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“What now, then? You’ve got a whole Family to run,” I pointed out.
“That would depend on you,” he said. “When I said you were mine and I’d follow you, I meant it.”
“I don’t want you to leave this behind. Hayes would die of boredom if we started over. And truthfully? I kind of like the hunt. Searching for his skeletons and bringing down the senator was glorious once I had some backup, and the best part hasn’t even happened yet. I think I’d like a spot here, using whatever resources we can. Hell, I’d wager the Syndicate wouldn’t say no to me settling in here and lending a hand.”
“They’d be stupid not to,” he said, pulling me close and brushing his lips over mine. “But the fact that you want to stay makes this old man incredibly happy.”
I smiled, but it faltered for a second. I’d known about his wife for a long time, and I didn’t resent his past with her, but I did wonder… Why me? I was his mate, yes, but had she been as well?
“Bailey, what is it?” he prompted when I stopped talking altogether.
“Now isn’t the time,” I said, not wanting to tank his mood.
“No, talk,” he ordered in that cool, alpha command of his. I swallowed hard and tried to figure out how to word it.
“Your wife, was she your mate too?”
“No,” he said. “My wife was a chosen partner. She needed someone safe, and I married her to keep her so I could protect her. Our relationship was platonic at first, then it developed into something more. I’ll always love her for what she gave me and the strong woman she was, but you’re just as important to me, Bailey. You gave me a new purpose and a mate that makes me feel more than I ever have. We were all on autopilot before you, and I was so focused on my goal that I forgot to live. You pulled me out of that. I want to think about the future now, whereas before… My future consisted of nothing but the next step in this hunt. With you in our lives, I can have more than that. Iwantmore than that.”
“I had every plan to leave before you guys came crashing in. It was going to be some huge takedown, then I’d walk away from it like a movie scene, smoke billowing behind me as I stalked out of town. It’s kind of nice to know I won’t have a huge unknown afterward.”
“What were you before all this?” he asked curiously.
“On a boring trajectory,” I admitted. “A lousy apartment, working for men just as terrible as Burke, going nowhere.”
“Well, then I guess our future is up to us,” he concluded. “After the show, we can figure out how to change a few things around here. I think it’s time we took over the Tower, don’t you?”
“I do,” I agreed, my smile widening. We’d been living together out of necessity, but this was Cyrus’ way of asking me to move in permanently.
Weston walked out, a smile spreading across his face, and his brothers followed him. “Time for the showdown. He just hit send. My brother here is a fucking badass. Not a single email bounced back. That means forty sources just received the news, including Burke.”
My gasp had them cackling. “You sent it to him too?!”
“Of course,” Weston said. “That was my idea, and we get front row seats.” He pulled out his tablet and showed a feed of the inside of a restaurant. The same one we’d eaten at for our meeting.
“Wait, write your votes in,” Bentley said, getting theirs added to the board before Weston continued.
“I had Hayes tap into this for me a few weeks ago, and it’s coming in handy. Our favorite senator is there.”
Sure enough, Burke was sitting at a large table boasting about something to the others. His arms were wide and his smile bright. It was like watching a disaster happen in real time. He pulled out his phone, and his smile faltered at what he saw. Food was brought out to the table as he sat back, scrolling. It was impossible to tell if he paled at the news, but whatever happened, it caught the others’ attention.
Burke stood up and ran outside. Weston flipped the feed to the security camera that showed the front of the building and window. The senator was on his phone, pacing up and down the sidewalk as he screamed at someone. More than once, passersby stumbled or moved out of his way, looking at him like he was a maniac. When the news hit, they’d remember that moment and tell their stories.
I couldn’t wait.
“Look!” Bentley called out. “Bailey was the winner this time.” My gaze snapped to the TV tuned into Direct News, and Bentley turned up the volume.
“We have breaking news. An anonymous source has sent out career-ending information about current Senator Henry Burke. He is up for re-election with mere weeks to go and had major plans to overhaul the Omega Services across the state and eventually, the country. Now, it is all coming to a crashing halt. Come back for news at ten to hear our full report.”
They flashed one of the images we’d gotten from Laura. Burke was clapping another alpha on the back, and every one of the men’s faces were visible. It wasn’t just Burke on the line. Hayes had made sure every bit of information we’d dug up was included.
“And here we go!” Weston laughed when the other screens were overtaken by breaking news banners, promising more details as soon as they could. I knew the stations were working frantically to turn the raw information into a story.
We watched into the early hours of the morning, finally passing out around two. It felt like I’d barely fallen asleep when Weston shook me awake.
“It got better. Come look,” he said. “Bentley has coffee and breakfast.”
Groaning, I pulled myself out of his bed and wrapped a robe around myself before joining them in the bar. I was greeted with a panoramic view of Burke in cuffs. Every station was showing a different angle of a fuming Burke being arrested.
