" I stared at the phone. I’d had to do it. Had to. So why did my stomach feel tight? Why did I have the urge to call Jean-Claude and warn him? Was it the marks, or was Richard right? Did I love Jean-Claude in some strange, twisted way? God help me, I hoped not. "

― Laurell K. Hamilton , Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3)