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

the door and swings it open. He’s barely in view, hidden alongside our unannounced guest. He turns with wide, worried eyes, shutting the door after Officer Franklin walks inside. Breaker moves in front of me, shielding me.

I press my mouth against Breaker’s back. “Shit!”

“We don’t know why he’s here,” he whispers, grabbing my hand and squeezing my shaking fingers.

“Look who’s here,” Dixon announces. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“Cut the shit, kid.” Officer Franklin glances at Dixon, making him recoil, and then at Byron, Breaker, and me. “Do you guys have a few minutes to chat?” He gestures to the table. We follow his lead, taking the two seats across from him.

“I’ll give you guys some space.” Dixon motions a thumb over his shoulder.

“Not so fast. Take a seat.” Officer Franklin points to the lone chair at the end of the table.

“Should I leave?” Byron offers, dropping the spatula on the pan.

“Keep on with your business over there. I’m sure you’re all hungry,” Officer Franklin says.

I inspect Breaker and Dixon’s faces to see if they’re feeling the anxiety that I am. Breaker winks at me, attempting to ease my heart. It doesn’t.

Worst case scenarios run through my mind like a horror movie. Every reel ends with one or all of us in jail.

“What can we do for you, sir?” Breaker interrupts the uncomfortable silence.

Officer Franklin grabs a chair and sits. “You wouldn’t happen to have heard from Tripp DuPont, Delaney?”

“Not since our last exchange,” I admit. “With everything going down with his family and ours, I suspect he wants to stay as far away from us as possible.”

“That would make sense, except his car was found,” Officer Franklin confesses. “Right outside city limits. His mom said it wasn’t uncommon for him to abandon it, so we didn’t think anything of it at first.”

“But now you’re worried something happened to him?” I ask, needing more details. It’s the only way to know how truly fucked we are.

“His mother has filed a missing person report.” Officer Franklin leans forward, resting his forearms on the tabletop. “Now, I’m going to ask you one more time.” His eyes are full of worry. Perhaps he’s afraid of what the truth could be. That will be going to our graves with us. “Do you know where Tripp DuPont is?”

The front door opens and shuts. I’m too scared to look away from Officer Franklin to see who it is. If I break eye contact, I’m certain he’ll know we’re lying.

“Sir, no offense, but we can’t be bothered with anything to do with Tripp DuPont,” I say. It’s more than likely the wrong thing to say, but controlling the anger and hurt when hearing his name is more than a little difficult.

“If you’re worried about my brother, my guess is he’s seventy-five miles off the coast of Florida by now,” Madison says as she strolls into the kitchen. “He sails when he needs an escape. I think this situation, more than anything, warrants an escape, don’t you?”

“Your mother suspected that may be the case, but she wanted to be ahead of things, on the off chance something else has happened.”

“My brother is a narcissistic, self-centered asshole, sir. My guess is he’s out in the world somewhere, blowing his inheritance on cocaine and liquor, hoping to numb the poor excuse of a life he’s creating around him.” Madison leans against the kitchen island, Officer Franklin tracking her every move. “Your resources are better suited in finding real problems, not with an eighteen-year-old throwing a tantrum because his sinister meal ticket has been set on fire.”

Breaker coughs uncontrollably at her final word, catching everyone off guard.

She smiles at Breaker when Officer Franklin spins to check on him.

“I’m fine, sorry,” Breaker apologizes, holding up his hand.

“I know your life isn’t normal. The rules are different for you. The boundaries are blurred more than they’re not.” Officer Franklin stands and allows his stare to shift between us, landing on me last. “If you know of that boy’s whereabouts, please come forward. If he contacts you, please come forward. That’s all I’m asking of you.”

“We sure will, Officer Franklin.” Dixon jumps up to escort him to the door, and once he’s outside, Dixon watches for thirty seconds before sauntering back to us. “Holy shit.”

“That was a close one,” Breaker admits.

“How’d you know he was here?” I ask Madison. “You showed up right when we needed you to.”

“I overheard my mother talking to him,” she answers, joining us at the table. “I had a feeling this would be his next stop.”

“Off the coast of Florida?” Dixon inquires.

“If they look into it, our jet will be seen going from the local airport to the Florida airport we fly into,” Madison explains. “Flying private has its perks. Also, Dixon, you’re going to want to hack into the camera system at the Florida airport and all the venues leading to it to ensure I covered the tracks completely. They should only find Tripp on camera, or someone who appears to be him.”

“How’d you pull that off?”

“Let’s just say someone owed me a favor, and things are taken care of.” Madison shrugs.

Her nonchalant attitude is partially frightening and admirable. Madison is the type of girl who shows up when she’s needed, does what is necessary, and doesn’t want any of the credit.

“I can handle the security cameras,” Dixon says confidently. His hands rest on her shoulders, and he bends down to kiss the top of her head. “Whatever you did, you protected us, so thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” Madison fiddles with the hem of her shirt, avoiding eye contact with Byron, who’s doing his best not to look away from the stove. Something has been transpiring between them, like an untold secret, passing between their eyes whenever they dare to look for it.

“It isn’t nothing.” Byron’s voice booms into the space, drawing our attention. “So, if things are handled, and I can assume our secret is safe with you, Madison, then what are we worried about?” He’s accusing her without saying