“Your words,Ms. Kendrick, not mine,” he quips.
“Mr. Mayor, you have a beautiful home,” Marnie says, obviously trying to defuse the situation. “Mark and I were just discussing how old we thought it might be. Has it been in your family long?”
Harvey smiles at her, the kind of smile that makes Adam shift closer with a low growl. Harvey notices. Of course he does. This night is already spiraling, and the last thing I need is him realizing Adam’s interest, not mine, lies with Marnie. That would only reinforce every suspicion already forming in his head.
“Why, thank you, dear,” he says warmly. “The land itself has been in my family since before the Revolutionary War. The original structure burned down, but this home was built in the late 1800s.”
“Mr. Mayor,” Adam says smoothly, his earlier territorial instinct buried, “I was wondering if you would be willing to sit with me and give me some quotes for an upcoming article I’m doing.”
Adam guides him away, giving me a quick, pointed glance over his shoulder as Harvey prattles on, unable to resist an opportunity to blowhard to the press.
Ava spins on her heel, storming away without a word.
“Go after her,” Marnie hisses.
I shake my head. “No. I’m here with you, and I’m not abandoning you to deal with her tantrum.”
She rolls her eyes. “If I’m right, youneedto go after her.”
“Right about what?” I ask, genuinely confused.
“Oh my God, alphas are so fucking stupid sometimes! Fine, have it your way.”
“You going to fill me in on whatever riddles you’re speaking in?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. You two idiots will either figure it out or you won’t,” she says with a shrug. “Now, let’s go save my mate from that horrid mayor.”
I grin, forgetting the drama with Ava for a moment. “Mate, huh? So, I was right? You two scented each other?”
She blushes and nods. “I mean, I think so. We obviously didn’t get a chance to talk or anything, so I don’t know if he felt it on his side, but it seemed like he did.”
“Oh, he did. He wouldn’t have bristled from me touching you otherwise.”
Across the room, Adam is scribbling in a small notepad while Harvey talks at him. He looks up when he notices us approaching, confusion flickering across his face, and I immediately start questioning my choice not to go after Ava. Letting her storm off might have been a mistake.
“Ah, Mark,” Harvey says, clearly pleased. “I was discussing my firm stance on crime with Mr. Jenkins here.” He glances around, clocking the small audience of potential donors we have nearby, and deliberately raises his voice. “What did you end up deciding with that delinquent omega we disagreed over yesterday?” He looks like a cat with a canary, thinking he’s cornered me.
“I sent a plea deal to Ms. Kendrick, and they accepted,” I say coolly, borrowing Ava’s detached tone and meeting his gaze without blinking. “Time served, a significant fine, and community service. For the record, I don’t appreciate you strong-arming my staff into sending a plea deal offer in my name. That was more than a little over the line.”
A flush creeps up over the edge of his collar, and I know he’s furious that I called him out in front of everyone. Two can play at this game.
“I don’t understand why you’ve suddenly lost interest in prosecuting crime, seeing as that’s your entire job,” he snaps. “She’s a drug addict. The last thing the city needs is more of them on our streets.”
“Suppressants aren’t drugs,” Marnie cuts in beside me, her voice calm but firm. “They’re medicine. They’re only illegal because we refuse to fund proper research into omega reproduction.”
I barely manage to hide my surprise. I hadn’t expected sunny, polite Marnie to step directly into the mayor’s line of fire like that.
Harvey turns on her, lip curling. “If I want an omega’s opinion, I’ll ask for it.”
“Is that the mayor’s official position, for the record?” Adam says dryly, not even looking up from his notepad.
Harvey blinks, clearly startled, as if he’d momentarily forgotten Adam was there at all. “Of course not,” he says quickly. “I apologize; that was rude and not how I meant it. I simply believe many omegas lack the nuance to fully understand this issue. That’s why we shelter them—for their protection. Heat cycles are natural. Experimenting on omegas with chemicals interferes with nature itself. Our omegas are far too precious for that.”
“Menstruation for beta women is natural as well, and yet they have birth control,” Marnie challenges.
“Beta women also make up a far more sizeable percentage of the population, dear,” he says, condescension dripping from his tone. “As I said, omegas are precious. We simply can’t risk it.”
I half expect him to pat the top of her head.
