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.

stepped outside together, both with

watching

thinking about Yvonne's hardline tactics from

just find Susanna and hand her

Susanna and

and

hell are they blaming

of Susanna

an unwanted child, yet somehow the Quinn family, the Schultz family, even Mr. Miguel, were all ganging up on Black Gate over her. Anyone who didn't

still have to help find her." That was the worst

Let

but here they were forced to bend over backwards to prove

seemed ready to explode.

his move on Dan's turf up at Pigeon Peak,

immediately sent people to keep tabs

to figure out who really had

just like Hull had warned: everyone suspicious, everyone

had people watching Dan,

had people watching

people watching

paranoid free-for-all, all for one

busy tearing each other apart, Yvonne and

Black Gate's key

belonged to Adelle, some

were being pushed to the breaking