Glass Heart Hero: A Dark High School Romance by Lindsey Iler (free ebook reader for iphone .TXT) 📕

in him? He’s perfect, but not in a good way. Too buttoned up, he already fits the part of a fifty-year-old man who abandons his wife on the weekends to golf with the boys, looking for a way to feel alive.

“She has no idea,” Marek says in my ear. He’s right over my shoulder, his feverish grin spreading across his face, far too happy to see his best friend come undone. “He was always there with us, but something always controlled his actions and decision making. You just unleashed him, gave him permission to do what he’s built for.”

“And what’s that?” I ask, his words setting my nerves on high alert.

Breaker has his arms crossed over his chest, watching Tripp like he’s his prey. The way he tracks him with nothing but his eyes is haunting.

“See that gleam in his eyes?” Dixon asks, settling in next to me. I nod, swallowing the lump forming in my throat.

“He’s going to rip his heart out just to watch him bleed out.” Marek nudges between Dixon and me to join Breaker.

“Take a seat, girls,” Breaker instructs.

Reagan scurries over to us, and we sit on the bench. Somehow, it feels like we are preparing to watch a movie. The only thing missing is popcorn and sodas. Palmer places her hand over Reagan’s shaky one.

“I don’t know if I’m cut out for this,” Reagan confides, her legs joining the earthquake motion of her hands.

It’s so easy to forget that Reagan has been in the middle of our chaos as an outsider. She’s endured things that are unthinkable and been the punching bag far too often.

“Don’t worry, Rea. Neither were we,” Palmer says to help calm Reagan’s nerves, but I think it does the exact opposite.

“Listen, if you want out, you’re allowed to be out, but if you’re here, you’re in this,” I bark, surprising myself. It wasn’t too long ago that I couldn’t cope with the reality of what it meant to be with someone like Breaker. How quick the fall was to defender and active participant in this world.

“Delaney’s right, Reagan.” Breaker looks at her expectantly. “If you’re here witnessing this, then you’re one of us. Make your choice now before I do something you can’t unsee.”

“Damn,” Palmer says under her breath. “Breaker like this is a whole different kind of animal.” She fans her face.

“Would you hold it against me if I said I’m completely turned on?” As if Breaker knows it, he shoves his sleeves up, exposing the tattoo on his arm that says trouble finds me. Damn, if he’s not right.

“Hello!” Palmer gestures to Marek. “Do you know who I sleep next to every night?” As if Marek knows she’s talking about him, he winks. “My point.”

“I’m in,” Reagan says through her broken voice. At her answer, Dixon lets a smile slip but catches it before it gets too big to prove he cares.

“What do you want from me? What’s it going to take to get my sister out of that psycho’s hands?” Tripp asks.

“Funny you should ask.” Breaker circles him slowly. “You see, there’s a couple of options, and these options are going to prove what kind of man you are.”

“This is your idea of a gauntlet?” Tripp’s insult doesn’t hit like he hopes.

Breaker cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, “Go ahead, Byron!”

At Breaker’s command, Byron slaps the knife against his leg, closing the blade. Once it’s tucked in his pocket, he grabs Madison’s arm and tosses her over the edge of the stadium. A yelp escapes my mouth, even though I know the game.

Tripp tries to race to his little sister, but with a hand on his chest, Breaker blocks him. Panic and fear stain Tripp’s face.

“You’re going to kill her.”

“You think killing someone bothers me?” Breaker says. “But, Tripp, I’m not the one who’s going to kill her. That’s you.”

“Excuse me? Not a chance in hell. Her blood will be on your hands.”

“You know, the crazy thing is, if it were my sisters up there”—Breaker points at Byron straining to hold onto Madison—“I would have already killed me to get to them, but here you stand, so I suspect you’re curious about what I have to say.”

“Bring her down from there!” Tripp yells.

“You’re in no position to be demanding things, so how about you listen for a little bit?” Breaker looks at Byron. “How’s she holding on up there?” he yells.

“She’s got a tight grip for such a little bitch!” Byron shouts.

I get the game. I see what they’re doing. They’re catching Tripp up, using his own weaknesses against him. Madison is collateral damage in this whole scheme.

“So, here’s the choice, Tripp. The gauntlet”—Breaker taunts, wiggling his fingers in the air—“You can save your sister, but if you do, then what we have on this USB will be exposed. I’ll go to every major publication with stacks of proof of what you’re up to.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tripp argues, but it’s fruitless.

“We know you’re being groomed to be a bigger, badder version of Henry Lexington. My guess is Henry got greedy and went off on his own. Our fathers graduated from Glass Heart Academy, practically royalty on this campus, only a couple classes between each of them. What a perfect way to pass down the ranks. You’re the last of them, though.”

Tripp’s mouth opens, and Breaker covers it with a finger, hushing him.

“What I couldn’t quite put my finger on is why the need for Delaney to be on your arm for this. Our families could come up with a deal without involving her. Do you care to explain?”

“Fuck you!” Tripp spits in Breaker’s face.

With the back of his hand, he wipes away Tripp’s vile move.

“Not smart.” One punch to the face, and Tripp’s lip is split. “Since you don’t want to play my game, how about I guess why Delaney was so important to the plan?” Breaker paces around him. “Obviously, she’s pretty, so the arm candy could be it. No,