Chapter 33
Byron barged into Jude’s office and slammed the door behind him. Jude stared at him, though he didn’t appear to be surprised.
“What the fuck, Jude!” Byron cursed. “After what happened with Steve Leon yesterday, you couldn’t leave well enough alone. No, you had to dig through security footage just to find something that incriminates me and makes me look like a heartless asshole!”
“Sit down, Byron, we’ve gotta talk.”
Byron scoffed. He had no intention of sitting down. He was enraged.
“Because you showed Charlotte a clip where I aired my grievances, she broke it off with me. How could you?”
Jude let out a slow breath. “I didn’t.”
“You what? Of course, you did. You showed that clip to Charlotte.”
“Will you give me a few seconds so I can explain what really happened?”
Byron grunted.
“I didn’t dig in the security footage to find something that shows you in a bad light.
Neither did any of my men. The only reason we found the clip was because Francisco caught Flora deleting it.
Francisco was able to restore it because Flora didn’t know that deleting a file only puts it in the trash but doesn’t wipe it from the hard drive. ”
He tried to digest the information, but Jude already continued.
“I hadn’t planned on showing it to Charlotte, but she surprised Francisco and me and forced me to show it to her.”
“Hmm. So what were you planning to do with it?”
“To talk to you first and find out if you really did what you were planning to do that night. So, wanna tell me now?”
Byron ran a hand through his hair. “Ah, fuck! I was angry that night. And yeah, maybe in that moment I thought it would be a good idea to do to you what you did to our family. I know it was immature to think that. But when I met your sister, I’d already forgotten about it.
Besides, I didn’t even know that she was your sister.
I was already in love with her when she suddenly showed up here at the estate, and you introduced her.
I couldn’t undo that. I didn’t want to. And I sure as hell have no intention of giving her up. ”
“I’m sorry, man. I wish that Francisco had never noticed that Flora tried to delete the file.”
Byron took a couple of breaths, his mind working overtime. Jude’s words had triggered another thought. It all made sense now.
“Oh, fuck!” Byron cursed.
“What?”
“Flora had no intention of deleting the file.”
“But she did.”
Byron shook his head. “No, Flora knows enough about computers to know that you have to empty the trash in order to delete a file for good. Instead, she pointed Francisco in the direction she wanted him to look.”
“But why?”
“Because my dear aunt was pissed when she found out about Charlotte and me. She called me a traitor to my family for wanting Charlotte. She did this on purpose. She wanted to split us up. That’s why she arranged for you and your team to become aware of that conversation.
She probably figured it was incriminating enough, particularly since you and I never got on.
She thought that this clip would poison my relationship with Charlotte and, in turn, with you. ”
“Fuck!” Jude cursed. “I should have seen this right when Francisco brought it to me.”
“How could you? You’ve only known her for three months. Flora still pines for her old life, where she ruled the house with an iron hand.”
“We’ll fix this with Charlotte. In many ways, she’s like you. She gets upset in less than a second, but she’ll forgive just as easily. I’ll talk to her. I owe you that much. You saved Danielle.”
Byron felt his entire body shake off the tension that had built up from the moment Charlotte had confronted him in the cellar.
“Does that mean you approve of my relationship with Charlotte now?”
“I’m not the one whose approval you need.”
“Guess I’ll have to convince your dad then.”
Jude leaned in. “Between you and me, the only person you need to convince is Charlotte. Because once she’s made up her mind about something, she’ll pull it through come hell or high water. Not even my father will be able to stop her.”
Surprised, he discovered a mischievous sparkle in Jude’s eyes.
“She’s her own woman, isn’t she?” Byron asked.
“She sure is. Just one word of warning: if you break her heart, I will kill you.”
“Fair enough.”
“Now go and win her back.”
Byron turned on his heel when the door was ripped open, and Francisco appeared with a tablet in his hands.
“The new camera, half a mile before the gate, picked up the Leons. They are coming. What do you want to do?”
Byron felt his heart skip a beat.
Jude immediately went into action mode as if somebody had flipped a switch.
“Who of our team is on the estate right now?”
“Wendell, Parker, Mason, Grant, and Austin are here, though Grant took your father on an ATV ride to give him a tour of the property, like you suggested to keep him out of your hair,” Francisco reported.
“Notify everybody to get to the front entrance. We’ll greet the Leons outside this time,” Jude ordered.
Francisco’s fingers flew over the tablet before he said, “Done.”
Then a chiming sound came from the tablet.
“It’s them.” He put a finger to his lips to indicate to remain silent before he tapped on the tablet again. “Yes? Can I help you?”
“Bruno Leon, we’re here to speak to James Beaumont.”
“One moment, please.” Francisco muted the app.
“Where are all the Gallaghers?” Jude asked, looking at Byron and Francisco.
“Spencer left, no idea where to,” Francisco reported. “Flora went to Costco with Heath. I haven’t seen the others.”
“Thaddeus is still in San Francisco,” Byron said. “And Eve went back to the equestrian estate early this morning to check on the newborn foal. I think Ransom went with her.”
“And the rest? Violet? Owen?”
Byron shook his head.
Jude motioned to Francisco and pointed to the tablet. Francisco unmuted the app.
“Please drive up to the house.”
Then he closed the app.
“We need to keep Danielle and Charlotte out of sight,” Byron insisted.
“I’ve got it,” Jude said, and pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and tapped on it. An instant later, the call was connected. “Baby, the Leons are back. Stay upstairs. Have you seen Charlotte?” A pause, then he added, “Good, stay together.” He disconnected the call.
“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.