wrong. If this girl truly looks like me, she could be taken advantage of like I wuz. She needs a father who will kill for her, not a stepdad who could rape her.”

“Dante, this is your fears talking, you don’t know if this girl—”

“My daughter.”

“You don’t know if your daughter is being well cared for or not. She could be in a loving household, a caring one.”

“So caring that her bitch of a mother tried to blackmail me for money?” I said, raising my voice.

Clara blinked at me. “She tried to blackmail you?”

“Yes,” I spat out, hating Lavinia even more. “As if screwing me over as a kid wuzn’t enough for her, she’s back to screw me over as an adult, but I ain’t lettin’ her get away with it this time, and especially not using my own child against me.”

“You need to confirm it’s your child first. This woman could be lying. You’re famous now, you’ll get people trying to extort money out of you left, right and centre, and from what you’ve told me about this woman, it could quite possibly be a lie.”

I exhaled, hoping like fuck it was true, but if it wasn’t, I was going to hunt that bitch down, getting custody of my daughter.

Clara ran her hands up and down my arm, clearly trying to soothe me, though little good it was doing. “How about you go see Tiana tomorrow, at a reasonable hour,” she said. “You don’t want to go barging over there, waking up your nephew. I’m sure you’d be mad if she came barging over here, waking up Tyson.”

I grimaced, knowing she was right, but still wanting to confront Tiana tonight.

She gave my arm a squeeze. “How about you go take a shower while I clean up the mess,” she said, not asking, telling me, just in a gentle manner.

I forced myself to nod in agreement, needing to calm down at least a fraction before I got behind the wheel, because if I left now I wouldn’t be heading straight to Tiana’s, I’d be making a pit-stop at the first liquor store I saw, filling up on whiskey before confronting her. I may have been sober for a while but it was still a struggle to stay that way, my sobriety not coming as easy as everyone thought. I was just a damn good pretender, letting them believe I was on the straight and narrow, even though I was one step away from tumbling over the cliff, smashing against the rocks like the glass of Coke had smashed against the chip bowl. Hell, I could even do with the other kind of coke, washing it down with a bottle of good ol’ Jacky.

When I didn’t move, Clara patted me on the arse like I was a little boy who needed encouragement. “Go on.”

I grunted, not appreciating the gesture, but still headed up the staircase, stopping when I reached the top. Clara’s lilac-coloured head disappeared into the lounge, leaving me staring down at an empty passageway, in one hell of a foul mood. Grunting again, I continued into our room, stopping at the sight of Tyson sleeping in his cot, what I’d done downstairs thankfully not having woken him. I walked up to his cot, placing my hands on the painted blue bars, looking down at my li’l boy. He was the spitting image of me as a baby, his jet black hair the same shade as mine. Letting out a shaky exhale, I let go of the bars and brushed a hand over his hair so gentle that it didn’t wake him, wondering whether my daughter had looked like Tyson at the same age. The thought that some other man had stared down at her while she lay in her cot—a man who could’ve been just like my stepfather—came to mind.

I retracted my hand and shook my head, knowing my fears were getting the better of me. Maybe her stepfather was Joel, my brother’s best mate from school, the person Lavinia had run away with. Joel may have been a shithead to me, but he was no rapist, just a dumb-arse stoner who talked about tits more than I did. But that was if Lavinia had even stayed with him. I exhaled with a touch of relief, remembering she’d said he had raised my daughter. I’d been so upset that I hadn’t taken everything she’d said in, missing out bits here and there. Though, if she was phoning me for money then he’d probably left her. Yes, she’d mentioned that he didn’t want to pay child support anymore, which confirmed he wasn’t with her anymore. And I didn’t blame the guy. Why should he pay? The kid wasn’t his, the very fact she’d made him pay in the first place fucking low. Lavinia was a user. She would’ve used Joel for his money, then when he’d had enough, she moved on to me, which meant that maybe my daughter was all right, that there was no other man in her household that Lavinia was leeching off. And if I could find out where she was and get my daughter before Lavinia latched onto some other guy, my daughter would be safe with me before anyone could get to her.

Knowing I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to talk with Tiana, but also knowing I couldn’t storm over to her house at this time of night, I left my room and entered the spare one, closing the door quietly behind me. I was dialling Tiana’s number before I could even register what I was doing, so fucking shaken I wanted to smash the phone against the wall just to let off steam.

“Lavinia,” Tiana said without even saying hello. “I told you to go to bed.”

I stiffened, the reality of a daughter becoming all that more real. “Guess you’ve been talkin’ to her too,” I answered.

She went silent.

I gripped onto my mobile phone, willing myself not to yell at her. “Cat got your tongue, Tiana?”

“Dante?” she asked softly.

“Well, it ain’t bloody Ash,” I snapped.

“Dante,” she repeated, her tone strained as fuck, because she knew, bloody knew she was in for a good yelling at. “Calm down. Getting upset won’t help the matter.”

I growled, thinking she had a fucking nerve saying that. “Did you calm down when you got told that L sucked Ash’s cock? No! I heard you went nuts at him, and you expect me to calm down when I get told that a woman I considered a sister didn’t tell me that I had a ten-year-old child out there, with an evil bitch of a mother who just tried to extort money from me?”

“I didn’t know at the beginning. By the time I found out, Lavinia was in Australia.”

“I don’t give a fuck where she is! You shoulda told me!”

“Dante—”

“Don’t you dare say my name!” I yelled. “You fuckin’ betrayed me! Everyone knows I have a fear of not raising my own kids, you included, yet you kept this from me?”

“I didn’t think you’d find out. Lavinia said she wanted to raise Cleo with Joel.”

“The only thing that that dumb-arse can raise is weed. And you know my daughter’s name? I didn’t even know it until tonight. This, Tiana, this I can’t forgive. And to think I felt sorry for you after what Ash did. Not fuckin’ now. I hope he stomps all over your heart.”

“Dante! I didn’t cause this, Lavinia did.”

“You knew, you kept this secret from me. You were a sister to me, you owed me enough to tell me that I had a kid out there.”

“I didn’t do it to hurt you. I was caught between a rock and a hard place. And it wasn’t like you could’ve raised the child. You were a child yourself at the time.”

“I ain’t a child now, and I’ve got the means to look after my daughter much better than her blackmailing bitch of a mother, so gimme her address.”

“No, Dante, you can’t go over there.”

“Why the hell not?!”

“For one thing, she’s in a different country, and secondly, you’re angry. You needa think through things logically.”

“My logic is tellin’ me that I have a daughter who I needa look after.”

“Cleo also needs her mother, and if you try to see her, Lavinia could run like she ran when she got pregnant. And think about it, you can’t raise the child on your own. You’re with Clara now. You work while Clara raises Tyson. It isn’t fair to expect her to raise another woman’s child.”

I sneered. “Yeah, you would think that since you’re too selfish to help Ash raise Lily. No wonder he left you. Ash should go with L. At least that chick ain’t a backstabbing bitch like you.”

“Dante, you can’t mean that, you’re just angry.”

“I’m not angry, I’m fuckin’ furious! And if you won’t gimme her address, I’ll get it elsewhere. That stupid bitch doesn’t know who she’s messing with. She wants my money? Well, she won’t get a fuckin’ dime, but I will get my daughter, mark my words.”

I hung up, the phone ringing a second later. I turned it off and sat down on the spare bed, shaking from both fury and upset. The door cracked open, grabbing my attention. It was my dad. He was now wearing a T-shirt, but still in his boxers, the Māori tattoos on his face and body making his skin almost look black in the limited lighting. He switched the light on, illuminating his tattoos and the room.

He stepped closer to me, going down on one knee, his expression concerned. “I heard you mention you have a daughter,” he said, his expression telling me he understood exactly why I was losing my shit. His hand landed on mine, giving it a supportive squeeze. My dad could be a right arsehole at times, but when he wasn’t being one, he was the best father a man could ask for.

I nodded.

“How old?”

“Ten.”

His eyes widened. “But, that would mean—”

“I wuz thirteen when she wuz conceived. She’s Lavinia’s.”

“Fuck!” he gasped, looking shocked. “What is it with you and older chicks? But I guess Lavinia wuz a kid too.”

“She’s Ash’s age.”

“Still a kid when you bonked. So, I’m guessing Tiana knew. I heard you yelling at her.”

I nodded. “I’m fuckin’ glad Ash stomped on her heart now. I hope he grinds it down to nuthin’. Or maybe it’s already nuthin’ cos she can’t have a bloody heart and do this to me, someone she calls a brother.”

I slipped my hand out from under my father’s and covered my face, feeling not only betrayed but completely shattered. Dad sat down next to me and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him even tighter. He ran a hand down my hair, reminding me of how I’d run mine over Tyson’s.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “You’re worried that the shit that happened to you as a kid is happening to this girl. Don’t. You can’t think like that; it’ll do your head in. And if anything, your daughter is pro’bly fine, with good people raising her.”

“Lavinia tried to extort money offa me, that isn’t a good person.”

He let go of me, his face distorting with anger. “The lowdown bitch,” he growled, more anger flashing across his dark eyes. “Report her to the cops.”

“She’s in Australia.”

“Doesn’t matter where she is, make her suffer.” He sneered. “Get the kid. That’ll do the job.”

A small smile pulled at my lips, my dad ruthless. But the smile fell away, knowing I couldn’t just take the kid without proof she was mine. Without the court giving me the right.

“I needa hire a private detective,” I said, my head racing with ideas. “I hafta get proof she’s mine, also find out where she lives, and if Lavinia doesn’t play ball, I will pull out the thirteen-year-old card. I don’t care if she wuz sixteen at the time I got her pregnant, I don’t even care that I wuz willing. I wuz still underage. I will make her life a misery if she doesn’t give me access to my child.”

My dad smiled, the curve of his lips almost wicked. “Yeah, make that demon in disguise suffer,” he said, quoting the song I’d written about Lavinia.

I nodded, intending on doing just that.

To Be Continued in

Bottled Up

(A Broken Lives Short Story #4)

Coming Soon...

Thanks for Reading!

I would like to ask if you could review Demon in Disguise along with any of my other books that you’ve read, regardless of whether you’ve loved or hated them, because every review counts, especially for self-published authors.

Here’s the link to my Amazon author page, where you can find all of my books:

http://www.amazon.com/Marita-A.-Hansen/e/B005H5W79K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Regards,

Marita A. Hansen.

About the Author

Marita A. Hansen is from New Zealand. She loves writing, creating art, watching and participating in football, and running. She ran her first marathon in 2012 and is now planning on completing many more. For more information on Marita check out these links:

Author Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marita-A-Hansen/113130742120676

My Masters’ Nightmare Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Masters-Nightmare/167338690126962

Blog Site:

http://maritaahansen.blogspot.co.nz/

Amazon Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/Marita-A.-Hansen/e/B005H5W79K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Goodreads’ Author Page:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5129673.Marita_A_Hansen

Artslant Page:

http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/74433-marita-hansen

Patreon Page:

https://www.patreon.com/maritahansen

Twitter Name: @MaritaAHansen

MORE BOOKS BY MARITA A. HANSEN

Graffiti Heaven (Graffiti Heaven #1)

Behind the Hood (Behind the Lives #1)

Behind the Tears (Behind the Lives #2)

Behind the Lens (Behind the Lives #3)

Behind the Secrets (Behind the Lives #4)

Don’t Peek (The Diaries of a Teenage Girl)

Overwhelmed (Blurred Lines #1)

My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episodes 1 – 5

My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episodes 6 – 10

My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episodes 11 – 15

My Masters’ Nightmare Season 2, Episode 1 “Mind Games”

My Masters’ Nightmare Season 2, Episode 2 “Déjà Vu”

Ricardo (The Santini Brothers #1)

Brando (The Santini Brothers #2)

Vincenzo (A Santini Brothers’ Short Story) from the anthology Men of Mayhem

I Love You, Salvatore (The Five Families #1) – This is also a Santini Brothers’ Novella

Sasha & Andriena (Lovers & Sinners #1)

Broken English (Broken Lives #1)

Shattered Poetry (Broken Lives #2)

Jagged Pill (Broken Lives #3)

Love Drunk (Broken Lives #4)

Facing the Music (Broken Lives #4.1) & (A Broken Lives Short Story #1)

Smokescreen (Broken Lives #4.2) & (A Broken Lives Short Story #2)

Crying Out Silent