A Brother's Debt by Karl Jones

Brotherly love leads to A Brother's Debt

A call for help brings Step Velkin to the frontier, where he discovers his estranged brother is dead.
As if that isn't bad enough, he learns his brother has left him with debts he can't afford to pay off. Debts which are owned by Ettore Carboni, one of the biggest and most powerful gangsters in that sector of space.
With no other choice open to him Step is forced to work for Carboni to pay off the debt. His first job, to smuggle a package; unfortunately, one of Carboni's rivals is after the package, and he doesn't care if he has to use bribery or force to get it.

The first adventure for Step as he adjusts to his new life, his new - barely space worthy - ship and the perils of the frontier sector.