Rome then glared at me, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I was never that fuckin’ desperate,” he bit out. “I mean, fuck! Waiting for my slutty scraps?”
Standing up, I slapped him on the back. “You never had to be like him. Born * magnet, even as kids. No doubt you’ll get drafted this year and go on to marry a damn supermodel.” A strange look crossed his face, but I ignored it. Whatever was eating him was his deal.
My cell gave him a quick reprieve as it vibrated in the pocket of my training shorts. Pulling it out, I read the screen:
Axel: On campus. At Denny Chimes. Got business. You around?
My heart sank to my stomach.
It can’t be. It can’t be him who’s dealing. He wouldn’t do it to me. Not Axel. The motherfucker had better not be doing this to me!
“I gotta go,” I said to Rome and grabbed my towel, slinging it over my shoulder.
“Need me to come with you?” Rome asked sadly.
Stopping midstride, not looking back, I shook my head. “Nah, man, I’m good.”
A hand gripped my arm, and I let out a frustrated sigh and glanced over my shoulder. Rome was staring at me, concern in his eyes.
“Carillo, don’t fuckin’ take on this shit on your own. I have your back. Axel isn’t screwing up your free ride here with the Tide. I’m not gonna let that shit happen. Not to you. Not now you’ve got this far.”
Running my hand over my head, I pulled my arm back and backed away. “Rome, don’t. I’ll take care of it.”
Before he had a chance to argue with me, I burst outta the door and into the warm night air. Casting a look around, I set to sprinting to the south side of the quad. Hell, I was flying, needing to stop my brother dealing on school ground.
It took me less than two minutes to see movement from behind the Denny Chimes, the large tower in the quad, protected by the shade of trees. A tweaking-looking kid scurried past me, stuffing a small white packet into his cargo shorts. I kept my head down so he wouldn’t recognize me, but I saw what he’d just bought.
Coke.
Fuckin’ cocaine.
Coke on campus… Fuck! Coach had been right.
“Austin, there you are, man. I was thinking you weren’t gonna show.”
I flew forward, ready to tear my eldest brother a new asshole, when I caught someone walking out from the shadows.
My heart skipped a motherfucking beat.
No.
No… no… no… no, no, no, no, no, no!
Levi.
“Hey, Austin!” Levi said, waving, and my stomach rolled to the point I felt sick. My baby brother came strutting forward, jeans and T-shirt too big for his teenage body and all the pockets weighed down with perfectly measured packets of snow. He was fairer than me and Axel, who, quite frankly, could pass for my twin. Levi was our baby brother… the damned innocent one. The one who still had a chance stay clear of the wrong side of the law.
I knew he was working with the crew, of course. We all did as kids, but it was doing things like being a lookout back at the trailer park or counting out cash and collecting packages, but no fucker had mentioned he’d started dealing.
I flicked my chin in greeting and, pulling him to my chest, met Axel’s eyes over his shoulder. Axel’s face dropped and he turned away. He knew I was pissed, but, knowing Axel, he didn’t give a shit.
“Done good tonight, bro. Nearly got enough for Mamma’s next treatment,” Levi said, pride lacing his voice as he pulled back to look at me.
Closing my eyes, I took a long, deep breath.
“Austin?” Levi questioned, and I felt his eyes focused on me. “You good?”
Opening my eyes, I pulled him close by gripping his two-sizes-too-big shirt. “When did you start dealing with the crew?” I hissed out, and Levi took a huge fuckin’ gulp, the blood draining from his face.
Levi’s gray eyes darted back to Axel, who was walking toward another group of guys heading in our direction. Great. More frat boys looking for a fix, a fix from my fuckin’ doppelganger… at my school!
Yanking Levi back, I placed us behind the protection of a tree, way outta sight. I couldn’t be seen dealing or even be associated with dealers, or my scholarship would be revoked on the spot. The dean was already suspicious. Hell, he never even wanted me in his school. It was Coach’s persistence and Rome Prince’s demands that had him caving in. He’d never wanted the boy with the rap sheet from the trailer park on the wrong side of the tracks.
This shit would play right into his hands.
Checking that we were hidden, I shook Levi, who was busy staring at the ground, by the collar. “Levi! When the hell did you get recruited to deal coke?” I hissed.
“‘Bout a month ago,” he admitted reluctantly.
“A month,” I stated in disbelief.
A goddamn fuckin’ month.