Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella) novel Chapter 865

Dan had just gotten off the phone with Xander, still seething with anger, when he heard Blacktower was calling for him.

He spat out two words, annoyed: “Not going!”

Carroll, ever the eager assistant, chimed in, “Want me to tell them that?”

“Wait…”

“What now?”

Dan sighed, “Get the car ready.”

Honestly, he hadn’t been in a rush about this whole Susanna thing. He figured Yvonne and Xander could handle it themselves and ask around if they needed help.

But this woman—she was like a rabid dog, lashing out at everyone when she couldn’t find her target.

Now, thanks to her, he had to get involved in the wild goose chase too.

Just thinking about it made Dan’s blood boil.

—

Meanwhile, on Xander’s side of town—

Yvonne slammed back a glass of milk in one gulp, fuming. “Still not tough enough, huh?”

She’d been repeating that line since last night.

She was convinced Black Gate wouldn’t give up Susanna because they hadn’t hit them hard enough yet.

It was like they hadn’t suffered losses big enough—nothing compared to what Lacey took from them back in the day.

So, they’d rather take the hit than hand someone over!

Xander just looked at her, deep in thought, but said nothing.

Yvonne raked a hand through her hair. “Jeez, I’ve never come up against someone this stubborn!”

Even after everything they’d done, they still hadn’t gotten what they wanted. First time for everything, she supposed.

“If we don’t find Susanna soon, Star’s gonna be heartbroken. She was comforting me on the phone last night, can you believe that?”

Mentioning Stella made Yvonne feel a pang of guilt.

She felt like she’d let her little sister down—especially knowing how much Susanna had looked out for Stella during all those years in Portis City.

“What’s with that look?”

“Nothing,” he replied, “just wondering if Susanna’s really in Black—”

“Let’s just hope she’s alive!” Yvonne cut him off, voice tight.

Xander paused, turning that thought over in his mind.

Alive or not…?

He closed his eyes, sifting through every reaction since Susanna disappeared. Hull, Stella, Yvonne… everyone’s behavior had seemed normal.

But as he lingered on the words “she comforted me,” Xander’s eyes snapped open, fixing on Yvonne.

Yvonne kept rambling, insisting they needed to push Black Gate even harder.

Her wild speculation eventually landed on Adelle.

She was convinced Adelle was the most likely culprit—after all, Lacey and Adelle had fought over the same man years ago, Lacey had a child, and she’d taken resources from Black Gate when she left.

With all that history, Adelle would definitely be worried about Lacey and Derek rekindling their old flame.