Stepbrother's Debt Read online

  “She’s not my type.” For some strange reason he felt sick to his stomach at the thought of using Paige. He’d not seen her around school, but then, he’d not really been looking. She was too fucking young for the likes of him.

  Too young and far too innocent.

  “Make her your type. We don’t get to enjoy all the women who step in our way, but we can at least try.” His father shook his hand at him, dismissing him.

  Leaving the office, he made his way back upstairs, passing Paige’s room. He noticed the door was slightly ajar and Sharon was inside. Pausing outside of the bedroom, he listened in.

  “It would be nice for you to have a brother,” Sharon said.

  “Stepbrother, Mom.”

  “I know, dear.”

  “I want to go back home. We can’t just leave like that.”

  “No, Paige. You only want to go back home because you think your father is coming back. He’s not. He left us. We’re moving on and moving up in the world. It’s time for you to grow up, and accept that. There’s nothing you can do about it. Now, let me check out your wardrobe. You need an upgrade from all of those baggy shirts and jeans you like. Maybe even a haircut as well. We could go to a makeup artist who …”

  On and on Sharon talked about ways to improve her daughter. Glancing through the slight gap in the door, he watched as Paige sat on the end of the bed. She held a very out of date phone and was clicking away.

  Something clenched in his gut when he watched her wipe away a tear. He didn’t like how his body was responding to this … this girl. Donnie could fuck the most beautiful women in the world and often did.

  He wasn’t the kind of guy to get affected by a girl’s tears.

  “Do you hear me, hon?”

  “Yes, Mom.” Her voice sounded so dead.

  Forcing himself to move away, he answered the call from Tonio, one of his closest friends.

  “Party tonight, all the guys are going to be there. Club Rave, you heard of it?” Tonio asked.

  “I’m in. I’ve got to get out of this fucking house.”

  “Step-family is in?”

  “They’re here. I need to get out now.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there in five with the guys.”

  Hanging up the phone, Donnie didn’t look back, and kept looking forward.

  Chapter Two

  The following day, Paige dressed in her normal ratty jeans and baggy shirt, not caring what anyone thought of her. She closed her new bedroom door, and made her way downstairs. All she wanted to do was head to school. She wasn’t interested in being nice to her new family. The less she knew about her new family, the happier she’d be.

  She didn’t make it to the door.

  “Hey, darling, I’m pleased you’re up. I made pancakes.”

  Paige turned to see her mother in an apron, looking so damned happy that she couldn’t bring herself to say anything mean.

  “Anthony and Donnie are already in the kitchen.”

  Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to follow her mother. Both men looked up as she entered the kitchen. It was hard for Paige to keep the disgusted look off her face when Anthony tugged her mother down for a kiss.

  Sitting in a chair as far away from the two men she could get, she grabbed a glass of juice, declining Anthony’s offer of coffee.

  “You don’t drink coffee?” Anthony asked, clearly confused.

  “No.”

  “Why not?” He barked the question out causing her to jump. Some of her juice spilled onto her plate, and she put her glass down. Forking the pancake, she couldn’t stomach a bite as the tension mounted at the table.

  “I don’t like it. I don’t like tea or coffee.”

  “She’s telling the truth, Anthony. Paige has never drunk anything.”

  “I’m not making it difficult for you,” Paige said, forcing herself once again to stare at the man who was now going to be her stepfather. “I just don’t like it.”

  Anthony stared at her for several more seconds before bursting out laughing. “Fair enough. I can’t force you to drink something you don’t like.”

  She didn’t eat anything. Paige broke up pieces of her pancake listening to her mother talk about everything and nothing. Glancing at the clock, she stood up. “Thank you for breakfast, Mom. I’ve got to go.”

  “Donnie’s going to drive you. He said he’d take you to school.”

  No way in hell.

  Shaking her head, she gave them all a smile. “It’s okay, I prefer the walk.”

  “I insist,” Donnie said.

  “I like walking. You know I like it. Thank you for offering.” Turning on her heel, she headed out of the house, taking several deep breaths as she walked out of the security gates. No one stopped her, and she didn’t even give the security guards a glance as she passed.

  Last night she’d skipped dinner pretending to have a headache when in fact she’d been lying on her bed reading. She’d rather read than spend time with her new, dangerous family. Paige had tried to talk to her mother last night, but once again she’d been more interested in shopping.

  The last thing she wanted to do was go shopping.

  She walked down the street and jumped when a car sounded its horn. Glancing toward the road she saw Donnie driving in the car he’d been cleaning the day before.

  “Get in, Paige.”

  “I like walking.”

  “It’s over a mile to school.”

  “So.” She didn’t break her pace and, in fact, sped up. The last place she wanted to be was inside her stepbrother’s car with him inside. Ignoring him, she saw the quick alleyway that would take her away from him but also provided a shortcut straight to the school.

  “You don’t have to fight with me, Paige. We’re almost related.”

  “We’re not related, not in any way.”

  “Dad’s going to ask your mom to marry him.” She paused, turning toward him. “That’s right. Our parents are going to get married.”

  “Only if my mother agrees.”

  “Do you really think your mom’s going to turn him down? He provides a much better life for you both.”

  She started walking again. The last person she wanted to be talking to was Donnie.

  He’s dangerous. They’re all dangerous.

  Dad, where are you?

  He’d left without any other word to her, only a cryptic message. There was no way her mother could marry. She was still married to her father.

  “Richard Jones,” she said, speaking his name.

  She wasn’t going to forget his name. He’d seemed to walk out on them, but she didn’t believe it. Her father was many things, but he didn’t abandon those he loved, but she couldn’t prove anything else.

  Without looking at Donnie, she walked down the alleyway taking her away from him and through to the school. Behind her, she heard him curse. She didn’t look back, only going forward.

  The walk to school was uneventful after she dodged Donnie. She made it into the school building with five minutes to spare. Once she went to her locker, she made her way toward homeroom.

  Sitting at a seat in the back near the windows, she tried to forget about her stepbrother. She wasn’t going to start looking for him in the hallways or making excuses to spend extra time with him.

  Paige wasn’t an idiot. Something didn’t add up to her.

  Her father disappeared five years ago, and now her mother was moving in with one of the men who had the mafia rumor running rampant around him.

  There was no way her mother could be that stupid. Paige refused to believe it. Sitting at the window gave her the perfect view of the parking lot. The moment Donnie entered with his three friends, had her tensing in her seat.

  “I heard he doesn’t screw anyone younger than him,” Chantelle said.

  Paige pulled away from the view of the parking lot to see who Chantelle was talking to. She was talking to Leanne, and they were both popular girls and wore expensive clothes that matched their status.
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  Glancing back toward the parking lot she watched as Donnie rested on the hood of his car talking to Tonio, Luiz, and Jake. The four guys were inseparable. She’d seen them marching up and down the school halls as if they owned the place, and knowing them, they did.

  “None of the Mafia clan does, Chan. It’s not your fault. Donnie will notice you in time. Every guy will notice you,” Leanne said.

  Closing her eyes, Paige leaned forward resting on her arms. The day before yesterday Donnie Martinez didn’t even register on her radar. Now, he seemed to be everywhere. The bell hadn’t rung yet, and so far she wanted this day to be over. Just over two years until she could walk out of the door without looking back. She’d miss her mother, but there was no way she’d be spending any more time than necessary with the Martinez gang.

  “I’ve heard he’s got a big cock and he likes to go all night,” Chantelle said.

  “Then he’s nothing like Rob.”

  The two girls giggled between themselves.

  Paige was still a virgin and didn’t see much of the humor that Chantelle and Leanne did. The moment the bell rang, silence fell on the classroom, and Paige was happy to be taken out of her worries and think about something more important.

  With great grades, she wouldn’t have to worry about her future, not one bit.

  ****

  “So, what are we expecting? Do you think we’ll have some underage bitches running towards us?” Luiz asked as they entered the school hall. The bell had already rung, and Donnie didn’t bother to stop at his locker. They were graduating in a couple of months, and the principal was on the books with his father. The Martinez family paid a lot of money to keep the school running. In return, the faculty looked the other way.

  “Who is your stepsister anyway?” Jake asked.

  Out of all four of them, Jake was the only one who wasn’t part of The Family. Donnie considered him a friend, while his father considered him the bodyguard. Anthony expected Jake to jump in front of a bullet for Donnie.

  In Donnie’s mind, he’d take a bullet for any of his friends. They were the next generation of The Family while Jake would forever remain a soldier, only fit to serve as nothing more than a loyal dog. Donnie intended to change that. First, he needed to take the seat of power along with Luiz and Tonio.

  They all had plans, and not all of them revolved around the traditional convention that forced daughters to marry older men to serve the peace.

  Luiz’s sister, Maria, was married to a man twenty years older, who beat her, all in the name of helping the alliance with different families in different cities. The truth was, women were sold like cattle in The Family. Donnie was going to change that. He didn’t want to have to stand through another meeting while watching Maria flinch away from every raised hand. She was a year older than all of them, had been married six months, and suffered a lifetime of hell during that time.

  Donnie wasn’t in love with Maria. She was a sister to him, and he’d do whatever he could to help her.

  “Her name is Paige Jones.”

  “Never heard of her before,” Tonio said. “Is she pretty?”

  “She’s got raven hair, blue eyes, and is on the chunky side for modern high school bullshit. From what I’ve seen, she’s pretty much ignored even though some guys would love to fuck her, even if they’re called chubby chasers.” Jake filled them all in on Paige.

  Donnie tightened his hand into a fist. The thought of any guy touching Paige infuriated him.

  “How do you know so much about her?” Donnie asked.

  “You told me about the new stepfamily, and I figured I needed to do my research. She’s a job, right? We’re going to need all the help we can get. None of us know her.”

  His anger evaporated at Jake’s explanation.

  “No one touches her, okay?” Donnie stared at his three friends, prepared to hurt any of them who tried to touch her.

  “Donnie, chill, man. We’re here as your friends. I’m with you. I don’t fuck minors. There’s too much worrying shit to think about when you bag a young one. I’m not interested in waking up in the morning being arrested for rape when the slut was begging for it,” Tonio said.

  Donnie nodded his head as they walked down to class. They didn’t even need to attend school, but he was interested in how Paige would play their new connection. Would she start telling everyone that she was related to him? Would she try to become popular? His curiosity was getting the better of him.

  He had her class schedule, and seeing as she was younger than he was, none of their classes came together. They entered the classroom, going straight to the back seats of class. The teacher paused long enough for them to take their seats. No one said a word as they interrupted homeroom.

  Tapping his fingers on the desk, he glanced at Jake, who’d sat by the window. He took his bodyguard duties to the extreme.

  “You’re going to need to get her file from the main office,” Jake said. “They’ll have everything there. Her background, the places she lived, her grades, where she is failing. Maybe you can help her out.”

  Glancing over at his friend, Donnie smiled. “I like that plan.”

  “I don’t like this,” Luiz said. “I’m not in the fucking mood to play the nice friend.”

  “You don’t need to play the nice friend. All you’ve got to do is have my back.”

  “I tell you, if she comes swarming around us with underage bitches, I’m out of there,” Tonio said.

  Donnie wasn’t interested in having anyone around him. He really couldn’t give his friends a warning when the truth was, he didn’t know what to expect himself. In the few hours he’d known Paige, she’d done her best to stay out of his way. She wouldn’t even take the ride he offered her that very morning. He was a little pissed with the way she’d cut down that alley toward school.

  “We’ve got a job to do, and I’m not going to back out of my responsibilities. After class we’re going to the main office. I want everything on that file.”

  “And we’re going to be the distractions, right?” Luiz asked. “Which one of you fuckers am I beating the shit out of?”

  Donnie laughed as Luiz and Jake played rock, paper, scissors with each other for the fight. Jake lost, so he’d be the one throwing punches. Donnie called that he was present, aware of the blondes giggling across the room. Neither he nor his friends looked over toward the collection of fucks. They’d all fucked the five girls at some point, and none of them were anything special. While they were on a job, sleeping around wasn’t on the menu. The girls at school were good for practice. He couldn’t fuck anyone in The Family. The women and the daughters were to be treated with love and respect.

  The bell rang ten minutes later. He cut away from his three friends to head to the main office. The principal was locked up in the office, and so was his secretary. It would be easy to just go and risk being caught searching for Paige’s file. Instead, he heard the commotion. Hiding behind a door, he listened as the math teacher, Mr. Adams, shouted for help. There was already a shitload of commotion coming. Luiz and Jake were causing enough of a distraction that he was able to slip into the file room. He went straight for the cabinet marked J then scrolled through. Paige’s file was so small that it had fallen under the stack. Donnie grabbed the file, placed it inside his jacket and walked out of the main office. It took all of ten minutes.

  “What’s going on?” he asked a pimply kid.

  The kid in question almost shit his pants. Pushing his way through the crowd, Donnie waited for them to see who they were fucking with. The moment they did, the crowd parted like the sea.

  Luiz spotted him at the same time as Jake. They pulled away from each other, slapping the other on the back and cheering.

  “What is the meaning of this?” the principal said.

  “What?” Luiz asked. “He told me I had a small dick. I was going to defend my honor. Most of you girls here know I don’t.”

  The principal turned red faced, but when Donnie stepped f
orward and asked if there was a problem, everything changed. The principal may try to take on Jake, Luiz, and Tonio, but he knew he was beat when Donnie stepped forward.

  “Where have you been, Mr. Martinez?” the principal asked.

  “The bathroom. Now we’re headed for class unless there is a problem with us doing that?” he asked.

  “No, of course. Everyone, back to class.” The principal tried to take the power back into his own capable hands.

  Donnie had what he wanted, and with Luiz, Jake, and Tonio at his back, they walked toward their drama class. They tended to sit in the back so they weren’t called upon to take part. He wasn’t going to be caught acting out shit unless it was shooting the fucking teacher.

  They sat in the back, and Donnie pulled out the file. It had everything from her date of birth, to her mother’s contact details, to a photo of her taken from a couple of years ago. He flicked through her personal information while he handed the file out to the other three. They couldn’t keep the file for long, especially if Paige decided to go and change her information.

  “She’s flunking math,” Jake said. “Wow, in a bad way. She can’t count for shit.”

  Donnie took the papers and saw the teacher, Mr. Adams, had in fact said some shitty things about her.

  “There’s you’re in,” Luiz said. “Go and talk to Adams. See if you can tutor her.”

  One of the good things about being Anthony Martinez’s son, you learned math and numbers. No one fucked with you if you could out-calculate them. As Donnie snapped the file closed, they left, and Donnie sent Jake to hand back the file and to also flirt with the secretary. By the time lunch came, he was famished, and they entered, going straight toward their table after grabbing their pizzas for lunch. The ladies who served didn’t try to stop them as they pushed their way through the line. The students also knew not to come near their table or risk humiliation.

  “I’ll talk to Adams this afternoon.” Donnie couldn’t look away from the door. All morning he’d been expecting Paige’s friends to come swarming around him. Nothing had happened. He’d not even seen Paige, which again was a surprise to him.