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Chapter Seventeen
Skylar
I never had a plan, not when Don DeLuca demanded that I help his associate nab three girls by midnight.
Running might have been the better option, but I wasn’t one to flee. Besides, where would I have gone that wouldn’t have winded up with me, shot dead and tossed into the forest.
Ben had insisted we do the kidnapping at the mall.
He was an idiot.
I couldn’t believe he wanted us to grab three girls while on camera. Was he trying to get us caught? Maybe he wanted me tossed in jail, and he planned on driving away, leaving my ass behind.
I put nothing past him.
We weren’t friends.
I didn’t even like the bastard.
Would Jayden come for me? I doubted that I’d happen to run into him. That was too big of a coincidence, and I didn’t so much as have my cell phone on me that he could track.
I’d done as instructed, stalked into the mall and upon seeing Ariella, I had hoped that I could involve her, if only for her help.
Having lived with her and Jaxson for the past few months, I knew her secret. Ariella had once been a C.I.A. operative. Well, I knew she worked for the C.I.A.
I wasn’t exactly sure what she did, but if anyone had training and could get us out of this mess, Ariella was smart, cunning, and had been through enough hostage situations that she had to be prepared this time.
Right?
Boy, was I wrong.
Fuck me.
I still couldn’t get over the fact Izzie came chasing after us.
Don’t get me wrong. I hate kids. I plan never to have any, but she’s my niece, and as much as she’s a snotty toddler, she’s also my kin.
Why couldn’t she have listened to Ariella tell her to run?
I should have done something.
I could have fought Ben, helped her get away, and aid in my own escape, too.
But I’d been foolish and selfish. The truth was, I was afraid that Ben would kill me or worse, the little girl who he pointed the gun at.
And so I’d done what I’d been told, sheepishly climbed into the van and prayed that one day Ariella and Jaxson would find it in their heart to forgive me.
Today wasn’t going to be that day.
“Get out!” Ben shouted at us, waving his gun.
This time he wasn’t alone.
He’d parked the van by the back entrance of the compound, and DeLuca’s men held their guns, reminding us to obey their commands.
No one wanted to climb out of the van first, least of all me.
The girls didn’t budge, and I’d been here long enough to know that if we didn’t follow their instruction, there would be consequences.