Without warning, the man pulled Susanna close and kissed her again, not giving her a chance to protest.


    It didn''t stop there-his hands were everywhere, as if he needed to check for himself that she was really there.


    Susanna stiffened in his grasp, panic shing through her eyes. "You—"


    Before she could get another word out, he silenced her with another kiss.


    She was so much smaller than him, her petite frame no match for Hull''s grip. In his arms, there was nowhere to run.


    ...


    Meanwhile, one heated phone call between Hull and Yvonne sent the whole of ck Gate into absolute chaos, and things were only getting worse.


    Everyone at ck Gate was on edge...


    Especially Dan.


    The three Murray brothers might not have been on good terms for years, but when it came to Susanna''s disappearance from ck Gate, they reached a rare agreement: this was bad, and it needed fixing.


    As Hull and Yvonne ramped up their pressure, Finch-who was usually quick to fly off the handle at Dan-held his tongue. He could see how hard Dan was taking it this time.


    But that didn''t mean he was in a good mood. "Didn''t you used to have a thing with that Yvonne chick? Why''s sheing at you so hard now?"


    This whole situation was enough to make anyone lose it.


    They didn''t even have Susanna, for crying out loud! Was it so hard for people to understand? And yet somehow, everyone was ming ck Gate for her disappearance.


    It made no sense.


    Bringing up Dan''s history with Yvonne only made his expression turn even darker. He shot Finch a re that could freeze hell over.


    Finch held up his hands. “Hey, don''t look at me like that. Seriously though, do you even know how to handle women?"


    "I heard that while you were off in Ferrond, she married Xander. Is that true, or just some bar gossip?"


    Dan''s face, already grim, turned downright murderous.


    Why hadn''t he noticed before how Finch always knew just where to poke for maximum pain? Every word felt like a punch straight to the gut.


    Dan gritted his teeth. "Worry about your own mess."


    Finch rolled his eyes. "Look, maybe all this crap is happening because of your little drama with Yvonne and the Quinn family you ever think. we''re all getting dragged int@your mess?"


    Dan''s temper red, but Finch was just getting started.


    What the hell was this situation, anyway?


    Hearing Finch say it out loud, Derek snapped out of his own haze. He remembered Dan and Yvonne''s whole saga in Ferrond, the ugly fights the fallout. Maybe this was all just unfinished business from back then.


    Derek snorted. "This isn''t about Susanna at all, is it? It''s all about you and your mess!"


    Finch jumped in, "Exactly!"


    As soon as they realized this whole ck Gate disaster was rooted in Dan''s personal drama, Derek and Finch both nearly lost it.


    What kind of screwed up mess was this?


    Dan''s jaw clenched. "Fine. me me if you want. Whatever."


    Derek red. "If it''s your fault, then fix it. Do you even know how to apologize to a woman?"


    Finch was relentless. "Seriously, you should''ve learned from Dad how to keep a woman happy."


    Derek and Dan both stared at him, speechless.


    The room went cold as Derek fixed Finch with a look that could kill.


    Dan let out a bitterugh. "You''re


    right. Maybe should''ve learned from him, But honestly, with his track record, I''m not sure if he was arty good at winning women over or just fooling himself into thinking he was."