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We both turned as a man walked up. I immediately recognized him from the dinner party I’d attended with the senator.
“Ah, Steven, you’re here,” Henry greeted. “Sorry for the delay. There was a bit of a problem.” He recapped the situation for his friend, who tried to put on a show of concern, but it was hard to buy when his eyes remained cold through it all.
The senator turned to his bodyguards with an order for them to clear out the building. Within twenty minutes, the only people left behind were me, the senator, Steven, and security.
The process was smooth for them, but it was another level of awkward for me. The campaign workers leveled glares at me one by one, no doubt jealous of Burke’s outright favoritism. He’d made no secret of his preference for me even though some of the others had been by his side for much longer than me.
Good thing I had just been freshly fucked, or I might have cared more. These people meant nothing to me. I’d be gone in a few months regardless.
“So this secret weapon you mentioned… What’s the plan?” Steven questioned as he gestured to me. He sat down, throwing one leg over the other as he stared Henry down. He seemed half amused, half annoyed, likely at having to come down here at all. One thing I’d learned was that alphas like this thought their time was far more valuable than anyone else’s.
“She is our secret weapon,” Henry said with a chuckle. They were officially talking around me like I didn’t even exist. I simply took a seat, waiting to see if they were going to get to the damn point.
The senator took a moment to continue as if he were building up the anticipation. When Steven and I didn’t give him any kind of reaction, he finally went on.
“The opposition caught wind of the little changes we made to the bill and what exactly we’re proposing.” Burke sounded almost exasperated by their audacity.
Steven sighed. “I’m not surprised. That’s the name of the game. You know they read those thoroughly. It’s whether the people care enough to pass it that matters.”
“There’s no real easy way to hide away things like omega worker rights reductions and making pregnancy and heat grounds for termination,” Steven noted drily. “Safeguarding the businesses who are giving single omegas no chance at survival is going to make enemies, Henry. This will twist around on us in the public eye. People will say we’re taking advantage of omegas and protecting perpetrators when they attack omegas at work.”
“What do attacks have to do with the bill?” I asked.
Henry answered absently, his eyes still focused on hisfriend. “Just a little law that gives the alphas the leniency they deserve when heats throw them into a rut.”
In my head, I ranted. There was no such thing as what he’d described. Sure, an alpha could go into rut when they were part of an omega’s heat, but that didn’t happen simply from being in the same room with an omega who was on the edge of a heat or just finished one. His “little law” essentially gave a free pass for alphas to make life unsafe for omegas everywhere.
“It doesn’t matter what the omegas or the opposition says. We’ve got the police on our side. Hell, Bailey, you met the chief the other night at dinner. Anyway, it’s not like we’re giving alphas a license to maim or rape. These are simply safety precautions to protect us all, but the media is just going to blow this up into something it’s not. Don’t believe everything you hear.” He spoke as if he were explaining something to a child.
My blood boiled. Omegas were getting attacked in their places of work, andthiswas his solution to that? Punishing the victims? As if the omegas were causing the problems, not the alphas with no control. The crime rates in North Harbor were a hot topic, and now I knew why they were so high. The police simply didn’t care unless you were filling their pockets.
“So, why am I here?” Steven demanded. He was already moving to stand up, shifting his feet like he was getting ready to walk out the door.
“Because you’re personally invested in this,” Henry said coldly. “It would be wise of you to help me push this bill and be vocal in your support. Bailey is going to be scouring her own channels for any slander against it, so we know what we’ll be facing in the coming weeks.”
He didn’t look at me or ask me to complete the task. Apparently, I was supposed to passively absorb his directions. No real thinking allowed.
“My office will do what I can, Henry, but we’re not magicians. The more you push this kind of agenda and hide the details, the more you’ll have to scramble to do damage control. We aren’t your puppet. If this gets too far out of context, many of us will pull support.”
The senator laughed, but the sound was hollow and malicious.
“That won’t exactly be beneficial to you, would it?” he countered.
Steven glared at him before walking out, no further discussion needed. That was probably the smartest course of action. If he stayed any longer, they were heading for a full-blown argument.
“Bailey!” The senator’s voice was a loud bark that made me jump. He cleared his throat before continuing, softening his tone for the poor little omega.
He slowly moved forward, his hand going to rest on my bicep. His sour scent made my stomach turn. It took every ounce of effort I had not to shudder when he caressed my bare skin. Unlike when Cyrus was touching me, the warmth of the senator’s hand filled me with foreboding. Instinctually, I knew this could escalate into something worse.
I’d been wondering when he would take a step too far, and the idea made me nervous nearly every day. I couldn’t just dick punch him like I’d like to. Rejecting any advances would be a delicate game of pushing him away like I wasn’t ready, not repulsed.
The darker, twisted part of my mind promised me that we could just kill him if it got to that point. I’d run away with a new identity, and the Syndicate’s job would be done. Problem solved.
But that was a messy solution, one I was avoiding. I didn’t need his death on my conscience.
“You can gather all that for me, can’t you, Bailey?”
I nodded with enthusiasm. “Of course I can. I’ve already got an idea where to look,” I promised. “I’ll stay late tonight and get started. I’m sure I can have something for you in the morning when you arrive.”
