“Just remember, sometimes people will put you ahead of themselves. It does happen. (Leta)Yeah, the whole world is just rainbows and puppies. Boy Scouts really do help old ladies cross the street without mugging them and no one ever ignores a trauma victim’s screams. (Aiden)”

“Just in my experience, all people do is take. None of them give a damn about helping someone else. (Aiden)And sometimes people can surprise you. (Leta)Yeah. You’re right. I’m constantly amazed by the unprovoked treachery they’re capable of. (Aiden)”

“How are you in the profession of protecting people without knowing who I am? I’ve been told I have one of the most recognizable faces in the world. (Aiden)Wow…just out of curiosity, when you go to bed at night, do you find yourself ousted off the mattress by that ego? (Leta)”

“What about when they’re hibernating? (Leta)The coyotes get them. (Aiden)Well, then, I guess you need to go ahead and shoot me and get it over with. The coyotes are probably starving in this weather. (Leta)”

“Why did you leave? (Aiden)I took care of the person harassing him. Threat gone. Job eliminated. Anything else you want to know? Dental records, fingerprints? Retinal scan? (Leta)Urine sample would work. (Aiden)What cup you want me to use? (Leta)Does anything faze you? (Aiden)I fight people for a living. Do you honestly think peeing in a cup is going to frighten me? (Leta)”

“I’m a professional bodyguard. (Leta)Yeah, right. (Aiden)Nope. All true. I know seventy-two ways to kill a man and sixty-nine of them look like an accident. (Leta)”

“It’s as if your kind needs adversity in order to achieve. (Leta)No, we don’t. That’s just a lie people tell themselves to feel better about all the people who kick them in their teeth when it’s just as easy to help a man up as it is to knock him to the ground. That’s why I’ve withdrawn from this world. I don’t want to have to watch my back all the time and I’m tired of trying to figure out if the loyalty someone professes is real and true, or just another lie that will crumble the instant they taste jealousy. (Aiden)”