Behind the Hood (Behind the Lives)

by Hansen, Marita A.

  “Nah, the wanker thinks Tama raped Jess.”

  Leila snapped her head around and instantly regretted it. She winced then refocused on Naf, his words drilling another hole into her aching head.

  He gazed down at her. “Don’t worry; I don’t believe it for a second. Nike’s just pissed that his woman wanted to fuck Tama.”

  Leila felt sick, because she knew that Jess wouldn’t have done Tama willingly. Tama had confessed everything about the incident in the toilets. He’d been devastated that Jess didn’t want him, just like Leila was with Nike.

  She wanted to cry. Nike wasn’t going to hurt Tama ... he was going to kill him.

  59

  Tama

  If the pigs weren’t there he would have stabbed Nike in a second. What a fucking bastard! It was his mother’s funeral, for Chrissake. Yeah, he knew the prick was coming, but he’d still kind of hoped that Nike would show some respect and wait until after the funeral.

  Tama put his hand into his pocket and gripped onto the switchblade. From what Sledge had said, he’d thought he would be up against a gun. But Nike’s choice of weapon still didn’t surprise him. He could see the baseball bat clearly from where he was hiding, twenty yards back behind a big mother of an oak tree and a row of bushes. The memory of Nike smashing him over and over again at fourteen resurfaced. He was such a fucking retard for not laying charges, but shit, he’d hated the pigs back then too. And anyway, even if Nike had blood on his hands and was standing over him, the pigs still would’ve blamed him for it. Well, at least he had more of a chance fighting Nike now without worrying about a bullet through his head.

  His attention returned to the funeral as the priest left, and the hugs and kisses began. The two pigs started escorting his stepdad towards the car park. Seth glared at Nike as he walked past. Caitlin ran after her father, crying out, “D-D-Daddy.” Seth’s vicious expression instantly changed. He bent over and kissed Caitlin on the cheek. Mrs. Connor picked up Caitlin and followed Seth to the police car.

  “You fucker!”

  Tama’s head whipped over to Sledge as his mate stalked towards Nike. Oh shit, even with the pigs there, he couldn’t stay hidden if Nike turned the bat on Sledge. And he damn well knew the two arseholes in suits were also pigs. At the beginning of the funeral one of the dickwad coppers in blue had nodded at them, giving away their identity. It was bloody lucky that the pig had done that, because he would’ve broken cover as soon as his stepdad had left. He gripped the switchblade tighter, wishing he could take them out too. Fuckers coming to his mother’s funeral. He should be standing there, not them!

  “How dare you come here?” Sledge hollered at Nike. “Fuck off!”

  Nike shifted the bat behind his back. He said something that Tama couldn’t hear.

  “He ain’t here cos of the pigs!” Sledge shouted.

  The plain-clothed coppers looked over at Sledge.

  Tama sneered. “Yeah, they know their names, alright.”

  “The rapist is here, I know it!” Nike screamed.

  Naf, Corey, and Trey grabbed Sledge before he could attack Nike, and by the way he was straining against them Tama guessed he wanted to rip Nike a new hole. Tama smiled. Sledge was a good mate.

  The plain-clothed pigs continued watching the argument as they talked between themselves. With the gang there, Tama knew Nike wouldn’t stand a chance if they left.

  “Fuck off, fuck off, fuck off…”

  He stopped muttering as the male and female started walking towards the car park. As they got into a blue Holden, Tama pulled out his switchblade and flicked it open. The car stayed put. “Bastards.” He stabbed the tree, leaving the knife imbedded.

  “The pigs are gone!” Sledge yelled. “Lemme go!”

  Corey let go, while Trey and Naf continued to struggle with Sledge. Tama wasn’t surprised that the fag had done what Sledge had asked. Fuck the consequences. Once he sorted Nike, he was going to tell Sledge about Corey.

  Leila’s voice rang out, “Sledge, stoppit!”

  Shit, he hadn’t realised that was Leila in the wheelchair. He grimaced, both pissed that she was protecting Nike, and that she was probably wearing the Rocky Horror getup due to her busted face.

  Sledge stopped struggling and turned towards her. “Your loyalty should be with Tama. Not that bastard!”

  Too fucking right, Tama thought.

  Words passed between Leila and Sledge, followed by Sledge screaming, “You bitch!” Tama didn’t know what she said next, but from the way Sledge shook off the guys, it couldn’t have been good. Trey tried to restrain him again. Sledge pushed him then Trey pushed back. Tama scrubbed a hand down his face. Bloody hell, the fucking morons should be attacking Nike, not each other.

  Both Corey and Naf came running and tried to break up the fight. As usual Naf got a misdirected punch into his clumsy-arsed face.

  “Ow! You prick, you hit me!” Naf yelled at Sledge.

  Sledge turned towards Naf just as Trey clocked him one. Sledge fell down. Corey started screaming at Trey and tried to hit him, but got knocked down too. Sledge sat on the ground, looking stunned. Tama rolled his eyes. Sledge should never have turned away from Trey. The pretty bastard had one of the best hooks in the gang.

  The two pigs got out of the unmarked car. Naf walked towards them. The big blond pig said something, then Naf turned and yelled at Trey to back down. Trey stepped back. Tama watched the pigs walk off, hoping this time they would leave. He slammed a fist into the tree as they got back into the car and stayed put.

  Sledge pushed up and gave Trey the finger, then stomped off towards the car park. Naf pulled Corey back as he tried to follow. Leila got out of the wheelchair and limped over to Nike. Nike dropped the bat and let her take his hand. His shoulders began to shake.

  “Pussy.” Tama yanked the blade out of the tree, aching to fuck the cunt up real good.

  An engine started. Finally! The pigs were leaving.

  Naf shouted, “Tama didn’t rape her, she wanted him!”

  Nike swiped up the bat and headed for Naf. Naf raised his hands and backed away.

  Like hell Nike was going to hurt his mate! Tama stepped out from behind the tree and sprinted towards him.

  Leila screamed, “Tama, no!”

  Tama lunged at Nike with his switchblade.

  60

  Nike

  Nike never even considered that he was outnumbered when he went after Naf. He’d lost all sense of self-preservation as soon as Naf had opened his nasty mouth. After that, everything happened fast. One second he was about to hit the fat bastard with the baseball bat, the next Leila was screaming Tama’s name.

  Nike knew Tama would be there, hiding like a coward. He didn’t need to look around to know Tama was behind him with his blade ready to stick him. The prick always fought dirty, whether it was with a sucker punch or biting. Christ, being stabbed in the back was never a clichéd saying with Tama, it was a proven reality.

  And now, with Tama’s mates surrounding him, a four to one fucked up situation, and a knife coming at him, Nike knew he was right royally screwed. But he wasn’t going down without inflicting as much pain, hopefully death, on the disgusting piece of shit as possible.

  Nike swung the bat as the blade ripped into his shoulder. The bat connected with Tama’s chest, sending the cunt to the ground. Hands grabbed at him, fingers digging into the knife wound. He swore and swung the bat again, connecting with Naf’s face. Naf howled and fell back, taking out his brother as he went down.

  Nike stumbled over the Connor tangle of arms and legs. As Tama pushed up Nike raised the bat. He wanted to keep Tama in the cemetery—permanently.

  “For Jess!” he cried, bringing it down like an axe.

  Before he could make contact, Tama rolled to the side. As he lifted the bat again, someone crashed into him from behind. The bat went flying out of his hands as he fell onto Tama. Tama swore and hit out at him, connecting with his head. Nike grunted and head-butted Tama in the face. A satisfy
ing crack and Tama’s pained curses spurred him on. He grabbed Tama’s head and started banging it against the ground. Something struck the back of his own head. Amidst Leila’s screams, Nike fell off Tama and blacked out. He came to with a punch to his face.

  “You thought I’d fuckin’ left, didn’t cha?”

  Nike looked up at Sledge. Five against one. He was dead.

  Sledge kicked him in the gut. Nike grunted and doubled over as something struck his shoulder.

  “You broke my nose, you cunt,” Tama shouted.

  Nike raised his hands as Tama’s blade slashed across his arms. Leila screamed. Nike looked up as she fell on top of Tama.

  “Get offa me!” Tama pushed at Leila. “Someone get her outta here.”

  Leila crawled onto Nike, covering him with her body. “Leave him alone,” she sobbed.

  “I said, get her outta here. Now!”

  Nike saw movement, hands reaching for Leila. In her attempts to cling onto him, her fingers dug into his shoulder wound causing him to curse. She lost her grip and was dragged away screaming.

  Sledge lifted a foot and stomped on the same shoulder. Nike heard himself scream. Tama’s bloodied blade reappeared. Cold metal ran down Nike’s right cheek and neck to the top of his shirt, making his skin sting.

  “I’m so gonna enjoy this.” Tama sniggered as he sliced open Nike’s shirt.

  Nike felt the blade go into his other shoulder and screamed as Tama moved it around. He blacked out then came to with another fist to his face. He struggled to breathe as pressure pushed down on his stomach and another bite of metal pierced his skin.

  “Tama, that’s enough!” someone shouted.

  “Like hell,” Tama yelled back. “He tried to kill me!”

  The pressure on Nike’s stomach lifted. He wanted to fight, to do anything other than just lie down and wait for death. All he could think of was that he’d failed Jess and Maia. Even though his head was swimming, he tried to sit up. He got halfway and fell back down as Sledge jammed a foot onto his shoulder. Nike hollered and swung out at Sledge’s leg. Sledge kicked his arm, then stomped down harder on Nike’s shoulder.

  Leila started sobbing, “You shouldn’t have raped Jess.”

  “He didn’t rape her, she wanted him,” Naf cut in.

  “You’re a dumb shit if you believe that,” Leila said. “Jess hates Tama, always has.”

  “She doesn’t hate me,” Tama yelled. “Nike stole her from me! Fuck, why you being a bitch? I saved you from Jayden.”

  “Cos you’re killing him!”

  “I should’ve killed that sadistic prick when you cried rape!”

  The pressure came off Nike’s shoulder. “Yeah, bitch,” Sledge said. “This is the same thing happening all over again, except Nike’s gettin’ beat instead of Tama.”

  “It wuzn’t Nike’s fault, I lied.”

  “So fuckin’ what? Jess is lying now,” Sledge replied.

  “No, she’s not,” Nike said.

  “Shut the fuck up.” Sledge pressed down on his shoulder again.

  Nike yelled through the pain, “I took her to the hospital.”

  “I don’t fuckin’ believe you.”

  Tama dropped down onto Nike. “Jess is mine now. And she loved all ten fuckin’ inches of my rock hard cock…” He moved his face closer. “…filling her soaking wet pussy.”

  “Liar!” Nike pushed his palm into Tama’s chin, knocking him off.

  Leila’s screams started up again as Sledge brought his heel down into Nike’s stomach. Tama jumped up and joined in with the kicking.

  Someone yelled, “The pigs are coming!”

  61

  Tama

  Tama had been so wrapped up in kicking Nike, getting a boner from every single blow, that he hadn’t heard Naf yell. He’d only snapped out of it when Sledge started tugging on him and shouting, “Run!”

  As Sledge took off, Tama knew at that point he was going to jail, because there was no way he was going to leave until he knew Nike was dead. He had wanted to inflict more pain before he killed the bastard, but with the pigs getting closer he couldn’t wait any longer.

  He dropped onto Nike, and raised his knife. Before he could bring it down someone ploughed into him, knocking him to the ground.

  “You killed him!” Leila rained blows on him.

  “You bitch!” He pushed her off then felt hands grab at him. Someone planted his face into the wet grass, causing more pain to shoot through his broken nose. His arms were pulled behind his back, and the cold touch of steel clamped around his wrists. Tama struggled, but stopped as the words he’d dreaded hearing since he’d stabbed Maia filled his ears. The mofucking pig was reading him his rights. He didn’t want to go to jail; he wanted to drink with his mates and fuck pussy. He needed to taste Jess again, and see his sister and Mikey, not the inside of a prison cell. No longer caring about the pressure, he hollered and thrashed about.

  “Stay still,” a pig barked.

  Needing to know that Nike was dead, Tama turned his head. Another pig blocked his view as she leaned over Nike’s motionless body. On the other side Leila stood crying, while Trey had his arms wrapped around her.

  “Don’t touch the bitch!” Tama screamed. Shit, he may have had the knife, but she stabbed him in the back good and proper. He thought she’d loved him. She’d said it enough times. Yeah, he knew it was a mate’s love, but she’d still chosen Nike even after the bastard had shown no compassion towards her, constantly telling her to piss off. What the fuck was wrong with her? He’d helped her, not Nike. She was dead to him now. Dead!

  “I fuckin’ hate you, Leila! I should’ve backed Jayden up and left you to die.”

  Her sobs grew louder, but she stayed by Nike’s side.

  “Trey, stop touchin’ her!”

  Trey’s pretty boy face no longer looked pleasant. “You’re a bastard, Tama. You went too far.”

  There was no way he went too far, and Trey shouldn’t be comforting the back stabbing bitch. “You disloyal prick!”

  The pig hauled him off the ground, then yanked Tama back as he lunged for Trey. Trey ignored him, his concentration still on Leila.

  Tama couldn’t see the other guys. At least they’d gotten away. They were his real mates, not Leila or Trey.

  His gaze fell onto Nike. “He looks fuckin’ dead to me.”

  “He’s still gotta pulse,” Leila screamed.

  He sneered. “By the look of him not for long.”

  Tama swore as the pig swiped the back of his head. An arm clamped around his neck.

  “You better hope he lives or you’ll be going to prison for a long time,” the pig muttered in his ear.

  “That’s a fuckin’ good trade off.”

  Another smack landed across his head. Tama swore again. Fucking pigs were nothing more than dirty bastards that joined the force to have free rein to bash who they liked. He glanced at the cunt, realising for the first time he wasn’t from the funeral. This one was much bigger than the others, with a scar across his chin. He wondered who’d called the pigs, hoping it wasn’t Trey. Nah, even Trey wouldn’t do that. The sap just couldn’t keep his cock from overriding his brain. Like Leila would ever fuck him. Even Trey’s pretty face couldn’t hide the fact that he was too young for her.

  Tama growled at the thought of Leila. The bitch better hope he didn’t get out of prison, because he’d been coming for her as soon as he left those gates. Hell, he’d even send his stepdad after her when Seth’s sentence was up later this year. Tama glanced over his shoulder at Leila. Yeah, his stepdad could teach the bitch a fucking great lesson.

  The pig pushed him again.

  “Stop doin’ that, you prick!” He cursed as he was shoved onto the bonnet of the pig mobile.

  The cop leaned in. “I bet you’re gonna make someone a nice bitch in prison with your pretty little arse.”

  “Bastard!” Tama screamed.

  The pig grabbed his arms, and hauled him around the car. The back door opened a
nd a big hand came down on his head, pushing him inside.

  Tama kicked the door as it closed on him, panic now setting in. Prison wasn’t just a holding cell, it was a fucking hell ... and there was no way he wanted to get fucked in there.

  62

  Jess

  Jess ignored the doorbell ringing. She didn’t want to talk with or see anyone, let alone get out of bed.

  Footsteps ran past her room. “I’ve got it,” Maia yelled.

  Jess placed an arm over her eyes and thought about Nike. She hadn’t seen him since yesterday. She knew he’d be out looking for Tama...

  She stopped herself in mid-thought. She wished she could erase Tama from her mind, but no matter how hard she tried, the images of him on top of her kept replaying over and over again.

  “Mum, it’s the police!” Maia shouted.

  Jess sat up, wondering whether they’d caught Tama. Nike’s mother and aunty ran past her door. Jess pushed off the covers and got out of bed. She headed out of the room, stopping at the end of the passage so no one could see her.

  “Ma’am,” the policeman said. “We’ve been given this address for a Jess Daniels. May we please speak with her?”

  “Please say you’ve got the psycho,” Jess muttered, her heart pounding.

  “Have you caught Tama Harris?” Sally asked.

  “Yes.”

  Jess exhaled as the others let out loud yeses.

  “Ma’am, are you related to a Nike Daniels?”

  Everyone went silent in the next room. Jess sucked in a breath, her chest going tight. Oh God, no! Police only came to the door when someone had died. She stepped into the lounge.

  “He’s my son,” Sally cried. “What’s happened?”

  The officer looked over Sally at Jess. He was big, with a noticeable scar under his chin. He looked sad. Maia’s eyes drifted to Jess, her young face saying she was thinking the same thing.