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

resting against the wall farthest away from him. My eyes don’t falter, and they never drop from him.

“So, what’s your point?” He rolls his eyes, testing my patience. “You can’t keep me in here forever, so just get to the point?”

I hold the phone up, running my eyes over the messages one more time before taking a deep breath and reading his words aloud.

“One day, when you least expect it, I’ll be there. In the dark. Hiding from sight. You won’t know until it’s too late,” I read.

Marek physically cringes as he moves behind Tripp. His hands press harshly into Tripp’s shoulders, squeezing until he winces.

“Should I keep reading?” I push off the wall, lurking closer.

“I think we all deserve to hear the rest of his visceral, mangy words,” Byron says.

“Gutting you, watching the life drain from your beautiful blue eyes will be the greatest moment of my life. No one leaves me. No one chooses to walk away from me, Laney. I decide when I’m done with you.” I toss the phone at Byron. He catches it without effort and tucks it into his pocket.

“Did you honestly think this vile bullshit wouldn’t get you killed?” Marek circles Tripp’s now-still body. “May I?” He looks over his shoulder, asking me for permission he doesn’t need.

“Be my guest.” I raise a hand towards Tripp.

Marek slugs him straight across the jaw. Tripp’s face flies to the side, falling limp. Marek grabs his hair, forcing him to look him in the eyes.

“Delaney Chambers has always been one of ours. We don’t allow outsiders to threaten our girls. Especially not a mother fucker like you.” One more punch, and Tripp is spitting up blood.

“You played with fire, Tripp.” I tsk my tongue. “It’s really too bad. I would’ve been kinder, nicer to you if you hadn’t threatened my girl.”

I reach my hand out for matches, knowing my boys are prepared to carry out this plan.

“The crazy thing is that no one will miss you. When the news of your father’s business becomes public knowledge, everyone will assume you ran off,” I explain.

“Or when the truth of your involvement is spread to every newspaper,” Dixon adds. “We’ll have the proof, and if we don’t, I’ll make damn sure we find it.”

“There’s no one to scream foul play because no one actually cares if a boy like you disappears. Your mother will be too preoccupied with your dad’s court dates. Plus, we all know she didn’t want you anyway. Your being gone will be like doing her a favor.”

“You can’t do this,” Tripp cries, tears running down his face. “YOU CAN’T DO THIS!”

“The gauntlet rules are simple. Get out.” I open the box of matches, ready to finish this.

Marek stops me. “You sure about this?”

“You heard what he said to Delaney,” I answer.

Dixon and Byron head out the door, not bothering to check on my mental state. They’re stone cold, always have been. To them, what I’m doing is like taking a walk in the park.

“It’s not always pretty being the hero,” Marek says, smacking my shoulder as we leave.

Right outside the door, I strike the match and drop it, setting the floor on fire. The air shimmers as the blaze spreads across the old, dry wood. Heat radiates on my back as I run to the car. Marek drives mine, while Byron and Dixon take the others. No one looks around, our eyes set ahead. We don’t need to. We know what we’ve done. We did it together.

“How are we not going to go down for this?” I ask, watching the flames grow bigger.

“Dixon has it covered,” he says matter-of-fact.

“What does that mean?”

“William has a friend at the fire station who owes him one. All 9-1-1 calls referring to a fire at the property are being rerouted by a friend at dispatch.” Marek chuckles. “Dix said William was surprised this was the first favor we had to ask of him through all of this. I think he’s impressed with our growth.”

“If that’s what you want to call this. Growth. And what friend? He’s barely friendly with us.”

“When Dixon Decatur says don’t ask, you don’t ask.” Marek drives onto the campus road, flashing his ID at the guards. They let us pass, unaware of what we’ve done. “Don’t think too hard about it. He got what he deserved. You did what you had to do. We all do.”

“I feel comfortable saying it right now because it’s the two of us, but it’s not Tripp I’m worried about. I’m mostly worried Delaney doesn’t know what she’s gotten into,” I say.

“The thing is it takes a lot to rattle these girls. They’ve been chosen by us, and they’ve chosen us because they can handle a dance with the devil. If they couldn’t, they’d be long gone.” Marek parks inside the garage, Dixon and Byron following close behind. We get out, meeting at the trunk.

“Who knew the softy of our group had the most blood on his hands?” Byron jokes, wrapping his arm around my neck and tugging me close to him.

“Very funny, asshole. Let me go.” I push him off and run through the door into the house.

Following the laughter makes it easy to find the girls. I slink through the halls and peek through the small crack into my room. Palmer and Madison are on the bed, and Reagan is lying on the floor with one leg hung over the other. Before I have time to wonder, Delaney paces into my sight.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Reagan states, sitting up fully erect. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for Dixon, and y’all are sitting here, going with the flow, when nothing”—she circles her hands, ghosting them over the carpet—“about any of this is normal.”

“It’s normal in our world,” Madison says. Palmer looks at her with affection. “What they did to my brother, it’s fucked up, but he wouldn’t have stopped.”

“Like that, for instance. How are you okay with it? He’s your brother,” Reagan argues.

“He