Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

Frankly, anyone without a sharp mind would be completely lost by now.noveldrama

Kyle nodded. "Yeah, it's a mess, all right."

Honestly, even they—seasoned intelligence analysts—were left with scrambled

brains after hearing about all these tangled relationships.

Xander stared out the car window.

His long fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest before he finally spoke,

confusion lacing his tone. "But Dan looks way older than Stella's friend."

Kyle blinked. "Wait, older? Really?"

Dan didn't look that old to him. But, to be fair, he definitely looked a lot older than

Susanna. That much was true.

Xander shrugged. "Of course he's old. That old fox is cunning as hell."

You didn't get to be the secret kingpin behind Black Gate without wrinkles and a

few skeletons in your closet.

Kyle just stared at him. Well, if you say he's old, he's old.

Xander added, "Honestly, he looks about the same age as Ronald."

At the mention of Ronald, Kyle clammed up—who would dare gossip about Mr.

Quinn?

You could talk trash about anyone, but not Mr. Quinn.

"So why did Yvonne run off with that woman?" Xander asked.

Kyle thought for a moment. "She's probably training a weapon. You know,

grooming someone to go after Dan."

A weapon? As in, someone to take Dan down?

That actually made sense. Right now, Yvonne hated Dan's guts.

Black Gate folks...

Thinking back to the partnership between Nolan and old Mr. Quinn, it was clear

Dan had seriously crossed a line with Yvonne.

Everyone knew the Quinn family despised nepotism.

And Dan? He'd gotten close to Yvonne with exactly that in mind. No way she'd

ever let that slide.

"Well, let her train her weapon," Xander said with a smirk. "Susanna, siblings

turning on each other—sounds about right."

Kyle replied, "But now Mr. Miguel's getting desperate, too."

Xander looked up, surprised. "Seriously?"

Kyle nodded. "He's been looking after Ms. Tucker. She vanished on his watch—no

chance he'll just let this go."

Xander just sighed. This web of relationships was a total nightmare.

Susanna was Dan's sister. Yeah,

sister, even if no one could figure out

how that relationship even worked.

But given how Dan acted, no one

would ever guess Susanna was the

younger sibling.

Dan's own sister becoming a knife to stab him in the back? Poetic justice.

Except, Hull wasn't likely to let that happen.

"Let them tear each other apart," Xander said with a light laugh. "The messier, the

better."

Kyle stared at him. Wasn't it messy enough already?

Xander's eyes danced with mischief. "We should give her a hand."

Kyle frowned. "Her? Who—Yvonne?"

"Yeah. Cover up any leads. Make sure Dan can't track her down."

"And what about Mr. Miguel?"

Xander shot him a look. "Don't worry about it. Just do what I said."

Kyle hesitated, but Xander just grinned.

"Look, man. I stand with my wife. Whatever she does, she's in the right. Gotta

back her up, no matter what."

Kyle nearly choked. Your wife...?

With Xander butting in, finding Yvonne became almost impossible for both Hull

and Dan.

When Hull found out Xander was involved, he nearly smashed his phone in

frustration.

He dialed Xander's number immediately. "Mr. Schultz, care to explain yourself?"

Xander was cool as ever. "What's there to explain? You're looking for your

woman; I'm helping out my wife."

Hull's mind short-circuited at the word 'wife.'

He let out a dry laugh. "Your wife?"

"Absolutely," Xander replied, dead serious.

What started out as a fake arrangement had turned into something real—no time

to even process it.

Hull's voice dropped, cold as ice.

"If

Susanna doesn't come back, you

really think you'll still have a wife?"

In the driver's seat, Silas could

practically feel the tension crackling

between the two men, like two

gunfighters squaring off at high

noon.