Page 3 of Thirst Trap (Carter Brothers)

“You’re not twenty-one,” I countered.

He shrugged. “I’m a few months away from twenty-one.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it.

“But what about school?” I continued. “You’re not even finished with your degree. What about the Marines? You can’t become an officer if you don’t finish your degree.”

He was going to school for criminal justice with a minor in criminology. Once he’d finished that, his entire life plan was to go into the military as an officer.

I mean, sure, we’d talked about him going into the police academy, but ultimately, he’d decided to finish his degree first. Do the Marine thing. Then, when everything he’d wanted to do had been done, he’d consider the police academy.

What had changed?

“I talked to my dad,” he said. “And he said that the department will pay for me to finish school when I’m ready. I set out for the police academy in Kilgore, Texas next month. It’s an eight-week course. When I’m done with it, I’ll be twenty-one, and I can join the force. From there, I’ll finish my degree, and the department will pay for it. After that, I’ll go into the Marines.”

I swallowed hard, my thoughts automatically taking a turn for the worse.

“But what changed?” I felt tears well in my eyes.

“Circumstances,” he said. “Mom and Dad hit a rough patch. They lost a lot of money in the stock market crash. There’s no more money to pay for my schooling, and I don’t want to start life in so much debt that I can’t see a way out.”

“I can help…”

He was already shaking his head furiously. “I will not take any money from you.”

What was left unsaid was my ‘dirty’ money.

Because that was what it was.

Dirty.

And every single cent that we had was dirty. There was no legitimacy to anything that we’d accomplished in our life after our parents had left.

Well, at least Costas’s contribution.

I, on the other hand, only used the money I made from working at the deli close to my house.

I had money, legitimate money, but not enough to pay for his college.

“What if?—”

“No,” he said simply. “It won’t work. Not with your brother.”

Not with my brother being so controlling.

“My brother…”

My brother was Costas Rodriguez.

Costas Rodriguez was the leader of the Breakers Gang.

He would not condone my dating a cop.

That meant our time had run out.

He’d never allow this to happen.

Costas would lose his shit, and in turn, make my life miserable.

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