Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath

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?"

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.

Yvonne?" Hull's

hell kind of

haven't seen her. I woke up and I

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

Just water-nothing but water.

as he realized Susanna must have been dumped on the boat without even knowing it. He worked frantically to

No luck.

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

she was

her phone back on to call

to explain where she was before her

he realized her location wasn't showing up, and her

on, Susanna. I'll

before you do...?"

line

Hull frowned. "What's wrong?"

God... it's huge... What

enormous silhouette gliding toward her boat. Her

Hull shouted, hearing the panic in her

limp. Her phone slipped from her trembling fingers and

time, the screen went black-battery

She could only see its back,

as big as two SUVS parked side

in short gasps. "Mom... what is

A shark? A whale?

going to end up as fish food

cry, but