Rome nodded, and Molly ran over to keep Lexi calm. As the cops led me away, Rome shouted, “I’m calling my attorney! He’ll meet you at the station!”
As I was led down the hallway, the dean fell into step beside me. “It was only a matter of time, Carillo. We got a freshman who claimed you sold him coke. Porter’s just woke up, and we’re expecting his testimony any time now. Kiss your NFL dreams good-bye. You’re no role model for young kids. You belong behind bars.”
The proud smirk on his face had me spittin’ mad, and I snarled, “You fuckin’ prick, my mamma’s just died and you come in and do this!”
The dean turned to me, seeming genuinely sympathetic, and said, “My condolences, son. But justice must be done, and I’m sure your momma would want you to pay for your mistakes. Sinners must be punished and pray for forgiveness.”
“I ain’t done nothing wrong! I never supplied nothing to no one!”
The dean headed swiftly for the door. “Well, that will be for a jury to decide on. A jury and God.”
For twelve hours, they left me sitting in a holding cell. Rome’s attorney turned up about an hour after I arrived, and I’d been sitting on my own ever since.
My throat was tight as I thought of Mamma, of Pix, of Levi clutching Pix’s hand… Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! What if I got charged? What would happen to Levi? What if Pix relapsed again? What if—
“Carillo, you’re free to leave.” A cop came to the cell door, his keys rattling in the lock, and he swung the heavy steel door open and gestured for me to come out.
Standing, I walked to the cop and said, “I don’t understand. How am I free to go? I thought I was being charged.”
The cop shrugged. “Turns out someone made a confession. Took responsibility for the whole thing. All your charges have been dropped.”
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I followed the cop out into the station, where my attorney, Rome, JD, and Reece were all waiting. All four of them jumped to their feet and ran toward me.
I looked straight to the attorney. “Who the hell confessed?”
The suit looked down at his paperwork and then met my eyes. “A Mr. Axel Carillo.”
My heart paused. Axe? He’s back? How—
Rome stepped forward and said, “Lev called him from the hospital, left a message telling him what had happened. Turns out the kid has balls, eighty-three. Started cussing down the phone about how it was all his fault and it wasn’t fair you were gonna take the rap for it.
“We left Lev with the girls and came down here to the station, waiting to see what was happening to you, when Axel walked through the main doors, brazen as all hell, and confessed to the whole thing. Said he’d been supplying the drugs on campus alone all year and was the one who gave it to Porter and the freshman. They both verified the story.” Rome slapped me on my back. “Your scholarship and record won’t be touched by this. And you can still enter the draft.”
Fuck.
“Can I see him?” I asked the attorney hoarsely.
He shook his head. “They’re not gonna let you in there. I could ask if—”
“Kid?” I heard from behind me, and Axel, in cuffs, was being led out of a room by some cops, the dean following behind, ducking his head in embarrassment as he passed me by.
“Axe!” I shouted, ignoring the dean and ran to my brother, wrapping my arms around his back. The cops had moved to the desk and were handing some paperwork to the clerk, and eventually I let my brother go.
“Hey, kid.” Axel tried to smile, but he looked fuckin’ crushed. Tired even. “So Mamma passed?” he asked in his typical hard-ass, gruff way.
“Yeah,” I replied, fighting back tears. “Fuck, Axe, it’s all gone to shit.”
He shook his head. “Nah, kid. It’s gone exactly as we knew it would.”
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion.
“This is your chance, fratello. You get out of the crew, out of Bama. Take Levi with you. Use football to start again. That kid schooled me on the phone about what a fuck-up I was and what a damn saint you and your girl are.”
My heart swelled as I thought of Levi defending me. “But what about you?” I asked.
“I was always gonna end up in here, kid, locked up. Always. This was always my lot in life, but you got a chance to get out. Start fresh… It’s what Mamma always wanted. She always knew you’d go far, superstar… so long as you didn’t get in with me and the Heighters. You get to make her dream come true. You get to make all her years of fighting for us to be better men worthwhile.”
“Gio ain’t gonna let me and Lev leave the crew, Axe, especially with you gone. We’re gonna have to move state or something, lay low.”
“Gio won’t be a problem. I made sure of it.”
A sinking feeling set in my stomach. “What’ve you done?”
Axel shrugged. “Called in a few favors.” My hard stare told him I wanted to know more. Axel sighed and moved in closer, checking he wasn’t being overheard. “Gio wouldn’t let you two out. He’d kill you if you tried. You’d both be in danger. So I took care of it.”