Kelley Armstrong

“No life is easy. It's just a different kind of hard.”

“Love and hate. Same passion. Same impulse”

“I can't stop wanting to help, and by 'help,' I really mean guide, and by 'guide,' I really mean protect. That has nothing to do with you and whether you can take care of yourself. It's about me and what I want, which is to make life easier for you, because I know it isn't easy and it's only getting harder, and I'm scrambling madly to smooth those rough edges before you get hurt.”

“Maybe I'm being selfish, but I choose you." He leaned over, lips brushing mine as he whispered, "I always choose you.”

“If I was crazy, would I know it? That's what being crazy was, wasn't it? You thought you were fine. Everyone else knew better.”

“There are just as many bitches out there as bastards. Equal opportunity asshole-ism.”

“After the woman left, I set my coffee down and opened the bag. Two muffins-double-chocolate andblueberry bran.I texted Adam a thank-you. I’d just started eating the chocolate muffin when he texted backPut that onedown and eat the bran. It’s better foryou.”

“Singling out “women’s fiction” for genre derision never fails to piss me off. Somehow worse when women do it. Case in pt: Editor says crowd-sourcing editorial for romance & erotica not bad idea b/c “no great artistry at stake” Yes, genre fiction not high art. But it’s a craft we take seriously, writing for love of storytelling, not writing whatever sells.”

“Common courtesy dictates that we never drain the lifeblood of anyone to whom we've been formally introduced.”

“I've got a dad thanks. Your just the jerk who knocked up my mum and left her to figure out what to do with a son who likes setting things on fire." - Adam Vasic”

“Got something!" one of the men yelled."Is it Mike?" another called, rushing from our sides.As everyone converged on the scene, Nick's voice rang out, choked with barely containedlaughter. "Forget it. It's—uh—nothing important.""What the hell do you mean?" the first man said. "Maybe this is all a joke to you, son, but. . ."The rest of the sentence trailed off as we burst into the clearing to find one of the searchersbending over a ripped shirt. Torn clothing littered the ground, more hung from bushes. Nick heldup half a pair of white panties and grinned at me."Wild dogs? Or just Clayton?""Oh God," I muttered under my breath.I walked over to snatch the underwear from him, but he held it over his head, grinning like aschoolboy."I seeParis , I seeFrance , I see Elena's underpants," he chanted."Everyone's already seen much more than that," Jeremy said. "I think we can safely resume thesearch."Peter plucked Clay's shirt from a low-hanging branch and held it up, peering through a hole inthe middle. "You guys can really do some damage. Where's the hidden video when you need it?""So this—uh—wasn't done by wild dogs?" one of the searchers said.Peter grinned and tossed the shirt to the ground. "Nope. Just wild hormones.”

“After a moment, he shook his head. “Quickly and mercifully is best. Clay? Go out and ask her into the alley.”Clay looked at Jeremy as if he’d just been told to dance the rumba on a public thoroughfare.I bit back a laugh. “Just walk over to her and point at the alley. Maybe say…I don’t know…something like ‘fifty bucks.’ ” I looked at Jeremy. “Does that sound right? Fifty?”His brows shot up. “Why are you asking me?”“I wasn’t—I just meant, as a general…” I threw up my hands. “How am I supposed to know how much a hooker costs?”“Your guess is as good as mine.”I sighed. “Fine, fifty bucks sounds good. It’s not like she knows what the going rate is anyway. Just saythat and nod at the alley. She’ll follow.”Clay continued to stare at us in silent horror.“Oh, for God’s sake, you’re ready to break her neck but you can’t—”“I’ll do it,” Jeremy said, then shot a look my way. “Not that I have any more experience soliciting prostitutes than Clay does.”“Never crossed my mind.”A mock glare, then he headed out.”

“My past was a private obstacle, not a public excuse.”

“How long could we do this before you started bitching?" Simon said as we turned down another street of apartment buildings."What?""We've been walking for two days now, and you haven't complained once. It's damned annoying, you know."I looked at him."If you don't complain, then I can't complain. Not without sounding like a whiny little snot.”

“Hello, Aaron," Brigid said, sliding up to him and running a finger down his chest. "You'relooking good .. . as always."Aaron lifted her finger off his shirt and let it drop. "Put some clothing on, Brigid."She smiled up at him. "Why? Tempted?""Yeah, to cover my eyes.”

“I won't make excuses for what I did. The truth is that your whole life can change with one split-second decision, and it doesn't matter if you told yourself you'd never do it or if you stepped into the moment with no intention of doing it. All it takes is for that one second of absolute panic when the solution shines right there in front of you, and you grab it... only to have it turn into ash in your hand. There is no excuse for what I did.”

“At the time, it seemed to me that Jeremy was spending a lot of time with a piece of plastic pressed against his ear, talking to himself. Which was fine by me. We all have our eccentricities. Jeremy liked talking to plastic; I liked hunting and eating the rats that ventured into the motel room. Or, at least I did like hunting and eating the rats, until Jeremy caught me and promptly kiboshed that hobby. Some of us are less tolerant of eccentricities than others.”

“Is he bothering you?" "Nah just some old pervert waiting for the sex show."The ghost lips curled "If I was alive I'd teach you some manners First I'd-""I'm sure there are losts of thing you'd do to me if you were alive, but seeing as though your're not, I guess you're stuck watching..." (makes a jerk-off gesture)”

“What gave it away? When she loaded me bound and gagged into the back of her truck? Or when she actually said. "I'm ready to kill you and throw your body inn the swamp?"Hey for a while there, it looked like you were going to talk your way out of it. I didn't want to interfere.”

“...in some ways I relied on that- someone to keep me thinking, keep me striving to do better, keep me from burying my head and praying it all worked out.”

“Oh my God. You're a witch-hunter. I'm a witch. Hate to break it to you Daniel, but if you're a witch-hunter? You're doing it wrong." He gave me a sidelong smile. "Maybe it's not that kind of hunting." "Then you're definitely doing it wrong.”

“Isn't it possible that I'm not feigning interest? That I really do want to know more about you?""You've never been interested in me before.""You've never been interesting before."-Cassandra and Paige”

“While his three eldest sons spent their adult lives toiling to improve the family fortunes, who had Benicio named as his heir? The illegitimate youngest son who had devoted his adult life to destroying the family business, or at least buggering it up real good. Does this make sense to anyone besides Benicio? Of course not. Either the man is a mastermind of family manipulation or just plain fucked in the head. I don't use that word much, but in some cases, nothing else fits. -Paige”

“Hunting humans for sport? Eating them?" the bitterness in his voice cut through me. "Yeah, I caught that part.""That doesn't have anything to do with you?He lifted his eyes, gaze shuttered. "No?""Not unless being a werewolf transforms you into a wolf AND a redneck moron.”

“The rottweiler stood his ground and waited for me to take the next step in the dance of ritualized intimidation. Instead, I leaped at him. Screw ritual. Now was not the time to stand on ceremony.”

“You guys are weird," Tori said.Simon sat on the crate beside me. "That's right. We are totally weird and completely uncool. Your popularity is plummeting just by being near us.”

“Backup?" Tori said. "You mean he didn't need that?""Apparently not," I murmured.Simon looked from her to me, confused, then understanding. "You guys thought...""That if you didn't get your medicine in the next twenty-four hours, you'd be dead?" I said. "Not exactly, but close. You know, the old 'upping the ante with a fatal disease that needs medication' twist. Apparently, it still works.""Kind of a letdown, then, huh?""No kidding. Here we were, expecting to find you minutes from death. Look at you, not even gasping.""All right, then. Emergency medical situation, take two."He leaped to his feet, staggered, keeled over, then lifted his head weakly."Chloe? Is that you?" He coughed. "Do you have my insulin?"I placed it in his outstretched hand."You saved my life," he said. "How can I ever repay you?""Undying servitude sounds good. I like my eggs scrambled."He held up a piece of fruit. "Would you settle for a bruised apple?”

“Oh, my God! It's a killer Pomeranian." I glanced up at Derek. "It's a tough call, but I think you can take him.”

“F--- off. It's not like that. Her and me. I'm just saying--""That you hadn't left her for good. I never said you had. You just wanted to withdraw long enough to get used to the idea that you'd lost your chance. Lick your wounds, suck it in, and bounce back to being her friend and mentor, and be happy with just that.""I am happy with just that. It's all I want.""Is it? Or is that what you're telling yourself because you think you never had a shot in the first place? You'd better wake up fast, Jack, or she's going to settle for Quinn, and let me tell you, it's settling, because it's not Quinn she--”

“That's my point, you dumb f-ing Mick. You're not just letting him poach on your turf--you're opening the gate and inviting him in...Why don't you just hand him a bouquet of roses and a box of f-ing condoms while you're at it, Jacko?""It's not like that," Jack said."No? Nadia is yours, and it's about time you had the balls to do something about it.”

“I love that woman. The only thing I want is for her to be happy. I'll do whatever it takes to see that happen. Do you get that?”

“The Fates teleported me to the ascended angels staff lounge. It wasn't called that, naturally. We weren't staff. This wasn't a job. It was a calling. An honor. A noble mission. Bullshit.”

“Still sitting, he reached out and pulled me toward him. We stayed there, looking at each other, his hand still wrapped in my shirt hem, my heart hammering so hard I was sure he could hear it.when I inched closer, not wanting to intrude, he tugged me in front of him and I stumbled, half falling onto his lap. I tried to scramble up, cheeks burning, but he pulled me down onto his knee, one army going around my waist, tentative, as if to say Is this okay? It was, even if my blood pounded in my ears so hard I couldn't think.”

“He put his fingers under my chin. "I absolutely think you're worth it.""But you don't think you are."His mouth opened. Shut."That's what this is about, Derek. You won't let us worry about you because you don't think you're worth it. But I do. I absolutely do."I lifted onto my toes, put my hands around his neck, and pulled him down. When our lips met, that first jolt...It was everything I hadn't felt with Simon, everything I'd wanted to feel.His hands went around my waist, pulling me closer-Simon's footsteps thudded through the hall. We jumped apart."And he says I have lousy timing," Derek grumbled.”

“All I could think about was him, and how much I wanted this, and how incredibly lucky I was to get it, and how tight I was going to hold onto it.”

“This is what I wanted. This guy. This life. This me. I was never getting my old life back, and I didn't care. I was happy. I was safe. I was right where I wanted to be.”

“I opted for the rear door, both as a courtesy and so she couldn't freak out about me showing up on her front doorstep for all of East Falls to see. Being the village pariah does make social calls most trying. -Paige”

“I could shave my head and wear a sackcloth and still get a whole lot of ghostly wrong numbers. Makes me wonder if there’s some kind of ghost-necro porn industry down there. ~Jaime Vegas”

“Nuh-uh. No deals with the devil. I’ve learned my lesson on that one. ~Jaime Vegas”

“And the bad guys love to pick on the defenseless necromancer. This time, though, I swear I won’t get kidnapped or possessed. ~Jaime Vegas”

“I spend four years chasing the guy of my dreams, finally get him, and now I have to compete with a gorgeous, twenty-year-old supernatural sex fiend. ~Jaime Vegas”

“Nothing screws up a séance like the appearance of a real ghost. ~Jaime Vegas”

“I saw my true power. The darkest power. The greatest power. ~Jaime Vegas”

“Let’s just say that being able to contact ghosts makes for some very interesting ménages á trios… and ménages á quartre, and ménages á … whatever five is in French. ~Jaime Vegas”

“I can just imagine what the humidity has done to my hair. I'm going to meet your family looking like a poodle with a live wire shoved up its butt." - Paige Winterbourne”

“I'd seen more cops in the last few days than on a weekend LAW and ORDER marathon" - Paigne Winterbourne”

“Nonsense, Chloe. I certainly hope you aren't afraid of cemeteries" "Um, no" Tori said. "It's the bodies buried in them that worry her. Uh, you know, dead bodies? Potential zombies?""Don't be silly. You can't accidentally raise the dead.""Chloe can.""I've heard Chloe is quite powerful, but I'm sure she doesn't need to worry about raising the dead yet.""She already has. I was there""I-it's true." I said. "I raised subjects of Dr. Lyle's experiment, buried in the basement.. Then I raised dead bats in a warehouse, and a homeless guy in a place we tried to spend the night." "Bats?" Tori said, nose wrinkling."You were asleep. I didn't want to wake you up""And for that I thank you."~~Margaret, Chloe and Tori”

“And unless I'm remembering it wrong, mermaids don't sing and sirens don't swim.""Ariel sang in 'The Little Mermaid'," Corey said.Sam came over to join us. "Do I even want to know why you remember her name?”

“Uh-uh" Clay drawled above me, "Elena's played with you long enough, Its my turn”

“He’s sorry, Chloe. He really is a sweet guy. Don’t be a bitch about this. And don’t screw it up. Just go over there. Give him a chance and, in no time, you’ll forget everything else.And that’s exactly why I stayed in my chair. I didn’t want to forget everything else, or the next thing I knew, he’d be back on that roof, putting his life in danger.“You don’t get to do this,” I said finally.“Do what?” He asked the question innocently enough, but his gaze dipped slightly. “I”m sorry. That’s what I’m trying to say, Chloe. That I’m sorry.”“For what?”He looked up, confused. “Making you mad.”I didn’t answer, just got up to leave. I made it as far as the door. Then he was there, behind me, hand on my elbow. I didn’t look back at him. I didn’t dare. But I stopped and I listened.“When I got mad about you leaving,” he said, “it wasn’t because I thought it was stupid or I didn’t think you’d be careful.”“You were just worried about me.”An exhale, relieved that I understood. “Yeah.”I turned. “Because you think I’m worth it.”He put his fingers under my chin. “I absolutely think you’re worth it.”“But you don’t think you are.”His mouth opened. Shut.“That’s what this is about, Derek. You won’t let us worry about you because you don’t think you’re worth it. But I do. I absolutely do.”