Immoral Steps

Immoral Steps The Immoral Series Book One Marissa Farrar Castle View Press All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, copied, distributed or adapted in any way, with the exception of certain activities permitted by applicable copyright laws, such as brief quotations in the context of a review or academic work. For permission to publish, distribute or otherwise reproduce this work, please contact the author at [email protected]. © Marissa Farrar 2023 Published by Castle View Press Cover Model Photography by Wander Aguiar Typography by Covers by Combs Written by Marissa Farrar Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Author’s Note Chapter One | Laney Chapter Two | Reed Chapter Three | Laney Chapter Four | Cade Chapter Five | Laney Chapter Six | Laney Chapter Seven | Reed Chapter Eight | Laney Chapter Nine | Darius Chapter Ten | Laney Chapter Eleven | Cade Chapter Twelve | Laney Chapter Thirteen | Reed Chapter Fourteen | Laney Chapter Fifteen | Darius Chapter Sixteen | Laney Chapter Seventeen | Reed Chapter Eighteen | Laney Chapter Nineteen | Reed Chapter Twenty | Laney Chapter Twenty-One | Laney Chapter Twenty-Two | Cade Chapter Twenty-Three | Laney Chapter Twenty-Four | Reed Chapter Twenty-Five | Laney Chapter Twenty-Six | Cade Chapter Twenty-Seven | Darius Chapter Twenty-Eight | Laney Chapter Twenty-Nine | Laney Chapter Thirty | Darius Chapter Thirty-One | Laney Chapter Thirty-Two | Laney Chapter Thirty-Three | Reed Chapter Thirty-Four | Laney Chapter Thirty-Five | Cade Chapter Thirty-Six | Laney Chapter Thirty-Seven | Laney Chapter Thirty-Eight | Laney Chapter Thirty-Nine | Reed Chapter Forty | Laney Chapter Forty-One | Laney Chapter Forty-Two | Laney Chapter Forty-Three | Laney Acknowledgments Author’s Note Dear Reader, Firstly, I love you. Thank you for picking up one of my books, and giving it a chance. Secondly, please note what you are getting yourself into. This is a stepbrother and stepfather reverse harem romance and contains taboo themes. The heroine barely turns eighteen when things gets spicy, and there is a big age gap between her and her stepfather. It has darkness, which will become even darker as the series progresses, including scenes of SA. If this is not your thing, please stop reading now. But if you like your romance all kinds of twisted, then I hope you enjoy meeting Laney, Reed, Darius and Cade. Marissa Chapter OneLaney I REACH FOR THE FRONT door of the trailer where I’ve lived my whole life and pause. Something is wrong. My fingertips brush the bubblegum pink paint peeling from the wood. I’m taken back to the day my mother painted it that color—one of her good days when, despite her issues, she’d been smiling and filled with vibrant energy. There haven’t been any of those days lately. The door is already open a crack, and my stomach knots. I stare down at the dusty ground beneath my sneakers. The summer has been hot and dry—I can’t remember the last time we had rain. My heart is racing, and my mouth runs dry. I swallow, hard. “Mom?” I allow my hand to continue its momentum, pushing the door open, revealing the inside of the trailer. I’ve done my best to keep the place tidy, but it isn’t easy when the only other person who lives here doesn’t give a shit about chores. Once more, I hesitate. What is it that’s alerted me to the change? Some kind of spiritual connection, perhaps, my soul screaming out to me that the person who gave me life is no longer walking this Earth? Or is it more practical than that? Can I sense there’s no longer a heartbeat or another breath coming from inside? Or maybe the smell is different, already thick and cloying in the Los Angeles sun. I shudder at the possibility. Maybe I shouldn’t go in there. My cellphone is in the back pocket of my cut-off jeans. I can take it out and call nine-one-one. I don’t know how long it’ll be before either paramedics or the cops get here, though, and I know I won’t be able to just sit out here waiting until they arrive. What if I’m wrong and she’s not dead yet? What if there’s something I could do to save her, and instead of going in and helping, I do nothing? There are several neighbors in trailers around me, and I wish I could go to one of them for help. But my mother’s behavior over the years has ostracized us from everyone around us. I wouldn’t mind so much, but it’s not like they’ve been much fucking better. “Mom?” I call again. I’m not expecting a response, and I don’t get one either. I step inside and peer down the length of the trailer, to our living area. It’s made up of a narrow couch fitted to the wall, with a table in front of it that’s on a pole and screwed into the floor. It all folds down to a bed, and that’s where I sleep. To my relief, she’s not there, so I continue through the trailer and into the bedroom at the back. The bed is also empty. Could I be wrong? Maybe she’s just out with one of her boyfriends—though using the word ‘boy’ in reference to them is laughable when most are in their forties or fifties or even older. The slick sense of dread that’s coated my skin since pausing at the door of the trailer hasn’t left me. I push open the narrow door to the bathroom, but it only swings a short distance before stopping. My diaphragm tightens and my heart seems to lurch up my throat. Tears fill my eyes, and I blink them back. The toilet is positioned on the rear wall of the tiny space so when the door opens, it swings directly toward anyone who might be sitting on it, hitting their legs. There’s no shout of protest from my mom, though I’m sure she’s the one blocking the door. “Oh,