Exported [Book 3 in the Expiring Series]

29 Rose Lattes

Iris~~

We left for Paris before the sun rose, taking Andrew's car Basile had switched out the license plate on. Being the only one who's not currently wanted, Basile went out last night and brought back a long black wig for me, a black wig as well for Erik and a blond one for Bently. Erik had to help us put them on.

All I will say is that the two of them don't pull off those colors.

As Bently holds open the door of the bookstore he found online last night, I pull the black hair of my wig forward and walk past him into the shop. No smell of old books hits me. All the books are new and displayed on clear shelves against light brown walls.

Before Erik can follow us inside, Bently lets the door swing shut in his face.

Erik and I aren't convinced how a bookstore is going to help with anything, but Bently insisted and got into the driver's seat before Erik could.

Erik pulls open the door, jabbing Bently in the side with his elbow before disappearing to somewhere in the back of the shop.

I follow Bently down one of the aisles. There are other guests browsing throughout the store, but they pay us no attention. I wonder how often Bently gets ignored.

I make out a few words on the spines. I have no idea what I'm looking for though.

Bently pulls a blue and yellow paperback off the shelf, turning it over and running his hand over it.

"This is one of my favorites."

"What's it about?"

"A man stranded in the desert and what he's willing to sacrifice to survive." Does he eat his arm?

I trail my finger over the spines. "Can I ask you something?"

"Haven't you already been doing that?"

"Something personal."

He tenses.

"Not about Abella."

"Let's hear it then."

"You always say your mother wasn't around, but she was still at the Estate. Why didn't you go down and see her?"

He swallows and hands me the book. "I used to be scared of going down below our Estates. With the dark stone and candelabras, it was the epitome of Dracula's castle. The Amoris terrified me—even my own mother. It's not that way now, and if my mother really wanted to, she could have come up to see me."

"This is probably completely over stepping, so please don't feel like you have to answer, but are your parents not together anymore?"

He shakes his head, turning back to the bookshelf. "My father was running out of time to have an heir who would be in the Order. My mother had an opportunity to have a child in the Order. So they married, and after I was born they didn't need each other anymore." Scanning the bookshelf, he shrugs. "I'm the Digamma so everyone got what they wanted." He faces me, his eyes narrowed. "And what I want right now is to find that Amoris."

I hold up the book he handed me. "What am I supposed to do with his?"

"What kind of prey is the easiest to catch?"

I raise my eyebrows and lower the book. "What?"

"The distracted kind."

I still have no idea why we came here.