Page 24

“No, uh, just you,” Skylar said.
“I can’t leave her. What’s going on, Skylar?” I asked, stepping closer.
“Please, it’s a matter of life or death.” She slipped out of my reach and tore out the side exit.
Fuck.
I grabbed Izzie and held her on my hip as I jogged toward the side exit.
I pushed open the door.
The bright sunlight momentarily blinded me.
“I’m sorry,” Skylar’s voice whispered from behind.
A white van parked outside the door. The back door slid open, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw Benjamin Ryan, my ex-husband on the other side, a gun in his hand.
I reached behind me for the entrance to the mall, the door, my escape.
It was locked from the outside.
“Get in,” Ben said, gesturing with the gun to follow his orders.
Slowly, I put Izzie down, planting her feet on the ground. “Run!” I shouted at her, praying that she listened and would go to get help.
I didn’t want her tangled up in my mess.
What was Skylar doing with Ben? Since when had they become friends?
Izzie clutched to my side, unwilling to run, to save herself.
He cocked off the safety of the gun and pointed it at the little brunette’s head. “Get in, or she dies!”