“No matterhow big my attempts to hide from my true nature, it still existed. I was a machine,and a powerful one.”

“The only person I could trustwas Mom.Mom . Who I’d never see again unless Iaced these tests. And all I had to do wasbe a good little an droid. Strong . Focused.Emotion free.”

“The room was a small square of hopelessness.A flash of red. And then:Dimensions: 10 ft. by 9 ft.I swallowed a horrific giggle. Perfect. And now I knew the exact measurements of hopelessness.”

“There’s nothing wrong withbeing an android”

“Some days I still miss fumigating. I did get three beautiful children from the process. Fumigation can be wonderful.” She settled back into her wheelchair.Livia jumped around to kneel in front of her. “Oh, please don’t say anything to anyone. It’s my sister in there with him. I bet he feels so guilty about it.”Bea gave a delighted cackle. “I’m sure guilty isn’t exactly the right description of Mr. Cole right now.” Her eyes softened. “Sweet Livia, young people can only learn with time, but maybe you can get a leg up. There’s no shame in true love. And if Mr. Cole thinks he has some big secret, he’s wrong. At my age, you can spot a man in love from a mile away. My friends and I probably knew before he did.”

“Blake, Cole, and I have been family for each other, because the ones we started with were for crap. Why they let me in, I still don’t know. But because they did, I believed I was worth more than I would have otherwise.” He nodded and gathered his thoughts for a moment.“Blake’s company made me want to hug trees and hear music. Cole’s company made me want to try harder to be a better person. I never imagined that anyone could love either of these men enough for me to let them go.”“But I didn’t know about the McHugh girls. Their love is fiercer than guns. More powerful than fistfuls of money. I can walk away because of them. Officer McHugh? I want to thank you again for letting me see this through. I know my peace of mind is far from your concern, but I appreciate it anyway.”Beckett held his glass up high. “To my brothers. They’ve finally gotten the lives they deserve.”

“Livia, I can’t get started if we can’t finish. I can’t trust myself to stop.”Livia smiled at his concern and grabbed her jacket, digging in the pocket. “Kyle had one, and I grabbed it.” Livia held the condom up victoriously.“Only one? I better make it count.” Blake still had the mask on, so he left it to his fingers to adore her. “I’m going to paint my passion on your skin.”