“
Elizabeth,
With my compliments.
You will never get your claws into another one of mine.
Rot in hell,
L
Nïx clasped her hands over her chest, sighing, “He gave you his heart. That’s so romantic. So much better than a candy heart. Those get stuck in the fangs, you know.
”
”
Kresley Cole (Lothaire (Immortals After Dark, #11))
“
Hey, you've still got your endangered hymen. Which means you'll make it to closing credits - I'm s.o.l.
”
”
Kresley Cole (Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1))
“
You missed breakfast," Jason announced as Trevor stepped into the large busy kitchen filled with Bradfords and food.
"That's fine. I'm not really hungry," he said, barely aware or caring that all activity in the busy kitchen suddenly stopped as every Bradford in the room, even one year old Cole stopped trying to climb onto the counter to get at the large platter of cookies his mother made to stare at him in disbelief.
”
”
R.L. Mathewson (Perfection (Neighbor from Hell, #2))
“
Contrary to general belief, stars don’t twinkle. There is only one star that sparkles that scientists can agree on. It twinkles so bright, sometimes people mistake it for a UFO. It’s not big, but it stands out. That’s Sirius, and it’s also you. You shine, Baby LeBlanc. So fucking bright sometimes you’re the only thing I see.” - Dean "Ruckus" Cole
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
I love you,” she whispered. “I love you so much that I hated you for a while. And now that I know that you are damaged, I love you even more. Perfect things are not relatable. Unbreakable is fascinating, but not lovable. You’re breakable, Dean Cole. I’m going to do my best to keep you whole.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
You’re breakable, Dean Cole. I’m going to do my best to keep you whole.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
I’m not leaving. No way in hell,” Cole said, eyes flashing, “am I leaving you again.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (Till Death)
“
Forever starts now, Baby Leblanc. With you.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
I called Grace right before I went into the diner. Actually, I called Sam, but Grace answered his phone.
“It’s the end,” I said. “I’m going to breakfast with my
parents.”
“I had the worst dream about you last night,” Grace mused.
“Did I go around L.A. biting people? Because that already
happened.”
“No,” she replied. “You came home.
”
”
Maggie Stiefvater (Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #4))
“
Marriage isn’t a prison,” Karlee said. “It’s not supposed to hold two people captive.”
“It’s not a prison, it’s a fortress. Marry me. Because you love me. Because of the baby. Because you want to protect our love.”
“And all this time I thought you were afraid of commitment.”
“I am,” Cole said. “I’m terrified you won’t make one.
”
”
Diane L. Kowalyshyn (Crossover (Cross your Heart and Die, #1))
“
When you refuse to pay your dues to love, sometimes the price goes up. There’s an inflation, and you end up losing more than you’d bargained.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Broken Knight (All Saints High, #2))
“
Some of us find our way with a single light to guide us; others lose themselves even when the star field is as sharp as a neon ceiling. Ethics may not be situational, but feelings are. We learn to adjust, and, over time, the stars we use to guide ourselves come to reside within rather than without.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
You only get one life, Luna. One stab at this thing called happiness. Why deprive yourself of things you want just because they weren’t given to you the way you hoped for them to come?
”
”
L.J. Shen (Broken Knight (All Saints High, #2))
“
Not to be impolite, but you guys bore me to death. Cole, go tell Vaughn to come here.”
Busy scanning the room for Luna, Knight’s neck is still cranned as he answers her.
“Damn.” He pats the pockets of his jeans, then checks the pockets of his golden Gucci jacket. “I can’t find it.”
“Can’t find what?” Esme blinks.
“The memo where I started taking orders from your sorry ass.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1))
“
Dean ‘Ruckus’ Cole was a different kind of asshole to Baron ‘Vicious’ Spencer. He fucked you over with a polite smile on his face. In that sense, he was the Joker. In his mix of confidence, cockiness, good looks, and money, there was a dash of insanity thrown in. Enough to let you know that he meant every word he said.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
He's probably crying while listening to Halsey on repeat like a little bitch."
~Knight Cole~
”
”
L.J. Shen
“
What makes you feel alive?
Dean. Dean Cole makes me feel alive.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
He switched off the car and spun.
The woman disappeared.
He flipped forward and saw the reflection. The woman stuck out her tongue.
“What the hell?” Cole said. “I want answers and I want them now.”
“Answers about what?”
“I’ve been watching you watching her, all day long,” he said. “Don’t deny it.”
“What exactly are you saying?” Karlee jerked her head forward, and her mouth fell open.
He felt like a crazy fool. “You know what I’m talking about. The... uh...thing that is sitting in the back seat of this car?
”
”
Diane L. Kowalyshyn (Crossover (Cross your Heart and Die, #1))
“
A fine layer of ash had blown into the carport, showing a single set of cat prints going from the side of the house to the cat hatch built into my door. People in Minnesota see things like this with snow.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
Now that I know that it can only ever be you, you're going to get better for me so Earth won't explode. Can you do that, Sirius?
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
Vrekeners actually exist? L, The King
”
”
Kresley Cole (Dark Skye (Immortals After Dark, #15))
“
I love L.A. It's a great, sprawling, spread-to-hell city that protects us by its sheer size. Four hundred sixty-five square miles. Eleven million beating hearts in Los Angeles County, documented and not. Eleven million. What are the odds? The girl raped beneath the Hollywood sign isn't your sister, the boy back-stroking in a red pool isn't your son, the splatter patterns on the ATM machine are sourceless urban art. We're safe that way. When it happens it's going to happen to someone else.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
I feel a brush over my arm where Penn stood just a second ago. It's Knight. And next to Knight stands Vaughn.
'Cole?' Gus twists his lips, glowering. 'What the fuck?'
Knight clasps a hand on my shoulder, hitching a shoulder up while lighting a joint.
'The fuck is, you don't fuck with my family and integrity and assume you get out of it in one piece. Or, you know, at all.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1))
“
People often die from love, and this is a secret we all keep, even from ourselves.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
He wasn't Sirius.
He was planet Earth.
He was oxygen.
He was everything.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
By a series of calculations which need not be here explained, Colonel Cole has concluded that the individual weights carried within the legions were as follows:
Total for road marching 57.21 lbs.
Total for approach march 44 lbs.
Tactical load in combat zone 33 lbs.
”
”
S.L.A. Marshall (The Soldier's Load and the Mobility of a Nation)
“
I'm turning my back on Vaughn and Knight without saying goodbye because I know they won't let me go. They'll promise to protect me and fight my battles at school, and a part of me still wants that to happen.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1))
“
Knight and Vaughn are the closest to each other, practically brothers, which is weird because they are also like fire and ice. Vaughn is a crazy artist with psychotic tendencies, and Knight is the definition of a popular jock.
One is Edward Scissorhands; the other is Zac Efron's prettier long-lost brother.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1))
“
Knight is gorgeous, and not only does he know it, but he would also advertise it on a billboard if it were possible.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1))
“
What does Miss LeBlanc have that the rest of the human population doesn't?'
'My heart, Sue,' I said. 'She has my heart.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
Reasonable men adapt to the world around them; unreasonable men make the world adapt to them. The world is changed by unreasonable men.
”
”
Edwin L. Cole
“
There isn’t so much love in the world that you can turn it away when it’s offered.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
Prichard's got too much to lose. He can't touch us.'
'Can anyone?' Penn wonders aloud, just as Trent's door opens from the other side. Dean whistles for him to get outside, swinging my baseball bat and parking it over his shoulder.
'Maybe God,' I answer curtly.
'Even that's debatable.' Dean snickers.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1))
“
I love you, Knight Cole. More than anything. Maybe even more than myself. But I don’t trust you with my heart. And when you hurt me like this, I feel little and vindictive. So vindictive, you shouldn’t trust me with yours. Whatever it is, we need to kill it before it kills us, you understand? We can’t be together.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Broken Knight (All Saints High, #2))
“
He was pungently masculine and intimidating in his looks, but that was not what made me recognize him immediately. It was what rolled off of him in dangerous quantities, the menace and ruggedness. He was a dark knight made of coarse material. Cruel in his silence and punishing in his confidence. I'd only met him once, at a barbecue at Dean Cole's house a few weeks ago, and we hadn't spoken a word to each other.
He hadn't spoken a word to anyone.
Trent Rexroth.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Scandalous (Sinners of Saint, #3))
“
He was rowed down from the north in a leather skiff manned by a crew of trolls. His fur cape was caked with candle wax, his brow stained blue by wine - though the latter was seldom noticed due to the fox mask he wore at-all times. A quill in his teeth, a solitary teardrop a-squirm in his palm, he was the young poet prince of Montreal, handsome, immaculate, searching for sturdier doors to nail his poignant verses on.
In Manhattan, grit drifted into his ink bottle. In Vienna, his spice box exploded. On the Greek island of Hydra, Orpheus came to him at dawn astride a transparent donkey and restrung his cheap guitar. From that moment on, he shamelessly and willingly exposed himself to the contagion of music. To the secretly religious curiosity of the traveler was added the openly foolhardy dignity of the troubadour. By the time he returned to America, songs were working in him like bees in an attic. Connoisseurs developed cravings for his nocturnal honey, despite the fact that hearts were occasionally stung.
Now, thirty years later, as society staggers towards the millennium - nailing and screeching at the while, like an orangutan with a steak knife in its side - Leonard Cohen, his vision, his gift, his perseverance, are finally getting their due. It may be because he speaks to this wounded zeitgeist with particular eloquence and accuracy, it may be merely cultural time-lag, another example of the slow-to-catch-on many opening their ears belatedly to what the few have been hearing all along. In any case, the sparkle curtain has shredded, the boogie-woogie gate has rocked loose from its hinges, and here sits L. Cohen at an altar in the garden, solemnly enjoying new-found popularity and expanded respect.
From the beginning, his musical peers have recognized Cohen´s ability to establish succinct analogies among life´s realities, his talent for creating intimate relationships between the interior world of longing and language and the exterior world of trains and violins. Even those performers who have neither "covered" his compositions nor been overtly influenced by them have professed to admire their artfulness: the darkly delicious melodies - aural bouquets of gardenia and thistle - that bring to mind an electrified, de-Germanized Kurt Weill; the playfully (and therefore dangerously) mournful lyrics that can peel the apple of love and the peach of lust with a knife that cuts all the way to the mystery, a layer Cole Porter just could`t expose. It is their desire to honor L. Cohen, songwriter, that has prompted a delegation of our brightest artists to climb, one by one, joss sticks smoldering, the steep and salty staircase in the Tower of Song.
”
”
Tom Robbins
“
I start to turn, but stop and lean back over the table, snatching the Snickers bar and placing it in front of her. “Just saying.” I see Humphrey cover his mouth, clearly getting my joke about the commercial. ‘You’re not yourself when you’re hungry.’ Cole reaches for my arm and nearly pulls me out of the room. Once the door is closed, he bursts out laughing.
”
”
J.L. Drake (Mended (Broken Trilogy, #3))
“
He takes my hand, threading his fingers through mine. He raises them to his mouth, kissing our joined hands. Tears stream down my face as I take in that he’s actually standing right here in front of me. My Cole, my love, my reason for living is back.
”
”
J.L. Drake (Shattered (Broken Trilogy, #2))
“
There is great audacity in the willingness to change, more than a little optimism, and a serious dose of courage. It
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
In L.A., next to riots and earthquakes, fires are our largest spectator sport.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
Era come il sole sulle palpebre e il profumo del mare in bocca quando succhi l'aria tra i denti.
”
”
Maggie Stiefvater (Sinner (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #4))
“
Because Knight refuses to win the game. Penn is trying to kill Las Juntas' chance to win so he can save me, but Knight doesn't let him because he knows he deserves it.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1))
“
The sky was full of stars against all odds. You couldn't really see shit from The Strip, but that night, you could. You could because she was there.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
There won't be a next Rosie. And there won't be another story like ours. This is it, Rose LeBlanc. And this is us. If there is no you, then there is no me.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Scandalous (Sinners of Saint, #3))
“
York spoke to her.” Keith makes a face as Cole's expression hardens.
”
”
J.L. Drake (Broken (Broken Trilogy, #1))
“
Vrekeners actually exist?
L, The King
”
”
Kresley Cole (Dark Skye (Immortals After Dark, #14))
“
Parce que je l'aimais toujours. Même si lui ne m'aimait plus
”
”
Tillie Cole (A Thousand Boy Kisses (A Thousand Boy Kisses, #1))
“
Et puis, si le mien se brise, le tien aussi. Ils battent à l'unisson
”
”
Tillie Cole (A Thousand Boy Kisses (A Thousand Boy Kisses, #1))
“
Una predilezione per l’oscurità, non per la luce.
”
”
Tillie Cole (A Thousand Boy Kisses (A Thousand Boy Kisses, #1))
“
My dream is that Cole gets punished for mouthing off the way he usually does. And his punishment is that he has to feed the chickens for the rest of his life.
Everyone has to have a dream — right?
”
”
R.L. Stine (Chicken Chicken (Goosebumps, #53))
“
Mom and Dad clap. Bailey jumps up and down. Knight gives us a thumbs-up, and Vaughns rolls his eyes but smiles. Luna, Addy, Harper, and Camilo look at us likek they've won something. Happy in our happiness.
And that's what good friends and families do.
They pick you up and pull you out of the mud of your own mistakes.
And when you're not the best version of yourself? Well, they're still there, waiting, because we're all fucking human.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1))
“
Officer Pike took off his dark glasses, and looked at her. She felt her breath catch. His eyes were the most liquid blue, the blue of the sky over the high deserts of Sonora, the blue of the ocean where it has no bottom and is infinitely clean. But it wasn’t the blue that stopped her breath. For just a moment when the glasses were first pulled away, she could have sworn that those eyes were filled with the most terrible and long-endured pain. Then the pain was gone and there was only the blue.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
I always had a soft spot for this girl, and it seemed like the more she hated me, the more I wanted to prove to her that it was always us. That if I believed in that bullshit of two people who were meant to be with each other, it was because we actually were.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Ruckus (Sinners of Saint, #2))
“
So, when Cole was two and I was four, we moved to Goshen Falls. Lucky us! The whole town is three blocks long. We have a cute little farm with a cute little farmhouse. And even though Mom and Dad are computer programmers — not farmers — we have a backyard full of chickens.
”
”
R.L. Stine (Chicken Chicken (Goosebumps, #53))
“
The Men’s Central Jail is an anonymous building behind Central Station, less than ten minutes from the Criminal Courts Building in downtown L.A. I parked in a neat, modern underground parking structure, then walked up steps to a very nice plaza. Nicely dressed people were sipping lattes and strolling about the plaza, and no one seemed to mind that the plaza adjoined a place housing felons and gangbangers and the wild men of an otherwise civil society. Perhaps because this is L.A. and the jail is so nice. There’s a fountain in the plaza, and it’s very nice, too.
”
”
Robert Crais (Sunset Express (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, #6))
“
You mean Savi is on that plane by herself?” “Let it go,” Daniel warns. “No! Someone should be with her. She’s facing The American and Lynn! Cole, you should be there, not hiding behind your desk.” Cole drops the thick folder, making John jump. “You don’t think I want to be there, Mark? You don’t think it’s turning me inside out that my girl is a state away and only an arm’s length from the people who tried to kill her? I was ordered to stay behind and do my job. I was ordered to leave for Mexico when all I want to do is be in that courtroom with her. I’m not hiding. I’m following orders since I didn’t last time.
”
”
J.L. Drake (Mended (Broken Trilogy, #3))
“
You c-can’t be looking at m-me like that, b-babe,” I rasped out, trying like fuck to rein myself in.
“Wh… why?”
“B-b-because you l-looking at me like that is t-telling me you fuckin’ wanna be in my b-bed… W-want me to show you how f-fuckin’ good you should f-feel taking my cock. W-w-want me to fuck you ’t-til you can’t walk.
”
”
Tillie Cole (It Ain't Me, Babe (Hades Hangmen, #1))
“
That Sunday, the sun floated bright and hot over the Los Angeles basin, pushing people to the beaches and the parks and into backyard pools to escape the heat. The air buzzed with the nervous palsy it gets when the wind freight-trains in from the deserts, dry as bone, and cooking the hillsides into tar-filled kindling that can snap into flames hot enough to melt an auto body.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
I-I’ll lay it on the l-line for you, b-babe. I t-trade illegal weapons for c-cash and d-drink far too m-much. I f-fuck sluts regularly and d-don’t commit to no one f-for long, maybe n-n-never will.” I made sure I had her full attention for the last part. “I-I’ve killed p-p-people. I-I’ve even l-liked it, and”—I knew I was bringing the final death blow—“I’ll d-do it again. Y-you want someone g-g-good to take c-care of you. I-it ain’t me, babe.
”
”
Tillie Cole (It Ain't Me, Babe (Hades Hangmen, #1))
“
When a p-person dies, they g-go to the underworld where they’ll b-be judged on their lives and s-s-sent to either the Elysian F-Fields, which is like h-heaven, I sup-suppose. The river of for-forgetfulness, Lethe, where a soul d-drinks to forget their l-life, enabling them to be re-reborn. Or if a soul has l-lived a b-bad life, they’d be sent to T-Tartarus, which is like what y-you think of as Hell, the worst p-place p-possible. Hades r-rules over the whole thing, m-making sure it all g-goes r-right.
”
”
Tillie Cole (It Ain't Me, Babe (Hades Hangmen, #1))
“
They’re just waiting for nightfall. Then you’re s.o.l., sister. There’s only one other chick in the entire camp. But she’s the chief redneck’s daughter, so they consider her off-limits, kind of f a Smurfette situation.” He exhaled, grinning up at the slats of the cage roof. “Smoking body on that one—but shy a few teeth. Still, I’d do Hickette with a flag over her face.”
“Excuse me?”
Matthew chuckled. “Do her for his country.”
“Matthew!” I cried, frowning at him. I’d thought of him as more . . . innocent.
”
”
Kresley Cole (Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1))
“
C'est un bocal de souvenirs, a-t-elle expliqué. Grâce à lui, tu te rappelleras les baisers qui t'ont rendue heureuse, ceux auxquels tu voudras repenser quand tu seras vieille, comme moi. Les plus beaux. Ceux qui t'ont fait sourire. Chaque fois que le garçon que tu aimes t'offre un baiser, ouvre le bocal et attrape un cœur. Ecris l'endroit où il t'a embrassée. Quand tu seras grand-mère, tu raconteras tes aventures à tes petits-enfants, comme je l'ai fait avec toi. Tu auras un bocal à trésors avec les mille plus beaux baisers de ta vie.
”
”
Tillie Cole (A Thousand Boy Kisses (A Thousand Boy Kisses, #1))
“
Cum altfel putea rezista până avea să-l vadă din nou pe Daniel? îşi încleşta din nou mâna pe medalionul de la gât, care închidea în el amintirile unei vieţi. Amintirile ei, după cum îi spusese Daniel, pe care ea trebuia să le aducă la lumină. Nu ştia despre ce era vorba, tot aşa cum nu ştia unde o ducea domnul Cole. Dar se simţise parte din ceva în capelă, în acea dimineaţă, în timp ce stătea lângă Arriane, Gabbe şi Daniel. Nu se simţise pierdută, speriată sau autosuficientă… ci i se păruse că era preţuită, nu numai de Daniel, ci de ei toţi.
”
”
Anonymous
“
Does the Great Colinski have a first name?” “Royal. Such a name, don’t you think? Royal Colinski from East L.A.” The burner vibrated in my pocket, but I was learning too much to stop. “Why
”
”
Robert Crais (The Promise (Elvis Cole, #16; Joe Pike, #5; Scott James & Maggie, #2))
“
You were right, you know—coming here was completely crazy. It was irrational. To think I’d choose to go to a town where there’s no mall, much less a day spa, and one restaurant that doesn’t have a menu? Please. No medical technology, ambulance service or local police—how is it I thought that would be easier, less stressful? I almost slid off the mountain on my way into town!” “Ah… Mel…” “We don’t even have cable, no cell phone signal most of the time. And there’s not a single person here who can admire my Cole Haan boots which, by the way, are starting to look like crap from traipsing around forests and farms. Did you know that any critical illness or injury has to be airlifted out of here? A person would be crazy to find this relaxing. Renewing.” She laughed. “The state I was in, when I was leaving L.A., I thought I absolutely had to escape all the challenges. It never occurred to me that challenge would be good for me. A completely new challenge.” “Mel…” “When I told Jack I was pregnant, after promising him I had the birth control taken care of, he should have said, ‘I’m outta here, babe.’ But you know what he said? He said, ‘I have to have you and the baby in my life, and if you can’t stay here, I’ll go anywhere.’” She sniffed a little and a tear rolled down her cheek. “When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is check to see if there are deer in the yard. Then I wonder what Preacher’s in the mood to fix for dinner. Jack’s usually already gone back to town—he likes splitting logs in the early morning—half the town wakes up to the sound of his ax striking wood. I see him five or ten times through the day and he always looks at me like we’ve been apart for a year. If I have a patient in labor, he stays up all night, just in case I need something. And when there are no patients at night, when he holds me before I fall asleep, bad TV reception is the last thing on my mind. “Am I staying here? I came here because I believed I’d lost everything that mattered, and ended up finding everything I’ve ever wanted in the world. Yeah, Joey. I’m staying. Jack’s here. Besides, I belong here now. I belong to them. They belong to me.” *
”
”
Robyn Carr (Virgin River (Virgin River, #1))
“
Josephine voleva che Rune fosse la sua àncora? Che la tenesse per mano, legata a lui? Questo perlomeno sembrava realizzabile. In cambio lei avrebbe potuto assicurarsi che il suo cuore non si incenerisse di nuovo.
Forse potremmo essere l’àncora l’uno dell’altra.
”
”
Kresley Cole (Sweet Ruin (Immortals After Dark, #15))
“
Arrogant little miscreants, L'atel thought to himself.
”
”
Dave Cole (Splashdown: First Contact?)
“
I said, “Pretty.” “Yes. She is.” “You had to be seeing her, when, before you knew me?” His eyes never left the picture. “I knew you, but I was still on the job.” I remember Joe dating back then, but the relationships seemed as they were now, none more important than any other. “I guess you were tight with this girl.” Joe nodded. “So what happened?” Pike handed back the picture. “I broke her heart.” “Oh.” Sometimes prying is a lousy idea.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
Wozniak wet his lips. “You’ve got Paulette and Evelyn to think about.” Wozniak’s wife and daughter. The cloudy eyes flicked to Pike, as bottomless and as dangerous as a thunderhead. “I’ve been thinking about them, Pike. You bet your ass.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
She said, “What did Joe want?” “The daughter of a friend of his is missing. He wants me to help check it out.” Lucy looked up at me, her face now serious. “A child?” “He didn’t say. You mind if I go?” She glanced at the couch again. “You’ll do anything to avoid this couch, won’t you?” “Yeah. I hate that damned couch.” Lucy laughed, then looked into my eyes again. “I’d mind if you didn’t go. Take a shower and go save the world.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
Pike held out Karen’s photograph. “Have you seen this woman?” “No. I am sorry.” Every word like that. Without contractions.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
We asked the people at the flower shop if they had seen anything, but they hadn’t. We asked every shopkeeper in the strip mall and most of the employees, but they all said no. I hoped they had seen something to indicate that Karen was safe, but deep down, where your blood runs cold, I knew they hadn’t.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
She stepped away and considered the couch. “First we have to get this house in order. Would you please move the couch again?” I stared at the couch. I had moved it maybe eight hundred times in the last two days. “Which wall?” She chewed at her thumb, thinking. “Over there.” “That’s where it was two moves ago.” It was a big couch. It probably weighed three thousand pounds. “Yes, but that was when the entertainment center was by the fireplace. Now that we’ve put the entertainment center by the entry, the look will be completely different.” “We?” “Yes. We.” I bent into the couch and dragged it to the opposite wall. Four thousand pounds. I was squaring the couch when the phone rang. Lucy spoke for a minute, then held out the phone. “Joe.” Joe Pike and I are partners in the detective agency that bears my name. He could have his name on it if he wanted, but he doesn’t. He’s like that. I took the phone. “Hernias R Us.” Lucy rolled her eyes and turned away, already contemplating new sofa arrangements.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
Here’s the scene: The three of us are by the Olympic-sized pool. The Latina with the thick waist is hovering in the shade of the veranda up by the house, her eyes on Frank in case he might want something, but so far he doesn’t and he hasn’t offered anything to me. If he did, I would ask for sunblock because standing here next to his pool is like standing on the sun side of Mercury. Gotta be ninety-six and climbing. Behind us is a pool house larger than my home, and through the sliding glass doors I can see a pool table, wet bar, and paintings of vaqueros in the Mexican highlands. It is air-conditioned in there, but apparently Frank would rather sit out here in the nuclear heat. Statues of lions dot the landscape, as motionless as Joe Pike, who has not moved once in the three minutes that I have been there. Pike is wearing a gray sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off, faded Levi’s, and flat black pilot’s glasses, which is the way he dresses every day of his life. His dark brown hair is cut short, and bright red arrows were tattooed on the outside of his deltoids long before tattoos were au courant. Watching Joe stand there, he reminds me of the world’s largest two-legged pit bull.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
The woman with the thick waist showed us out through the cool of Frank Garcia’s home. Joe’s red Jeep Cherokee was parked beneath an elm tree at the curb. My car was parked behind it. Pike and I walked down the drive without speaking until we came to the street, and then Joe said, “Thanks for coming.” “I guess there are worse ways to spend a Sunday. I could be wrestling that damned couch.” Pike canted the glasses my way. “We finish this, I’ll move the couch for you.” Friends.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
painapple FW 167.15 & 246.29 n. 1. An apple that causes suffering or pain.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
anthrapologize FW 151.7 v. Express regret or apologize for the science of man or anthropology. So many mistakes, unintentional and sometimes not, have been made in the study of human origins and development, especially racial, along with customs and beliefs, that some apologies are needed.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
I glanced at the address. “He lives in Palm Springs?” “Somewhere in L.A., I think. His family has the house in Palm Springs, or it might belong to a friend, but I don’t really know. Krista hasn’t told me much about him.” Old story. The less Krista told her, the less she could criticize. I put the address aside. “Okay.
”
”
Robert Crais (Taken (Elvis Cole, #15; Joe Pike, #4))
“
In 2004, two economists at UCLA, Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian, conducted a major study that concluded that the New Deal had in fact prolonged the recession by seven years.
”
”
Daniel Hannan (The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America)
“
Politeness is so important,” Vanessa said, holding us up to her face. “Especially for young people. That’s what I care about more than anything else in the world. Good manners.”
She narrowed her eyes at us. “That day in front of the grocery,” she scolded, “you didn’t apologize for crashing into me. So I had no choice. I had to punish you.” She studied us, tsk-tisking.
So that’s why Anthony wasn’t turned into a chicken, too! I realized. Before he ran away, Anthony had called out to Vanessa that he was sorry.
If only Cole and I had apologized then! We wouldn’t be peeping little chicks today.
”
”
R.L. Stine (Chicken Chicken (Goosebumps, #53))
“
—Realmente eres tú —declaró él. Mi mundo se detuvo por segunda vez. Su voz. Oh Dios mío, su voz se había profundizado y era más áspera, más rasposa, pero era su voz. —No lo creí —Cole avanzó hacia adelante y cada músculo de mi cuerpo se congeló—.Una parte de mí ni siquiera quería creer en caso de que él estuviera equivocado, pero no lo estaba. Eres tú.
”
”
Jennifer L. Armentrout (Till Death)
“
know.” She took a breath, and suddenly I liked her smile a great deal. “Maybe you are.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
Is Dolan there?” “What’s it to you?” “I want to talk to her.” “Haven’t seen her. You wanna know what I heard Krantz say?” “I’m not going to like this, am I?” “Krantz says you were probably in on it with that bastard, Pike. He says if he can tie you into it, maybe you and Pike can do the IV tango together.” Williams
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
people over the years,
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
the lobby pay phone, and called her. She answered on the second ring.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
shoulder cast climbed
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
there was nothing.” “Did you look for oil drips?” Cole said it just like that, without accusation, and Chen felt himself darken. “What do you mean?” “The Lake Hollywood report mentions oil drips that you found at the scene. You took samples up there and identified the oil.” “Penzoil 10-40.” “If the shooter’s car was leaking up at the lake, it probably left drops here, too. If we found them, maybe you could prove they’d come from the same vehicle.
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
I didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t sound self
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))
“
applegate FW 69.21 n. Eve and Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden after eating the forbidden (See forebitten.) fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, popularly thought of as an apple. This is one of those instances in which Joyce came up with a term that was later to become widely used in popular culture. Instances include Watergate, Contragate, and Monicagate, though in Monicagate the term “gate” assumes an alluded meaning that would require an “R” rating. (“everything was got up for the purpose he put an applegate on the place by no means as some pretext a bedstead”) It’s been said that the real problem in Eden was not with the apple on the tree but with the pair on the ground.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
apuckalips FW 455.1 n. The revelation of a cataclysmic upheaval or Apocalypse when you can pucker up your lips and kiss your ass goodbye. (“nor homemade hurricanes in our Cohortyard, no cupahurling nor apuckalips nor no puncheon jodelling nor no nothing”) Punch and Judy appear here.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
cropse FW 55.8 n. In A Guide Through “Finnegans Wake,” Edmund Epstein writes that “’corpse’ combines with ‘crops’ to make a wholly new and richly evocative contra-dictory word, ‘cropse,’ combining the idea of death with resurrection.” This is the grand theme of the Wake, falling and rising, decline and renewal, death and rebirth. (“on the bunk of our breadwinning lies the cropse of our seedfather”) Epstein adds that “’seedfather’ does not create a wholly new word, for both elements of ‘seedfather’ are already existent words, with a double meaning contained in ‘seed’; only the combination is novel.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
Brandy forwarded a freshly penned limerick just emailed to him by the distinguished Wakean John Gordon: He left her the secondbest bed Before lying down with the dead; ‘Twas Will’s way to trumpet His Anne was a strumpet And to rue that the two of them wed. It seemed a spooky coincidence coming so suddenly after my writing about what is certainly an obscure subject, but then I remembered G. K. Chesterton wrote that “Coincidences are spiritual puns,” and somehow it made a strange sort of sense, somewhat like Finnegans Wake.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
Oscar Wilde revealed his discovery that “alcohol, when taken in sufficient quantities, produces all the effects of intoxication.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
crosskisses FW 111.17 n. xxx’s at the end of a letter to signify touches with the lips as a sign of love or kisses. (“must now close it with fondest to the twoinns with four crosskisses for holy paul holey corner holipoli whollyisland pee ess from”) These “crosskisses” come at the end of one of a number of versions of the famous letter from Boston that the hen pecks out of the kitchen midden and even appear much later in Finnegans Wake with “X.X.X.X.” (See anomorous.) cruelfiction FW 192.19 n. 1. Fiction that delights in causing pain and suffering to to the extent that readers feel they have been put to death by being fastened to a cross, becoming victims of the cruel torture of crucifixion. Most critics have labeled Finnegans Wake as a prime example of “cruelfiction.” Readers will have their own candidates for this label, usually novels they were assigned to read for a book report in high school. 2. Fiction that’s subject is cruelty, such as almost any novel by the Marquis de Sade or short stories and novels that deal honestly with the treatment of Native Americans by the government of the United States. (“O, you were excruciated, in honour bound to the cross of your own cruelfiction!”)
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
horrhorrd FW 378.7 v. Listened to or heard in great fear or horror. (“oversense he horrhorrd his name in thuthunder”) Joyce had a great horror of thunder and avoided cities that were known to have many thunderstorms.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
Vico believed that it was God’s voice heard through thunder that brought the third or human age to an end and frightened humanity back into caves where the cycle of ages began anew. There are ten thunder words in Finnegans Wake, nine with 100 letters and the tenth with 101 letters. The first thunder word begins “bababa…” in imitation of thunder with the idea that stuttering signals God’s guilt for messing up the creation business in so horrid a manner. (See thuthunder.)
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
McHugh gives as references here “annyma roner” as “Ahriman,” the “Zoroastrian principle of evil” and the song “Little Annie Rooney,” and “moother of mine” as the song “Mother of Mine.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
hystry FW 535.18 n. A record of the past or history presented with unrestrained emotion or hysteria.
”
”
Bill Cole Cliett (A "Finnegans Wake" Lextionary: Let James Joyce Jazz Up Your Voca(l)bulary)
“
Cole learned to shrug his shoulders each time and walk away with a smile on his face when inside, he crumbled a little more.
”
”
K.L. Slater (The Girlfriend)
“
The man stared at him for a time, and then said something that John Chen would recall from time to time for the rest of his life, and wonder what the man had meant, and why he had said it. “Never turn your back on love, John.” The
”
”
Robert Crais (L.A. Requiem (Elvis Cole, #8))