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Dirt and moisture seep intoriers curl into fists I’ manhandled by Chanticos Let theht I won’t carry this i is an annoyance, the dirt, the scent of jasarden; even the sound of their water featureout their eyes with chopsticks

Adriana Chantico arrives on the sa ladiator sandals His bare ass peek-a-boos with each of her footfalls It’s my brother, but I’m more surprised by how the five-foot-five-inch woman carries my six-foot tith no effort at all

She deposits Anwar beside h internally lit

Anwar scra me, dives to throw his arms around my neck "This is how a house dies Yes, Lu?" he says with enough bravado towith you"

"Well, hell," he says, exaether We e of my vision draws my attention away froo, the three Chanticos step down from the paved patio behind their house as a unit Galen sits down and rests an elbow over his knee Adriana throws out her arms in a stretch and perches on the side of a lawn chair Santiago glares

A gasp escapes ed and they’re putting on a grand show in vintage fashions from every era Authentic fashions My eye can’t be fooled The looks are worthy of ovation, but they aren’t the reason I can’t close my mouth Beyond the clothes, the Chanticos’ aspects have transformed Their rapacious features are slea oxblood eyes

"I thought about giving a speech," Santiago says, "but I can show you better than I could tell you"

A fourth figure, an impossible one, exits the house and takes a seat beside Galen

Anhispers to ht, Lu? Otherwise, I think you should I cannot be looking at a young Oscar Chantico right now"

"But you are looking at hirandpapa and Oscar Chantico took up the faainst one another are taught as a course at Pratt When Oscar retired to Mauritius, and never returned, grandpapa mourned hirandfather is Yet I know Oscar Chantico is not, and the word gorgeous will need to be expanded to define him

I’m not dense I don’t need another example to tell me what the Chanticos are, but she walks out onto the second floor balcony Her light is seductive and I close er The ense beneath--wouldn’t have been worn in the 20s The face, however, and the sapphire are eternally hers My brother slu aze on alling

"Look at her," she says "This Nolances at the balcony and down to ination than that"

A delicate shrug in response "It’s not like e are hasn’t been featured in o says to her For od, one of treasures, pleasure and pain--"

"Vengeance and sacrifice" CeCi laughs Damn me, I love the sound, and I wonder what kind ofo covers his face His grimace seems self-directed but after a moment his shoulders square As he approaches he is clearly resolute

"I cannot do this without you," he says