Spend enough time living on the wrong side of the law, magic powers or not, you grow a sixth sense for when things are about to go sideways. Think of it as Darwinism for criminals. You learn when to w...
She slapped an envelope down on the table and loudly announced, Fredrika Vinter, House of Vinter, champion of good taste. If you don’t know what that is, I’ll buy you a dictionary.
Now bottle your hatred and store it in your heart’s pantry for a thirstier day.
My guys saw you on Fremont last week, Dan. You know what they saw you doing? Their mothers? I replied. Funny, he said and turned back to Juliette.
Monsters always prey on the people who’ve already been beaten down.
It’s not all sex work, of course. Any business of that size needs support and grounds staff— Gee, Mom. Melanie’s voice dripped with sarcasm. Can I get a summer job there? I’ll be the best jizz-mopper...
I will try to contact Caine, he said, but I can’t guarantee— That’s it, hanging up. See ya in hell, Alton. Wait! Wait, wait, wait! I’ll do it. I’ll call Caine right now and give the order. He fell sil...
I pretended to think, stalling for time. Something you want, something you…oh, right! It just arrived. A big pile of ‘fuck you’ with your name on it. I gave him the finger. Sullivan frowned. What? I s...
I moved low across the lawn, keeping it smooth and quiet. I didn’t expect a lot of resistance—professional grave robbing, as a career, was about a hundred years past its sell-by date—but I figured the...
I gave Caitlin a look. She shrugged. Don’t know what you want me to say, Caitlin said. I don’t understand why humans get so worked up over killing in the first place. This is pest control. You kill hi...
I ended up back at the airport before dawn, drinking black coffee from a recycled paper cup and listening to the come-play-me chimes from a bank of slot machines in the concourse. Vegas’s farewell to...
I chuckled. Yeah, okay. He relaxed, sinking back in his chair, mirroring my smile. But you know the old saying, I told him. His brow furrowed. What old saying? Two people can keep a secret, I said, if...
Hey, I said, panting, next time you find out that a major crime syndicate wants to take over Vegas, maybe let me know before I go to the city where they live? Send me a letter, maybe? Send up some smo...
From the looks on his follower’s faces, I’d done a decent enough job of creeping them out. Two of them looked nervously at the duffel, as if they’d just found out I’d brought a piñata stuffed with ant...
Cameron furrowed his brow at me, like he didn’t know what I was talking about. We put Mr. Faust through the usual test, Fleiss said pointedly, as if she was feeding a bad actor his lines. Oh, the test...
Agent Black wanted to put Lauren Carmichael in a ten-by-ten prison cell. I had a better idea: a hole out in the desert, three feet wide and six feet deep.
After a moment, she nodded to herself. Oh, you little scamp, she murmured. What is it? She lowered her glasses, just enough to show me the burning molten-copper swirls of her eyes. Her real eyes. He’s...
Adrenaline after a gunfight’s like a coked-up rock star in an expensive hotel room. It doesn’t leave until it trashes the place.
A use-name is an alias of sorts in occult circles. True names have the power to conjure and bind, but we have to call each other something or else the entire supernatural world would be reduced to hey...
You could forge your pain into a sword, Nyx said, and persecute your enemies. Triumph. Survive. But fear imprisons you. Fear of breaking rules. Fear of what people will think of you. Petty little fear...