“Do you think you're walking out on me, on your life, because you defended yourself against a monster?""I killed my father.""You killed a fucking monster. You were a child. Are you going to stand there, look me in the face, and tell me that child was to blame?"She opened her mouth, closed it. "It's not a matter of how I see it, Roarke. The law--""The law should have protected you!" With visions dancing evilly in his head, he snapped. He could all but hear the tight wire of control break. "Goddamn the law. What good did it do either one of us when we needed it most? You want to chuck your badge because the law's too fucking weak to care for it's innocents, for it's children, be my guest. Throw your career away. But you're not getting rid of me.”

“Eve (to Roarke): "Whatever happened to me back in Dallas, I came out of it. I'm standing here because of it. Maybe I have everything that matters to me, including you, because of it. If that's true, I'd go through it all again. I'd go through every minute of the hell to have you, to have my badge, to have this life.”

“I'm sorry. It's Hard for me. I do love you," she said quietly. "Sometimes it scares me because you're the first. And the only"He held her there until he was sure he could speak, then eased her back, looked into her eyes "You've chaged my life. Become my life." He touched his lips to hers, let the kiss deepen slowly, silkily. "I need you”

“There was never anybody before you," she said. "I just wanted to say that. And when I did what I do, and it opened a crack in me like it did last night, there was nobody there to hold on to me. I didn't want anyone to hold on to me. Until you. And I got through and I got by, and it was okay. But I think, maybe, if I'd just kept getting through and getting by, I'd have come to a point where I couldn't do it anymore. And if I couldn't do it anymore, it'd be the end of me, Roarke. So when you hold on to me, You're helping me stand up, one more time. And the dead, you're standing for them, too. I just wanted to say that." She went out quickly, and left him staring at her.”

“You tell Roarke you were tagging me for this? Or is he going to get riled up so I have to kick his ass again?""Oh, is that what you were doing when you had to be carried out of the room unconscious?""I like to remember it that I was just getting my second wind.”

“Eve: "She had big plans for me. Kind of a pet, I imagine. Like William. Her little trained dog. And with you dead, she figured I'd inherit all your goodies. You're not going to do that to me are you?"Roarke: "What, die?"Eve: "Leave me all this stuff."Roarke: "Only you would be annoyed by that.”

“Damn it all to hell and back again, you know very well that was a setup. You bloody well know I couldn't put my hands on her.""Yeah, yeah, sure, sure." Eve shrugged off her coat, tossed it aside. "I know a setup when I see it, and I know your face, ace. I didn't see desire on it, I saw annoyance.""Is that so? Is that bloody well so? Well, if you knew it was just what it was, why did you sucker punch me?""Mostly?" She turned, cocked a hip. "Because you're a man."Eyes narrowed on her face, he tried to stanch the blood with the back of his hand. "And do you have any sort of idea just how often I might expect your fist in my goddamn face because of my bleeding DNA?”