Page 49 of Two For the Show (Trapped On The Tightrope Duet #2)

My Omega is so brave.

She is brave, powerful, strong, and furious, and it is incredible to watch her berate the representatives of the media who came here today.

But when the governor comes striding out of the capital, I can see how her resolve falters. The quiver in her hands, the way her knees bend slightly.

I never met Tripp, but I have no doubt he looks like his father based on her reaction. An aged-up version of her abuser is walking toward her, and the fact that she is still standing is admirable.

I lend her my support, making it look like I’m holding her affectionately, so she doesn’t worry that she looks weak in front of the media.

The governor is a handsome Alpha, with a chiseled jaw and pale blue eyes. His hair is blond in a way that looks odd on an adult, and his mouth is set in a firm line. He holds a hand up as the press begins to shout questions at him .

They fall silent immediately, showing the power this man has over the situation.

“Good afternoon. I am as shocked as you are about today’s revelations. My team and I will meet with Dr. Shields and her pack, and then I will issue a formal statement. That is all.”

He turns on his heel and strides back into the building, his staffers gently and quietly urging us to follow. I would prefer not to, but I know this is what we have to do. What we came here to do.

We brought the fight to them, not waiting for a courtroom to try to enforce the order to return her to those cunts. Alex didn’t just take control of the narrative.

She dominated it.

We have the upper hand now.

How the governor handles this will be the defining moment of his career. He can try to smear an Omega abuse victim, refusing to believe her moving, devastating story, or he can condemn his son and his pack.

There is no middle ground here. It’s a lose-lose for Walter Evans, and I am so excited to see it unfold.

Jude leads us through the building, and the rest of us flank Alex, fitting her protectively in the middle of her pack. She’s keeping her head high, but I can see the way her hands tremble, and how her skin has paled.

No one says a word until the door to a conference room is opened after several turns down long corridors, and we file into the modest room.

Governor Evans sits at the head of a long, rectangular table, in a prim charcoal suit, and his staff fans out around him.

One of them has a Bluetooth headset in one ear like it’s still the early aughts, and another has a tablet and pen out.

I pull out the chair directly opposite him at the other end of the table for Alex, giving her the appropriate place of power amongst our pack, before we take our seats.

There is a long silence before Evans speaks.

“Well, Dr. Shields. That was a dramatic tale.”

Oh, that was the wrong thing to say.

Slowly, I push to my feet and lean against the table, propping myself up with the palms of my hands.

“You wanna try that again? Florida’s two-party consent rule for video and audio recording does not apply to public areas of a workplace, such as conference rooms, because there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.

I’d love to get a second soundbite of your dismissive statement to my Omega.

I don’t think that one is enough. I’m sure your constituents would love to hear more from you. ”

I have not been recording.

I may also be talking out of my ass based on a quick internet search, just in case I needed to record something today.

But the governor blanches and clears his throat. “What I mean to say, Dr. Shields, is that I wish you had come to me directly to air your concerns, rather than calling a press conference.”

I roll my eyes but lower myself to my seat, not breaking eye contact with the weasel of a man.

“Could you blame me for not trusting you to do the right thing without public pressure? You had signed an order for me to be given over to my abusers, like a piece of property.” Her leg may be bouncing obsessively under the table, but her words are firm and do not show any indication that she is nervous.

“I had the reasonable expectation that you would discount every word I said, chalk it up to me being a Foresaken Omega, and then put me back in your son’s arms.”

In public areas like this, there are typically scent neutralizers pumping through the air ducts, but I can still smell her bitter, burnt chocolate scent despite that.

It’s hard to ignore her fear and anguish when she smells like that, and yet she is still a pillar of grace, with no outward sign that she is terrified of the outcome of this meeting.

I don’t know if her scent reaches the other side of the table, but I almost hope it does. They wouldn’t be able to deny her then.

There is no hiding how afraid she is of the potential of being handed over to those monsters when you smell the fear that soaks her pheromones.

“It is abundantly apparent that you are of sound mind. There would have been no question that you could make your own choices,” he says tightly. Such a fucking politician.

Matteo pulls out his phone. “Is that so? I have an email here, forwarded to me from the Designation Director of California, Warner Bradley, in which he informed you that Alex had gone into heat and would be unable to comply with the extradition order. Do you remember what you said to him?” My Beta dismissively waves his hand.

“Let’s say you don’t, since I am sure you send hundreds of emails a day.

I can remind you. You said, quote, ‘The Omega can be administered suppressants and put on a plane. That is no excuse to deny a lawful order to return an Omega to her rightful caregivers.’”

The governor’s hands clench so hard on the top of the table that his knuckles turn white.

Dario wrinkles his nose dramatically and turns to Alex. “Wait a second. Why would someone suggest putting a Foresaken Omega on suppressants? Wouldn’t that make it worse?”

Jude crosses his arms over his chest. “I believe it would, Dario. What a great question. Alex, can you confirm that?”

My Omega smiles ruefully. “I can. The worst thing you can do for a Foresaken Omega is to put them on suppressants.

Our Prime Alpha clicks his tongue thoughtfully. “You would think that a politician who is supposedly acting in the best interest of an Omega would be aware of such a critical thing, wouldn’t you, Dexter?”

“I sure would.” Dex’s voice drips with disdain as he cocks his head to the side and stares the governor down.

“It would probably be considered a gross abuse of power to interrupt an Omega in heat and demand suppressants be administered. Especially one that had made a clear statement that she was happy where she was and with her pack of choice.”

I lean across the table again, baring my teeth. “It sounds like something the press would have a field day with. Especially combined with the fact that said politician was doing this for the benefit of his child.”

A staffer with a severe bob slaps her hand on the table. “That’s enough. This is bordering on blackmail.”

Alex folds her hands in front of her body and rests them on the table.

“Not blackmail. It’s all facts. Facts that I can present to the press or your office can address when you issue an apology and dissolve my association with Pack Smith.

And then launch an investigation into the attempted trafficking of an Omega for political gain. ”

The governor looks like he’s going to explode, his face is so red. I can tell that he wants to refute the trafficking claim, but I won’t give him the chance.

“Is there any reason why your Designation Director isn’t here? Why they were not involved in this process at all?” I ask carefully. “Based on my limited knowledge of government, I believe something like this never should have made it to your desk at all.”

“We are currently between Directors at the moment,” one of the staffers answers after shooting the governor a sharp glare. I wonder if they’re realizing that letting him speak isn’t working out well for them, and this is their way of telling him to let them handle it.

“Is Dr. Richard Smith being considered for the open position?” Alex asks bluntly.

The silence that fills the room is oppressive. It’s as if no one is breathing, no one is blinking.

It’s so quiet it’s almost loud.

They don’t need to answer. They know it, and we know it.

But none of us will say anything. We will force the answer out.

“Yes.”

That one word, out of the governor’s mouth, is all the confirmation we needed, even if we already knew the answer.

He could try to deny it, but there is no doubt that a paper trail exists. You can’t interview someone for such a high position without it being recorded. This is something he could not hope to cover up now that Alex had planted the idea in the media’s head.

“Well, isn’t that interesting?” Dexter drawls and turns to Dario, who sits next to him. “It kind of lends credence to Alex’s story, right, brother?”

Alex pushes back from the table, nearly toppling her chair over. “How much did you know, Governor Evans? Tell me the truth. Don’t insult me with a fucking lie.”

He doesn’t say anything.

Nothing at all .

I watch his jaw tick, clenching to keep himself from talking.

One beat.

Two beats.

Three beats of silence, with no denial, say that he is not as ignorant of the situation as he wishes to be.

One of his staffers leans over and speaks quietly in his ear. Maybe it’s his legal counsel, I don’t really care. All I know is that whoever it is, he listens to them.

“We need to conduct an investigation, and then we’ll be in touch, Dr. Shields.”