And I remembered with a pang what had happened to me the previous summer - that even Gallagher Girls aren't always as strong as they need to be.

She didn't protest as Hale slid his arm around her and pulled her to rest against his chest. It was somehow softer there than she remembered.

The window can be fixed, Katerina. I'm far more concerned about him.

Most people believe me when I lie. I've learned how to say the words just right. I have a trusting kind of face. But the boy in front of me was a trained operative, so Zach knew better. And besides, Zach new me.

Good-bye Dr. Steve,' I said, then climbed the stairs and went to the fifth floor to die.

I think the canary left some feathers in there after you ate it.

Kat had been picking things up since her third birthday, when Hamish and Angus's father took them all to the circus because he needed to "borrow" an elephant.