Behind the Secrets (Behind the Lives #4) Read online

  BEHIND THE SECRETS

  By Marita A. Hansen

  Copyright

  Behind the Secrets

  (Behind the Lives #4)

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright 2015 © Marita A. Hansen

  Edited by John Hudspith

  Cover Art by Marita A. Hansen

  Kindle Edition, License Notes

  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 enquiries email: [email protected]

  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.

  UK and Commonwealth English used due to the New Zealand setting.

  Any other variation in spelling is also due to where the book is set.

  *

  A special note:

  This book is set in 2010 and 2011, prior to same-sex marriage being legalised in New Zealand.

  *

  CONTENTS

  1 Beth

  2 Dante

  3 Beth

  4 Saul

  5 L

  6 Saul

  7 Beth

  8 Corey

  9 Beth

  10 Dante

  11 Saul

  12 Beth

  13 Dante

  14 Beth

  15 Saul

  16 Beth

  17 L

  18 Corey

  19 Beth

  20 Saul

  21 Dante

  22 Saul

  23 Beth

  24 Corey

  25 L

  26 Dante

  27 Saul

  28 Dante

  29 Corey

  The First Two Chapters of BEHIND THE BARS

  1 Saul

  2 Leilani

  About the Author

  Other Books by Marita A. Hansen

  1

  Beth

  Beth headed into the police station, the building reminding her of a cheese grater, with its multitude of windows, strange shape, and grey exterior. Nervous as hell, she weaved through the throng of people, the station busy. Although she was assisting the police with the Ant Torres case, it didn’t lessen her anxiety. Instead, it amped it up, to the point that she felt like turning around and heading right back out the door. She was afraid she would say or do something wrong, ruining their case. But she continued forward, knowing she was just being paranoid, especially since there was no way that Ant could get off. He’d kidnapped her brother, shot Corey’s friend, assaulted her boyfriend, and forced her to play a Russian roulette game, along with numerous other heinous things.

  She came to a stop behind a line, hoping the wait wouldn’t be long. Her legs felt like jelly, while her stomach was a mess, her morning-sickness giving her no end of trouble. After several minutes, she finally reached the desk, giving the policewoman on the other side a weak smile.

  “How may I help you, ma’am?” the policewoman asked. She was an athletic-looking blonde with a plain face, soft grey eyes, and a friendly smile.

  “I’m here to assist with the Ant Torres case,” Beth said, rubbing her stomach, her loose blouse hiding her small baby bump.

  The policewoman’s face lit up. “My friend Saul was involved in that. He was the undercover officer who helped bring Torres down. Are you here to speak with him?”

  Beth shook her head vigorously, definitely not wanting to speak to Saul. Although he’d helped save her and her brother, he’d also sexually assaulted her. The day prior to arresting Torres, he’d pushed her up against a wall and put his hand down her pants, and if she hadn’t screamed, she was sure he would’ve raped her too.

  “Ma’am,” the blonde policewoman said, now looking concerned. “Are you all right? You look a bit faint.”

  “I’m fine, I’m just pregnant.”

  The policewoman indicated to a row of chairs lining the wall. “Then take a seat while I call the inspector for you.”

  “Do you know how long the interview will be? I’m not feeling too well. I would really like to go home.”

  “Sorry, I have no idea, but I’ll inform the inspector of your condition.”

  “Thank you.”

  Beth headed for the seats, taking one in between a teenager and a middle-aged woman, the latter wearing a white supermarket smock. The woman was biting her nails while staring at the clock across the room, anxiety coming off her in waves. Beth inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to quash her own anxiety. Just the thought of seeing Saul again made her want to throw up, the man a nightmare she wished she could forget. Since there were so many police stations in Auckland, it hadn’t even occurred to her that she could bump into him. Although, she should’ve known, especially since he was involved in the case. But then again, her morning-sickness was making it hard for her to think straight.

  She removed her iPhone from her denim skirt, needing to distract herself from her thoughts. A couple of texts were sitting in her message box, the first an advertisement, the second from her mother, asking how she was. She’d lied about having the flu after she’d thrown up on her parents’ lawn. Due to not being married, she’d kept her pregnancy a secret from them, although she knew she couldn’t keep it a secret for much longer, especially since her body was starting to fill out faster than she’d expected.

  She texted her mother back, saying she was fine, which was another lie, everything about today a huge mess.

  “Miss Connor?”

  Beth looked up. A man in his late forties stood a few feet away from her. He had grey hair and a moustache, resembling the sergeant major out of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, an old British comedy her dad loved watching. He was wearing a dark blue tie and ranks on his pale blue policeman’s button-down shirt, reminding Beth of the defence force. There were three silver star-like pendants on both his shoulders, a multi-coloured bar and name tag on his chest, and a police badge at the top of each arm.

  Slipping her phone into her pocket, Beth rose to her feet. “Yes, that’s me.”

  He held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Inspector Joseph Monroe. Thank you for coming.”

  Beth shook his hand. “You’re welcome, it’s nice to meet you too,” she said, relieved Saul wasn’t with him.

  He let go of her hand and indicated to the far door. “This way please.”

  They headed through it, down a passageway, and into a sparsely decorated room. It had a table and a few chairs, looking like it was purely used for interviews.

  “Would you like a drink?” the inspector asked. “We have coffee, tea—”

  Beth held up a hand. “No, I’m fine, thank you.” She sat down, not sure if she could stomach anything, especially coffee, the smell too strong.

  The inspector took the seat across from her. “As you know, the trial for Anthony Torres will be in just over six months. At the moment, he’s under house arrest.”

  Beth sat up straighter, his words upsetting her. “He should be in prison. He could come after my brother again.”

  “He can’t leave his estate. His home is his prison.”

  “But, he could still get out.”

  “No, he’s being monitored closely, and if he tries to escape, he’ll be transferred to prison.”

  Beth sank slowly into her seat, relaxing a little. “Good. I don’t want him anywhere near my brother.”
<
br />   “I can assure you, your brother is safe. Though, if he wants to stay that way, you need to convince him to testify. Torres has hired incredibly talented lawyers, who are picking the case apart. We’ve already lost a number of witnesses due to them—”

  “That can’t be allowed! How can they stop people from testifying?”

  “They’re not stopping them. They’re making them look so unsavoury it’ll weaken our case if we put them on the stand.”

  “It doesn’t matter if we lose some witnesses. What Torres did is enough to put him away for life.”

  “I agree, but—”

  “There are no buts,” Beth said forcefully. “He shot my brother’s friend in the head. He also kidnapped my brother as well as sexually assaulted him. He did the same to my boyfriend and forced me and another woman to play Russian roulette.”

  “His lawyers are claiming that the Russian roulette game was purely his father’s doing—”

  Beth shot out of her seat. “That’s a lie! It wuz just as much Torres’s fault as his father’s.”

  The inspector waved a hand for her to sit back down. “I know, but we can’t prove that.”

  Shaking with anger, Beth lowered herself into her seat. “It doesn’t matter whether we can or not; the jury can’t overlook what he did to my boyfriend and brother. Kidnapping and assault should get him locked away for years—”

  “Unfortunately, your boyfriend is one of the witnesses who can no longer take the stand.”

  “Why?!”

  “Dante Rata has a long rap sheet. He’s seen the inside of a jail cell more than I can count on both hands, while Torres has had only one issue prior to this, which was in his teens. And because of his age at the time, the lawyers are working to suppress what he did.”

  “What wuz it?”

  He frowned. “I can’t divulge too much, other than it was a sexual offence.”

  “The one against my boyfriend’s brother?”

  The inspector nodded. “Plus one other person, but unfortunately that person refused to testify, which meant Torres avoided being charged under the adult system.”

  “That still shows he’s committed a sexual crime before, so the jury should believe my boyfriend.”

  “Again, your boyfriend is a known criminal. Not only that, he has a facial tattoo, which will affect the jury’s opinion.”

  “But that’s wrong.”

  “I know that, but I can’t do anything about it. Also, I hear that Dante is currently in a psyche unit. That further weakens his word. Torres’s lawyers will cut him down within seconds.”

  “But there’s video evidence of Dante bein’ forced to have sex with another female to entertain Ant’s clients.”

  “His lawyers claim that Dante participated willingly.”

  “He didn’t!”

  “I know that, but the video of him performing is damning.”

  “What ’bout my brother?”

  “That’s why you’re here. As I said before, I’d like you to convince Corey to take the stand. I also would like you to make sure that your mother doesn’t interfere again. Because your brother broke down in tears at the first interview, she won’t allow us to talk to him again. She also said that there are other good witnesses we can use instead of him. I agree; we do have other good witnesses, just not ones that can guarantee a longer sentence like your brother can. I explained this to her, but she wouldn’t listen to me, saying that I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

  “When it comes to Corey, my mum’s extremely overprotective.”

  “Well, if she truly wants to protect him, she needs to understand that Corey has to take the stand. There’s no way around it.”

  “I agree. Plus, if anyone can get the jury’s sympathy, it’ll be him. Not only is he adorable-looking, he also cries when he’s scared, which makes people melt. It’s why he gets his way so much.”

  “Good, so can you talk your mother into letting him testify? Although the trial isn’t for a while, the preliminary work is well underway.”

  “I’ll make sure she stops interfering, and Corey needs to grow a backbone. Even if he doesn’t want to stand up for himself, he should at least do it for his best friend. After all, Sledge has brain damage cos Torres shot him.”

  “Torres claims he didn’t do it.”

  “But Corey saw—”

  “From his original statement, Corey said he didn’t actually see Torres fire the weapon. He looked away when it happened; scared he was going to die. Not only that, your brother’s friend can’t remember. We also have no other witnesses, or even have the gun. It’s gone missing.”

  “Missing?!”

  The inspector started rubbing his temples. “I’m suspecting Torres has someone on the inside working for him. We haven’t discovered who it is, but we will; it’s only a matter of time.”

  “If we can’t get him on the attempted murder charge, what will he go down for?”

  “Underage pornography. The nude photos he took of your brother while Corey was drugged will be used against him. Also, if Corey tells the jury of how he was sexually assaulted by Torres, as well as forced into the porn trade, we’ll have something on Torres he can’t get out of.”

  “How much time would that get him in prison?”

  “Most likely ten years.”

  “That’s not enough!”

  “I agree, but at the moment, that’s all we have.”

  “What about your undercover officer?” Beth said, not wanting to think about Saul, but knowing she didn’t have a choice. “Can’t he get that bastard more time?”

  “Possibly. I’m just hoping he hasn’t done anything that Torres can use against him. Often undercover officers break the law so they don’t blow their cover.”

  Beth’s mind went to Saul molesting her, knowing it wasn’t needed to keep his cover, especially since no one else was around at the time.

  The inspector continued, “At the moment, my officer’s being investigated to make sure he’s clean. The results are due back today. Knowing Saul, it should be fine. However, we still need to be prepared for the worst, since nothing’s foolproof.”

  “Which is why I should also testify. I’m not afraid to answer questions, if anything, I want to.”

  “Unfortunately, most of what happened to you is being attributed to Torres’s father.”

  “Torres wuz equally responsible.”

  “I know, but again, his lawyers will rip you apart. Corey’s the only one they’ll have trouble dealing with, plus we have another witness who saw your brother drugged and being taken advantage of by Torres. He’ll back up what Corey says. My officer will also take the stand. It’ll ruin his undercover career, but in this case, I agree, ten years isn’t enough for what Torres did, and since Saul can expand upon Corey’s testimony, it could get Torres a much longer sentence.”

  “What happens if Saul’s found to have done sumpthin’ wrong?” Beth asked, her mind once again returning to the assault.

  “His testimony can be thrown out.”

  Beth refrained from grimacing, knowing she couldn’t report him now – or at least not until after the trial.

  “I’m sorry for the bad news,” the inspector said. “Which is why it’s imperative that you talk your mother around into letting Corey testify, and of course, to make sure Corey knows how important it is for him to do so.”

  Beth nodded resolutely. “I’ll make sure he takes the stand as well as helps you with all your questions.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You shouldn’t be thanking me, I should be thanking you. Also, my family should be helping, not causing you trouble, especially since you’re on our side.”

  “I appreciate you saying that, because with the way your mother’s acting, she’s making us feel like the villains.”

  “As I said, my mother’s overprotective of my brother. In her books, anyone that makes him cry caused the problem. My other brother and I can attest to Corey always gettin’ his way cos of it. I ju
st won’t allow my mother to do it to you, too.”

  The inspector smiled. “I appreciate it.” He pushed out of his seat.

  Beth rose to her feet, shaking his extended hand. He let go and indicated to the door. She exited the room, stopping in shock at the sight of Saul. He was walking towards her, wearing a white button-down shirt and black pants. He stopped in mid-stride, also appearing shocked. He was a tall thirty-something Samoan man, with wide shoulders and muscular arms, his tattoos noticeable through his shirt sleeves. He also had a shaved head, reminding her of The Rock. Though, he didn’t have the actor’s friendly demeanour. Instead, Saul’s attractive features were menacing, the wicked curve of his lips and his intense eyes amping up Beth’s fear.

  “Saul,” the inspector said, oblivious to Beth’s reaction, “what are you doing here? You’re not due back for another couple of days.”

  “I wanted to get a head start on some paperwork,” Saul replied, his voice as deep as Barry White’s. His eyes moved to Beth, worry colouring his dark irises.

  Beth dropped her gaze, unable to look at the man. He was a mixture of raw sex appeal and a terrifying monster, one who riddled her sleep with nightmares.

  “Well, since you’re here,” the inspector said, “did you want to ask Miss Connor any questions in regards to the Torres case?”

  “No!” Beth said, snapping her head up.

  The inspector jolted, appearing surprised by her sudden outburst.

  She held up a hand. “I’m sorry, it’s just my stomach is hurting. I should go.” She rushed past Saul, unable to avoid contact, her arm brushing against his. She shot through the doorway, needing to get as far away from him as possible.

  Her phone went off as she exited the police station. “Yes,” she barked into it, rattled by Saul.

  “Beth?”

  “Yes,” she repeated, wondering why her boyfriend’s flatmate was calling her. Jade had never called her before, especially since he didn’t like her. He was jealous of her relationship with her boyfriend, something he could never have since Dante was straight.

  “Good,” Jade said. “I wasn’t sure if this was your number.”

  “Why are you calling me?”

  “The psyche unit contacted me about Dante. Apparently, the psychiatrist thinks he might be well enough to come home. She wants to do one more assessment, and if it goes well, she’ll allow him to leave this afternoon.”