“It was a good thing Ridge was mighty fond of Tug or he’d probably have killed him by now.As it was, it had been touch and go for a little while that morning. But killing your lover on Christmas morning was so…so…heterosexual.”

“His knee was killing him, was not going to support him for much longer, but of far greater importance seemed the erection shoving against the constriction of his jeans. Biological imperative.”

“Adrien, people get killed all the time. Since when is it your job to find out what happened to them?""I'm not usually suspected of murdering them.""You have been as long as I've known you.”

“I’m not going to let go of you. I’m going to hold you all night. So go ahead and feel whatever you feel. If you’re still craving cocaine, go ahead. You’re safe. You can crave it all you want, but I won’t let go, and if you still feel like you can’t trust yourself in the morning, and it’s what you want, I’ll drive you to rehab myself. Okay?" ~ Max”

“I dug out the powder blue cashmere cardigan my mother Lisa gave me the Christmas before last, pulled on my oldest, softest Levi’s. Comfort clothes; the next best thing to a hug from a warm, living body. Lately there had been a shortage of hugs in my life. Lately there had been a shortage of warm, living bodies.”

“Max's scarred brow crinkled. He reached for the coffee mug on his desk. “Motive is tricky. See, what might be a good reason for me to kill someone might not be a good enough reason for you to kill someone."Swift stared at his hands loosely clasped around his ankle. “I wouldn't. Deliberately hurt anyone.""And my impulse is to hurt anyone who hurts you.” When Swift's gaze lifted to his, Max said, “See how that works?"He did, and while it wasn't intended as a compliment, it did warm his heart in a funny way. He managed to joke, “Why, I think that's the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me.”

“Peter is ... adjusting. He's back in school, and he's doing quite well. I wish you could find it in your heart to forgive him." "I've got this funny resentful streak about people who try to kill me.”