Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

That was Barnaby's first reaction.

He immediately blurted, "Wait, are you messing with us?"

"What?"

What kind of logic was that?

His thoughts jumped around so fast, no one could keep up.

Barnaby pressed on, "Come on, I don't buy it. You're an undercover, and you can't

even handle basic shooting?"

Susanna gaped at him. Seriously? He was still doubting her?

Oh, come on...

But the moment Barnaby brought up Susanna being a mole, he perked right up.

"So, you and your mom are really done with Black Gate this time, huh?"

"If you want to talk about breaking ties, that should've happened ages ago. Derek

Murray is a total snake."

"According to the files, he and his current wife claim they've got one son and two

daughters, but honestly, something seems off about that whole story."

Susanna rolled her eyes. "What do you mean, 'off'?"

Barnaby shrugged. "Who knows? That whole Black Gate crew is a mess, like a

frat house after homecoming."

Black Gate's info was locked down tighter than Fort Knox-nobody on the outside

could get real intel, especially about their current leader.

Barnaby always had a feeling there was more than one person running the show

over there, not just old Dan Duff after he stepped down.

"Really, you don't have to convince all of us," Barnaby said, lowering his voice.

"As long as the Boss trusts you, you're good. But don't get any ideas about

double-crossing him, or we won't hesitate to take you out. For real."

These guys were loyal to Hull to the core.

When Barnaby finally dropped the Black Gate talk, Susanna just gave him a

withering look. "So, are you gonna teach me or not?"

Barnaby hesitated, obviously torn.

Susanna was done waiting. She spun on her heel and stomped down the stairs,noveldrama

her boots thumping against the wood.

Barnaby scrambled to catch up. "Hey, come on, there's no need to be like that!"

Susanna was already getting a headache.

It wasn't until Barnaby shoved a pistol into her hands that things got real. She

didn't even dare to pull the trigger at first.

Barnaby thought she was faking it, putting on an act.

But when she finally fired her first

shot-and the recoil nearly sent the

gun flying out of her hands-he

finally started to believe her.

He stared at the red mark blooming across the web of her hand. "Wait... you

seriously don't know how to shoot?"

Susanna shot him another look that said, Are you kidding me?

Barnaby scratched his head. "Huh. So how did Black Gate pick you as their

undercover? Must be that you're smart, huh?"

"Well, you are smart," he admitted. "Starting your own gig now, huh? Gotta say,

you've got guts."

But no matter how much Susanna

denied being Black Gate's spy in

Hull's crew, Barnaby just wouldn't

buy it. Who knows what kind of logic

he was running on.

Hull came back just in time to see Susanna-small and wiry-holding the pistol,

aiming awkwardly at a battered road sign out back.

Her arms shook with every shot, her brow furrowed in frustration.

The empty beer can she'd set up as a target barely wobbled when she hit it, but

she gritted her teeth and kept trying.

Barnaby watched her, unimpressed. "Well, you're not afraid to shoot anymore, but

your aim's all over the place."

"Here, here, hold it up-yeah, just like that. Keep your eye on the target.

Remember that spot."

"If you miss again, you might as well give up."

He was losing patience.

Susanna was about ready to scream. Was he even speaking English? None of his

instructions made any sense.

Barnaby finally stepped back to let her try again. When he saw Hull approaching,

Barnaby tensed up, ready to call out to the Boss.

But Hull gave him a quick hand signal to keep quiet.

Waving Barnaby away, Hull stepped forward.

Susanna, meanwhile, was still trying

to make sense of Barnaby's advice,

but it just wasn't working-the sight

was off, and she couldn't even see

the target properly.

She was just about to adjust her grip when suddenly, she felt a strong arm around

her waist and a firm hand guiding her wrist.

She sucked in a breath, instinctively trying to pull away...