Dah-lin.

About Daniel: Two, he hates Clay*Five, he really hates Clay.*Nine, he really, really, REALLY hates Clay.

As I recall, I was still dressed when I fell asleep.""Just making sure you were comfortable.""And making yourself equally comfortable, I see.

We scarified a mosquito. I bet that's what did it. It was probably a virgin too.

At school, our classroom had a small rodent zoo consisting of two rabbits, three hamsters, a litter of baby gerbils and a guinea pig. At first, I’d thought the teacher was raising snack food, which impressed me, being the first sign of intelligence she’d shown. Soon, though, I’d figured out the animals’ true purpose and left them alone, though I would never understand the appeal of petting and coddling perfectly good food.

Perfect night, wasn't it?""It could have been." I smiled up at him. "But you were there.

What's the woman doing there?" he asked."Covering a scratch on the hood. She was cheaper than a new paint job."He flipped through a few more pages of barely dressed women and classic cars. "Nick used to have magazines like this when we were kids. But without the cars." He rotated a photo sideways. "Or the bathing suits.

Next Clay gave the house rules for living with theSorrentinos , which sounded a lot like the TenCommandments. Thou shall not lie, steal anything, kill anyone, disrespect your hosts or covetany of Nick's girlfriends. And if you break the rules, you'll get your ass kicked and handed to youin pieces—a part I suspect God left out.

Elena?""Yes, unless Nick found a woman in the forest, which I suppose wouldn't be too surprising.