Page 82 of Crimson Heart

“The driver was Steve Leon. There’s no doubt about it.”

For a moment, dead silence descended onto the room. Without a word, Jude folded Danielle into his arms and let her cry at his chest.

Byron turned the cellphone back and looked at Tim. “Thanks, buddy.”

“I’ll email you all the evidence I collected,” Tim replied.

Byron nodded and disconnected the call. Danielle lifted her face from Jude’s chest and wiped tears from her eyes, then faced the rest of the assembled.

“Steve murdered her so I would be without protection so they could force me into mating with him.” She sniffled. “I want him dead.”

“We’ll take care of him, baby,” Jude assured him, then looked at James. “We’ll be justified in killing him. A life for a life.”

“Agreed,” James said to everybody’s surprise. “But just him.”

Danielle turned to her father-in-law. “No. They all planned this together. Steve was just the one who executed their plan. His father and uncle are behind this. They have to die too.”

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“Let’s go see the others downstairs and talk about strategy,” Jude suggested.

Byron held up a hand to stop him. “Flora just got back from Costco. She’s likely to overhear you talking in the living room. The vents in this old house can act like megaphones, particularly from the living and dining rooms. Sound carries.”

“Thanks for the warning. In that case, Charlotte,” Jude said, “could you please get Austin and the rest of the team to come up here?”

“Sure.” Charlotte walked to the door and left.

Once the door closed behind her, Byron knew he had to take this opportunity to offer something he didn’t want Charlotte to hear.

“I’ll do it.”

“Do what?” Jude asked.

“Kill the Leons. Publicly, so that there won’t be any ties to you and your family. So that Charlotte is free. I don’t care if they come after me, but they won’t have any reason to come after the Beaumont Family and the Werewolf Alliance.”

“That’s a stupid idea!” Danielle said firmly, before Jude could even open his mouth. “Apart from it being a suicide mission, it won’t stop the Leons from starting a war against all of us, even if we try to make it look like you’re acting as a lone wolf. I know them. They are vindictive. They will retaliate against everybody who’s even remotely connected to you.”

“But—”

Jude cut him off. “Danielle is right. As much as I appreciate your offer, we have to do it another way that doesn’t lead back to us, or we’ll find ourselves in the middle of a bloody war.”

He hated to admit that Jude and Danielle were right. Still, he felt impotent. He wanted to save both his half-sister and Charlotte, the woman he loved with every fiber of his being. Knowing they only had a few hours before they had to act drove him crazy. He felt like punching somebody or something, but it was evident that no amount of brawn would get them out of this situation. It was brain that was needed.