by Mj Fields
Copyright © 2020 by MJ Fields
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the authors’ imaginations. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Jersey Girl Designs
Edited by C&D Editing
Proofread by Julie Deaton
Photographer: Michelle Lancaster
Model: Kallym Grimmond
Contents
Synopsis
Friday
No Deal
Bare-Assed
Steel Sunday
More Steel
Queenie
Hard, Cruel … Steel
Rule Breaker
Batter Up
Heartbreak
Bayside
Buckle Up
Friday, take two
Take A Pill
Her Highness
Faux
Casual AF
Showered
Thursday Night
Located
Uncrowned
Denied
Hate
Justice 2.0
Italy
Unraveled
Epilogue
Next In Steel
Also by MJ Fields
About the Author
Thank you
Synopsis
When offered the keys to the Kingdom, I all but pissed on the throne.
I didn’t need the figurative crown to become the king, and I sure as hell didn’t want anything more to do with the little Queen.
When the power started to shift and lives began being torn apart, justice needed to be served, and who better to serve it up… than me.
Friday
Justice
“Just try to be nice,” my twin sister, Truth, whispers as we walk up the brick-paved driveway to the biggest house on the shore—Casa Morales-Ortez.
“When am I not nice?” I huff.
My cousin, Patrick, laughs. “Dude, you wear a permanent scowl on your fuck-off face.”
I look over at him. “Fuck off.”
“Exactly.” Patrick chuckles.
Truth sighs. “Just try not to sniff—”
“Enough!” I snap to cut her off, and then grumble, “Didn’t wanna come to the shithole party anyway.”
Brisa and Tris begin to giggle, and I toss them a glare.
To that, Tris flips me off. Girl’s growing brass ones.
I narrow my eyes, and she rolls hers as she declares, “You really think you can intimidate me?”
“Little shit,” I say, trying not to laugh as I grab her and toss her over my shoulder.
“Oh my God, put me down right now, JT, or so help me God, I will nut you in your sleep,” she snarls.
I can’t help but laugh at that.
“I’ll do it with a fucking spoon.”
Amias sighs. “Dude, she’s in a skirt and wearing one of Mom’s thongs again.”
“Fuck you, Babe Duff,” she snaps at her brother as I let her feisty little self-down.
Bris snorts. “Oh my God, leave her alone.”
Even in the dark, I can see her face burning brighter as I cringe at the thought of the baby of the crew wearing a thong. Did he just say their mom’s?
Really fucking hope I’m so buzzed it just sounded like that. But again, that’s just as fucked up.
Tris lunges at him, but Brisa grabs her elbow and jacks her back.
She yanks her arm free and snaps at him, “Whatever, My. The amount of time you spend in the bathroom, you’d literally have to roll in shit seventeen times a day to need that much time in there.”
Max chuckles as he looks at Amias. “Just seventeen, My?”
Amias, or My, as we call him, shrugs. “Depends on the day’s lineup.”
“You better be talking baseball,” Tris snaps at him.
Amias sighs.
Brisa gets on his ass. “Dad need to have the respect women talk with you again?”
“I respect the fuck out of women, and they respect the hell out of me, too.” He smirks, and Max holds out a fist.
I glance at Patrick, and we exchange a look. A look that says been there, done that, still doing that, just playing a more skilled game.
Being the oldest male, I know I need to step in and say something. “Be real with whoever you’re playing with, you got it?”
They all nod.
I look over as Truth taps a message on her phone.
- Coming up the drive. You better meet us or you’re not getting any.
She looks up at me, clearly doing that twin thing—sensing my feelings. This time that feeling is annoyance. She rolls her eyes at me. “Get over it.”
“Didn’t say shit, T.”
“Didn’t have to.” She shakes her head and smiles when a message pops up. She tucks it against herself so I can’t see it, which I’m grateful for.
I’ve avoided Morales-Ortez’s parties for months; first because she was a bitch to Truth, and then, even after they became overnight friends, I still can give a fuck less to see the little bitch any more than I already have to at school.
When we get to the door, it opens, revealing Gabrielle, whose smile wobbles as soon as she sees me amongst the crew.
My jaw tightens as I try not to sneer at her.
Her thick, wavy black hair is pulled over to the side, covering her little tit, leaving the other one uncovered, half-exposed and swelling out of her tight red couture dress that hits not close enough to the knee to be considered modest, leaving her tone thighs and calves on full display, leading to her goddamned open-toed pumps, toenails painted scarlet, matching her dress and lips.
I clench my teeth tighter because, if I don’t, the shit Amias just said will sound like the utterings of an altar boy at mass, landing me on Tris, Brisa, Truth, and even the Virgin Mother’s shit list.
I take my damn time checking her out, knowing what it does to her, and take great pride in knowing I’ll never so much as dip a finger inside her silky little panties to test the theory … if she, in fact, even bothered wearing panties.
She disgusts me.
It isn’t until she finally steps back and opens the door that I look away.
I see Tobias, and the way he looks at my sister, it’s the same way our father looks at our mother. He adores her. But unlike my father, his adoration comes with a dash of pain. I’ll assume that pain is because, in just a few months, he’ll be off to college and not holding her hand while walking down the halls of Seashore Academy for her senior year.
He loves her.
Stupid man, high school and college is no place for love.
I scan the room to look for something that is, for this time in my life, a hot piece of willing and wanting ass, no strings, unless of course strings are prefaced with a G.
As they all walk in, I stand back, allowing them entry first, and have to wait even longer as Truth pounces on Tobias, giving him a big-ass hug, as if she didn’t just spend six and a half hours with him at school.
He smiles as he kisses the top of her head. Then his eyes shift to me and narrow slightly.
I cock my head to the side in question, and against Truth’s hair, he says, “Need a bit of time with your brother.”
She looks up. “Ditching me already?”
&
nbsp; “Never.”
That seems to satisfy her. She hurries to catch up with the crew already heading toward the music.
I look down as I step on marble flooring, and Gabrielle shuts the large wooden door behind me.
I should give her the common decency of a thank you, but … fuck her.
“What’s up?” I ask Tobias.
He shifts his eyes to Gabrielle, and she shakes her head. “Don’t do this to me.”
I’m about to put her in her place when a guy about my size walks into the foyer and says, “Everyone checks out but him,” as he points at me.
“He’s good, Tyler,” Tobias tells him.
“Sorry, man, not your show tonight; it’s Gabrielle’s.”
She lifts her nose in the air and says, “Charge him double,” as she walks away.
“Charge me?” I complain.
“You heard the lady,” the dude says.
“I heard something, but I wouldn’t describe her as a—”
“I’ll cover it, Ty,” Tobias cuts me off at the quick, “but when I said he’s good, I meant he’s good. And my show or not, I’m still fucking here. Until then—”
Sensing he’s pissed, knowing this isn’t between him and the guy—Tyler—I do the right thing. “How much?”
“A hundred,” Tyler says.
“It’s fifty,” Tobias sneers.
“Lady’s rules tonight, Easton,” Tyler, a dark-haired guy all in black, with a scar above his eye says, looking from him to me.
“No big deal, Tobias,” I say, shoving the money into Ty’s hand. “Tell her to hold the lap dance, not interested.”
“Little fucking respect,” Tyler snaps at me as he turns and walks away.
Tobias nods to a door as he mumbles, “Shit’s already getting out of hand around here.”
I walk into what looks like an office. There are walls covered by shelves holding books and pictures of Gabrielle, a boy just a few years older than her, and what I assume are her parents. On one end of the expansive room sprawls an enormous desk, ornate, dark wood and clearly custom-made. The other end is set up with dark brown leather furniture, neatly placed in front of a fireplace, and that’s where Tobias heads.
I walk over and sit on a leather chair across from him.
He runs his fingers through his hair as he sits back.
“What’s up?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “You didn’t bat an eye or ask a question about paying to get in here. You didn’t take the winnings from our fight and—”
“Technically I didn’t win; you pussed out.” I smirk.
His lips twitch, and then he says, “Broke a promise already. Didn’t want to break your jaw, too.”
“Not sure who would have been at the ER that night. Guess we never will.”
He nods. “I’m getting a sense you either just don’t give a fuck, or you already know enough.”
“It’s not all that difficult to figure out. Bunch of billionaire bullies who are doing shit that their parents either: A, don’t give a shit about, because at least they’re out of their hair”—I wave a hand about the room—“B, wouldn’t be proud of; or C, the thrill of getting caught gives them a buzz better than their designer drinks and drugs do. And they’re doing it while bossing around guys I’ve never seen at school, no doubt feeding their superiority complex.”
Tobias nods then, while looking at me, narrows his eyes.
“I get you’re different, and I sure as hell hope you get we are, too.”
“I get you believe that, but none of them do.”
“I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks of us.”
He shakes his head. “I’m calling bullshit. And before you tell me I’m wrong, keep in mind I know I’m right. You care a hell of a lot about how they treat your crew.”
“We’ll be fine.”
He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. “You get what The Sound app is, right?”
“Behind the smoke and mirrors of it being a social tool for our peers, it’s a bullshit app that’s run by a select few and used to bully and berate their peers.”
He nods yet looks agitated as he sits back and runs his hand through his hair. After a few seconds of silence, he says, “It’s a little bit more than that.”
“Straight up, Easton, I don’t give a shit about it. Downloaded it on my phone when people were fucking with Truth just to see what was going on and deleted it as soon as all was quiet.”
He nods. “Truth ever mention her four horsemen theory?”
I’ve heard it mentioned, but not from Truth, and that stings a bit.
I shrug and answer, “Heard some.”
“You know the student government consists of myself as president; Harrison Reeves, VP; Miles Jameson, the treasurer; and Kai Hatt as secretary?”
“Yeah, but I’m not seeing your point here,” I say as I hear the muffled sound of music and the crowd beyond the closed doors.
“Your sister wasn’t far off with her nickname. Since the school started, the student government has had control over a lot of information pertaining to not only students but their families, that could do a lot of damage to both.”
“Tobias, I couldn’t give a shit less about people’s skeletons.”
“No shit,” he snaps then quickly shakes his head. “Sorry, man, it’s a fucking burden I’ve carried since I beat the shit out of Principal Whitaker’s son, Roland Jr., who decided the day I walked in there on a scholarship was the day he had another target. Frank, my guardian, had shit on his dad, Whitaker, so it was all pushed under the rug. Whitaker’s kid was pissed that his dad didn’t unleash hell on me, so when he graduated, he handed me the presidency, and along with it, power, to spite him. As soon as he realized what he’d done to get back at his old man, he asked for it back, and I wouldn’t give it to him, and not because I wanted it, but because I saw what power it yielded. And to me, back then, I knew I needed whatever arsenal I could get my hands on so I could survive there.”
“I get it, man. Tough choice, but I get it.”
He shakes his head. “What you don’t get, and what no one knows, is I fucked with the system they built; changed the game on them. Truth doesn’t know all of this. I don’t want her involved, and it’s for her own good.”
I lean in, because now I’m less concerned with the party and more about what it is that he doesn’t want her involved with.
“As I mentioned, what I hold supersedes The Sound. What I have is documentation from over a hundred years that could break any student, their families, and the faculty of Seashore. I have access to all their secrets. My plan was to destroy it after graduation, but Harrison, who truly believes it will be his, holds my secrets and will no doubt unleash hell on me when I deny him that kind of power … unless I give it to someone he’s intimidated by, someone I know doesn’t give a damn about ruining anyone here.”
“What kind of information are we talking?” I ask.
“Hand to God, I’ve never looked; never wanted to know. But as I said, from what I was told, it can ruin lives, and the fact they all want it, I know it’s true.”
I shake my head. “That’s fucked up, man.”
“Then you get that my position, and Kai’s, are up at the end of the school year and both need to be filled. And I have to find someone I trust with it, or the shit I’ve done is all for naught.”
“And what have you done?”
“I’ve equaled the playing field.”
For the next ten minutes, I listen to exactly how Tobias Easton leveled the playing field. Essentially, he built a business, for the people, by the people, and not the people who he basically ruled over.
The rich kids, the power-hungry rich kids, never questioned him. They were happy as fuck to have a place to party, an occasional fight they could watch, weed, or Julë pods they could get, and shit they could talk about on the app. And three of the four horsemen, as my sister calls them, held what they considered power.
The only true po
wer was held by Tobias. And the only reason it was true was because of the loyalty he built with the people, whose pockets he helped line. Spoiler alert: none of them knew it, and none of them knew what kind of hell Tobias suspected would be unleashed between the “classes” if Reeves and Jameson were given control of the high school.
He further went on to tell me that he had a foolproof plan to where no illegal money would grease my palm, and that, in essence, I would be simply a figurehead, who held very valuable secrets, in which he suggested be destroyed when the last of the Steel Crew graduated.
In the end, I was ready to accept … until he told me one more responsibility that my “reign” would require.
“Before you accept, I need you to know there is one string that has to be attached.”
“Shoot.”
“Gabrielle is part of the deal.”
I stood up. “Not ever gonna fucking happen.”
No Deal
Justice
Think about it; you have a week.
There isn’t shit to think about as far as Gabrielle Morales-Ortez goes, including this party. I was here at Truth’s request only.
For me, thinking about her was like thinking about laying on hot coals. Thinking about her was like thinking of being stuck behind a desk, wearing a suit and tie for the rest of my life. Thinking about her was like thinking about getting my dick pierced by my grandmother. Thinking about her made me want to kick a puppy, slap a baby—do shit I never would do. Thinking about her caused bile to rise up in my throat due to the incessant rage the mere thought of being anything but her enemy brought on.
