Officer Stepbrother Read online

  I changed tactics, smothering my anger in favor of pleading. “Danny, please. Don’t do this.”

  “Oh, Zoe,” he said chidingly, “Don’t give me that tone.”

  “I love him,” I admitted with a whisper. “Don’t do this to us.”

  “Love? He’s your stepbrother!”

  “I don’t care!” I shouted as I finally reached my breaking point. “There’s no law against it!”

  “Maybe not but it’s still disgusting.”

  I couldn’t even begin to describe the outrage I felt as Danny deemed our relationship disgusting. I wanted to scream at him, tell him what was really disgusting was the fact that he dated me because of a bet. It was disgusting that he jerked off the front seat of his car as I lost my virginity.

  Instead of screaming at him, I settled for coldly stating, “Well I guess you are the authority on what’s disgusting, aren’t you?”

  Even over the phone, I could sense how much tension filled the silence. When he spoke again, I could tell that I’d pushed him a little too far.

  “You’ll regret this,” he said lowly, the threat clear in his voice. “I fucking promise.”

  Before I could take back my words and beg him not to say anything, the line clicked and my phone beeped, signaling the end of the call. I exited the closet and threw the phone on the bed, covering my face with my hands and wishing that the past five minutes never happened.

  What are we gonna do?

  ~*~*~

  By the time Brent got home that evening, I was nearly crazy from panicking all day. The second the front door opened, I ran to him, throwing my arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder.

  “Whoa, whoa. What’s wrong, girl?”

  “Danny knows,” I choked out voice thick with emotion. “He called me earlier, he knows you’re my stepbrother. He’s going to tell our parents about us. He threatened to tell the Sheriff’s office.”

  Brent pulled me away from him, staring down into my eyes with a concerned expression. “What does he want?”

  I sneered with disgust before I told him, “He wants a turn.”

  “A turn?”

  “A turn… with me.”

  Brent let out an animalistic snarl before he gripped my hips and roughly hauled me against him. “What did you say?”

  “I told him it would never happen. I told him I’m in love with you.”

  The anger dissipated from his face, replaced now with a soft smile. He reached up and trailed his fingers down my cheek as he whispered, “Good girl.”

  A shiver of pleasure ran up my spine after he said the words he knew that I loved hearing. I pushed the desire away, too worried about everything that was going on with Danny to just let it go in favor of my hormones.

  “Brent, what the hell are we going to do?”

  He let out a long sigh and I finally noticed how tired he looked. Before I had a chance to ask if he was alright he said, “Well if he tells the sheriff’s office about what happened, I could get in trouble since I was on duty. But no one will believe the word of some punk kid over mine.”

  “And what about our parents?”

  “That’s a little trickier. But they were going to find out sooner or later. We’ll just deal with it when the time comes.”

  “How are you so calm about this?” I asked curiously, even though I was watching him with a concerned frown as he began to strip off his uniform.

  “I won’t lie, I’m a little worried,” he admitted as he kicked off his shoes and started working on his belt. “But I’m exhausted, Zoe. I don’t have the fucking energy to deal with it right now.”

  I suddenly felt like a piece of shit for hassling him with something so stupid after he had a rough day. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, looking down at the floor as shame stained my cheeks.

  “Hey, hey,” he said, coming over to me and putting a finger beneath my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “Don’t apologize. It’ll be alright, baby.”

  I smiled at him and sympathetically asked, “Long day?”

  “Yeah. It was pretty bad.”

  “Is there anything I can do to make it better?” I asked coyly, giving him a sly smile as I trailed my fingers down his abdomen and rested them on the waistband of his pants.

  Brent just chuckled and put his hands over mine, guiding my fingers to unbutton his slacks and pull them down before he gently pushed me to my knees by my shoulders. I willingly sank to the floor and proceeded to suck him until he forgot all about his hard day at work.

  ~*~*~

  Chapter Eleven

  A week later, I was on edge.

  Even though Brent had casually shrugged off Danny’s threat to spread the news of our relationship, I wasn’t taking the idea so calmly. Every day that passed I waited for my cell phone to ring or for my mom to show up at the door and demand that I come home.

  But nothing happened.

  In the past week, the only time my phone had rung with an unknown number, the caller had been the manager at a gas station I applied at, asking if I could come in for an interview. I breathed a sigh of relief and went for it, happily calling Brent afterwards to tell him I got the job.

  Everything seemed to be going so well.

  Until, suddenly, it wasn’t.

  Like it always did, the other shoe eventually dropped. I was hustling around the apartment, nervously getting ready for my first shift of work even though I still had hours to go until I actually needed to be in. But I couldn’t shake off my jitters, too excited and ridden with nerves to sit still for very long.

  When the buzzer rang, I was more than happy for the distraction from my panic.

  Until I opened the door and came face-to-face with my stepfather, Jim.

  The nerves of my first day of work were squashed the second I saw his enraged expression. He didn’t even give me an opportunity to invite him in, just slammed his hand against the door and pushed it open far enough for him to march past me.

  I gulped as I shut the door and casually greeted him. “It’s nice to see you, Jim. Brent’s at work but-”

  He turned to me and pursed his lips together, his left eye twitching with irritation. “You need to stop this. Right now.”

  “Stop what?” I asked dumbly, automatically going right to denial mode.

  Innocent until proven guilty, right?

  “You damn well know what I’m talking about. Don’t play the fool,” Jim snarled.

  I swallowed hard, finally realizing just how angry he was. I’d be stupid to even attempt to calm him down, I knew he wouldn’t take my word even if I continued to deny it. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place and had no idea how to squeeze myself out of it.

  I need Brent.

  The only thing I could do at this point was try to be rational and get the hell out.

  “Jim, I can see you’re upset about something-”

  “You’re goddamn right I’m upset!” he shouted, his booming voice making me wince.

  “- But I can’t talk to you about whatever it is right now. I have to get to work.” It was a lie, I still had two hours before my shift started. But he had no way of knowing that. “If you can come back tonight- after eight- we can continue this conversation.”

  I quickly turned away and grabbed my purse, trying not to let his presence physically affect me even though I was legitimately afraid. His hands were balled tightly into fists at his sides and he was seething with barely contained rage.

  While I didn’t think he would hit me, I really couldn’t say for sure.

  All I knew was I needed to get out of there immediately.

  But I couldn’t leave him alone in the apartment. He’d snoop around and find evidence I could tell he so desperately wanted to throw in my face. As it was, a rumor from one high school boy wasn’t enough to condemn us over.

  I opened the front door and gestured through it with a sweeping motion of my hand. “Please come back tonight. I’ve got to get going.”

  For a long moment, I d
idn’t think he was going to comply with my request. My heart pounded hard against my chest as he began to slowly walk forward, his eyes never leaving mine even as he stepped out the front door. I followed behind him, making damn sure the door was locked before walking towards where Brent’s car was parked.

  Since Brent took the cruiser on work days, it left his Honda free for me to use. I had gotten my license easily enough and I was extremely grateful that I no longer had to walk or bum rides to get around.

  I pointedly ignored Jim’s looming presence at my back as I unlocked the car. Before I could get in, he grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, pointing two fingers right in my face.

  “I will be back tonight and we’re going to have a talk about this bullshit. Make sure you’re here by eight.”

  “I’ll be here,” I choked out, trying to shake my shoulder free of his bruising grip.

  He gave me a long, hard look before abruptly letting go and marching over to his truck. I got into the Honda and took a few slow, deep breaths to calm my rattled nerves, watching through the rearview mirror as Jim’s pickup truck tore out of the parking lot and onto the street.

  My hand were shaking as I dug my cell phone out of my bag. I dialed the number quickly and pressed the phone to my ear, mentally willing him to pick up.

  “Hey, girl. What’s up?”

  “We have a huge problem.”

  ~*~*~

  Getting through my first shift was like torture for a myriad of reasons.

  First off-- I didn’t expect the sheer hell it would be to stand on my feet for eight hours a day. I was astounded by thinking about how my mom managed to do this full time, even when she was on overtime shifts at the hospital.

  Second-- I was too distracted by the rather terrifying conversation I’d had with Jim earlier that morning to think straight and it definitely affected my work. I was having trouble picking up anything Hal, my manager, was trying to teach me.

  And yet, as the shift that felt like it would never end drew to a close, I almost wanted to volunteer to work longer.

  I really didn’t want to go home.

  “Your shift’s done. I’ll see you at the same time Tuesday.”

  “How’d I do?”

  Hal shrugged. “I’ve seen worse. You’ll get the hang of it.”

  I sighed with relief, thankful that he wasn’t so irritated at my lack of competence today that he was just going to fire me right off the bat. “Thanks, Hal. I’ll do better on Tuesday, I promise. This morning was just… terrible and my mind’s been all over the place ever since.”

  “No sweat. First day is always rough regardless. Have a good night.”

  I managed to stifle my snort, instead just wishing him a good night in return before I left the back room and headed out to the car. Once I was settled in the driver’s seat, I checked my phone for anything from Brent.

  Nothing from him, but one text message from Danny. I sneered at the screen as I read the message.

  ‘Should’ve just given me what I wanted. Jim looked pretty pissed.’

  I tossed the phone into my bag with a disgusted groan then leaned forward to rest my head on the steering wheel. I wasn’t looking forward to the ambush that was surely waiting for me at home, even though I still had half an hour until Jim was due to show up.

  I stayed sitting in the car for five minutes before I finally turned the key over and started driving home. It was only a fifteen minute ride and I figured I could use those extra ten minutes to freak out to Brent before we faced the firing squad, assuming he had already made it home.

  ~*~*~

  “Brent?” I called after I tossed my keys into the bowl by the door. The cruiser was parked outside so I knew he was already here, it was only a matter of where.

  “Living room!”

  I made my way there and froze in my tracks when I saw the back of Jim’s head sitting on the couch. And my mother parked right beside him.

  Fucking hell, this is even worse than I thought it’d be.

  “Come on over,” Brent said, patting his hand on the spot next to him on the loveseat.

  It felt like I was walking through quicksand as I went to him, my steps slow and precise while I pointedly refused to look at either of the occupants on the couch. I didn’t want to see whatever looks were on their faces, knowing they would range from disappointment to disgust.

  After I sat down beside Brent and he locked our fingers together, I dared to take a glance at the couch across the coffee table.

  Nailed it.

  Their expressions were exactly what I thought they’d be, only I hadn’t expected the horror on my mother’s face.

  “What- It’s true?” she asked worriedly, her wide eyes flickering between Brent and I after she saw him take my hand.

  “It’s true,” Brent confirmed with a sharp nod. “We’re together.”

  Jim’s face was as red as a tomato and I watched him closely, half-expecting to see steam coming out of his ears.

  “This ends now!” he shouted, the loudness of his voice making both me and my mother jump.

  But then there was Brent; cool, collected, and completely unfazed by his father’s wrath. I envied him for his ability to not be outwardly affected by the situation, wishing I could be more like him. Truth was, I was fucking terrified.

  “Like hell it does,” Brent said smoothly, his voice laced with amusement at the mere prospect of us breaking up just because Jim said so. “It’ll end when I say it’ll end. Which will be never, in case you’re wondering.”

  Even in the face of our parent’s reaction, I could feel the elation warm my insides as Brent stood up for our relationship. I knew he was just as serious about us as I was, but he didn’t vocalize it very often. It was nice to hear, even in a situation like this one.

  Jim stood up and glared at his son, pointing a finger at him. “I am your father, Brent, and you will listen to me. This… This fling… stops now! It’s perverse and I won’t be the laughingstock of the town just because you can’t keep your dick out of your sister.”

  My mom’s eyes widened with horror at his crude outburst. “Jim! Sit down and at least give them a chance to explain!”

  She tugged on his pant leg and he whipped around to face her. For a split second, I was almost certain he was going to backhand her. Brent must have sensed the same thing because he stood as well, reaching a hand down to rest on the holstered gun.

  Everyone froze all at once, all eyes going to Brent. Jim looked at him incredulously, unbelieving that his son would even make such a gesture towards him. Of course, my mom and I were equally shocked.

  “Don’t make me arrest you. If you lay a hand on Brenda or Zoe, I will.”

  “I would never-”

  “Zoe told me all about your visit this morning,” Brent said, his tone clipped as he just barely managed to control his rage. “How dare you come to my house and make my girl feel unsafe? What would you have done if she hadn’t had left, hmm? Would you have hit her?”

  Jim didn’t answer and the two men stood locked in silence, each of them waiting for the other to back down. Jim clearly thought that being Brent’s father gave him the upper hand, but he underestimated just what kind of man Brent had become. They were both alpha males, no doubt about that, but there was no fucking way Brent was going to back down to anyone, especially not on his own turf.

  “Sit. Down.”

  Jim’s eye twitched but after a long, tense moment, he did as instructed. Brent slowly lowered back to the loveseat and took my hand in his once again.

  “Like I said… This is happening. You can either accept it or you can disown me. I couldn’t care less how the fuck you feel about how perverse this is, there isn’t a law against being with your stepsibling. We’re not actually related, in case you’ve forgotten.”

  “Zoe, is this what you want?”

  I turned surprised eyes to my mom, noticing that while she wasn’t at all happy with everything that was going on, she at least wanted to hear us o
ut.

  “Yeah, mom,” I assured her before glancing over to Brent. The smile stretched across his lips made me feel empowered and I happily added, “I love him.”

  “This is fucking ridiculous! You don’t even know what love is!”

  Brent stood back up after Jim’s outburst, pointing his finger to the door as he growled, “Get the fuck out of my house.”

  “But Brent-”

  “You can stay Brenda, I’ll drive you home later if I need to. But you,” he said, narrowing his eyes at his father. “You aren’t welcome here if that’s how you’re going to speak to my girlfriend.”

  Jim rose from the couch and stormed out, muttering under his breath something I couldn’t hear. To my great surprise, Brent followed him, slamming the front door behind him as he went to privately confront his father.

  Which left me and my mother sitting alone in the most awkward silence imaginable.

  “Do you really feel that way about Brent, sweetie?”

  “Of course I do. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t really mean it.”

  She nodded, a hesitant look on her face as she carefully chose her next words. “And this… You and Brent… Who’s idea was this?”

  I knew what she was getting at and decided on the spot to twist the truth just a little bit, hoping it would ease her concerns.

  “We decided together. He didn’t force me into anything, it’s just as much my fault as it is Brent’s.”

  She looked relieved to hear that I was an equal partner in the decision and I smiled at myself for a job well done. My smile wavered as I wondered what exactly Danny hold told Jim, and how much of that was passed on to my mother.

  Surely if she knew any details about the first night Brent and I were together, she would look a lot more stressed. Which meant that either Danny or Jim had kept something to themselves. I was pretty grateful for that fact, regardless of whichever way it happened.

  Of course, I would have preferred if Danny kept all the specifics to himself. God, it was incredibly embarrassing to even consider the possibility of Jim knowing about what exactly went down that first night.