“Life is short. I can’t blame her for just wanting to be an active member in her brother’s life. She and I have that in common,” Aspen says quietly, taking the wind out of my sails.
What she doesn’t say is that’s how she ended up being held captive, and if she had never tried to surprise her brother, we would have never met.
“The club is family. We protect our own,” Yak murmurs, reminding me he’s still with us.
He’s not wrong. Shit, these guys have given me a sense of family I didn’t know I was missing. It would be fucked if I denied my sister the same experience, wouldn’t it?
“You’re right,” I say out loud to no one in particular.
I lean down and kiss the top of Aspen’s head before looking back at my sister.
“I’m sorry for reacting the way I did.”
She shrugs and offers me a soft smile. “I mean, I wasn’t expecting you to be excited. Honestly, I expected you to put up more of a fight. Maybe even throw me over your shoulder as you drag me out of here kicking and screaming.”
“I would never do that.”
“Bullshit,” the three people who know me the best say in unison.
The three of them look at each other and start laughing.
“Great, is this what I have to look forward to? The three of you ganging up on me and causing trouble?” I groan.
“I would never,” my sister says.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aspen adds.
“I’m a fucking saint,” Yak quips.
I shoot him a dirty look. “And I’m the pope.”
Aspen begins to giggle. “God, could you imagine him in those robes the pope wears?”
My sister and Yak begin to laugh like the thought is fucking hilarious.
“Okay, enough. Otherwise, I’m going to have to keep the three of you apart,” I warn them.
“Does this mean I’m free to come and go as I please?” my sister asks with laughter in her voice.
“Yeah, sis, you can. But if I ever tell you that you can’t, I need you to listen and trust me that it’s for the best. Understood?”
“Got it.” She nods.
A beautiful smile covers her face, making her look so much like our mom, it hurts.
“All right, sis, let’s go get a drink. I need you to tell me everything about our boy here. I want all the nitty-gritty details of his childhood. Who was his first girlfriend? Which Ninja Turtle was his favorite? I want to know everything,” Yak says as he throws his arm over my sister’s shoulders, pulling her away.
“I really should keep those two away from each other,” I murmur.
“Please, he’s harmless,” Aspen tells me.
He is. It’s just weird seeing my two worlds collide. It will take some getting used to, but it’s not a bad thing.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
ASPEN
