Flip (The Slip Trilogy Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

guy laughs. “What’s so funny, jerkwad?” Harrison growls.
    “It’s me,” the voice says, sounding more and more familiar.
    He spins the guy around and says, “Benson?” His own face smiles back at him. He hadn’t really looked at his brother’s features, only seeing the outlandish body art, piercings and hairdo.
    “How do I look?”
    “Uh, different.”
    “That’s the point,” Benson says. “You’re up next.”
    “Look, Bense, I don’t have time for this. I’ve got to—”
    “You can’t go anywhere without a disguise,” Benson interrupts. “We’re all wanted criminals. At the very least you have to change your retinas. If I had to, so do you.”
    “Destiny’s gone,” Harrison blurts out.
    Benson stares at him. “What do you mean ‘gone’?”
    Harrison takes a deep breath. “I’m not overreacting here,” he says, which he immediately realizes is what someone who is overreacting would say. “I confirmed it with two separate guards. She left last night while we were with Mom.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    Harrison says nothing, waiting for his brother to catch up, which he always does.
    After a moment wearing a puzzled frown, comprehension dawns on his face. “This is because of…” His voice trails away, and Harrison can almost see the unspoken name echoing in his brother’s skull. Luce Luce Luce .
    “Her,” Harrison finishes, sparing his brother the torment of speaking Luce’s name out loud. “Yes, she blames herself. Before we went to sleep last night, she told me she can’t even look at you.”
    “But that’s ridiculous,” Benson says, much to Harrison’s relief. His brother may not be perfect, but he’s a good guy. Oh, the irony , he thinks grimly. The most wanted criminal in the country is one of the best of us.
    “I tried to tell her that, but she’s not thinking clearly. She tried to kill herself when we were camped in the woods, you know.” The words tumble out before he can stop them. Crap. He knows it wasn’t his secret to tell, but he needs Benson to understand the gravity of the situation.
    “But I thought—”
    “I lied,” Harrison says quickly. “The Lifers were pissed enough at her as it was. If Jarrod knew she was suicidal, he would’ve tried to use that to his advantage, turn her into a bomber or something.”
    “What do you think she’s going to do?” Benson’s brow is intensely furrowed once more, as if trying to work out a complex equation.
    “In her mind, there are only two options for her: punishment or redemption. I tried to help her find redemption when we went to save you.”
    Benson rolls his eyes. “By killing my Death Match? How’d that work out for you?”
    “I know you’re still angry about that,” Harrison says.
    “More like frustrated,” Benson says. “You should’ve listened to me.”
    “I know, I’m sorry. I thought I was helping you.”
    “Because you’re my two-minutes-older big brother?”
    “No,” Harrison says. “Because you’re family, and I haven’t had one in a while.”
    Benson looks away, absently raising a hand to his typically wavy hair. Instead he finds only the sharp, gelled edge of his Mohawk. He raises an eyebrow. “Would you have killed Boris Decker if you’d had the chance?”
    Harrison’s heart beats too fast in his chest as he considers the question. “I—” He shakes his head, but not in response to the question. In confusion. “I don’t know,” he finishes lamely. Ever since he ditched school that day with the crazy thought that he would break his mother out of the asylum, he’s been so certain of himself—of every action he’s taken. But now, he just doesn’t know.
    Benson nods in understanding. “The answers aren’t so black and white anymore.”
    For some reason that makes Harrison laugh. “Tell me about it. My straight-laced brother’s got tats and a pierced eyebrow.”
    “I’m a wanted criminal,” Benson says. “I thought I should look the part.”
    “Temporary