Stepbrother's Debt(4)

He’d already proven himself to his father when he took a bullet for him on his fourteenth birthday. Donnie had gained the respect of their soldiers and of their closest friends and enemies. At eighteen he knew what loss felt like. He had held his brother Henry, the spare that his father produced in case anything went wrong with Donnie, in his arms until he took his last shuddering breath. The memory still caused Donnie nightmares, but he refused to tell anyone.

The only way to survive in this cutthroat world was to be the best, the hardest, and the coldest. Let no one in.

He used women on a regular basis after losing his virginity at fourteen. That number was such a significant time in his life. Any kind of innocence he’d had inside him was lost. At fourteen he had taken a bullet intended for his father. He’d held his dying brother in his arms. He’d lost his virginity, and then to top the year off, he’d walked into his mother’s bathroom to discover she’d slit her wrists.

There were times his dreams would all collide into one long year of nightmares. Most women in the mafia found some outlet from the constant coldness that had infected the heart of the men, and even Donnie knew he wasn’t indifferent to it. Over the past four years, he’d become cold, heartless, using women and discarding them as if they were mere trash. He didn’t allow anyone to get close, not even his friends who he’d known since birth. No, in this life it was easier not to care about anyone.

When he did finally marry, it would be with someone his father chose.

“How can you marry Sharon Jones?” he asked, turning the conversation back around to him. “She’s not even part of The Family.”

“I’m marrying her to protect The Family. It’s the same thing. Yes, our closest families would prefer I pick one of their ripe daughters, ripe enough for the taking. That’s not going to be the case. Sharon could be every bit as dangerous as her ex-husband. She’s the enemy, and I’ll keep her close. Work on the daughter. I want to know everything.”

Rubbing at his temple, Donnie agreed. “She’ll probably be telling everyone at high school that we’re now related.”

“It’s important you get that information, Donnie. But what is more important is that you keep her distracted until we get it.”

“For how long?” Donnie asked.

“For however long it takes. If the only way to keep her silent is to kill her, I’ll do it. If there is another way, do what I do, fuck her. I know your rules about minors, Donnie. Some men wouldn’t give a shit so long as the cunt was there.” Anthony sat back in his chair. “If you have to, wait a year and a bit then take her.”

“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.