Yvonne was still fuming.


    "Seriously, are they just staging all this for show?" She honestly couldn''t figure it out.


    What on earth went on between Hull and ck Gate, anyway? With people like her brother and Hull, why would they need to fake anything? What was the point of all this...?


    Xander handed her a ss of juice. "Okay, enough," he said. "If you''re really that mad, then just walk out-I''ll take you home right now."


    Ronald kept saying their only mistake was being too slow to notice Hull''s odd behavior at first. But honestly...? That exnation felt a little too easy-and almost cruel.


    The thought of skipping town crossed Yvonne''s mind, but after a moment, she shook her head. “No, we should just keep working with Hull."


    Hull had been by Ronald''s side for years, doing more than his share for the Quinn family. The only reason ck Gate was struggling now was because she and Xander were ying their parts so seamlessly. But-when she thought back...


    Oh, for crying out loud!


    All along, they''d thought Hull was backing them up. But in truth, they were just cogs in Hull''s n from the start. No wonder Ronald kept calling them clueless. They really were. Tearing into ck Gate like maniacs-all for nothing in the end.


    After dinner, Yvonne and Xander stepped out of the restaurant only to run straight into Dan-who apparently had been hunting for her. He was ring daggers at her.


    "You told me this had nothing to do with you! Then what the hell were you ying at? You''d better start exining now!"


    Dan''s anger made Yvonne''s pulse spike with sudden guilt. That was the difference between being in the right and being in the wrong. When you had the moral high ground, you could rage all you wanted. Lose it, and even your bravado fell apart.


    Reflexively, Yvonne edged behind Xander. Dan''s temper spiked.


    "Why are you hiding? Tell me what''s actually going on!" He took a threatening step toward her—but before he reached her, Xander''s fist caught him hard in the jaw.


    With a heavy thud, the world went suddenly quiet.


    A trickle of blood ran from the corner of Dan''s mouth. Yvonne winced not out of sympathy for hing just some dismay at pushing things too far. They really had pushed things too far this time.


    Even so, she swallowed and tried to sound tough. "Y-you don''t get to y the victim


    here. If I went for you, you had iting."


    Dan''s eyes narrowed. "I had iting?"


    "Yeah! Who told you to fake your own death back then? I still haven''t settled that score with you!"


    "Oh, really? I let you beat the hell out of me for weeks, neverid a finger on you— and you''re saying we''re not even?” Dan shot back.


    She recalled every punch, and even that time at Sands City shed through her mind.


    Yvonne hesitated, but she couldn''t let him see her falter.


    Dan sneered, "You''re demanding I give you Susanna. Why bring up old ounts?"


    Yvonne sputtered for a moment.


    "That''s not the point-! And what about you, shamelessly sleeping with me? You think a couple bruises make up for that? you think thats all it takes for us to be square?"


    Dan fell silent, Xander''s expression twisted into something unreadable. The second Yvonne spat out "sleeping with me," the air changed-Xander looked oddly amused, while Dan''s expression turned thunderous.