Seeing the sudden spark in Yvonne Quinn''s eyes, Chloe knew for sure that Hull had something she desperately wanted.


    Chloe cleared her throat. "You know, Mr. Miguel''s got quite the stash of treasures. Especially his knack for mechanical gadgets."


    Over the years, plenty of folks had tried to get a peek at Hull''s mechanical secrets, but he never taught anyone.


    The moment Hull''s inventions came up, Yvonne couldn''t help but grumble, "You really think he''d hand over that book about his inventions just because of Susanna Tucker?"


    Seriously, would he? That didn''t sound like him at all.


    Men like that—what else do they do besides y mind games with women?


    Yvonne just didn''t buy that Hull would give up something that valuable for the sake of being noble.


    Chloe shrugged. "Why not give it a shot?"


    Yvonne: "!!!"


    Um...


    Was that even safe to try? What if she ended up empty-handed and her brother gave her a lecture? That would be a disaster.


    "I''ll poke around and see what I can find out. You get ready, just in case."


    "Got it."


    Chloe knew exactly what to prep for. The ind they were on was off the grid- super hidden.


    She hated moving ces. If you''re going to hide, you might as well do it right.


    ...


    Elsewhere, with Xander Schultz—


    Shawn Schultz had just listened to Xander''s phone call with Hull. “Dude, you sure it''s okay to trick Hull like that?"


    Because, yeah—it was a trick.


    Xander had just told Hull they''d hand Susanna over in twenty-seven days.


    But he couldn''t even reach Yvonne right now; how the heck was he supposed to know when she''d actually hand Susanna over? And that whole line about how Yvonne wouldn''t hurt Susanna-please. That was Dan Murray''s sister. How could he be so sure Yvonne wouldn''t just lose it and do something drastic?


    Shawn was totally confused by Xander''s game n.


    "You do realize," Shawn said, "now that you''ve called him, Hull''s going to think we know exactly where she is. He''ll have people watching us for sure."


    They had enough on their tes already. Thest thing they needed was Hull''s people breathing down their necks.


    Xander took a drag from his


    cigarette, a sly grin on his lips. "Het


    100101130 002010


    won''t just send anyone. Bet


    Lincoln wille himself."


    Shawn: "..."


    Lincoln?


    swi


    Lincoln was Hull''s big bad enforcer. If Lincoln showed up, they''d be in real trouble.


    Seeing the look on Shawn''s face,


    Xandert scoffed. "What? It''s met


    like this is the first time someone''s been tailing me."


    Shawn: "!!!"


    Yeah, that was true. But this time it was Lincoln. That was a whole different level.


    Shawn frowned. "What''s your angle here, anyway?"


    Xander replied easily, "Just buying your sister-inw some more time."


    Shawn: "..."


    Sister-inw? Wait, what?


    Shawn shot him a weird look. "Why do you want to buy her more time?"


    The way Xander stared at him made Shawn feel like an idiot.


    "What?" Shawn protested. "Why are you looking at me like that?"


    Xander smirked. "Didn''t you see how wrecked Dan''s been these past three days?"


    Dan was a mess without Susanna, and for some reason, Xander seemed to be enjoying it, like he''d finally gotten his revenge.


    Shawn shrugged. "Of course he''s suffering. You took out his


    right-hand man, Scar. Dan''s cked out so many times thesest few days, I''m surprised he''s not in the hospital for good by now."


    Scar had tried to hunt Yvonne down, maybe Dan didn''t even know that. But losing


    Scar was a massive blow.


    Xander just chuckled. "You think that''s all it''s about?"


    "What else?" Shawn was genuinely lost.


    Xander leaned in. "Of course that''s not all."


    Shawn: "!!!"


    Anytime the ck Gate was mentioned, Shawn''s head started spinning. He just


    couldn''t keep up with all the twists and turns.