Stepbrother's Debt

by Sam Crescent

  His body didn’t care that they were supposed to be stepsiblings. They were not related. Neither of them had the same mother or father. They weren’t even distant cousins. Letting go of her hand, he cupped her cheek as she kissed him back.

  The tension in her body eased out, and Donnie pressed his cock against her.

  Finally, after only seconds of kissing, Paige pulled away from him. “No, we can’t do this. You’re my stepbrother.”

  “We’re not fucking related. Stop putting that fucking label to me. I’ve never been your bastard brother. Deep down, you know it.”

  “No, I’ve—”

  Kissing her one more time, he plunged his tongue into her mouth.

  “Shut the fuck up, Paige. Look at me.”

  Her eyes were blurry from tears.

  “You don’t need to cry, baby. I will never hurt you.”

  “Being in this world hurts me.”

  “I know. I won’t let my father marry you off. I’ve got a plan, and you’ve got to trust me.”

  “Let me run right now. Please, Donnie. I can leave, and no one has to know.”

  “I can’t let that happen,” he said. “It’s too dangerous. There are men out there, Paige, who would take you, rape you, torture you. I can’t let that happen, not to you.”

  She hung her head.

  If he’d not been holding her up, she’d have sunk to the floor.

  “Baby, please don’t cry. Don’t give up.”

  “My mom did this?”

  “Yes.”

  “I promise, Paige, I’ll protect you.”

  She sniffled up. The sound wasn’t supposed to be cute, but he couldn’t help but find it cute.

  “You can let me go now. I’m not going to freak out, I promise.”

  He released her hand, and she held her hands tight against her. She wouldn’t look him in the eye, and that hurt him.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “One of the strip clubs owned by The Family.”

  “You own women?”

  “We provide employment for women, and we also offer them up for free,” he said. “There’s a lot about this business that you are not going to know, and never going to find out.”

  “This world is something I’ve been thrust in without a choice.” She bit her lip, and all he wanted to do was bite it, to suck it inside.

  She wasn’t mentioning the kiss. He wondered why.

  “Can you take me home now, please?”

  He stared at her for several seconds before nodding. “Yes, I’ll take you home.”

  Paige wouldn’t look at him. For now, Donnie wasn’t going to press the issue. Walking to the door, he flicked the lock open, and waited for her to join him. He held his hand out for her to take. “You’re not going out there without holding onto me, Paige.”

  She didn’t argue, taking hold of his hand.

  The fine tremors in her palm concerned him.

  He didn’t wait around as he walked back toward the exit.

  “Donnie, good man.”

  Tensing up, Donnie gritted his teeth as one of the men, Ron, called toward him. He was part of The Family. A close relation to Maria’s husband and had a bad reputation for fucking up the women.

  “Are you breaking in the new arrivals?” Ron asked, glancing over Donnie’s shoulder at Paige.

  “She’s not a new arrival, and you will learn to have more respect,” Donnie said, prepared to take the bastard out if he so much as made a move to touch her.

  Ron held his hands up. “Sorry, Donnie. I figured any woman around this club was free game.”

  “Paige hurt her ankle while we were out shopping. This club was closest. Her ankle is fine, and I’m getting her out of here.”

  “I wouldn’t leave her alone.”

  “I’m not.” Donnie stared at the man, wishing he’d take the hint and leave. One day, he was going to get rid of all of the men who repulsed him. The Family didn’t need to house scum, abusers, and vermin. The moment he took over, Maria would be safe as he’d handle her husband easily.

  “Right, I’ll see you at the party in a few weeks. Rafael is looking forward to seeing Paige sold off.”

  Paige froze at his side. Squeezing her hand, Donnie tried to offer her comfort, but it was little in comparison to what he imagined going on in her own mind.

  “Keep your thoughts to yourself.”

  “Rafael is so pissed with her interfering with Maria. He wants to see her good and settled down.” Ron just kept on talking. Rafael was in fact the husband to Maria, the same scumbag who abused his wife.

  Don’t attack now. Wait for later.

  Without saying another word, Donnie led her back down toward the street. They passed several women who were naked leading men into private rooms. Not once did Donnie stop to talk. He wasn’t interested. All he cared about was getting Paige back home, safe, or at least safe as home could provide.

  ****

  Paige sat in her room with her hands clasped together. She didn’t know what she was going to say to her mother or to Anthony. The news that Donnie had given her a couple of weeks ago had been going around, and around inside her head, spinning out of control.

  So has the kiss.

  Today was her eighteenth birthday. Across the room the red dress she’d bought with Donnie was hanging on the door, waiting for her to dress. It was morning, and she wasn’t interested in going downstairs and being part of her family. She sat on the edge of her bed in her plain pastel pink pajamas trying to find something that would take her away from here.

  “Baby girl, I want you to take this,” Richard said.

  “What?”

  “If you ever need to get away or to hide, this will give you what you need.”

  Paige wiped the back of her hand across her eyes as she stared down at the single, plastic bank card. Her father had given her this card four days before he disappeared, begging for her not to reveal it to anyone. She’d kept it in the back of her purse for so long that she’d forgotten about it being there, but not what it meant, and how important it had been to her father.

  Richard, her father, had bought her that purse, and she couldn’t bring herself to part with it.

  Flicking the bank card between her fingers she recalled the conversation as if it was yesterday. He’d come into her room late at night, waking her up with a shake to the shoulder.

  “What’s the matter, Daddy?” she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Okay.”

  He’d sat on the end of the bed telling how much he loved her and that he wanted to provide a future for her. When he pulled out the card, he told her that no one was to know about it, not even her mother. No matter what had happened she was never to reveal the bankcard or the code to anyone.

  After she took it from him, hiding it away so even he couldn’t see it, he’d made her remember the four digit code that would access the funds in the bank. Not once did she tell her mother, or Donnie, or the cops. It had been her and her father’s secret.

  She flicked the card between her fingers, wondering what it held. Paige hadn’t given the card a thought until she had a dream about that night. Her father disappeared never to be seen or heard from again. Was it because of this card?

  Anthony said her father died. What did her father do to get him killed? Paige couldn’t believe that she didn’t even remember what job her father did. All she recalled him saying was that he was part of security, nothing else.

  Paige couldn’t remember. Placing the card in her purse, she zipped her bag up before placing it away. Leaving her bedroom, she walked downstairs, not caring that she was still dressed for bed. She found her mother in the kitchen, cooking while also talking on the phone. This life with Anthony Martinez suited her. She looked happier than Paige ever recalled.

  Her only memories of her mother and father were those of laughter and love. They’d been perfect for each other. This new woman wouldn’t have
liked the simple life that Richard Jones provided.

  “Oh, shoot, I’ve got to go. I look forward to you coming to the party. Paige is really excited.”

  Sharon ended the call. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt and a pristine white blouse. Anthony had dressed her like he did every day. Paige recalled the day her mother had come downstairs in a pair of jeans and a baggy shirt. He’d marched her upstairs, and ten minutes later, she returned dressed like this, dressed to always impress. A Martinez never slacked in any department.

  “Hey, honey, how are you feeling?”

  “Mom, what job did Dad do?” she asked, cutting to the chase.

  Sharon rattled the skillet on the stove, hesitating. “Why do you ask?”

  “With it being my birthday I was thinking about Dad. I really wished he’d been here to see me. I started thinking about him and what he did, and I remembered, I didn’t know what he did.”

  Paige leaned against the counter, watching her mother.

  “Well, he, erm, he was always a busy man.”

  “Yeah, I know. He used to work long hours. I was wondering what he did.” Something wasn’t adding up to Paige. “You were a cleaner, and I just wondered what my father was.”

  Think about it, Paige. Anthony Martinez wouldn’t just work let anyone work for him.

  Her mind was working a mile a minute, and it suddenly hit her. Richard Jones kept odd hours, and he’d come home at unusual hours, looking grim. He always wore a business suit, and it didn’t hang off his body normally. He carried a weapon.

  Licking her dry lips, Paige shook her head. “Forget about it. I didn’t mean to bring him up.”

  Turning around she crashed into Anthony’s chest. “Your father worked for me.”

  “It’s nothing, Anthony,” Sharon said. “It’s her birthday. She’s only thinking about her father. It’s her eighteenth.”

  “Right now I really don’t give a shit what day it is. Why are you curious about your father?”

  “Why did he work for you?” Paige asked, evading the question.

  “You father was a good soldier. For a long time I really thought he was loyal to me, but I was proven wrong about that.”

  “Dad, what’s going on?” Donnie asked, coming into the kitchen.

  “I gave you more than enough time to find out everything I needed to know. You failed, and now I’m taking matters into my own hands.”

  What the hell? Was Donnie only nice to her so that he could get information at her?

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, looking at her stepbrother.

  The mask he used to keep his emotions at bay came down. She’d watched him doing it the last two years, and now, she saw him doing it again. What was he hiding?

  “Your father used to work for me. He was a rather loyal soldier, always aiming to impress, and always trying to become part of The Family. When he failed to move up the ranks, he decided to go out on his own.”

  She really didn’t want to know this. Whatever Anthony had to say about her father, it wasn’t going to end well. “What did my father do?”

  “Everything we told him to. We asked him to take care of a shipment of women, he did it. Guns, drugs, the casino, he handled it all, and we all trusted him. Then, all of a sudden, a shipment of coke worth over forty million fucking dollars went missing, not to mention the entire payment we’d given him to make the payment for the drugs.” Anthony stepped closer to her. “And you’re going to tell me where it is.”

  “Why do you think I know where it is?”

  The card and Dad told me not to say anything. Holy shit!

  “Sharon told us that you and your father were pretty fucking tight.”

  “So? A lot of daughters love their fathers.” She glanced over at Donnie, and she watched as his jaw clenched. He’d used her. Their friendship wasn’t real. It was fake. All the time he’d tried to get her to talk about her father was just to find out what she knew. It wasn’t real; it wasn’t concern. She wanted to hate him, and to also believe what she was saying to herself. Donnie hadn’t done anything wrong to her, and she hated it.

  What about the kiss?

  He’d only been using her to get what he wanted. What his father had ordered him to get from her.

  “No, I want to know where The Family’s money is.” Anthony reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. Her heart stopped. It had to have stopped. There was no fucking way she could think right now, staring down the barrel of a gun. Fear gripped her. From the way he was holding that gun, he was used to using it. “Now, you’re going to fucking tell me what’s going on.”

  “Anthony, she doesn—”

  “Shut the fuck up, cunt.” He cut Sharon off, pointing the gun at her.

  “I don’t know anything. My father didn’t tell me anything.” She couldn’t tell him about the bank card. That one card was her only hope of getting away from this nightmare, or they could kill her.

  “You’re lying.” He put his gun away, grabbing hold of her arms, and drawing her close. She cried out as his grip tightened on her arms. “I’ve always found there are ways to make bitches like you talk.”

  Tears sprang to her eyes. She couldn’t handle this or the pain.

  “Anthony, let her go. She’s my daught—”

  He released her long enough to backhand her mother. She watched Sharon cry out, holding her face. “Shut your fucking filthy mouth. You want to continue living the good life, you’ll keep your disgusting mouth shut, and do exactly what I fucking tell you to do.”

  Her mother wasn’t going to help her. If the past few months had taught Paige anything, it was the fact her mother loved living the good life, the high life, and no one was going to take that from her.

  “I don’t know anything.” He shoved her back against the wall. The pain was instant, shocking her from the impact. She screamed out as Anthony slammed her against the wall again.

  “Tell me what you know!” He yelled the words in her face.

  The pain was about to go beyond anything she could take; she sensed it. Anthony didn’t give a shit about her. He never had. She was merely a means to an end. An end that her father put in motion when he stole from The Family, and gave her the bank card filled with the money that he stole.

  Her own father had put her at risk.

  “I don’t fucking need you around,” Anthony said.

  The tears that were in her eyes spilled out. Happy Birthday to her.

  “Dad, stop.” Donnie’s firm, calm voice broke into the snapping of his father. She didn’t look away from Anthony, too afraid to take her gaze off a monster.

  “Don’t even think to mess with this business. She’s eighteen, and you’ve been fucking useless. She tells me everything she knows, and then she’s disposed of.”

  Sharon sobbed in the background. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what he meant by disposed of. They were going to kill her.

  Taking a deep breath, she realized she didn’t want to die. She’d not experienced anything in the last eighteen years. Not once had she known a man’s love, fucked a total stranger, or been with a man who would own her heart. She had experienced nothing.

  Death was the last thing she wanted to do.

  “You don’t have to kill her,” Donnie said.

  For a few seconds she took her gaze away from Anthony to look at his son, the guy who had lied to her for the past two years. He was bargaining for her life. Why?

  “You think I would risk this little bitch walking free with the information she has?” Anthony asked.

  “No, she hasn’t talked in the last year, and I know she won’t talk for the rest of her life about us. She doesn’t know anything about her father. Look at her, Dad. She doesn’t want to die.” Donnie stepped toward them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him trying to reason with his father. She didn’t want to hope that he’d succeed, not in any way. He’d lied to her, and she didn’t want to be indebted to him because he helped her.

  “She won
’t keep quiet.”

  “I’ll make sure she stays quiet. Paige will be my wife, Dad.”

  His words had her jerking in Anthony’s grip. His wife? Surely it had to be some kind of joke. There was no way they could get married. She didn’t want to be near him. The bastard had used her, and she refused to be part of this family anymore.

  He’s not been a bastard to you.

  Donnie has only been kind to you.

  At that moment she wanted to hate him.

  Anthony smiled. “You’d be willing to marry your stepsister.”

  “We’re not related. I’m not breaking any rules. Besides, if she takes on the family, she’d be answering to me.” He folded his arms over his chest. “She’ll be mine, and I’ll make sure she knows where her bread is fucking buttered.”

  Paige shivered.

  No, she didn’t want to be held captive by The Family.

  “Well, let’s see what Paige says.” Anthony turned back to look at her. “You’ve got two choices, little girl. Marry my son, or I’ll kill you now.” He pulled out his gun, pressing it against her temple. She screamed out as the cool metal was pressed against her head.

  I don’t want to die.

  How to stay alive?

  Marry Donnie.

  “I’ll marry Donnie. I swear. I don’t want to die. I don’t know anything.”

  Before either she or Anthony could say, Donnie grabbed her arm, and tugged her away from the scene. “I’ll handle this,” he said.

  The fear returned as he led her upstairs.

  She had the card. The first available moment when she was free, she’d take the bank card, and leave.

  “Why didn’t you say anything? All this time has our friendship been a lie?” she asked, the moment they were both free. She wiped at her tears, hating the fact she was facing him in her pajamas.

  “No, it hasn’t always been a lie.”

  “Then what the hell has it been?” she asked, hurting. He’d lied to her, and she didn’t know what to think of him in that moment.

  “Look, I needed to find out what your father knew. You were the only one he’d confide him.”