Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

Ronald's eyes glinted with something unreadable, a shadow of a smile playing at his lips. He pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned to Xander. "You should probably be saying that to Yvonne, not me."

Yvonne?

Xander barely had time to picture her—always a whirlwind, probably already chasing after Skye-before he remembered she'd run off in a storm earlier. He'd tried calling her, but her phone had gone straight to voicemail. Probably dead, knowing her.

Ronald took a sip of his coffee, the mug steaming between his hands. "So, why'd you run?"

The question soured Xander's face; he couldn't hide it.

"I didn't run."

Run? He honestly wanted to hunt Shawn Schultz down and wring his neck right now. That idiot. Did he look like the type to bail at the first sign of trouble? And yet, Shawn had grabbed him and bolted like they were escaping a burning building.

But, to be fair, Shawn did know Yvonne pretty damn well.

Sure enough, the moment Yvonne came to, all hell broke loose at Ferrowland. Dan passed out at the hospital-twice, actually. Aira took a peanut to the head for her troubles...

Ronald raised an eyebrow. "Didn't run? Then how'd things end up like this?"

Xander sputtered. "!!"

Things had gotten out of hand, to put it mildly.

Yesterday, in the span of a single afternoon, Yvonne had sent Dan to the ER and

then shot Aira-thank God it was just a paintball. But still, chaos.

Xander glared at Ronald. "You knew yesterday, didn't you?"

That was why Ronald had said what he did at the front door. He'd seen it all coming.

Ronald set his coffee down, smiling but saying nothing.

Xander snorted. "You old fox. You planned this, didn't you?"

Truth be told, Ronald had probably figured everything out the moment Yvonne started rounding people up for payback.noveldrama

But why hadn't he said anything?

Ronald laced his fingers together and leaned forward. "Some folks have to clean up their own messes If Yvonne's got it in her to settle the score who am I to step in? Doesn't matter if her methods are... less than diplomatic. Some people just don't deserve diplomacy."

In Ronald's eyes, Yvonne's approach was just right.

Xander bristled. The word "responsibility" made his heart skip a beat. He could practically feel it thumping in his chest.

Ronald gave him a sideways look. "So, seriously, why'd you run? Afraid Yvonne was gonna skin you alive?"

"I told you, I didn't run!"

How many times did he have to say it? Xander was about to lose it. Shawn had really dragged his name through the mud this time.

Ronald's eyebrow arched higher.

Xander couldn't take that look. "It was Shawn, okay? He's the one who dragged me out of there."

The more he talked, the angrier he got.

Honestly, when he woke up that morning and saw Yvonne next to him, he thought he was

he'd never, ever imagined being with that way. She'd always been one of the guys, practically his best bud since childhood, and now? Now she was...well, something else entirely.

hallucinating. Yvonne-someonen et

Who wouldn't lose their mind in that situation?

Ronald stayed silent, which only made Xander grumble more. "Ashley and Lott were there, too."

That seemed to make something click for Ronald.

Ah, so Shawn wasn't the only one involved.

"So, those three were in on it?"

"In on what?"

"The hotel surveillance, changing the check-in records... that was them?"

Ronald had wondered about that

yesterday. Xander wasn't exactly the type to cut and run, but with Shawn

ined? Suddenly, it all made

sense.