Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath

The mother and son exchanged a look, each swallowing back the words on the tip of their tongues, and turned away in silence.

Once Derek was alone, he pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache throbbing behind his eyes as he tried to steady his pounding heart.

Finally, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.

It was answered almost immediately. "Sir?"

"Keep a close eye on Finch. And Dan, too. Search everyone around them, turn everything upside down if you have to."

Derek's voice was sharp and cold.

He'd never really trusted Dan, and as for Finch... Well, right now, he trusted no

one.

All he wanted was to find Susanna and hand her over to Yvonne.

That damn girl-who would've guessed her connections would be so tangled? She'd put Black Gate right at the edge of ruin.

"Yes, sir."

Derek was about to hang up when he paused. "Wait. Check around Adelle, too. Quietly."

There was a beat of stunned silence on the other end, then, "Understood."

Derek had never doubted his beloved Adelle before, no matter what had happened or who he suspected over the years.

But now, even she wasn't above suspicion.

Adelle stepped outside together, both with

people watching Dan,

thinking about Yvonne's hardline

find Susanna and hand her over

take Susanna and get out

here and Black Gate would have

from the dressing down in the study, spat, "Why the hell are they blaming us

Susanna made Finch's

the Quinn family, the Schultz family, even Mr. Miguel, were all ganging up on Black Gate over her. Anyone who didn't know the

darkened. "They've got no proof, but we still have to help find her." That

Let

but here they were forced to

seemed ready to explode.

Xander made his move on Dan's turf up at Pigeon Peak, Dan found himself in a

tabs on Finch and

needed to figure out who

was in chaos now, just like Hull had warned:

watching

people watching

people watching

paranoid free-for-all, all for one missing

while they were busy tearing each other apart, Yvonne

at Black

of those assets? They belonged to Adelle,

were being pushed to the breaking