The phone slipped from my trembling hand and fell to the floor with a soft thud. My chest was tight, the air in the truck feeling thinner with every passing second. My uncle's words echoed in my mind, each one more suffocating than the last. You'll change your mind soon enough.
I made myself breathe, to think. I had to focus. I couldn't let him win. Not now, after all I'd been through.
Julian's voice cut through the silence, shaking but urgent. "Skylar, we'll figure this out. We won't let him take you or the twins. You can't go back to him, not after everything.
"I have to," I said, my voice shaking, but I pushed the words out. "If I don't, he'll hurt them. He's already made it clear he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. I. I have to protect them."
Julian's fists clenched, frustration etched upon his face. "And what about you? What happens to you when you go back there?
