“No kidding,” Ben said, putting his arm around me. “And I think Josie might have us all beat.”
Theo lifted his head from the book. “I feel like she’s hiding the worst of it from us because she thinks we’ll think less of her.” He looked lost in thought for a moment before adding, “We have to figure out how to get her away from her family for good.”
Theo’s analytic mind shifted from one problem to the next, focusing on strategy and logic in a way I couldn’t when it came to our mate. All I knew was that my Josie was hurting, and I felt lost.
My mind went again to the files Ben and I found last night. Something about it tickled at the edges of my memory, but I couldn’t quite figure out what.
“So,” Ben said, interrupting my thoughts, “what does the book say?”
“A lot of it is about being patient and knowing healing takes time,” Theo said with a frown.
“Nope. Don’t like that,” Ben muttered as he fought the chocolate icing, frustration lacing his tone.
“I just want her to be happy,” I said, pulling my hair up in a bun. Josie seemed to like running her hands through it, and I secretly hoped she would pull it back down again.
“Is there any other advice—oh, shit,” Ben said. “Did you see this about the senator?” He held out his phone.
Theo and I shook our heads.
“It just came through from Charlie.”
Charlie was a hacker Ben worked with through the Alliance.
“Apparently, a senator accused Jericho of stealing his omega in a late-night legislative session.”
“What?” I asked, my chest tightening.
“Why isn’t this on the news?” Theo asked, now flipping through his phone.
“I’m sure Jericho made plenty of threats to cover it up,” I growled.
“What about Jericho?” a sweet voice asked from the doorway.
We whirled to face Josie, whose hair was still damp from the shower.
I held out my arms and was relieved when she came to me, but I hated how stiffly she held herself.
“Jericho?” she prompted.
For a moment, none of us said anything. I hated that she’d overheard. I didn’t want to add to her stress or burden.
Ben hesitated. “A video clip just came through from Charlie. She hacked the system and pulled it before it was permanently wiped.”
My jaw clenched as frustration flared within me. I threw Ben a dirty look I knew he didn’t deserve, but I didn’t want Josie to watch something that would upset her. Ben’s jaw clenched, and he averted his eyes.
“You don’t have to watch it,” I said, caressing Josie’s face and wishing I could shield her from everything bad.
“I want to,” she responded quietly.
Ben turned his phone around and pressed play on the video. For the first few minutes, it seemed like regular footage of the senate floor until one of the senators stood up. The video was a wide shot of the senate, but the agony on his face was still clear.
“I know you have her, you sick son of a bitch. Give her back to me!” the alpha shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Jericho, whose face didn’t betray any emotion. “You took her from us, my omega. Where is she?”
Josie trembled in my arms, blinking quickly to stop her tears. I held her tight to my side.
Something caught Jericho’s eye outside the frame, and he snapped his fingers. Immediately, a swarm of guards descended on the alpha and carried him away. Jericho turned back to the assembly and calmly read the next agenda item as if nothing had happened.
Josie pulled away from me, and I fought every instinct screaming to pull her back in, press her close to me and offer whatever comfort I could.
