Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

The security guard looked like he was going to burst into tears.

Stella ran a perfectly manicured hand through her blond hair. "Alright, last chance. The security footage... who deleted it?"

She lifted her gaze, eyes dark and stormy, and stared him down. The kind of look that could freeze someone to the spot.

The security guard, faced with that glare, just crumpled. He dropped to his knees, hands shaking. "I swear, I didn't delete anything! The system just crashed, I promise!"

Stella picked up the pistol on the table-her fingers wrapping around it with casual ease.

Suddenly, the room was dead silent. As she leveled the gun at the guard, nobody so much as breathed.

The poor guy squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head. "It's broken, Ms. Quinn! Even if you shoot me, it's still broken!"

The hotel manager rushed in, beads of sweat on his brow. "Ms. Quinn, please, let's not do anything drastic. The footage-really, it's just a technical issue! We'll compensate you, whatever you need."

Under Stella's not-so-subtle threat, both the manager and the guard were stammering messes.

Yvonne scoffed, arms crossed. "Compensate? Please. I was assaulted in your hotel. How are you going to make that right?"

The manager nearly choked. "I-uh-well, how do we... compensate for that?"

This was a nightmare. People usually came to hotels for their own secret business, but this? A guest attacked in her own room? What kind of horror show was this?

The manager was sweating through his suit, practically vibrating in place.

Yvonne stepped forward and gently pushed Stella's hand down. "Enough. It's probably just broken."

No one had made any sense, and they all looked scared out of their minds. If they were hiding something, they'd have cracked by now.

Stella seemed to agree. There wasn't a soul in the world who'd stare death in the face and not spill the truth if there was something to tell.

She lowered the gun. The manager and the guard both exhaled in shaky relief.

Yvonne waved a hand. "Get out. Both of you."

Really, what could they offer? Money? As if she cared about that. And as for her first time—what, were they going to buy that back for her?noveldrama

The manager and the guard practically tripped over themselves trying to escape, grateful for the chance to leave with their lives.

Once it was just the two of them again, Stella glanced at Yvonne. "Guess the cameras really are busted."

She remembered the terror on their faces. No one had lied, which meant the footage really was lost.

"Yeah," Yvonne muttered, feeling completely drained. "Great. Just what we needed."

Whoever that bastard was, he'd better hope she never found him. If she did, she'd tear him apart, limb from limb.

Stella's eyes lit up with a new idea. "I've got another plan."

Yvonne looked skeptical. "You do?"

Stella nodded. "We can check the street cameras outside."

Yvonne rolled her eyes. "We don't even know who did it. And with all the people

coming in and out of this place, what good is that?"

But Stella was staring at the red marks on Yvonne's neck, her expression thoughtful. "I think it might've been someone you know."

Yvonne's eyes went wide. "Wait-what?"

A familiar face? Someone she knew would actually do this to her? If that was true, well-at least that made things simpler. Whoever it was, she'd deal with them herself.

Across town, at Xander's place.

Shawn, Ashley, and Lott sat around the kitchen table, looking like they'd just survived a zombie apocalypse.

Xander stood off to the side, a cigar smoldering between his fingers, his face a mask of icy rage.

He was the worst off of the

bunch and for good reason. Shawn and Ashley had practically dragged him home after what happened, and he hadn't said a word since.

Shawn finally broke the silence, voice shaky. "Hey Xander, you think maybe you

should call Yvonne? Check if the witch is coming after us yet?"

He let out a nervous laugh.

The memory of those screams from the hotel room still haunted them When they realized Yvonne was waking up, panic had set in. If she'd caught them, she might've literally killed them on the spot.

So they'd grabbed Xander and run for their lives, not stopping to think or even breathe until now.

Three grown men, running for their lives from one furious woman. How had it come to this?