Page 14 of A Hurt So Good

“I know, but it’s not going to be cheap, so I picked up some extra hours. You guys can go,” Denz says with a smirk. Asshole.

“You could, too. I don’t know why we have to suffer through this shit,” I smart off. I don’t like going to his family dinners. None of them ever stick around that long, anyway. It makes no sense for us to pretend to be a family when that’s the farthest thing from the truth.

“Can you guys go by and check on Sasha before you go?”

“Yeah. We have to pick up our new sister, too,” I say with fake enthusiasm. Denz snorts a laugh.

“I’m sure she’ll be great.”

“Like the last one?” War asks.

“What was wrong with her?” I ask.

“Aside from being some sort of witch? Don’t you remember when we caught her out by the pool house summoning demons?” he laughs, and the two of us join in.

“I do remember that. Dad kicked their asses out pretty quick after that shit.”

“No shit. He didn’t want that shit around the house.”

“Maybe this one won’t be so bad,” Denz adds. I shrug, not giving a shit either way. They won’t be around long, and that’s all I can bank on for now.

“Fuck it. Let’s go,” I say, slapping War in the chest with the back of my hand. He nods, and we walk over and climb in my SUV.

“Wait, where is she going to sit?” War asks as he turns his head and looks at the custom speaker boxes taking the place of a back seat. They aren’t high; in fact, they sit as low as the seat would if it was still in here.

“On there,” I nod toward the box. War grins and shakes his head before we pull off and head for our dad’s house.

The ride doesn’t take long at all. I kill the engine, and we both climb out, laughing and joking around as we walk inside.

“Hey, Ezra,” I say when I see one of dad’s maids. She beams with happiness when she sees us. She comes over quickly, pulling us both in for a hug.

“It’s been too long since I’ve seen you boys. You need to come around more often,” she scolds, grinning up at the both of us.

“We will. Do you know if our new sister is ready?” She slaps at me and nods her head before calling for her. War and I movefurther into the house, standing near the staircase, talking shit. Then War nudges me and nods toward the stairs. I turn and see the girl coming down.

She’s wearing a red silk dress that hugs her body, and what a fucking body. War and I both turn around and take her in. She doesn’t look up, watching what she’s doing as she walks down the steps until she makes it to the bottom.

“Can either of you zip this, or can you only stare?” she asks, looking between the two of us. Honestly, I’m a little shocked when War moves first. He moves to stand behind her, sliding the zipper up on her dress. She turns and smiles at him.

“Thank you.”

“Trust me, it was my pleasure,” he grins at her.

“I’m sure it was.”

“So you’re Arya?” I ask, watching as she turns to look at me, her long blonde hair tumbling over her shoulder from the movement.

“That’s me. And you are?”

“Your new brother.”

“I gathered that. What’s your name?”

“I’m Harlon. That’s Warren,” I nod toward my brother.

“Nice to meet you both, I suppose.”

“What the hell does that mean?” War snaps at her. She turns to face him and smiles.

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