Page 32 of Crimson Heart
“All I need is a car to get to San Francisco,” Charlotte said now, addressing Jude. “Can I borrow yours?”
“You need to go to San Francisco?” Byron asked casually. “I’m heading there right now.”
Jude exchanged a quick look with Byron, who now put the lid on his travel mug. “You okay with driving her there?”
“Sure, no problem,” Byron agreed.
“How long are you planning to be at the Bail Bonds office?” Jude asked.
“Pretty much all day. So, I can definitely bring her back at the end of my day.”
“Oh, that’s great!” Charlotte said and rose. “I just need to get my handbag.”
“Hold it, Charlotte,” Jude said. “I need to be able to get a hold of you while you’re in San Francisco. Make sure to keep your cell phone on.”
“I can’t do that. If it’s on, Dad will be able to track me.”
It looked like Jude wanted to protest, but then he relented. “Okay, in that case, I’ll have Francisco give you one of our spares.”
“Alright,” she agreed. Then she looked at Byron. “I’ll get my things. Give me five minutes?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll wait outside.”
Five minutes was all she needed to get her jacket and her handbag from her room. By the time she was back in the foyer, Jude had gotten a cell phone, which he handed to her.
“The phone numbers of everybody in the pack are programmed in. Call Byron when you’re ready to come back.”
“Thanks, Jude, see you tonight.”
He leaned in and whispered to her, “Austin and I will be working on finding out more about this Steve Leon.”
She hugged him briefly. “Thank you. I really appreciate you helping me. You’re a good brother.”
Byron slunk into the driver’s seat of his Mercedes and waited for Charlotte. The timing had been perfect. He’d waited in the foyer and listened to the conversation between Jude and Charlotte so he could enter the dining room at the precise moment when Charlotte asked to borrow a car to drive to San Francisco. He’d managed to look casual and unconcerned when he’d offered to give her a lift to the city, when in reality he was eager to get Jude to agree to his plan. It had worked, and he was confident that nobody suspected the true reason behind Charlotte’s wish to go sightseeing.
When Charlotte finally opened the passenger door and got in the car, his heart beat excitedly. He cast her a quick glance, but refrained from kissing or touching her for fear that somebody could see them or that one of the exterior cameras recorded them.
“It almost didn’t work,” Charlotte said, while he switched on the engine and drove toward the gate. “Jude tried to have Danielle come with me.”
“I heard him,” he replied. “But I figured after Danielle got her tattoo yesterday, she might not feel up to leaving the house. Besides, she’s been looking a little pale the last couple of weeks.”
“Lucky for us, though I’m sorry that she doesn’t feel well. I like her. I got to spend a little time with her when she and Jude visited Montana a while ago. I think she’s perfect for Jude.”
He couldn’t deny that. He’d never had anything against Danielle in particular. It was more her position in the pack that upset him for obvious reasons.
“I’m still getting used to the fact that she’s my half-sister.”
“You don’t like my brothers, do you?”
He merged onto the freeway, heading south, before he could answer.
“It’s not that I don’t like them…” He glanced at her. “It’s just that with the Werewolf Alliance having taken over the pack, it doesn’t feel like my pack and my home anymore.”
Charlotte slid her hand onto his thigh. The heat from her palm felt soothing.
“I’m sorry. I know a situation like yours can’t be easy. But I know all the men who are on Jude’s team. They’re good people. They have no intention of taking your home away from you. That’s not what the Werewolf Alliance does.”
He sighed and laid his hand over hers so she wouldn’t remove it from his thigh.
