Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

The Next Three Days

Hull and Dan were practically losing their minds trying to find Susanna. But no one had a clue where Yvonne had taken her. Every possible place they could think of-places Yvonne might go had been turned upside down, but nothing. Not a trace.

At the Quinn family manor, the mood was tense. Stella had been trying to get in touch with Yvonne and Susanna for days. Ever since Susanna made that phone call three days ago, her cell had been dead. Yvonne's phone, unsurprisingly, was switched off too, and none of her people could be reached.

Now, in the dining room, the atmosphere was thick with worry. Stella poked at her scrambled eggs, barely eating. Hull and Ronald sat across from her, both looking grim.

Ronald took a sip of his coffee and tried to sound casual. "Didn't Hugo get you that info? And your Lincoln's already back, isn't he?"

Hull's voice was flat. "It's been three days."

Ronald shrugged. "You know how Yvonne is. If she doesn't want to be found, nobody's going to find her. That's just how she is."

Hull clenched his jaw. He couldn't stop thinking about how he'd felt all those years ago-worried sick about Stella being in Yvonne's hands. Like Yvonne herself had said, she could be reckless and didn't always know where the line was.

"She's still sick," Hull muttered.

Ronald said nothing, just shot him a cold sideways look.

Stella didn't dare say a word. The memory flashed through her mind: Yvonne, swallowing a mouthful of oatmeal, shouting across the foyer, "Relax, Hull, I know how to take care of people."

Back then, Yvonne had been sick too when she was taken away. Hull's face was tight with barely restrained frustration, his eyes flicking to Stella as if blaming her for something unspoken.

Ronald glared at him. "If you're gonna mope around like a ghost, why even bother being here? You'd be better off using that time to keep looking for them."

Hull let out a humorless laugh. "I've already searched half the damn planet in the last three days."noveldrama

And it was true. He'd searched every coastal town, every place with even a hint of a marina. If someone was going to dump a person in the ocean for "training," only Yvonne would come up with an idea like that.

The worst part was, Susanna was just a regular girl-she had no background, no experience. It was insane to drag her into this.

"If you want her back, you should go talk to Xander," Ronald said.

Hull's expression darkened. Even hearing Xander's name made him bristle. Xander had gone completely off the rails lately, insisting on getting involved. But as much as he hated to admit it, Hull didn't really believe Xander knew where Yvonne wás, either.

"You really think Yvonne would let him know where she's hiding?"

"He is her husband," Ronald pointed out.

Hull just gritted his teeth, furious all over again. He knew exactly why Xander was meddling-Dan was also looking for Yvonne and Susanna, and Xander just wanted to be a thorn in Dan's side. If those three wanted to fight, fine. But why the hell did Susanna have to get dragged in?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Eventually, Hull stormed out of the room.

Ronald watched him go, then noticed Stella hadn't even touched her glass of milk.

With a gentle smile, he picked it up and held it out to her.

Stella grimaced. "Is Hull mad at me now or what?"

It was ridiculous. Susie was her best friend-if anyone should be upset, it should be her, not Hull. But

somehow, in the last few days, it felt like Hull had more of a claim over Susanna than she did.

Ronald just nudged the glass toward her. "Drink your milk."

"Do I have to?" she whined.

He nodded, patient but firm.

Stella groaned, but took the glass. She managed half of it before giving up; it tasted terrible, and she couldn't choke down another sip. Ronald didn't force her to finish it.

As he sat back down, Stella's anxiety bubbled over. "You're sure Yvonne's not going to do anything crazy with Susie, right?"

She'd been worried sick these past few days.