Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

Susanna had just slipped away from Hull's arms when they were two or three doors down from Dan's hospital room. She scampered straight back, tiptoeing right up to Dan's door and pressing her tiny, freckled face against it.

Her cheeks were already flushed pink from the earlier commotion, but now her eyes were sharp and sparkling with mischief as she eavesdropped, all business.

Hull just stared, speechless.

Barnaby and Silas, who'd followed along, couldn't help but snort with laughter.

Barnaby leaned in and whispered, "Is Susie seriously listening at the door? Isn't that, like, super inappropriate?"

Silas shot him a glare, slapped a hand over Barnaby's mouth, and dragged him a few yards away.

Seriously, if the boss isn't complaining, why would this fool start?

Susanna, meanwhile, was glued to the door, ear pressed tight, listening in with all her might.

Inside, things were getting heated.

Scar was speaking carefully, as if choosing his words might save his skin. "Miss Yvonne's gone to Ireland for now, so... she probably doesn't have the time."

What did he do in a past life to end up in this mess?

And what on earth had gotten into his boss?

Dan wasn't having it. "She has time to bash my head in, but not Xander's? Look at all the bruises she left on me! And the others, too!"

Just thinking about Yvonne's fierce side had Dan practically seething. No one who played poker with him that night had escaped unscathed.

Scar tried to reason with him, "Well, when she hit you, she was just back from Scotland. Wait till she returns. She'll go after Mr. Schultz for sure. At least she used to care about you, so she went easy. She won't show Mr. Schultz that mercy."

He really shouldn't have brought up "feelings."

Dan's jaw clenched. "Did she look like she gave a damn about me that night? That woman was colder than a January morning in Boston. If she still cared, would she have landed me in the hospital?"

Scar hesitated, then said quietly, "She knows about your little fake-your-own- death stunt."noveldrama

Outside, Susanna's eyes lit up like she'd just heard the juiciest plot twist in a soap opera.

Whoa...

Faking your own death? What a piece of work.

Dan went silent. The atmosphere in the room got even heavier, his face clouded with gloom.

Unable to contain himself, Dan grabbed his phone and called Xander.

Dan was still furious that Yvonne refused to believe Xander had slept with her. He could barely dial fast enough.

The line connected, but before Dan could even speak, Xander's voice came through, dry and mocking. "Dan, man, are you out of your mind?"

He snorted. "Oh wait, you actually are. No one in their right mind fakes their own death."

Dan was speechless.

What was up with Xander's mouth? Did he borrow it from his ex-wife?

He'd been getting chewed out by Yvonne for days, and now Xander was piling on.

And then there was the fact that Yvonne and Xander had gotten married right under his nose. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.

Dan gritted his teeth. "Why don't you just tell her the truth to her face? If you do, I'll admit you've got balls."

He'd figured it out. No matter how many times he insisted to Yvonne that Xander was the guy from that night, she never believed him. Maybe that's why Xander hadn't gotten a beating-Yvonne just trusted him that much.

That thought only made Dan angrier.

Xander chuckled on the other end. "How do you know I haven't told her?"

Dan's eyes widened. "You confessed?"

"Yup. Called her this morning. Even told her to lay off you for once."

Dan was stunned. "You told her... not to beat me up?"

Did he hear that right? That sounded almost... conniving.

Dan's heart raced with anticipation—and a little dread. He couldn't help but picture Yvonne about to wring Xander's neck.

But Xander went on, "She said you're not worth it. Told me not to take the fall for you."

"What?!"

"Yeah, she said she'll get you herself. There's no point in me taking the blame."

Dan was about to blow a gasket.

Who was really the scapegoat here?

No matter what he said, Yvonne never believed him, always thinking he was just stirring up drama. Now even with Xander's confession, she insisted Xander was just covering for him.

Seriously, he was the real fall guy here!

Xander just kept twisting the knife. "Guess my wife's pretty great. At least she doesn't turn on her own."

Dan was speechless.

Great. Now she'd spun things so that Xander had an excuse to cover for him. She

was a master at dodging blame.

Scar tried to calm Dan down, but it was hopeless. Dan got so worked up, he literally passed out cold.

Scar panicked. "Doctor! Somebody get a doctor! He's fainted again!"

Outside, Susanna heard the commotion and scrambled away from the door-too

fast, and she toppled straight into Hull's arms.

Hull caught her, surprised. “You okay?"

Susanna squeaked, "Let's go, let's go! Or we'll get caught!"

Hull couldn't help but smile at the determined little troublemaker. He scooped her up and hurried away from Dan's door, leaving the chaos behind.

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