The memory of Finley''s smug little act was still fresh, and it sent a rush of irritation through Ste. Next time he came around asking for a favor, she''d make sure to turn him down. Hmph!
"Let your sister handle it," Ronald suggested, tone matter-of-fact.
Ste stared at him nkly. "Excuse me?"
He let out a heavy, wordless sigh.
"That''s not a good idea. Yvonne and Skye barely tolerate each other," Ste protested. Just remembering all the things Skye managed to swipe from her sister under the pretense of ''helping'' in her search for Ste made her blood boil. As far as she was concerned, if the two of them could get through a phone call without it devolving into a shouting match, it''d be a miracle-never mind actually asking for help.
Ronald just scoffed. "You think you''ve got them figured out? You don''t see half of what''s really going on."
“Excuse me?” Ste froze. She''d always thought she understood those two perfectly. But now Ronald''sment made her question everything.
He ducked away to answer a call, leaving Ste alone with her confusion. After a minute, she sighed and did the only thing she could—she dialed up Yvonne.
Predictably, Yvonne barely let her get started before cutting in: "Just have Finley call Skye."
Ste all but threw her hands up. "Are you kidding me? Finley tells me Skye''s hanging around in Yornd, and can help protect Tegan. So I ask Finley to call Skye; he refuses. I turn to Ronald, my husband, and he tells me to ask you. Now you''re telling me to ask Finley again! This is ridiculous-it''s like some kind of infinite loop!"
There was a long silence on Yvonne''s end, then: "...Wait, how many people have you gone through about this?"
"It''s a whole trail, isn''t it?" Ste grumbled. "Honestly, I''ve lost track. But you know full well you and Skye don''t get along."
"I can''t stand that woman," Yvonne replied bluntly.
"Well, Ronald said you two get along just fine," Ste retorted.
Yvonne huffed. "Are you kidding me? Since when?" Truth was, there had never been such a thing as ''getting along'' between her and Skye. Where did Ronald even get that idea? Still, as she listened to the pitiful note in Ste''s voice, Yvonne finally relented. "Alright, alright. I''ll call her. This is to protect Tegan, right?"
"Right," Ste replied quickly.
Yvonne grumbled under her breath, "Just how many best friends do you have, anyway? Susanna nearly drove me insane—and now there''s Tegan? You sure know how to pick them."
Ste justughed. "It''s just Tegan and Susie. My two besties."
Yvonne went silent. If Susie could bring someone like Hull and all that drama into
their lives, what kind of mess was Tegan hiding? She coughed. "Alright. One thing— does Tegan have a boyfriend or anything?"
"If she does, he can be the
bodyguard, Yvonne thought. Last thing she wanted was to get caught between some crazy couple, especially after what happened with Susanna. She still had nightmares about that mess.
"Um... kind of?" Ste offered.
"What does ''kind of'' mean?" Yvonne pressed.
"They''re... in the middle of breaking up."
Yvonne groaned. "So they haven''t actually broken up yet? That''s awkward. If I jump
in and then they get back together, I''ll look like the viin."
Ste begged, "Yvonne, please-her boyfriend''s useless in this situation. You have to help. Tegan''s
boyfriend''s family bates her! They re even trying to kill her. She told her boyfriend everything, and hejust refuses to believe it!"
"That... wow, that''s awful," Yvonne muttered. "What a piece of work."
"Right? Total jerk!" Ste snapped.
"Who is this guy, anyway?" Yvonne asked.
"His name''s Uriah."
There was a beat of heavy silence, then Yvonne''s voice went t. "Uriah?"
"Yeah..."
"Yeah, no. I''m not getting involved in this," Yvonne said immediately, tone steely.
Ste was genuinely taken aback. "Why not?"
"As if you have to ask! Uriah''s
notorious in Portis City-nobody wants to cross him. If I get involved and things go sideways, his entir empirecould end uping after me am not putting myself in that kind of danger."
"Sure, he''s powerful in Portis City, but in Yornd..."