Page 78 of Crimson Heart

“Danielle and Charlotte are upstairs in the master suite. And my mother is in her room.”

Satisfied that Charlotte was safe for now, Byron nodded. “Alright, let’s do this.”

Together, they left the office and crossed the foyer. By the time they were outside, four men from Jude’s team were coming from different directions and joined them on the landing from which two sets of steps led down to the driveway. Only three cars were parked there this morning. The Leons in their SUV were already stopping in the half-moon-shaped driveway. They turned off the engine and got out. This time, it was all three of them. They knew that they couldn’t pull off the same ruse twice.

Jude stood in the middle of the landing, Austin and Byron flanking him, while the others, Wendell, Parker, Mason, and Francisco, spread out, their eyes peeled on the Leons. There was no space on the landing for the three men, which meant that even if they came up the stairs, they would still be standing lower than Jude’s men.

Byron was impressed that the Werewolf Alliance members had created this position without even talking to each other. Instinctively, they’d made sure that the guests—and he used that word loosely—were at a disadvantaged position. The frown on Bruno Leon’s face indicated that he was aware of what Jude was doing: projecting strength without even carrying any weapons.

Jude remained silent, forcing Bruno Leon to start the conversation.

“We’re here to see James Beaumont,” Bruno started. “I’d appreciate it if you could lead me to him.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Jude replied, his voice firm, his body unmoving. “You can tell me what you’ve got to say.”

Bruno raised an eyebrow, and his two companions, Hector and Steve, looked annoyed. It appeared they weren’t used to their wishes not being followed.

“Well, in that case,” Bruno finally said, “I’ll have to make my demand to you.”

He paused for a moment, but Jude didn’t ask what the demand was, again forcing the Leon alpha to explain himself, which he looked less than pleased about.

“We’re here to pick up Charlotte. We’ve decided to take her back to our pack today. There’s no need for her parents to drive all the way down there.”

Jude scoffed. “So you have decided. Funny, ‘cause the Werewolf Alliance has decided that the proposed union between your son and my sister is not beneficial for us at all.”

Byron knew Jude was lying, but the authority with which he spoke didn’t reveal any of it.

“We’re therefore canceling the contract,” Jude added. “It’s time for you to leave. Have a good drive back to San Bernardino.”

Bruno tipped his chin up in defiance, while Steve grunted in displeasure.

“You can’t do that,” Steve pressed out, but his father stretched his arm out to stop him from saying or doing anything else.

“What my son means is,” Bruno said slightly louder, “that you have no choice in the matter. You either give us Charlotte today, or we’ll have to let the police know that we’ve found the whereabouts of Danielle Powell, who’s wanted for the murder of her stepfather, Carl Stinston.”

Jude and his men gasped, and Byron’s heart skipped a beat. His half-sister had killed a man? He stared at Jude and realized from his facial expression that he knew about this accusation.

“Ah!” Bruno said smugly. “I see now I have your attention. You didn’t think we knew? I admit we only found out about it after her mother’s death when the police made inquiries. Let’s just say we put two and two together to figure out that it wasn’t her mother who killed her husband, but Danielle herself.”

Fuck! This was bad news.

Steve grinned like a psychopathic imbecile, while his father and uncle stood there, hands at their hips, a gotcha expression on their faces.

“The case is still open,” Bruno continued. “And I’m sure the police will be thrilled to finally find the brutal killer of an innocent human man who did nothing worse than give Danielle and her mother a roof over their heads. And how was he rewarded? By being ripped apart by a bloodthirsty woman who can’t control her Lycan senses. She’s dangerous and needs to be put away.”

“You shouldn’t throw stones if you’re all sitting in a glass house,” Jude pressed out, somehow managing to keep his anger in check. “After all, your son has raped numerous women.”

“Charges that have been dismissed because they were lies made up by vindictive women.” Bruno didn’t seem to be surprised that Jude knew about the rape allegations against his son. “But we’re veering off the subject. Here’s the deal. You have until three o’clock this afternoon to bring Charlotte to our hotel. If you don’t, we’ll be paying the Marin County Sheriff in San Rafael a visit.”

Bruno and Hector turned around to get into their car.

Steve took a moment longer. “Tick tock,” he said before he too went to the car and got in.

Nobody spoke until the Leons were all in the car and headed down the driveway toward the gate. Only once they were out of sight, and Francisco had verified on his tablet that they had indeed left the property, Jude’s men let out curses.

“Is it true?” Byron asked. “That Danielle killed her stepfather?”

Jude turned to him, his face grim. Byron could see in his eyes that the claim was true.

“Let’s go inside,” Jude suggested.

Byron felt the weight of the demand made by the Leons bear down on him. They had two choices, and no matter which option they chose, somebody would suffer: either Danielle or Charlotte and the people who loved them. It was an impossible choice that would leave all of them devastated. They could neither ignore the Leons’ demand nor follow it.

Byron’s head felt like exploding, while his heart hurt as if somebody was driving tiny daggers into it. He wanted to howl at the world, but he knew it wouldn’t solve their problem. They had to come up with a solution themselves. There was no higher power that would save them.