Quotes by Kelley Armstrong

Simon whispered to me, “But is everything okay?”“No,” Tori said. “I kidnapped her and forced her to escape with me. I’ve been using her as a human shield against those guys with guns, and I was just about to strangle her and leave her body here to throw them off my trail. But then you showed up and foiled my evil plans. Lucky for you, though. You get to rescue poor little Chloe again and win her undying gratitude.”“Undying gratitude?” Simon looked at me. “Cool. Does that come with eternal servitude? If so, I like my eggs sunnyside up.”I smiled. “I’ll remember that.”***“Oh, right. You must be starving.” Simon reached into his pockets. “I can offer one bruised apple and one brown banana. Convenience stores aren’t the place to buy fruit, as I keep telling someone.”“Better than these. For you, anyway, Simon.” Derek passed a bar to Tori.“Because you aren’t supposed to have those, are you?” I said. “Which reminds me…” I took out the insulin. “Derek said it’s your backup.”“So my dark secret is out.”“I didn’t know it was a secret.”“Not really. Just not something I advertise.”...“Backup?” Tori said. “You mean he didn’t need that?”“Apparently not,” I murmured.Simon looked from her to me, confused, then understanding. “You guys thought…”“That if you didn’t get your medicine in the next twenty-four hours, you’d be dead?” I said. “Not exactly, but close. You know, the old ‘upping the ante with a fatal disease that needs medication’ twist. Apparently, it still works.”“Kind of a letdown, then, huh?”“No kidding. Here we were, expecting to find you minutes from death. Look at you, not even gasping.”“All right, then. Emergency medical situation, take two.”He leaped to his feet, staggered, keeled over, then lifted his head weakly.“Chloe? Is that you?” He coughed. “Do you have my insulin?”I placed it in his outstretched hand.“You saved my life,” he said. “How can I ever repay you?”“Undying servitude sounds good. I like my eggs scrambled.”He held up a piece of fruit. “Would you settle for a bruised apple?”I laughed.

Whatever it is, I said, the point is moot because as long as Im on these pills, I cant make contact to ask.Derek ... snapped, Then you need to stop taking the pills.Love to. If I could. But after what happened last night, theyre giving me urine tests now.Ugh. Thats harsh. Simon went quiet, then snapped his fingers.Hey, Ive got an idea. Its kinda gross, but what if you take the pills, crush them and mix them with your, you know, urine.Derek stared at him.What?You did pass chem last year, didnt you?Simon flipped him the finger. Okay, genius, whats your idea?Ill think about it. ...***Here, Derek whispered, pressing an empty Mason jar into my hand. Hed pulled me aside after class and we were now standing at the base of the boys staircase. Take this up to your room and hide it.Its a ... jar.He grunted, exasperated that I was so dense I failed to see the critical importance of hiding an empty Mason jar in my room.Its for your urine.My what?He rolled his eyes, a growl-like sound sliding through his teeth ashe leaned down, closer to my ear. Urine. Pee. Whatever. For the testing.I lifted the jar to eye level. I think theyll give me somethingsmaller....You took your meds today, right? he whispered.I nodded.Then use this jar to save it.Save . . . ?Your urine. If you give them some of todays tomorrow, itll seem like youre still taking your meds.You want me to . . . dole it out? Into specimen jars?Got a better idea?Um, no, but ... I lifted the jar and stared into it.Oh, for Gods sake. Save your piss. Dont save your piss. Its all the same to me.Simon peeked around the corner, brows lifted. I was going to ask what you guys were doing, but hearing that, I think Ill pass.

He said cool like I say a Spanish word when Im not sure of the pronunciation.

With no chance to take off, I had to play my role, searching for the rendezvous spot, which gave me the excuse to look for an escape opportunity. Maybe a hole in the wall too small for Tori’s mom to follow me through or a precarious stack of boxes I could topple onto her head or an abandoned hammer I could brain her with. I’d never “brained” anyone in my life, but with Tori’s mom, I was willing to try.

He stood and inhaled, then walked a few more feet, stooped, and prodded a chunk of rabbit fur.“I’m definitely thinking something with more body parts,” I said. “Like a head.”He gave a snort of a laugh. “It’s probably around here somewhere, but I suppose you want the parts attached, too.

You guys are weird, Tori said.Simon sat on the crate beside me. Thats right. We are totally weird and completely uncool. Your popularity is plummeting just by being near us.

Im going to need to save you.Excuse me? No one needs-Im saving you, so shut up and be grateful.

Dont talk to the crazy kids. I longed to shout back that we werent crazy. Id mistaken her kid for a ghost, thats all.

A stereotype becomes a stereotype when a significant percentage of the population appears to conform to it.

He liked women with little butts and big tits? Someone had played with one too many barbie dolls as a kid.

Could you please put this--could you all put these--could you get dressed, please?The woman only bestowed a serene smile on me. We are as the Goddess requires.The Goddess requires you to be naked on my lawn?

I got to eavesdrop at a window. As Clay said, I did have another option. I could wait in the car and let them fill me in later. So, eavesdropping it was.

The rottweiler stood his ground and waited for me to take the next step in the dance of ritualized intimidation. Instead, I leaped at him. Screw ritual. Now was not the time to stand on ceremony.

When you accept a leadership role, you take on extra responsibility for your actions toward others.

When you accept a leadership role, you take on extra responsibility for your actions toward others. If you shun someone, the effect will trickle down through those who value your opinion.

Take note, Anderson. Size and martial ability do not need to come with a correlating decrease in intelligence.

Thats what we all want, isnt it? Power without price.

Some women just aren’t cut out to be mothers, and unfortunately it had taken Susanna three kids to realize she was one of them.

Of the Phoenix kids, the one Derek got along best with was Daniel. In him, Daniel had found a good sparring partner. And a plotting partner, too. Derek wasn’t just the biggest and strongest in our group. He was also the smartest. Scary, off-the-charts smart. That intimidated Daniel a little at first—he’s bright, but he needs to work for his grades. But Derek wasn’t a show-off or a know-it-all, so they got past that and we would hang out together, the two guys, Chloe, and I planning and plotting our future, bouncing ideas off one another.

Stray cats are like two-timing men. He got tired of you and took off. He doesnt find anyone new? Hell come slinking back. By then, if youre smart, youll have decided youre better without him.