欧宝娱乐

“Such an unexpected will to survive from someone who has nothing to live for.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Are you stupid?鈥� Seth asked.
鈥淵eah,鈥� Neil said.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“What would it take to make you stay?"
The question was so unexpected Neil had to turn back. "What?"
Andrew laughed quietly at his shock and leaned forward. "Name it and it's yours. It doesn't matter what it is so long as you stand your ground here with us.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Looks like you've managed to completely embarrass yourself in both languages.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“I don鈥檛 understand suicide,鈥� Neil said. 鈥淪taying alive has always been so important I can鈥檛 imagine actively trying to die.鈥�
鈥淗e wasn鈥檛,鈥� Andrew said, like Neil was being stupid. [鈥 鈥淗e wanted a way out for a little while, a few hours where he didn鈥檛 have to think or feel. Problem was he picked an out that鈥檚 easy to die on. That鈥檚 his fault.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“I don't swing either way," Neil said. "Let's go in."
"Bullshit," Nicky said.
"I don't," Neil said, and impatience put an edge in his voice. It wasn't quite the truth, but it was close enough.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Shirt off.鈥�
Neil stared at her. 鈥淲hy?鈥�
鈥淚 can鈥檛 check track marks through cotton, Neil.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 do drugs.鈥�
鈥淕ood on you,鈥� Abby said. 鈥淜eep it that way. Now take it off.鈥�
[鈥 鈥淚 want to make this as painless as possible, but I can鈥檛 help you if you can鈥檛 help me. Tell me why you won鈥檛 take off your shirt.鈥�
Neil looked for a delicate way to say it. The best he managed was, 鈥淚鈥檓 not okay.鈥�
She put a finger to his chin and turned his face back toward her. 鈥淣eil, I work for the Foxes. None of you are okay. Chances are I鈥檝e seen a lot worse than whatever it is you鈥檙e trying to hide from me.鈥�
Neil鈥檚 smile was humorless. 鈥淚 hope not.
鈥淭rust me,鈥� Abby said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to judge you. I鈥檓 here to help, remember? I鈥檓 your nurse now. That door is closed, and it comes with a lock. What happens in here stays in here.鈥�
[鈥 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 ask me about them,鈥� he said at last. 鈥淚 won鈥檛 talk to you about it. Okay?鈥�
鈥淥kay,鈥� Abby agreed easily. 鈥淏ut know that when you want to, I鈥檓 here, and so is Betsy.鈥�
Neil wasn鈥檛 going to tell that psychiatrist a thing, but he nodded. Abby dropped her hand and Neil pulled his shirt over his head before he could lose his nerve.
Abby thought she was ready. Neil knew she wouldn鈥檛 be, and he was right. Her mouth parted on a silent breath and her expression went blank. She wasn鈥檛 fast enough to hide her flinch, and Neil saw her shoulders go rigid with tension. He stared at her face as she stared at him, watching her gaze sweep over the brutal marks of a hideous childhood.
It started at the base of his throat, a looping scar curving down over his collarbone. A pucker with jagged edges was a finger-width away, courtesy of a bullet that hit him right on the edge of his Kevlar vest. A shapeless patch of pale skin from his left shoulder to his navel marked where he鈥檇 jumped out of a moving car and torn himself raw on the asphalt. Faded scars crisscrossed here and there from his life on the run, either from stupid accidents, desperate escapes, or conflicts with local lowlifes. Along his abdomen were larger overlapping lines from confrontations with his father鈥檚 people while on the run. His father wasn鈥檛 called the butcher for nothing; his weapon of choice was a cleaver. All of his men were well-versed in knife-fighting, and more than one of them had tried to stick Neil like a pig.
And there on his right shoulder was the perfect outline of half a hot iron. Neil didn鈥檛 remember what he鈥檚 said or done to irritate his father so much.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Neil watched Kevin wilt beneath the weight of his brother鈥檚 鈥� no, owner鈥檚 鈥� fury and kissed his survival instincts goodbye. He grabbed Riko鈥檚 shirt and hauled him back.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“How stupid, that someone so short could have such a presence.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“[鈥 鈥淚f I can鈥檛 get an answer from you, I鈥檒l get it wherever I can. How about I start with your parents?鈥�
鈥淕ood luck,鈥� Neil said, feeling cold all over. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e dead.鈥�
鈥淒id you kill them?鈥�
He [Andrew] said it so casually, like he was asking for the time, that Neil could only stare at him for a minute. It was such an unreasonable leap of logic Neil didn鈥檛 understand how he even thought to ask it. Then he remembered who he was talking to and asked, 鈥淒id you kill yours?”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“He is not a forgiving tutor, and he doesn't know how to be nice. Kevin can piss anyone off on an Exy court, up to and including a drugged Andrew. Well, anyone except Renee, but she's not human so she doesn't count."
Neil looked at Andrew again. "I thought his medicine made that impossible."
"Spring was a learning experience." Nicky propped his racquet against his shoulder and started for the door. "Wish you'd seen it. Andrew would've taken Kevin's head off if Kevin hadn't already thrown Andrew's racquet halfway across the court. I can't wait to see how you handle it.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Light glinted off a bright yellow racquet as the stranger took a swing, and Neil was going too fast to stop. Wood slammed into his gut hard enough to crush his lungs into his spine. He didn't remember falling, but suddenly he was on his hands and knees, scrabbling ineffectually at the floor as he tried to breathe. He'd puke if he could only manage that first gasp, but his body refused to cooperate.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Neil didn鈥檛 know how long he played with his little league team, but his hands remembered the weight of a racquet as well as they did that of a gun”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“He remembered the black sands beach along California鈥檚 lost coast where his mother finally gave up the fight. He hadn鈥檛 even realized she鈥檇 been injured so badly after running into his father in Seattle. She鈥檇 bled most of the way though Oregon, but he hadn鈥檛 thought it was serious. He hadn鈥檛 known she was bleeding out on the inside, a kidney and her liver ruptured, her intestines bruised beyond repair.
[鈥 They stopped six feet from the tide and she made him repeat every promise she鈥檇 ever dragged out of him: don鈥檛 look back, don鈥檛 slow down, and don鈥檛 trust anyone. Be anyone but himself, and never be anyone for too long.
By the time Neil understood she was saying goodbye, it was too late.
She died gasping for one more breath, panting with something that might have been words or his name or fear. Neil could still feel her fingernails digging into his arms as she fought not to slip away, and the memory left him shaking all over. Her abdomen felt like stone when he touched her, swollen and hard. He tried pulling her from her seat only once, but the sound of her dried blood ripping off the vinyl like Velcro killed him.
[鈥 He hadn鈥檛 cried when the flames caught, and he hadn鈥檛 flinched when he pulled her cooling bones out. [鈥 By the time he found the highway again he was numb with shock, and he lasted another day before he fell to his knees on the roadside and puked his guts out.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“there's someone here to see you." To someone who'd spent half his life outrunning his past they were words from a nightmare.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Getting out took some serious wiggling since it wasn鈥檛 quite big enough for him, but desperation was a valuable lubricant.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“How was he supposed to let Wymack lock the door every night with both of them under the same roof? He couldn't possibly sleep here; every time Wymack breathed Neil would wake up and wonder who was after him.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Seth jeered at Matt's back as Matt left, then looked at Neil.
"Maybe you're not as stupid as I thought."
"Maybe I am," Neil said, and left Seth to finish his drink.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“He [Neil] didn鈥檛 realize he鈥檇 fallen asleep until a gunshot jarred him awake. Neil bolted upright so fast he sent his pile of textbooks crashing to the ground. Too late he realized the crack he鈥檇 heard wasn鈥檛 a gun but the lock snapping undone on the suite door.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Stop."

"I'm not doing anything."

"I told you not to look at me like that.”
― Nora Sakavic, The King's Men

“Wymack raked the group with a look 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see any guests. Neil鈥檚 a fox. He鈥檚 not going to get any special treatment just because it鈥檚 his first day. Don鈥檛 want him thinking this team is anything but dysfunctional or June will be a rude wake-up call.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“鈥� N茫o, o mundo n茫o 茅 cruel 鈥�, respondeu Neil. 鈥� S茫o as pessoas que vivem
nele.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court

“Jean held onto his control with everything he had left after such a nightmarish day, but he could feel his grip slipping. Endure, he warned himself, and on its tail-end came a desperate How much must I?”
― Nora Sakavic, The Sunshine Court

“As soon as they left, Wymack stood in the aisle to face
his team.
"All right," he said, then promptly forgot what he was
saying when he got a good look at the back of the bus. "Damn it
all to hell. Hemmick! You were supposed to wake them up ten
miles ago."
"I don't want to die," Nicky said.
Dan tried to pass her laugh off as a cough.”
― Nora Sakavic, The Foxhole Court