Xander had barely ended his call with Shawn when Dan''s number shed on his phone.


    "Where the hell are you and Yvonne?" Dan''s voice was all teeth and venom.


    "What''s this about?" Xander shot back, his tone t and cold-the kind you use when you know someone''s spoiling for a fight.


    “What''s this about?" Dan nearly shouted. "If I don''t get this mess cleared up with the two of you today, do I have to spend the rest of my life running from that lunatic? Is she just going to keeping after me?"


    Dan was calling from his car, every wording out with a wince. The wounds on his face stung something fierce. Damn woman, Yvonne! What was her problem, anyway? It was like nothing you said ever got through that thick skull of hers.


    Thistest brawl in Litamark-Dan was done with it all. One way or another, this had


    to end, or he could kiss his peace of mind goodbye for good.


    "Don''t worry," Xander replied coolly. "She''s not going to hit you again.”


    Dan blinked. Was Xander for real? That sure sounded confident.


    "What''s that supposed to mean? And why the hell should I believe you?" Just because Xander said so didn''t mean Yvonne wouldn''t lose her mind again. If she snapped, nobody could stop her. For Xander to be this sure, something must have happened.


    "She believes the baby''s mine now." Xander''s voice was different-softening a little —as he reached over and took Yvonne''s hand in his. Yvonne immediately rolled her eyes at him, trying to pull free, but Xander''s grip only tightened.


    Dan, on the other end, was floored. "She... she really believes you?" He sounded downright suspicious. Just like that? "Seriously?"


    "Yeah," Xander confirmed. "So rx at least she won''t being after you about the baby anymore."


    At least not about the baby. What other reasons there could be, well, that was anyone''s guess.


    Dan finally allowed the idea to sink in. He''d been gearing up to hunt Xander and Yvonne down,


    determined to finally put all this et


    rest after everything he''d been put through fately. There was no way he''d just let this grudge slide.


    Now that Derek had sorted out Adelle and her whole family-and the biggest pain at


    ck Gate was dealt with—maybe it was time for a change of direction...


    But now that he heard the news, Dan''s curiosity got the better of him.


    "So, what kind of beating did you get?" He couldn''t stop the note of wicked glee from seeping into his tone. Dan remembered all too well how Yvonne had beaten the daylights out of him like touching her had been some unforgivable sin. He still had nasty w marks on his face from theirst encounter. Surely Xander had gotten his fair share, too.


    He didn''t even wait for Xander to answer before piling on, "You at the hospital right now?"


    "How many specialists did you have to see? A surgeon for your ribs and a dermatologist for the scratches? Maybe a trauma doc too? With Yvonne, you never know."


    Dan remembered the first time he''d been on the wrong end of one of her rages he''d clocked in visits to both dermatology and orthopedics, and she''d even managed to do a number on his stomach. For a whole week, he couldn''t keep a single meal down.


    She''d managed tond him in three different hospital wards with just one rampage.


    “And you, man?” Dan continued, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You ought to count your blessings. If I hadn''t been taking the fall for you all this time, you''d have been a dead man by now."