“ If you even think about pulling another heist, I’ll be there. If you rob a bank, I’ll be in the vault waiting for you. If you so much as shoplift a candy bar, I’ll be standing right behind you in the… Craig Schaefer
“ Imagine if somebody gave you a trophy for ‘making such a great effort to be a real human being.’ You’d be pissed. That’s one way of putting it. Craig Schaefer
“ It was professional courtesy backed up by the promise of mutually assured destruction. He could take out any one of us, if he put his back into it, but he knew that would bring every magician in the c… Craig Schaefer
“ If all goes well, I’ll see you at the banquet. If I don’t show, scrub the job and get out any way you can. Why wouldn’t you show? Ben asked, nervous again. Because, I told him, that means I’m dead. Craig Schaefer
“ Good. I need to arm up. All I’ve got is a gun with four bullets, and it’s a really embarrassing gun. Craig Schaefer
“ And, uh, could I borrow somebody’s car? Mine’s impounded and I can’t reclaim it because I’m kinda legally dead right now. Craig Schaefer
“ You take a job, you do the job. Even when the job is to stand beside his throne at a gala and look vaguely menacing. You’re good at that, I said. Yes, but the specific and targeted sort of menacing is… Craig Schaefer
“ We heard the clinking of glasses and faint, conversational laughter. A human torso, crudely butchered, lay across a glass table with its innards still wet and glistening. Lauren sat beside it, dressed… Craig Schaefer
“ She arched one eyebrow, incredulous, and tilted her head. Daniel? Did you forget who I work for? In retrospect, it was a dumb question on my part. Craig Schaefer
“ Everyone, Caitlin said, cradling her wine glass, is the hero of his own story. That goes double for fanatics. Some of the greatest horrors in history were perpetrated by people who insisted, all the w… Craig Schaefer
“ Was that…was that some kind of demon? he said. I looked over at the bottle and shook my head. No. No, that was just a major-league asshole. Craig Schaefer
“ Pulling a heist is like going on vacation: you’re never ready when you think you are, there’s always one last thing to pack, and there’s always something you forgot. If you’re lucky, you remember it a… Craig Schaefer
“ My goal, on the other hand, was to convince you to meet me somewhere remote. Somewhere I could finish you off without fear of interruption. So I prepared a— I know, I said. The book’s a fake, and you… Craig Schaefer
“ How about you, Dan? What do you do for a living? Well, Ben, until recently I was a hired wand for the biggest gang boss in Las Vegas, but we had a falling-out, so mostly I just run short cons and some… Craig Schaefer
“ Just very, very bright. So bright that there isn’t a single shadow in the shot. Dell looked back toward the steel shelves. Uh, you know that’ll like, wash out everything, right? I mean that’s not real… Craig Schaefer
