Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

If someone who didn't know Jaxon overheard this, they'd probably think he was legitimately crazy.

Stella took a sip of her oatmeal and nodded. "Yeah, he really needs to get some help. I swear, that guy's got more energy than sense. Never knows where to put it, either."

She rolled her eyes. "He'll move mountains when all he needs to do is open a door."

Ronald spent the morning at home with Stella, just hanging around. They didn't go anywhere.

Around ten, Idris stopped by. He greeted Ronald with a respectful nod. "Sir, it's done."

Before Ronald could say a word, Stella blurted out, "Wait, you actually sent Jaxon to a psychiatric hospital?"

Idris nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Stella's eyes went wide. "Oh my God. That's brutal."

Idris turned to Ronald. "Mr. Miguel had some trouble last night."

"What kind of trouble?" Ronald asked.

Idris hesitated. "The Nelson twins-Leanne and Ivanna-the ones running Black Gate? They broke into Mr. Miguel's house last night, tried to take Miss Susanna."

Stella froze, spoon halfway to her mouth. "What?"

Ronald glanced at her, and Stella's heart skipped a beat. "Is Susie okay?"

"Miss Susanna's fine. Mr. Miguel's fine too," Idris reassured.

Stella let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God. As long as they're both alright."

She frowned. "But what did Ivanna and Leanne want with her?"

Stella had heard of the Nelson twins. Their reputation preceded them-mean as snakes and twice as ugly, rumor had it. If there was trouble, they were usually in the middle of it.

Idris cleared his throat. "They're... well, they're Miss Susanna's sisters."

Stella blinked. "What?"

"Sisters?" She could hardly believe it.noveldrama

Idris nodded. "Black Gate's current boss is also Miss Susanna's brother."

Stella's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me. Like, actual siblings?"

"As far as the public knows, yes," Idris confirmed.

Stella just stared, dumbfounded.

Well, if they're all related, that explains a lot. Still, Susanna couldn't be that much older than her brother... and yet he's already running Black Gate?

Idris shrugged. "That's what the official story says. Whether he's a brother or an older cousin or something, who knows?"

Stella shook her head. "This is... this is a mess."

The more she thought about it, the more tangled it got. Susanna's family tree was more like a bramble bush.

"So who was in charge of Black Gate before?" Stella asked.

"Miss Tucker's mother. After she left, her father took over for a while, then passed it to the current boss," Idris explained.

Stella nodded, finally piecing it together. Susanna's life was way more complicated than she'd guessed. She always thought Susanna just came from your run-of-the-mill single-parent home.

And that idiot Susanna-hadn't even called her last night, despite all this chaos. Maybe she was finally getting used to living in a world that always seemed on the verge of falling apart. Maybe she was finally learning to handle it on her own.

Yeah. She was going to have to stand up for herself, sooner or later. And with the way things were going, Stella could see Susanna and her mom headed for a showdown.

Idris interrupted her thoughts. "Things might get tricky now."

Ronald raised an eyebrow.

Idris continued, "No one's sure who else broke in last night, but all the security systems went off. Leanne got badly hurt."

Ronald's expression grew serious. "Badly?"

"Yeah. Now Black Gate's blaming Mr. Miguel. There's a real grudge there," Idris said.

Stella grimaced. So this is what a real mess looked like.

Word was, the Black Gate boss was crazy about those twin sisters of his. This wasn't going to blow over easily.

Once Idris finished his report, he left. He'd barely closed the door when Xander walked in.

Stella took one look at Xander and headed upstairs she knew better than to hang around for this.

Xander dropped into the chair across from Ronald, pulled out a Cuban cigar, and lit up. Ronald scowled. "Not in here."

Xander chuckled. "What, this place is sacred now?"

Everyone knew how protective Ronald was of Stella. This was nothing new.

Ronald just shot him a look, saying nothing.

"Alright, alright, I'll put it out," Xander said, stubbing out the cigar.

Then he laced his fingers together, leaned in, and looked Ronald straight in the eye. "About the night before last... That was me."