Page 34 of Omega on Fire

I step aside, gesturing him in with an exaggerated bow. "By all means, enter. I'm dying to hear what you've found."

As he passes, I catch his scent, rain and clean linen, with something else underneath. Something I will uniquely equate to Josiah. It's calming in a way I didn't expect.

"By the way," I ask as I close the door, "how did you manage to get Beaux away from his self-appointed guard duty? Did you tranquilize him? Bribehim with comic books? Promise him pictures of me looking suitably helpless and in need of rescue?" I snort at that image then quickly push down the flashes of video cameras stationed in the corners of every room where I was kept. So many people watching me.

No Charlotte. Not now. Push it down. I blink and watch Josiah make his way across the room. He drops onto the chair with casual grace, crossing one leg over the other.

"Bold of you to assume he left willingly. Moses and I played rock-paper-scissors to decide who'd distract him. Moses lost, so he's currently dragging Beaux through some training exercise that supposedly can't wait. I've got maybe forty minutes before he figures out he's been played," he says jovially, and I force a smile, glad he didn’t notice the hiccup of emotions spilling out of me or the change in my scent.

"Forty minutes, huh? That's generous." I sink down beside him, careful to leave appropriate space between us. Right now, I need it. "I'd give it twenty before he's back, glowering at the door like it personally offended him."

"Ten if he catches Moses laughing." Josiah hands me the tablet. "But that's ten minutes more than we had before, so I'll take it."

Our fingers brush during the handoff and a smalljolt runs through me, not unpleasant, just unexpected. I clear my throat, focusing on the screen instead of the way Josiah's watching me with those perceptive eyes.

"So," I begin, scrolling through what appears to be financial records, "what am I looking at here?"

"The beginning of Senator Justus's downfall," Josiah says, his voice dropping to a more serious tone. "I've been tracing money through shell companies, offshore accounts, the works. And guess what keeps popping up?"

"Enlighten me." I perk up.

He leans closer, tapping the screen to enlarge a section of text. "Large deposits from something called Aegis Consolidated, right before each of his major anti-Omega speeches or policy proposals."

"Aegis," I repeat, the name stirring something in my memory. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Because they're technically a security firm that specializes in 'Alpha protection services’,"—he makes air quotes with his fingers—"but they're really just a fancy front for old-school pack elitists who think Omegas should be seen, not heard. Preferably not seen either, just kept at home making babies and dinner."

My lip curls in disgust. "Charming."

"It gets better," he continues, sliding his fingeracross the screen to reveal more documents. "Guess who sits on the Aegis board of directors?"

"I'm going to take a wild shot in the dark and say it's someone who'd like to see Omega-safe cities dismantled?"

Josiah taps his nose. "Got it in one. Timothy Keller."

"Fuck me," I whisper, the pieces clicking together. Yeah, I remember him alright. "The same Timothy Keller who?—"

"Who publicly opposed the Omega Protection Act. Yep. The same one who called you, and I quote, 'a dangerous radical undermining the natural order' on national television last year. Also, yes."

I feel a cold anger settling in my chest, the kind that doesn't flare hot and fast but burns slow and steady. "So, they're funding Justus to be their puppet."

"Their very expensive, very useful puppet." Josiah's eyes glitter with something that looks like admiration. "And now we have the receipts."

A slow, dangerous smile spreads across my face. "Joker, I could kiss you right now."

Josiah's eyebrows shoot up, and a grin plays at the corners of his mouth. Those full lips curve into something almost wicked as he leans back, putting deliberate space between us.

"I'll take a rain check on that offer," he says with a wink. "Though maybe we should get you out of this bedroom first. Not that I'm complaining about being alone with you in here, but." He rubs the back of his neck, a surprisingly endearing gesture from someone who seems so put together. "Actually, I was hoping you might help me in the kitchen. If you're up for it."

I arch an eyebrow. "The kitchen?"

His eyes widen comically. "Not because you're an Omega or anything! Shit, that came out wrong." He laughs nervously. "I'm not saying you belong in the kitchen. I just—when I need to think, I bake. And I kind of want to feed you. You're still looking too pale."

The embarrassed flush creeping up his neck makes me chuckle. For all his smooth talk, there's something refreshingly genuine about Josiah when he's flustered.

"Relax, Joker. I'm not about to launch into a feminist tirade." I nudge his shoulder with mine. "I actually love to cook. Baking's my favorite, there's something about the precision of it, you know? The way everything has to be measured exactly right."

Relief washes over his face. "Yes! Exactly. It's why I do it. The world's a chaotic mess, but in baking,two cups of flour is always two cups of flour. It's orderly."

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