“A cat’s body can sustain a lot of damage without actually dying,” Lucas said, his voice as deep as the rumble of the earth itself. “You just think about that before you so much as scratch yourself without permission.” Ryan gulped and nodded, still mute.”

“You are still young, free.. Do yourself a favor. Before it's too late, without thinking too much about it first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late.”

“You can still be someone new without giving up everything you cared about before.”

“Interested in some ‘undercover’ work?And to think, I was actually having a tender thought about you. Do yourself a favor, Steele…Become mute.”

“My cell rings. I answer it without looking at the caller ID."Hannah, I'm sorry." My voice is a moan."It's Ryan, actually.''"Oh. Hey, Ryan." I grin."What'd you do to Hannah?"I try to be evasive. "What are you talking about?""Uh-huh. Good try. What did you do?""She'll thank me for it one day.""Oh man! It was that bad?""Will you relax? It is not bad.""Is? Present tense? It's still going on?""Calm down, Ryan!""I have known you too long, Laurie Holbrook, to relax.”

“I think it’s really important to sustain your dreams. Because a person without a dream will lose his or her will to live. Even if it’s just a small dream, it means a lot to that person.”