Lincoln took off as soon as he got the order.


    Hull flopped down on a lounge chair-Yvonne had been lying there just a little while ago. At his feet sat a fishing Susanna had dragged up from the ocean.


    The fish inside were long dead, reeking so badly that flies were already buzzing around them.


    You could practically feel the tension in the air, so thick it was suffocating.


    Ss had no idea what to say.


    Barnaby, on the other hand, never seemed to have that problem. He always had something to say-especially when he shouldn''t.


    Even now, in this heavy silence, Barnaby piped up, "Gotta hand it to Princess Yvonne. Only took her three days to train Susie to dive in and catch fish."


    Ss shot him a look that screamed, Please, just stop talking.


    This ind had surveince cameras pretty much everywhere. Hull had just finished watching all the videos of Susanna, piecing together exactly what happened when she made that phone call three days ago.


    He had to admit, Yvonne''s methods were seriously intense-borderline insane, honestly.


    If you had a weak heart, you''d probably keel over just watching it.


    Even through the screen, they could all feel Susanna''s panic-her arms were moving so fast, it was like she was trying to leave a blur behind.


    Hull didn''t say a word. He just stared out at the ocean, eyes dark and unreadable. No one could guess what was going through his mind.


    Barnaby opened his mouth to talk again.


    But this time, Ss cut him off. "With Lincoln on his way to ck Gate, he''ll keep Dan busy. Dan won''t be able toe after Susanna for now."


    Dan wanted to make sure Susanna didn''t walk away from Yvonne alive. If Susanna died in Yvonne''s care, it would all be med on her. And when Lacey lost her mind over it, she''d go head-to-head with the Quinn family.


    Handing Lacey a rival like that? Dan was ying a dangerous game.


    There was another worry, too: that Hull and Lacey might end up on the same side.


    Well, not anymore. Hull had just sent people to ck Gate to help Lacey, which meant Dan would have his hands full for a while.


    Of course, what Dan didn''t realize was that the truth alwayses out. Even if Susanna died in Yvonne''s hands, Dan wouldn''t be able to walk away clean.


    Hull''s thoughts shed to Susanna, trapped with Yvonne. His eyes narrowed.


    "Pull everyone back," he ordered quietly.


    Ss looked at him, surprised. "Everyone? We''re not looking for Susanna anymore?"


    "She''s safer with Yvonne than anywhere else right now."


    Ss could only nod. It was true. Yvonne had her own people, and Susanna stood out like a sore thumb. At ck Gate, except for her mom, everyone probably wanted her dead.


    Hull stood, straightening his rumpled suit jacket. "No pain, no gain."


    He tossed those words back at them, then strode off toward their helicopter.


    Barnaby just stared after him, dumbfounded. "That''s it? We went through all that trouble and now we''re just giving up?"


    "Shut up already," Ss snapped, smacking him on the back of the head. Would this guy ever learn when to keep his mouth shut?


    But Ss understood what Hull meant by "no pain, no gain." Susanna couldn''t afford to be weak. Everyone she''d face from now on wanted her dead.


    If Hull brought her back now, he''d have to put her through some kind of survival training himself. But whether he could be as ruthless as Yvonne was another story


    Ss figured that was that. All they had to do was wait for Yvonne to toughen


    Susanna up and bring her back.


    But as soon as they boarded the helicopter, Hull said, "Keep looking."


    Ss blinked. "Wait, what?"


    So much for leaving Susanna to Yvonne. Hull just couldn''t stand the idea of Susanna suffering any. longer. And Yvonne''s training was the kind of thing that could break a person.


    Ss just nodded. "Yes, sir."


    ***


    Yvonne moved Susanna to another ind under cover of darkness. It only took a few hours.


    They were still in Nalog City, though.


    Chloe nced at the map, frowning at how close they still were. "Why not get further away?"


    Yvonne just looked at her. "Can we even leave Nalog City right now?"


    They all knew the answer-no way. If they tried, Hull would have them watched every step out of town.


    Sometimes the most dangerous ce was the safest.


    Chloe wasn''t convinced. "If we stay in Nalog City, it''s only a matter of time before Mr. Miguel finds us."