“Be real. I'm going up against three of the world's most vicious ubervillains. I have a very, very slim chance of survival. I have a better chance of winning the lottery, and I don't even play.”

“Can you play the piano like Beethoven? Or sing like Carly Simon? Can you take fie pages' worth of quotes and turn them into a usable story ten minutes before deadline? I don't think so, unless you have more hidden talents I don't know about. We all have our special sills. They don't make us better or worse than each other. Just different”

“Better be careful talking about how good my cooking is. Roslyn might get jealous.”The vampire madam let out a soft laugh. “Oh, I’ll freely admit that your cooking is much better than mine, Gin. But I have certain skills you don’t, especially in the bedroom. I think that Xavier far prefers those, even over a plate of the Pork Pit’s best barbecue.”Roslyn gave Xavier a sly look, and the giant’s grin widened.“Well played, Roslyn,” I murmured. “Well played.”

“Quite a crowd tonight, Gin. Usually, it's just you and Finn."I shrugged. "What can I say? I seem to attract minions wherever I go these days. Kind of like the Pied Piper."Behind me, Finn huffed out his displeasure. "Minion? I am most certainly not a mere minion. Head minion, perhaps. At the very least.”

“The panther prowled around me in a loose, wide circle. Its mouth turned down, almost in a pout, and it seemed disappointed that I wasn't going to run away. Or scream, at the very least. Its tail, which was at least three feet long, twitched back and forth in what seemed to be annoyance. Or maybe anticipation. I didn't know. I'd always been more of a dog person.I cleared my throat, and the panther stopped and flicked up one of its rounded ears. Listening."Um, nice kitty?”

“I know, I know. But I can always kill him later. This way, at least we get to humiliate him first.”Finn eyed me. “Sometimes I think you’re even more devious, twisted, and vicious than I am.”I grinned. “You only wish you could be as ruthless as me.”“Absolutely.”

“One by one, the others all nodded their heads again, as if we were talking about having a spring picnic instead of going up against the deadliest woman in Ashland and all of her men.”