Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

At that moment,

Something strange and unfamiliar surged deep inside Hull's chest.

Especially in his heart-it felt like a giant invisible hand had reached inside and squeezed it tight.

He forced himself to steady his breathing. "Where are you?"

"Out at sea," Susanna's voice trembled on the other end. "The boat's tiny. I feel like it could tip over any second. Oh God, what if I get eaten by sharks?"noveldrama

Right now, Susanna was clinging to her cell phone, looking around at nothing but endless, choppy water. The salty tang of the ocean filled her nose, and there was not a single sign of land in sight.

The little rowboat rocked and bobbed with every swell. It felt like it could flip over at any second.

Her heart sank even further.

Sure, she could swim-but staring out at the endless Atlantic was a whole other level of terrifying.

Hull was already striding out the front door of the Quinn family's estate.

He jumped into his SUV, trying to sound calm. "You'll be fine. Don't panic, okay?"

He grabbed his laptop from the backseat and opened it, fingers flying.

"But I am panicking!" Susanna choked out.

All that bravado she'd mustered back at Hull's side-saying she'd go back to Black Gate to help her mom-felt like it belonged to another person. Alone in the middle of the ocean on a tiny boat, her courage had deserted her.

No people. No help. Nothing but her and this lonely little skiff.

She finally understood what it meant to scream for help and have no one answer.

"Where's Yvonne?" Hull's voice was icy.

What the hell kind of training was this?

"I haven't seen her. I woke up and I was already on this boat," Susanna whimpered.

Her voice cracked. Who in their right mind could fall asleep in their own bed and wake up stranded in the middle of the Atlantic?

Just water-nothing but water.

Hull's jaw tightened as he realized Susanna must have been dumped on the boat without even knowing it. He worked frantically to trace her call while the line was still open.

No luck.

Susanna heard the beeping noise from her phone and glanced at the screen. Her heart plummeted. "My battery's dying. What do I do? What do I do?"

Now she was truly panicking.

She'd barely managed to turn her phone back on to call Hull-he hadn't picked up. She'd finally gotten

through to Star, but hadn't even had the chance to explain where she was before her battery started tanking again.

Hull clenched his teeth as he realized her location wasn't showing up, and her battery was about to die. His eyes narrowed with determination.

"Hang on, Susanna. I'll find you. I promise."

"But what if a shark gets me before you do...?" Her voice dropped off suddenly.

The only thing on the line now was her ragged breathing.

Hull frowned. "What's wrong?"

"It's... oh God... it's huge... What is that?"

Susanna stared in horror at the enormous silhouette gliding toward her boat. Her pupils shrank in terror.

"Susanna? Susanna!" Hull shouted, hearing the panic in her silence.

Susanna's hands went limp. Her phone slipped from her trembling fingers and clattered onto the wooden boards.

At the same time, the screen went black-battery dead.

She stared at the creature approaching her. She could only see its back, but it

was as big as two SUVS parked side by side.

Susanna's breath came in short gasps. "Mom... what is that?"

A shark? A whale?

Was she really going to end up as fish food today?

She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come.

If only she could shoot as well as Star-maybe she wouldn't be in this mess. But

now, where could she even run?

Her survival instincts kicked in as

the creature got closer. Even though

her whole body felt like jelly,

Susanna grabbed the oars and

started paddling like her life

depended on it.

She rowed so frantically, she almost expected to see smoke coming off the oars.

...

Meanwhile, back at the Quinn

estate's front gate, Hull could only

listen as the call cut off, the dead tone ringing in his ears. The muscles in his hand stood out starkly as he gripped his phone.

His face darkened with fury as he stormed back inside.

Ronald, tangled up with Stella and at his wits' end, finally called for Idris.

"Get a team together. I want Yvonne found. Now."