Page 73 of Billion-Dollar Ransom

KAITLIN RAN OUT of the movie theater and darted through the middle of the Grove shopping center, which was starting to look like a ghost town at this hour.

The retail stores were closing for the night, leaving only the AMC and one lone Asian bo?te with a pricey cocktail lounge open.

Was there not a single security guard around? Seriously?

She could hear the stranger behind her, running just as fast as Kaitlin. This crazy bitch might be tired, but she was also quick and athletic. That was not good.

Kaitlin was wary about running up to another stranger out here, because who knew? This psycho could have an accomplice. Kidnappers usually worked in teams.

You have no idea who’s around. Who might be watching.

Kaitlin decided that the massive parking structure was her best bet. She might find someone in there with a tin badge and a Taser. And if not, she could hide behind cars and eventually lose this weirdo.

But as she ran toward the garage, a better plan came to mind: She could run back into the theater and leap over the entrance barrier, which would, hopefully, cause a theater employee to call the police.

Hold on. Why wait? She could call the police herself right now. And then do some fancy fake-out end run around her pursuer, make her way back to the AMC, and wait for the po-po to arrive.

Kaitlin looked down at her phone and finally glanced at the text from her mom. To her surprise, it didn’t say Call me please. In fact, it was nothing Kaitlin would have expected in a million years.

Kaitlin stopped running, and so did her pursuer. The woman pulled a phone out of her purse, pressed a number, and said:

“One hundred percent.”