Page 75 of Crimson Heart

“By talking to Byron to find out the truth.”

“I can do that myself. I’m not a little girl anymore that you have to protect from all the bad out there in the world.”

She tossed the tablet onto the desk and turned on her heel.

“Please, Charlotte, let me handle this.”

She didn’t stop and opened the door. Holding her head high and her shoulders back, she left the office. Her heart was pounding, her palms felt sweaty, and her stomach felt as if it was filled with a bag of pebbles that threatened to drag her down. But she couldn’t let that happen. She had to stay strong and find out the truth for herself, because everything boiled down to one thing: had Byron lied to her?

It took a few minutes until she finally found him in the basement, where he was sorting through weapons to make sure they were loaded and ready to use.

When he saw her, he placed a shotgun back into its space in the rack and walked toward her, his arms already spread out for an embrace. But she didn’t walk into his arms and instead stopped a few feet away from him and lifted her hand to indicate that he shouldn’t come any closer.

His forehead furrowed instantly. “What’s wrong, babe? Are the Leons back?”

She could see his concern, but she didn’t let it sway her in her mission to find the truth.

“There is a video recording of you…” she started.

“What video? A sex tape? I can assure you I never made one. It has to be fake.”

She shook her head. “Not a sex tape. A video of you talking with your aunt. Jude showed it to me.”

He shrugged. “So what?”

She collected all her strength. “You and she were discussing how to hurt Jude by making me fall for you and then dumping me.”

Byron’s face blanched in shock. Guilt was written all over it. When he ran a hand through his dark hair, she noticed that it was trembling.

“I’m sorry, babe, I didn’t even know you then. I was pissed off about Jude, and I was just venting. I don’t even remember what I said to Flora that night. But none of that matters now. I’m in love with you. And I won’t give you up. I have no reason to hurt you or Jude. Damn, I even regret having fought Jude back when he first became alpha. Please, believe me…”

He looked at her with his puppy dog eyes. The words had been so smooth, rolling easily over his lips as if he’d practiced them, as if he always had a speech like that prepared. She couldn’t tell if he spoke the truth. The fact that she was in love with him was clouding her judgment. She couldn’t think straight. Maybe she should have left it up to Jude to confront him. Maybe Jude could recognize when Byron lied, but she couldn’t. It meant she couldn’t even trust her own judgment.

She shook her head. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“Do what?”

“You and me. I can’t.”

She turned on her heel.

“Charlie,” Byron called after her. “I love you. Please. I made a mistake, but I never followed through with it…”

But she kept walking until she was far enough away so the temptation to throw herself into his arms would diminish. The more distance she brought between them, the more her heart ached. She loved him, but could she truly trust that he carried the same love for her in his heart? Or was he still playing a cruel game with her?