Exported [Book 3 in the Expiring Series]

22 A Lead and The SYFY Pilot is Out

"Thank you."

"I assume you know what you have to do."

I purse my lips and nod once.

She turns and reaches for the door handle, but I wrap my hand around her arm.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

She stares a few seconds more at the door and then drops her hand. Her shoulders sag. "Some part of me cares for Erik even after all the pain he caused everyone. I don't want to see him interrogated by France. But Abella is my friend. I've already betrayed most everyone in my life and don't want to do it again." She runs her hand through her hair, messing up her center part. "That's the thing with betrayal; I don't think most people mean to do it. I think they're doing what they think is best in a situation with no right answer." She hesitates. "Do you see me as a traitor?"

"No. No, I don't."

She closes her eyes, shoulders relaxing. "I was trying to leave the rebels, but I got pulled in for what was supposed to be the last time, and that was the time I got caught."

"You did it for me. You took my place."

She rubs her arm. "It was wrong of them to go after you."

I take her hand. "Thank you, Vienna. I don't think I can ever repay you."

"Just keep what I've given you from all but Colton and Bently. If Abella finds out, she'll never trust me again."

Erik always said everyone could be trusted in some capacity. I don't know how much of that I can believe.

******

I make it to Colton's room without incident even after prowling the halls of the palace at four in the morning. I have to knock harder than I'd like, but eventually comes to the door. His hair is a bit all over the place, and his t-shirt is disheveled from sleep.

I take a page from Vienna's book and, before he can say anything, shove my way inside. Once the door is closed, I hold out the paper to him. "Vienna gave this to me."

He snatches the paper.

"It's Erik's address."

He shoves the into a pocket of his jeans. Tell me he doesn't wear jeans to bed.

"We can't trust that this isn't a trap."

"Vienna wouldn't, and you know that."

"Still we have to be careful."

I drop my bag at his feet. "I'll get Bently while you pack."

I slip back into the hall and make my way a few doors down to Bently's room. As I get closer, I hear a feminine voice shouting. I duck into a separate hall running alongside his room.

The voice is coming from inside, and it's Abella's.

Bently? A female visitor? In the middle of the night? I'm standing here, and I'm still more likely to believe someone if they told me Colton sneaks out to disco clubs in his spare time.

Abella's words are muffled and Bently's are too low to be able to make out what is being said. Something crashes and Bently shouts.

A quick glance of the halls shows no guards running to the rescue.

A door clicks and slams, followed by hurried footsteps.

Once I can no longer hear them, I creep around the corner and knock on Bently's door.

After only a few seconds, the door is thrown open and Bently stands there, his face contorted in a scowl. His eyes focus on me and his expression actually softens. That's a first.

"You didn't hear anything."

"Hear what?"

He ushers me inside to his room that is a mess. The four chairs of his table are on their sides. The table itself is overturned. Shards of something ceramic lie at the base of the fireplace.

Those two cannot be allowed in the same room together.

"Why are you here?" he asks once the door is shut.

I give him the run down and before I even finish, he heads for his wardrobe. "When do we leave?" he asks, pulling clothes off the rack.

"Now."

Bently begins packing stuff into a bag. putting stuff in my bag. Asking him of Abella is at the tip of my tongue, but everyone is pretty sure Bently tried to kill me at least once. We have a good thing going now. Bringing up the French princess will only ruin that.

There's a knock at the door, and Bently answers it.

Colton strolls in, my bag and his slung over one shoulder. "Hey, losers. Ready to save our delinquent cousins?"

******

Getting out of the palace is surprisingly easy when Colton storms out of it muttering about Vienna. He provides enough of a distraction that Bently and I are able to follow him without being seen by keeping in the shadows.

Getting a car is even easier. Before Colton's dramatic exit, Bently, being the only one of us who speaks French, called for a taxi.

We pile into the back of the car, our sides pressed up against each other. I'm stuck in the middle. Bently gives the man directions and settles back in the seat, letting his head arch over the too-low headrest.

The clock on the driver's dashboard lets me know it's after five. I drum my hand on my knee.

I'm going to see Erik. I haven't seen him since he boarded the plane to come here.

Colton covers my hand with his own. When I glance up at him, he rolls his eyes. "You were making me jittery."

He doesn't remove his hand. The warmth of it is actually comforting when it's not around my neck.

He squeezes my hand and that's oddly comforting too. 

Don't forget to check out the pilot to see Jonas, Colton, Iris, and Erik in real life!