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Oh, and Lassiter

In a hockey mask and football pads

"Well, this is a sweet send-off," Rhage said as he went to clap hands with his Brothers

"We’re not sending you off" Lassiter pounded his pads "We’re your entourage"

Mary blinked "I’ with you"

"Not that the ’rents can’t handle it," Lassiter volunteered fro on ood practice That pencil-necked nightets too pokey and I’"

Vishous put both hands up to his face and rubbed hard Like in his el’s direction, but he knew he couldn’t draw blood in front of the girl--and the self-control required was killing him

"You can stay home," V muttered "You really can totally f-in’ stay the f ho f-twit"

Lassiter clasped his breastplate, and swooned like Julie Andrews "Don’t you love it when he can’t swear? War a drunk on roller skates try to play dodgeball in the dark--"

Zsadist, who rarely spoke, cut thealone So we’re cos you need your fae cleared his throat like his ehly, "Thank you so much I really … we really appreciate this"

Z stepped forward to Bit, and if you went by appearances alone, any parent would want the Brother as far away from their child as possible: with his tattooed slave bands and his scarred face and his enormous warrior’s body with all those weapons on it, he lookeda word, he put out his hand

And withoutsurvivor’s palain, when you had been forced to endure the cruelty of another for years, there was always going to be a separator between you and the world, no s happened to you since

That coh Mary would have wished for solad--especially on a night like tonight--that Bitty had Zsadist in her life

As the pair of the and the gates to the race opened, the asse outside with his black Mercedes

The great thing about family, Mary mused, was that they showed up

When it really mattered, your family, be they blood or by choice, were alhere you needed theh they had busy lives and jobs and children of their own