"No, you're not!"

"Others have said it too."

"Well, they're wrong."

"No, they're not; you're just way too nice to admit it."

"No, Dante. They. Are. Wrong. And what about your family? They don't think you're like that at all, they love you. Sledge even idolises you."

He shrugged.

"Don't shrug at me, it's true, and don't let those horrible people get you down. Ignore them and prove them wrong."

"I should've had a teacher like you when I wuz a kid. Your students are lucky."

"I love teaching. You should find sumpthin' you love to do too."

He smiled. "I have; I love drugs and they make me feel real good."

She rolled her eyes. "Sumpthin' legal." She cut him off before he could reply. "And don't you dare mention s.e.x."

He laughed. "You know me far too well. Anyway, what does legal mean?"

"Don't be a smart-alec, Dante. You must like sumpthin' other than drugs and s.e.x."

"I like to rap and sing."

"Yeah, you've got a lovely voice."

"But, it can't pay the bills. Drugs do."

"Yeah, but at the expense of both yours and other people's health. And I'm always worrying 'bout you two, especially with those Joneses. I hope you're not dealing to them anymore."

"I stay well clear of that family," he said, knowing it wasn't wise to mention where Ash was right now. "So, there's nuthin' to worry about. Nuthin' at all."

6.

Ash The Jones's place looked like a crack house, run down with windows taped up and graffiti defacing the broken fence. On the overgrown lawn, two small children played inside a beat-up car, their squeals of joy at odds with the environment. Across the road, a stereo blasted rap music, while a dog barked further down.

Ash tucked his gun into his pants, and got out of Dante's car, his mind still on Chaz's parole hearing. If Chaz got out he'd deal with the situation, regardless of whether it landed him in prison, but he didn't know how to deal with Sledge, to make things right with his bro. And now Sledge knew about the rape, he wasn't sure if he could face him again, because he couldn't stand it if the kid looked at him with disgust, mixed in with the fear and hate Ash already knew Sledge harboured against him.

He grabbed the bags from the boot, then headed up the path and knocked on the Jones's door, for once wishing he could give the finger to his commitments like Dante often did. But not with booze, he hated that s.h.i.t, it did nothing but ruin his life, instead, he'd disappear down south with his surfboard, going someplace where no one but the waves could find him.

"Get it, Len!" a female hollered, bursting the perfect wave in his head, and sending him crashing back down to reality.

Approaching footsteps sounded on the other side, then the door pulled back to reveal a fat, six-foot motherf.u.c.ker. Kitted out in jeans and a red and black bush-jacket, Len sneered at Ash, showing a set of yellowed teeth the same colour as his hair. "You're lucky Deano ain't here."

"Why? He has no issues with me."

Len took a drag on his cigarette, then blew smoke into Ash's face. "Cos you f.u.c.ked his wife."

Ash screwed up his nose and waved a hand in front of his face. "Don't blow that s.h.i.t in my face. And how many times do ya hafta see me before you figure out I'm not Dante, you dumb c.u.n.t?"

"Watch your mouth, dago b.a.s.t.a.r.d. And you look the same."

"I'm not Italian and Dante has a tat round his left eye."

"How the f.u.c.k would I know? Deano usually deals with you p.r.i.c.ks, not me. So, shut your gob, and get in here before someone sees you."

Ash tucked his T-shirt behind his gun and entered the house. He wished he didn't have to deal with the Joneses, but his boss gave him no choice, the family also working for Craven.

Ash placed the bags on the table and faced Len as the fat c.u.n.t closed the front door. Len's eyes lowered to Ash's gun. "Nice piece, just keep it in your pants along with your c.o.c.k, cos Carly's home."

"f.u.c.k off; I'm not interested in her."

"Good. Now, do you want a beer?"

"The last time I had one my mother died and I ended up in hospital, so get my b.l.o.o.d.y money or I'm leaving with your stash."

"What's your f.u.c.kin' issue?"

"You shot at Dante."

"Deano ordered me to, and it was last year, so get over it, you p.r.i.c.k. Anyway, I purposely missed, so you should kiss my a.r.s.e."

"Bulls.h.i.t."

"It's true, cos Craven would've killed me if I damaged his property. I aimed for Dante's car, which made Deano happy and kept Craven off our backs."

Ash sniffed, surprised that the guy actually had some brains, because he was right, Craven would've brought the Joneses down to their knees and begging for mercy if they had killed Dante. Property. Yeah, they were all Craven's property.

"Just get my money so I can go," Ash said. "Your place reeks."

Len headed into the kitchen mumbling, "Dago b.a.s.t.a.r.d." He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the bench dividing the rooms, then pulled open the fridge.

Ash sat down on the couch, wishing Len would stop p.i.s.sing him about, because he hated being in this place. Not only did it stink of cat p.i.s.s and cigarettes, but the lounge was lined with boxes, which he knew were full of stolen goods.

A female squealed. "Dante!"

Ash's gaze shot to the pa.s.sage doorway as Deano's wife headed towards him. b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, she looked awful. He hadn't seen Carly since Dante had told her to f.u.c.k off just under a year ago. Back then she'd been a right stunner, with a figure to die for, but now she appeared gaunt with sunken cheeks and sores peppering her skin, while her once lovely blonde hair was stringy and unkempt.

Len ran out of the kitchen, and grabbed Carly's arm. "It's Ash, not Dante."

Carly tried to yank herself free. "You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, lemme go!"

"Don't speak to me like that!" Len let go and shoved her into the coffee table.

Ash bolted to his feet.

Carly moved in front of Ash, blocking him from Len. "Sit down, hun; I'll get ya a beer."

"I don't drink," Ash said, still eyeballing Len.

Len jabbed a finger at Carly. "Stay put, woman, while I get him his money. And if you touch him..." He smiled. "Deano said I can take care of things."

"I won't touch him."

"We'll see." Len smiled wider, then disappeared down the pa.s.sage.

Ash sat back down, then jolted in surprise as Carly launched herself onto his lap. She grabbed his head and started kissing him, making him want to chunder. She reeked of cheap methamphetamines, the smell resembling a mixture of burnt plastic and ammonia, the latter probably why the place smelt like cat p.i.s.s. He hated meth, it was the only drug he refused to sell, his father's addiction still weighing on him.

He pushed Carly off, accidentally knocking her into the coffee table. She righted herself, then placed her hands on either side of his head, leaning into the couch and giving him an eyeful of what she wasn't wearing under her baggy T-shirt. "C'mon, Dante, Deano's out of the country, he won't know."

"I'm not Dante. My bro has a tat round his left eye now." He swatted her hand away as she stroked his hair. Her pupils were dilated, making her irises look almost completely black. Freaked out, Ash shifted down the couch. "Stoppit."

She followed him. "We were good together."

"I'm Ash. Remember I went out with your cuz at high school?"

"But I wanna be with you, not Deano," she said, as though she hadn't heard him, too s.p.a.ced-out to listen to reason. She placed her arms around his neck, and tried to kiss him again.

"No!" Ash jerked away.

"For f.u.c.k's sake!" Len stormed over with a bag, and yanked her away from Ash. "Don't you ever b.l.o.o.d.y listen?"

She squealed and slapped Len. Len pushed her into the pa.s.sage, closing the door behind her. She kicked the door and yelled at him, making him holler back: "Stay in there!" When she went silent, Len shook his head and walked back to Ash, muttering, "Crazy b.i.t.c.h." He slumped down on the couch and dumped the heavy bag on Ash's lap. "It's all there, check it if ya want."

Ash unzipped it, and started counting the money, while Len grabbed the brick of c.o.ke. Len opened it and stuck a finger inside, licking off the white powder. "Sweet ... that's good s.h.i.t," he said, putting it aside to check the bag of weed.

Ash quickly finished counting. "All good?" Although he had no idea why the Joneses wanted to get into the drug business, because the amount they were ordering was definitely not for recreational use and well above their means-gathering from their royal abode. Ash snorted, slightly amused. Len gave him a glare, making Ash smile more.

"You dealing now?" Ash asked, not really caring if Len stole his lower-end customers or not. If anything it amused him, knowing that Craven's men would string the fat b.a.s.t.a.r.d up alive, because there was no way Len had been given permission to sell anything but electronics.

Len's eyes narrowed. "No, it's for me and Deano."

"A kilo in a week? Yeah right, I can see you consuming a hundred kilos of McDs in that time, but not c.o.ke."

"Watch your mouth, you cheeky b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

Ash shook his head. "If Craven catches ya dealing, you'll end up in the Waikato River with the other fat logs."

"You keep your greasy mouth shut or my aim will be more accurate next time."

"You threatening me?"

"No, I'm threatening Dante, so shut your gob if you want him hole free."

Ash clenched his fists. "If you go near my bro-"

"I won't as long as you don't tell Craven."

Ash got to his feet and glared down at Len. "Take my biz away from me for all I care, I don't give a s.h.i.t. I've had enough of dealing." He s.n.a.t.c.hed up the bag and headed for the door, sick of this s.h.i.t-a.r.s.e business.

Len followed him. "Next time you come here, keep your opinions to yourself, Dago boy."

Ash flicked Len the finger as he jumped down the front steps. Len yelled racist names then slammed the door behind him. Rain descended over Ash, the cloudy sky matching his mood. He headed for Dante's car, p.i.s.sed off with everything. A loud crash came from the house, making him stop. Ash glanced back, then at the kids in the beat-up car. They continued to play, seemingly unconcerned by the noise. He dumped the bag of money into the boot, then moved around to the front of the car, just wanting to go home and b.u.m out for the rest of Sat.u.r.day. Maybe he could watch a DVD with Beth or spend some quality time in bed with her, making up for how he treated her earlier. Yeah, he'd stop by the dairy and buy her some flowers, because she always liked that. And it wasn't like he meant to upset her, he just needed some breathing s.p.a.ce before he choked on his memories.

Another loud crash sounded, followed by a high pitched scream. Ash froze for a moment, then swore up a storm as he headed back down the path, knowing he shouldn't interfere, but also knowing he had to do something. Finding the front door locked, he took off around the side of the house. Like the front of the property, the backyard was overgrown with the additions of a garage and clothesline. He entered through the kitchen as another shattering sound came from down the pa.s.sage.

Len screamed, his voice dripping with pain. "You b.i.t.c.h! I'm gonna f.u.c.kin' kill ya."

Ash bolted down the pa.s.sage and stopped at the bedroom where the noise was coming from. Shattered gla.s.s and ceramics littered the floor and bed, along with broken picture frames, while on the mattress a bloodied Len was punching Carly, who was curled up into a ball and screaming. Ash grabbed Len from behind, but the guy was too heavy to budge.

Len stopped punching Carly and shoved Ash away, making him stumble into the cabinet. "This has got nuthin' to do with you!"

Ash launched himself at Len, this time putting his full weight behind him. Len fell off Carly and over the side of the bed, knocking into the front wall. Ash grabbed Carly, yanking her off the bed and pushing her behind him. "Get outta 'ere," he said, remembering his gun.

Len got to his feet, his fat face full of rage. Before Ash could pull his gun out, Len stepped onto the bed and flung himself at Ash like a WWF pro-wrestler, the fat b.a.s.t.a.r.d's speed taking Ash by surprise. Ash fell into the pa.s.sageway, the back of his head hitting the wall hard. On autopilot, he raised his leg, kneeing Len in the nuts just as a punch connected with his face. Both of them grunted, but only Len crumpled to the floor. Ash brought a boot down into Len's fat gut. Len hollered and lashed out, clipping Ash's heel. Ash righted himself and raised his boot again, then stopped, a sudden bout of dizziness taking over. He wobbled and staggered to the side, then everything went blank.

The sound of a gun firing brought Ash around. Another shot rang out followed by a loud thud. He sat up, everything a blurry mess of colours. He wiped at his eyes, then jolted when a hand touched his face.

"G.o.d, I thought he'd killed you," a female said. She hugged him then started peppering kisses all over his face.

Too disorientated to push her away, Ash laid his head against the wall, wincing at the pain it caused. She stopped kissing his face and latched onto his lips, her breath making him gag. He tried to raise a hand to push her away again, but it flopped back down. He blinked and shook his head, finally clearing his vision and realising where he was.

Carly stopped kissing him and reached around his head, her expression upset. "My poor baby, you're bleeding." She wrapped her arms around him and heaved, getting nowhere as she tried to pull him up. "Help me, Dante."

Too sore and dizzy to correct her, Ash pushed to his feet. She directed him down the pa.s.sage. He stopped at the doorway to the lounge and leaned against it, everything that had happened coming back. "Where's Len?"

"I shot him. And I hope he's dead!" she screamed down the pa.s.sage. She started laughing, the sound surreal for the situation.

Ash looked down at his pants. f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k, she used his gun! Ash turned to go back to the room. Carly blocked his way, steadying him as he swayed slightly.

"I was protecting you, like you protected me," she said.

"But, you shot him with my b.l.o.o.d.y gun."

"What gun?"

Confused, Ash blinked at her. "But you just said you shot him."