“Is your journalist friend coming?” Quincy asked in a whisper as soon as we were huddled together, out of sight of the doorway.
“Yes,” I said. “German said he’d meet us by the hotel pool in—” I checked my watch, “fifteen minutes.”
“And you’re sure this guy has the clout to break a story about your dad and Chester colluding on this app and its potential for election fraud?” Quincy asked.
“I’m as sure as you can ever be with a journalist,” I said. “He was interested in the story. Deeply interested.”
“But you explained to him that we’re only using the threat as a way to corner your dad into letting you go?”
I smiled and pulled my anxious omega into my arms, despite the pair of volunteers stuffing gift bags and watching us.
“Would it be so bad if the story actually broke and both my dad and Chester saw some sort of consequence for their actions?” I asked.
Quincy breathed out and sagged against me. “It’s your family,” he said. “If you don’t want them to get hurt, I’d completely understand.”
I kissed the top of Quincy’s head, then nudged him back. “My family isn’t like your family,” I said. “It’s not that I don’t care about them, but they can take care of themselves.”
“If you say so,” Quincy said.
My omega was incredibly nervous, I could tell. He worked his lip back and forth over his lip ring and gripped my arms, pressing his fingertips into my biceps.
“Don’t worry,” I told him, bending down to kiss his forehead again. “This is a good plan. My dad will do anything to save face. And I got a good price for all the art in my apartment and for thatsound system. It’s squirreled safely away in a bank where it will remain a secret and untouchable until we need it.”
Quincy didn’t look convinced. “You shouldn’t have had to do that.”
“I know, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be with you.”
I could tell from the angst in my omega’s eyes that he didn’t think he was worth it. It didn’t matter that we’d only known each other for weeks instead of years. I felt like I understood Quincy’s soul and everything it held.
It actually made me wonder if bonding made alphas and omegas lazy about putting in the relationship work to really know each other. There was so much more to knowing and connecting with a person than being able to feel inside the other’s heart and brain.
“We’d better head up to the pool if we’re going to meet German on time,” I said, giving Quincy one last kiss, on the lips this time.
“Yeah,” Quincy said. He took a bracing breath, squared his shoulders, looked up at me with an astounding amount of confidence, and said, “Let’s do this.”
We headed out of the small office and made our way to the nearest bank of elevators. I was still deeply concerned about stumbling across my dad and blowing the whole thing before we had a chance to put the pieces in motion. Fortunately, the hotel was already busy with expo attendees, and since a lot of alphas were deeply into tech, I didn’t stand out with my height and my breadth.
There was virtually no one up in the pool area. A few families seemed to be enjoying the amenities, but the hallway outside of the glass-walled pool area was empty.
Except for Roger German from theBarrington Timesand a twenty-something beta man carrying a dozen bags who looked like his assistant.
“German,” I nodded to the man as Quincy and I approached.
“Salisbury,” German nodded back.
We shook hands when we were close enough. I was familiar with German, but I wouldn’t have called him a friend. Maybe slightly more than an acquaintance. He’d worked with our law firm before, and I knew he’d been angling with theTimesto do more political coverage. This whole thing would advance his career as much as it would set me free.
“This is my…my omega…friend, Quincy,” I introduced Quincy awkwardly. I wasn’t sure if I could truly call him my omega until this whole thing was done, but it felt like a cop-out just to call him my friend.
German seemed to get the gist of things. “My assistant, Adam Schubert,” German said, nodding to the beta.
“Hi,” Schubert said, raising a hand to wave. The bag over his shoulder slid off, and he scrambled clumsily to catch it, which knocked his glasses askew. He fixed those as well, as his cheeks went pink.
German ignored the man. “What’s going on, Salisbury?” he asked. “Your message was enticing but cryptic.”
I shifted my stance and puffed my chest up a bit, which was probably alpha instinct, since this whole thing was about protecting my omega, and said, “I’ve got a story for you about Dad’s involvement with Chester Monk and the app Monk has been developing.”
“Okay,” German said with a shrug. “What’s the story?”
