Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 25


    2


    BELLE


    Once I had finally pushed Grayson away from me, feeling embarrassed to be having a hot make–out session in public, we caught a cab to a ce where Grayson said there were a lot of cute shops that we could walk through.


    The architecture of Paris amazed me. All the buildings were so beautiful and cohesive. The shops were all cool too. It was too bad that they were all way out of my price range.


    As we continued to walk, I couldn’t help but wonder if we were anywhere near my mother.


    This area kind of looked like where my mother lived based on my memory of thest time I’d gone to visit her. It was so long ago, but I remembered the trip so vividly.


    She lived in an apartment above a shop called E.Dehillerin, a cute little cooking shop.


    I’d loved walking around it, browsing when I’de to visit with my dad years ago, especially because it had gotten me away from my mother.


    “Grayson?”


    He looked at me.


    “Do you know if we’re anywhere near a shop called E.Dehillerin? A friend told me about it before I came, and I was just wondering if we’re close to it.”


    “Let me check,” he said and took out his phone. I watched him type in his password, and I quickly put it to memory as it would be helpful to know forter.


    “It’s actually only a few blocks from here–about a five–minute walk.”


    My eyes widened. I was much closer to my mother than I’d thought.


    “Did you want to go there?” Grayson asked.


    “Hmm…I thought about it. Did I want to go see my mother? This trip was supposed to be a it to her, and she hadn’t heard from me since I’d gotten on the ne back in Minnesota.


    UNLIMITED sort of owe her an exnation as to why I hadn’t shown up to her house a couple of weeks


    ago. Plus, who knew when the next time I’d be able to contact her would be?


    12:19 Sat, 23 Deci


    If everything went smoothly, I would be on a ne tonight and back in the normal world by


    tomorrow.


    I knew that Grayson would freak out. Thest thing I needed was for him to go to my mother and demand information from her about how to find me.


    What if he hurt her? I knew he was capable of violence, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if my mother got hurt because of me. Grayson couldn’te with me.


    But I had to go see her.


    I shook my head quickly.


    “No, I actually like the shops around here. But maybeter?” I asked.


    Grayson smiled. “Of course.”


    We continued walking, and Grayson kept one arm tightly around me. I couldn’t help but notice that no one was looking at us.


    They all bowed their heads as we passed, keeping their eyes low to the ground.


    It only happened once or twice that someone would identally look at us, and Grayson would let out a low growl under his breath and tug me closer to him.


    The person would immediately look away and bare their n*eck to him. It shocked me how much power Grayson seemed to have over these people. Is everyone in Paris a werewolf?


    We came across a small bookstore and I quickly pulled Grayson inside.


    “C’mon,” I said. “I want to find a book.”


    My anxiety was skyrocketing. Now was the time.


    We looked around for a while as I came up with my n. This store was actually cute. It was two stories and full of all sorts of books in both French and English.


    There was an adorable olddy behind the front counter, helping people with a kind smile.


    I turned to Grayson. “Will you help me find a book?”


    Grayson looked at me. “Sure.”


    allowed hard. I really hope this works.


    Okay, it’s called Hands of Gold and it’s by Michael Johnson. It was my dad’s favorite book, and I can’t think of a better ce to buy it than in Paris.”


    I felt quilty Iving to him, but I didn’t have a choice There wasn’t actually a book called H…


    12:19 Sat, 23 Dec


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    I felt guilty lying to him, but I didn’t have a choice. There wasn’t actually a book called Hands of Gold that I knew of, but I needed to get Grayson away from me for enough time to get to my


    mother.


    “Absolutely. Let’s go find it,” Grayson said as he walked away.


    “Wait,” I said, grabbing onto his hand. He stopped and turned to look at me.


    “I don’t know what genre it is, so I thought that I would look down here and


    you could go- upstairs and look for it. It could be science fiction, or fantasy, or horror, or mystery. I don’t know what the book is about, only that it was his favorite.”


    “Okay….” Grayson said slowly. “Are you sure you’re okay being away from me for a bit? I saw how freaked out you were at the coffee shop.”


    I smiled, trying to calm my nerves. I actually was a bit worried about that.


    “Well, we have to try it out sooner orter. You won’t be that far from me. And I really want to find this book.” I touched Grayson’s arm. “It would mean a lot to me.”


    Grayson nodded, looking a bit hesitant as he took a step back.


    “Okay,” he said. “I’ll be right back. Just shout if you need me, and I’ll be at your side within seconds.” He leaned down and gave me a k*ss.


    My b*dy warmed up as his l*ps moved softly against mine.


    Before the k*ss could get too heated, I pulled away from him and smiled.


    “The sooner we find the book, the sooner you cane back to me.” I k*ssed him onest time. “I’ll look down here while


    you look upstairs.”


    Grayson nodded and stepped away from me. “Okay.”


    I watched as he walked up the stairs to the second floor, never looking away from me. I could feel the dull ache grow in my chest from being apart, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the pain before.


    I let out a relieved breath. Okay. I can do this.


    I smiled at him onest time before he reached the top of the stairs and turned the corner onto the second floor.


    I immediately ran to thedy at the front desk.


    G


    UNLIMITED


    do you speak English?” I asked her.


    She looked up from herputer, seeming a bit shocked.


    “Um, of course. What can I help you with, miss?” she asked in a thick French ent.


    “Oh, thank goodness,” I said.


    “I need your help, please. In a few minutes, a man is going toe down those stairs looking for me, and when he realizes that I’m no longer in the store, he may freak out.


    “I need you to tell him that there was something important I needed to do and that I’ll be back in a little bit. Tell him not to freak out.”


    The woman gave me a strange look. “Miss, I don’t know…”


    “I’m sorry, this is a strange thing that I’m asking you to do.” I quickly opened my purse and took out a twenty euro note and handed it to her.


    “Please do this for me. If he gets too upset, just keep reminding him I will be back soon. Do not call the police.”


    The woman’s eyes widened. “Miss, are you in danger? Do you need me to call someone?”


    I shook my head quickly. “No, no. It’s nothing like that. I have something I need to do and my… my boyfriend can’te. Nothing is wrong, I promise.


    “But-” she said.


    “Now, I have to go. I don’t have much time. Can you do this for me?”


    The woman nced down at the money in her hand and then back at me. She’nodded. “I can do this.”


    My heart lifted. I felt like hugging this sweet old woman.


    “Thank you so much,” I said, stepping away from the counter. “You have no clue how much this


    means to me.”


    She


    gave me a sweet smile. “Of course, my dear. Please stay safe.”


    “Thank you,” I said. And then I turned and ran out the door, beginning my sprint down the


    street.