“Rage filled me at her words - cold, black, unending rage. Whatever happened to me, Mab would not hurt my sister again. She would not.”

“Donovan Caine wanted me, but he wasn’t strong enough to accept me. Not my past, not my strength, not the woman I was. Bitter disappointment filled me, replacing my rage, but I forced myself to ask the final question I wanted an answer to...”

“My heart lifted, and a matching grin curved my lips. He wanted to see me again. Maybe he really did like me after all. I felt like doing a happy dance, but of course, I was way too cool for that. I'd at least wait until I got back to my hotel room, alone, where no one would see.”

“Can't believe she bloody dropped me again. . .," I heard him mutter.P 308”

“Did she just call me a bleeding toothpick? Kill her! Kill her now!”

“You picked that out?” Caine asked. “That pink, plastic toy?”I turned to look at him. “I happen to have been a little girl, once upon a time, detective. I know what they like. Every little girl wants to be a princess.”A thoughtful frown overcame the angry tension on Caine’s rugged face. “And what happens when they grow up?”I thought of my mother and sisters and all the horrors that had happened the day they’d died. A bitter laugh escaped from my tight lips. “Then they just want to be little girls again.”

“Jasmine smirke at the weapon in my hand. "That little toothpick won't save you, Gypsy.""Touthpick?" Vic muttered in an indignant voice. “Did she just call me a bleeding toothpick? Kill her! Kill her now!”