Xander leaned back in his chair, handsced behind his head. "If Lacey Tucker hadn''t shown up in ck Gate right now, Derek Murray would''ve gone all in-he''d strip every ounce of power from Dan and hand it straight to Finch Murray."


    Finch.


    Until recently, nobody had ever heard of the guy. Who would''ve guessed he was Dan Duffy''s other son?


    Gotta admit, Derek''s been real generous to his side chick all these years. Even the kid she had? Protected like a crown jewel.


    These past three days, Xander had turned ck Gate upside down, digging into every secret, and the more he learned, the more entertaining it got.


    "If Susanna ends up being Yvonne''s weapon, that means Dan''s got another enemy-Lacey."


    Which would blow his whole n to pieces.


    And ck Gate? Susanna could tear the whole ce apart.


    When Xander exined all this, Shawn finally got it. Dan wasn''t just worried about Lacey being a rival-he was terrified they''d end up on opposite sides.


    And the one who''d tip the scales? Susanna.


    "So, you think Susanna''s gonna be Lacey''s weapon? But she''s got Mr. Miguel backing her up too," Shawn said.


    Hull''s been way too interested in Susannately, and it showed. For a guy who''s always been cold as stone, he''s sure been making moves.


    Xander smirked. "Doesn''t matter. If Susanna stays with Yvonne for a month, that''s all it takes. Dan''ll never believe she''s not one of Yvonne''s people after that."


    Shawn stared. "Seriously? It''s that easy?"


    He had no clue how any of this worked. But he did know one thing: Susanna woulde back from Yvonne changed, no doubt about it.


    Look at Ste Quinn. Back when Ronald Quinn had her, she was this pampered little princess. But after a stint with Yvonne? She turned into a little tigress, fierce and sharp.


    "You sure that ''weapon'' is pointed at Dan?" Shawn asked, still skeptical. The way things looked, Dan and Lacey ought to be on the same team.


    Xander gave him a look. "Whatever kind of weapon Yvonne shapes, it''s never aimed at herself."


    Susanna might end up targeting the whole of ck Gate-Dan, Derek, Finch... all of them.


    Shawn gulped. "Right... Yvonne''s never trained a weapon that turned on her."


    Hull was when


    his


    juan Cathe middle of a meeting


    the


    phone rang. He nced at


    r ID, surprise fi


    for


    just a second before his eyes turned icy.


    "Yvonne?"


    Her voice was cool. "Miss me, Hull?"


    Without missing a beat, Hull shot a look at Ss, who immediately started typing away on hisptop, hacking into tracking systems.


    Yvonneughed softly. "You can tell your guy to stop. You''re not gonna find me."


    Hull''s jaw clenched. "Where are you?"


    Even through the phone, Yvonne could feel the storm in his voice.


    She let him stew for a second. "So tell me, Hull-if I give Susie back to you, you really willing to give me anything I want?"


    Susie. Weird name, Yvonne always thought. When she first heard Ste call her that, she figured the girl" must''ve been obsessed with sweets or something, with a name that sounded like a candy store mascot.


    But Chloe had said it-Hull would do anything for that little bean sprout. Yvonne was honestly curious: would the unbreakable Hull really go that far for a girl?


    Hull grunted, voice low and dangerous. "What do you want?"