The Coin Quotes

“He scanned her face quickly and recognized anger rather than fear.
"Are you insane?" His whisper was rough. "This could be a set up."
"And allow this sack of refuse to violate my home undisturbed?" She pushed at him. "No way."
"Listen." Richard refused to budge. "We are at a slight disadvantage here. I don't have a gun."
"But I have knives. The kitchen is at the end of this room, remember?”
― Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“These guys are sadists at heart, Gabriela. In their pathetic, perverted minds, their sense of self is rewarded when they can control life and death. It's power addiction--the more they see their victims suffer, the greater the satisfaction. But if you disappear, his toy will disappear, your pain and terror won't feed his craving. He'll go ballistic and make a mistake while tearing apart the countryside in order to find you. That's when we'll pounce and catch the bastard."
"And take all the risks," she said, understanding what he'd left out.
"In a nut shell."
"Some career you've got," she snickered.”
― Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“Gabriela found herself mesmerized. This was the man she had met for the first time yesterday--charming, witty, and simply fascinating. Sensing her eyes on him, his smoky gaze turned her way, warm and intimate. Captivated, Gabriela reciprocated.
She tore her eyes away, but not before Richard had seen the response in hers.”
― Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“What the hell is going on?" Roberto strode after his wife. "Look at you. What happened? And why is this man waltzing in here as if he pays the rent?"
Men, Gabriela thought, aggravated. Too damn territorial. "Please. Stop acting the wounded macho.”
― Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“It seems the man is a pain," said Richard, turning to face her.
"Yes," she replied tiredly. "But he needs help, and our pity. He's sick, and his kind of sickness is the worst--it's from the soul. Some people never recover.”
― Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“Richard looked at her stubborn jaw, her defiant eyes, and could not decide whether to admire her for her courage or to scoff at her utter lack of common survival sense. "You stick to me..."
"Like flypaper.”
― Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“This is part of my heritage, my identity. Normally, people don't understand, even think it sounds stupid, but it is important to me. We were stripped of so many things.”
― Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“For the first time in his life, Richard looked deeply into the eyes of a woman and experienced the emotion camouflaged there.”
― Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin

“Givers and takers, Richard thought. He had learned early in life to be the user, discarding the unnecessary or burdensome.”
― Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra, The Coin