Blood Trouble Quotes

“I wonder if time might move differently for her or for the Three," Cleo mused.

"If it moves differently for the Three, then it moves differently for my sister," I said softly.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“Caffeine. Lots of it. And still I looked as if I'd been dragged across most of Texas and then dumped (unhappily) in a pile of prickly pear. It's funny how Texas comes out in you when you're in Texas. Poor Opal was curious but determined not to ask what had happened after I'd gone to my room the night before.

"What are we looking for?" I asked. I'd probably asked that already, but forgot that I'd asked. That's what kind of day it was.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“Jayson was lucky I was so tired and out of sorts, because I wanted to fold space, punch him in the mouth and fold back to Austin.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“I told the waiter you're vegetarian, and the chef is working up a special menu to bring out." Kathleen smiled as if she'd pulled off the coup of the century.

"That's so nice of you," I said. Nobody had ever gone to this much trouble for me. I deliberately didn't look at Jayson, in case he was grumpy over the whole thing. I wanted to sigh, too, since Kathleen wanted to woo me more than her son ever would.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“Breanne, I've only met one other person who might do the kinds of things you do," he muttered. "And you do it without being vampire." I blinked at him for a few seconds before letting that go. Let him think I wasn't vampire. It was so much easier that way, and didn't put me in danger with the vamps he had in his department.

"I'm surprised you remember Lissa. She's my sister," I said. Bill stopped in his tracks again.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“Breanne, I'm asking you nicely to please reconsider. Mom and Dad are coming to the game. They have a suite reserved and Mom is expecting you." Jayson almost sounded as if he were begging. I wasn't buying it.

"Take Belinda or one of those other women," I huffed. "I don't do much in the leather department. I'm a vegetarian, remember?"

"Mom loves that about you."

"I'm sure she does. Her son, however, finds me grossly inadequate and walks away whenever he gets a chance. As much as I like your mother, I don't feel good about stringing her along. I'm just a front for you—admit it."

"Bree, I'll invite Hank to come, too. I promise one of us will be with you."

"Sure. That sounds so comfortable," I said. "Your mother will wonder what the hell is going on when Hank pays more attention than you do. Frankly, I don't want anything from either of you."

Jayson was still trying to convince me to go to the basketball game the following evening, and he'd shown up at my front door to do it. I'd been grumpy ever since I'd come back after saving Teeg San Gerxon's ass. Sure, it would put the Campiaan Alliance in chaos, but for a blink, or maybe half a blink—I'd considered saving Stellan and his brothers and leaving Teeg behind to be flayed and swallowed by a sandstorm that had destroyed most of Thelik.

"What can I possible do to convince you to come? Donate to Mercy Crossings or some other charity? What?" He'd arrived at my front door as if he'd been invited. I made him stand at the door instead of inviting him in.

"Give Trina a raise. That car she's driving really needs to be retired."

"What?" Jayson almost shouted.

"Okay, the price just went up. Buy her a new car." Did I realize he'd take the bait? No.

"All right. I agree, that piece of crap needs to go to the salvage yard. I'll buy her a new car."

"A good one. She doesn't want a TinyCar, I know that much."

"You think I'd let anybody out of the driveway in one of those things? I saw yours and almost gagged."

"But since I'm nobody important to you, I can drive whatever the hell I want," I pointed out. "Besides, I got my car from a vending machine. Put in a dollar and it dropped out. It was too bad, too—I wanted a soda."

The corners of Jayson's mouth threatened to turn up. Schooling his face, he said, "I never pegged you for an extortionist," instead.

"I never pegged you for an asshole, either, but disappointment abounds. Sell that Mercedes you have and buy four decent cars with the proceeds. See? Everybody's happy."

"That's a Mercedes McLaren," Jayson howled.

"Then buy eight decent cars."

"If you weren't so smart and my mother didn't like you so much," Jayson threatened.

"You'd what? Have one of those bigger, taller, better-endowed women beat me up? Jayson Rome, feel free to bring anybody you want against me. They won't last ten seconds."

"You'll come to the game? I still plan to invite Hank. I usually sit courtside, but since Dad's coming and bringing Mom," Jayson didn't finish.

"Just don't make an ass out of yourself this time." I shut the door in his face before he could sputter a reply.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“When I got back from the nearest pharmacy after buying the biggest bottle of ibuprofen they had, the delivery truck was blocking my driveway. What wasn't already taken up by Jayson's Mercedes, that is. At that point, I was so out of sorts and my head hurt so badly that I was tempted to throw everybody out of my house. As a vampire, I was strong enough—and pissed enough—to accomplish it without much effort.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I snapped at Jayson Rome, who sat at my kitchen island, drinking coffee and eating oatmeal cookies with Hank and Trina as if he belonged there. He didn't answer, so I went to the cupboard next to the sink, grabbed a glass, filled it with water and washed down four ibuprofen, hoping that would be enough to stop the pounding in my head.

"How did you get out of the bar last night without us seeing you?" Jayson demanded.

"You think I'll tell you anything?" I said. "Get out of my house. I paid for it. It doesn't belong to you anymore. Go get some of those women you're so fond of. Do you pay Hank a finder's fee for pointing them in your direction?"

"You really did fuck up, didn't you?" Trina eyed Jayson distastefully as she crunched into another oatmeal cookie. "Is it your job to ruin all my friendships?"

"Mattress and foundation are on the bed," one of two delivery guys shoved a clipboard in my direction for a signature.

"It looks good—I checked," Trina said.

"Fine." I signed and handed the clipboard back. "If you all will excuse me, I'm going to put sheets on my bed and then do a faceplant. Please be gone when I wake up." I walked down the hall toward my bedroom.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“Li'Neruh Rath stood upon Evensun, watching the skies overhead. He'd sent Kifirin away—he wanted no company now. Things would fall or be saved, and he had no idea which way they might go. Fate was set on the thinnest edge, and he held his breath as everything slowed.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“She's in trouble. I know it." I thought my heart would beat its way out of my chest, I was so frightened.

"Baby, we have to wait this out." Drew held me, while Drake stroked hair away from my face.

"But what will we do?" I wailed.

"Hush. We have to wait," Drake soothed.

* * *


"Love, stop fretting. It can't be good for the baby. Your time is close."

"Edward, what will we do?" My tears dripped on Edward's shirt as I wrapped arms around his neck.

"I don't know. Surely it can't end like this. It can't."

* * *


Even if I hadn't felt the edge of the knife everything balanced upon, Trajan's howling would have warned me. His wolf knew his mate was in danger, and there wasn't anything he might do about it. I wanted to weep. For him. For Breanne, who'd never stood a chance, and for all those whose lives could be changed in less than a blink.

My eyes remained dry as I gazed across miles of trees. Should Breanne fall, SouthStar might become an island in a very dark storm.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“Graegar told me that any power expended to Change What Was could alert the enemy to my presence, so I held that in reserve and tried a different tactic. I didn't know I could do it until I was forced to do it, either. I placed Kathleen Rome in a short, temporary stasis too many times to count so the surgeon and his staff could save her life. I had to do it remotely, too, as my physical body sat in a cold waiting room, seemingly anticipating an update on Kathleen's condition. The poor girl who got burned was dying, too. Should I save her if I could? It was her fault she'd been injured, but then people make dumb mistakes all the time.

I learned that I could juggle several balls at once. Between Kathleen's stasis treatment, I bent power similar to that of a Larentii toward a burned girl in another hospital, repairing charred and damaged tissue. I did what I considered the important things first, lessening the injury and giving her a fighting chance before going back to Kathleen and what she needed to survive.

Yes, I'd expended power to save four million people. I was still weary and in need of rest from that. Graegar had said it would take weeks to recuperate; I'd taken only a few days. By the time I knew the burned girl would live and Kathleen would survive and have no lasting damage to her heart, I was worn out. The sun dipped below the horizon when I rose to lean against the window frame and stare out at the Pacific in the distance.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“Gavin was still angry that I hadn't remained in contact with him, and he was angry with himself (although he wouldn't admit it) because he'd fallen victim to a mind cloud and didn't realize it. He still wouldn't discuss Breanne with me. It shamed him, and he knew he'd damaged any relationship I might have with my half-sister.

Kiarra had placed Gavin on probation, so any wrong move on his part in the next three years would see him kicked out of the Spawn Hunters. I hadn't taken Gavin's side in this, and he understood from that just how pissed I was over his behavior.

Gavril, too, had mistreated his aunt, and he skirted the topic, just as his father did. It made me sigh—I hadn't even gotten to talk with her before she disappeared. When I'd asked Erland to arrange a meeting with my father in Rylend's private study, I'd informed Griffin then that he'd fathered a second daughter. That meeting hadn't gone well and he'd disappeared.

Later, he'd asked Erland to arrange a second meeting on Karathia. He wanted to ask questions about Breanne, but I had very little information to offer. She'd gotten away from Le-Ath Veronis as quickly as she could, and I couldn't blame her in the slightest.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“We have another aunt," Kyler rubbed her forehead. "Why couldn't we see it?"

"I get the idea that not many can," Cleo sighed. Kyler had come to visit Grey House when Cleo sent mindspeech. "I healed her headache and still didn't know I was putting my hands on a relative."

"Lissa's really upset, according to Flavio. She barely talks to Gavin, and threw Norian out of the palace. Flavio says she used power and sent all of Norian's stuff to Ildevar's palace on Wyyld."

"What would you do? He almost let an attempted murderer go."

"He would have, but Ildevar told him to put Hawer in jail."

"At least Ildevar remembers the law. Norian doesn't seem to.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble

“Mom?" I jerked around to see Gavril standing at the door to my study, as if I'd called him.

"Gav?" I sighed when I looked at his face. Something was wrong. Would he tell me what that was? Probably not. He and Gavin wore the same look on most days—as if they'd done something horrible and weren't ready to own up to it yet.

"Dad and I have talked. Several times."

"I know." I did. My son just hadn't bothered to talk to me. Until now.

"I didn't know, Mom. How was I to know she was related? Nobody knew that, except you."

"If you'd been a little nicer, she could have told you herself," I snapped.

"She knew?"

"The whole time. She saw it in your face. Saw it in my face, whenever she looked at a photograph. Nothing like getting mistreated by family, huh?" I lowered my eyes and pretended to scroll through figures on the comp-vid. "You had that asshole hit her in the face and break bones."

"That'll follow me until the end of time," Gavril muttered, ducking his head.

"Probably just like the fact that your father sired a vampire, and then did absolutely nothing in the sire department. He didn't teach her a single thing, starved her and worked her—with your help—day and night. I've been advised, you see." I still didn't look up from the comp-vid.

"Your assistants hired that dickhead Rathik Erwin, who stole from her and got her attacked by the other dickhead, Skel Hawer," Gavril attempted to deflect my wrath onto new targets.

"I've already had that discussion—with my assistants and with Norian," I snapped. "You, on the other hand, see fit to speak with your father several times, while I, having been gone for months, see you three weeks after I return—temporary death notwithstanding."

"Yeah. That's just, well, Mom, I'm sorry."

"If your aunt hadn't been here and decided, even after you and your father did your best to kill her, to save my ass anyway, where would we be right now? Answer that, will you?"

"Mom, you know I don't have any excuse. Sometimes I wish you'd just punch me and get it over with."

"Gavril Tybus Montegue, that's pure stupidity, so stop it now. You don't know what it's like to get punched in the face by someone who's supposed to be your parent. I do. Take your lumps. You fucked up. Admit it." I threw the comp-vid in my hand at the wall so hard it shattered. "Grant will just have to use the crown's funds to buy another one," I growled. "Gavril, go home. Come back when you're more sorry and I'm less pissed." He disappeared and I wiped away stubborn tears.”
― Connie Suttle, Blood Trouble