TOTAL ECLIPSE: The Evolution (Sin City Heat Series Book 7) (8 page)

Lorenzo’s eyes went to Darrell, grimacing at the timing of his father’s phone call. “You know where I am, Pop.”

Lorenzo got up and walked a couple of feet away and stood with his back to Darrell and Angel. He was too tired to deal with his father right now. He’d been going almost nonstop for the last week. Fatigue was setting in fast and threatening to knock him on his ass.

“I take it you found him?”

Renzo glanced over his shoulder. Just as he expected, Darrell was watching him and listening closely to his end of the conversation. Gone was the brief moment of amusement they’d shared a few seconds ago. In its place was the mistrust he was fast becoming accustomed to seeing on Darrell’s face. 

“Yes,” he replied in answer to his father’s question. “Pop, listen, let me call you–”

As if a thought just occurred to him, Isaac cut in and asked, “Is he there with you now?”

Lorenzo sighed. It was obvious his father was not going to be put off. “Yes. He’s here. We’re both at Angel’s.”

Darrell took a step forward. “Tell him if he has something he wants to know about me, don’t use you as a go between. He can ask me himself.”

Lorenzo’s eyebrow shot up, but Darrell refused to back down. A moment later, Isaac’s booming laughter sounded through the phone line. “I take it that’s him? Put the little arrogant bastard on the phone.”

Surprised at his father’s response, Lorenzo pulled the phone away from his ear and wordlessly held it towards Darrell. His eyes found Angel’s in sudden understanding. Now he knew why Angel had taken the proactive steps to act as a shield between Darrell and his father. Isaac’s temper was legendary. He didn’t tolerate insolence from anyone. From what Renzo had seen so far, Darrell Monroe had no filter. He said what he liked, whenever and to whomever he chose.

Curious, he tuned into Darrell’s end of the conversation with undisguised interest. Glancing behind him again, he saw that Angel was doing the same.

“Yeah. Somethin’ you wanted to say to me?” Darrell asked.

Amusement was still evident in Isaac’s voice. “Hello, Darrell. This is your father.”

Darrell’s laugh came out rough and forced. “Man, I ain’t got no father.”

“You most certainly do, no matter what that tramp told you. Besides, how can you trust anything coming from a woman who dumped her child off at an orphanage before continuing her life as if he never existed? You might think you know everything that happened, but you don’t.”

“I don’t know everything, but I know enough. I know you’re a coward who refused to take care of his responsibilities when it came to my mother.”

The tension on the other end just about mirrored the tension hovering around the space in Angel’s office.

When Isaac finally spoke, his voice was low and full of warning. “You need to watch your mouth before it gets you in trouble, boy. I don’t give a damn whose protection you’re under.”

“Like I told Angel, I can take care of myself. As for Tina, she may be a lot of things but at least she chose not to get rid of me.”

“And why do you think that was, Darrell? She didn’t do it out of any type of maternal instinct, that’s for damn sure. You were a bargaining chip for her to get what she wanted. Nothing more.”

Darrell knew that Isaac was fishing for a reaction. He was just as determined not to give him one. “It doesn’t really matter at this point, does it?”

“That’s where you’re mistaken. What if I told you there was more to the story than the one I’m sure she’s told you and your brother?”

“You think I’d believe anything you said?” Darrell scoffed.

“Yet, you seem more than willing to take everything Tina tells you at face value. She wasn’t some poor innocent young girl who I took advantage of, that’s for sure. She knew exactly what she was doing.”

When Darrell remained silent, Isaac’s laughter rang out full of incredulity. “But that’s what she told you, isn’t it? Well, let me assure you, nothing could be further from the truth. I came upon Tina dancing in a strip club I owned at the time. By the time I met her, she was an accomplished liar who knew what she wanted, which happened to be me. She knew I could give her the kind of lifestyle she craved. However, I’m sure she only divulged a distorted version of events as
she
chose to relay them to you. I’d bet my fortune,
that’s
the story she told you and Lorenzo. Now…tell me I’m wrong.”  

CHAPTER 7

“Let me get this straight, you expect me to believe your distorted version instead of hers. Is that it?” Darrell snorted, dismissing the suggestion altogether. “I guess you never sent anyone after her when she threatened to tell your wife about the two of you either, right?”

“Did she say that?” Isaac’s booming laughter trickled off to a couple of chuckles. “Darrell, from the very beginning, my wife knew about Tina, and Tina knew about my wife. I told you she was an accomplished liar. Looks like she got better with practice.”

“As I said, it don’t matter now, does it?”

Lorenzo’s gaze sharpened as he listened in. “What’s he saying?”

“A bunch of bullshit,” Darrell sneered.

“What if I told you I had proof?” Isaac countered in a taunting voice.

Darrell was quiet for a moment, his mind racing. “What kind of proof?”

“Come to New York and I’ll show you.”

Genuine laughter burst from Darrell. “You want me to come to New York,” he repeated. “Uh, let’s see. That would be a no.”

“I think it’s only fair that you give me a chance to tell my side.”

“To be honest, I really don’t give a damn what you got to say. The only thing I want you to do is stay away from my family. There doesn’t have to be a problem unless you make one. Again for the record…” Darrell’s eyes fastened on to Angel. “I understand family looks out for family, but please believe, even if I was in it alone, I would handle mine with no problem. That’s one of life’s lessons I learned early on.”

The absence of any sound or movement stretched out until Darrell wondered if Isaac had hung up. But suddenly, he heard a low chuckle that turned into a guffaw of amused laughter.

“You are definitely my son. A Pattel through and through. I’ll have to offer my apologies to Angelo. I see why he thinks so highly of you now.”

“I’m a Monroe. Always will be.”

“A mere technicality. It doesn’t change the facts of your bloodline. You may not be open to the idea of meeting the other side of your family…yet…but I have no doubt your curiosity to find out the truth about Tina will eventually overcome your reservations. I’m betting it won’t take very long. When you’re ready, I’ll be waiting. Tell Lorenzo I’ll speak to him later.”

Isaac hung up before Darrell could respond. He grinded his teeth at the arrogance he’d heard in Isaac’s voice.

“What the hell was that all about?” Lorenzo asked, taking the phone from Darrell.

“Like I said, a bunch of bullshit.” Darrell reached for his glass and tossed back the rest of his whiskey. “I don’t believe a word he says. Yeah, I know Tina is suspect as hell, but quite honestly, I don’t trust either one of them.”

“Maybe you should just think about doing as he asks, Darrell,” Angel advised quietly.

Darrell’s expression told him what he thought about that suggestion. “Come on, Angel, seriously?”

“I’m very serious. When I spoke to Isaac a couple of days ago, he was adamant about not wanting any type of communication with you. The conversation I heard on this end sounded like a complete about face. For him to go so far as to ask you to come to New York shocks the hell out of me.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to jump because he’s had a change of heart.”

“There are three sides to the story, Tina’s, Isaac’s, and the truth. Maybe if you and Lorenzo talk to Isaac, you can get all of the facts and decipher what that truth is.”

“I’d planned on having it out with my father once I got back home anyway,” Lorenzo said, glancing at Darrell. “A few things Tina told me tonight didn’t add up. Too many unanswered questions. If you’d like to fly back with me to New York, I don’t see where it would hurt to at least listen to what he has to say. Especially if there’s some validity to his side of the story.”

“What neither of you get is that I don’t care. He’s still as dead to me as he’s always been. Fuck ‘em.” Darrell placed his empty glass on top of the mini-bar. “I’m outta here. Lorenzo, if you still plan on stopping by to see Tina tomorrow I’ll talk to you then. Angel, holla at you later.”

He was halfway to the door when he remembered something that had stuck in his head. Turning around, he eyed Angel curiously. “By the way, how did you find out I was making inquiries about Isaac?”

“I spoke to Bryan. Roni just called me as well.” Angel didn’t have to say the obvious. He and Roni were close. If she had called him, she’d more than likely been upset and mentioned that Jerra contacted her a couple of hours ago.

Lorenzo’s eyes were bright with curiosity. “Roni? You wouldn’t happen to be talking about Veronica Winston, would you?”

“Yeah,” Darrell answered slowly. He’d already put two and two together when Lorenzo mentioned he’d been in the Caribbean. Roni had met with one of the Pattels in Aruba. It didn’t take much to figure out it had been Lorenzo. “That’s her.”

“I had no idea you and she knew each other.” A speculative gleam entered Lorenzo’s eyes as he studied Darrell. “She’s a very beautiful woman.”

Darrell let that observation pass without comment. “Your family purchased a franchise of nightclubs from Roni recently,
Club Ecstasy
here in Vegas, as well as the sister clubs in New York and Atlanta. I used to be part owner of them.”

Lorenzo’s brows lifted in surprise. “Damn. I’m not one to believe in coincidences but it seems there are a lot of mutual links that join us together. Jerra, Angel, and now Roni and the nightclubs.” Renzo shook his head slowly. “I rely heavily on my instincts to guide me even when shit is too crazy for me to make sense of it. Something tells me there’s more to this situation between my father and Tina than what we know so far. Then again, maybe there isn’t,” he shrugged. “But what will it hurt to just listen to what he has to say?”

Darrell tried to ignore the caution bells going off in his head. He agreed, it was all about instinct; his had served him well more times than he could remember, and right about now, everything in him agreed with what Lorenzo just said.

“I don’t know, I…” He thought about Jerra and the situation they were going through. “I’ll think about it.”

Lorenzo nodded. “Good. Besides, I’d like to meet my sister soon. Even if you decide not to come to New York to see Isaac, I’d appreciate an introduction to her.”

Darrell immediately shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Lorenzo’s face closed up and his body stiffened. “That wasn’t a question, and I damn sure wasn’t asking for your permission. I just thought it might be easier on Gabrielle if you were there. I plan on meeting her… with or without you.”

A hard edge crept into Darrell’s voice. “I don’t want her associated with the Pattels. I don’t care how that sounds I’m only concerned with Gabby’s safety.” Darrell glared at Lorenzo through thinly slit eyes. “Stay away from her.”

Although Renzo’s eyes burned with anger, his lips turned up in a taunting grin. “Sorry to be the one to break this to you, but I don’t take orders from you. Gabrielle is just as much my sister as she is yours, so I
will
meet her. It goes without saying I’ll make sure she’s protected. I’ve lived my entire life taking precautions and flying below the radar so as not to draw unwanted attention to my family or myself. I don’t need you to give me a crash course.”

Darrell’s jaw twitched repeatedly as the two men held each other’s gazes. As stubborn as they were, neither intended to look away first.

Sighing impatiently, Angel straightened from the corner of the desk where he’d been sitting. “I promised my wife she and I would have dinner at a fairly decent hour tonight, so you two will need to find somewhere else to finish this standoff. Darrell, I think there’s something you need to take care of at home, yes? And Renzo, you should call Isaac to find out exactly what the hell he’s talking about. At least you’ll have a better idea of what’s going on.”

Reluctantly, Darrell broke the stare down. “This subject is closed. Stay away from Gabby.”

Lorenzo’s lips tightened, but he let Darrell’s statement go without comment. He’d said his piece and didn’t feel the need to reiterate. However, just before Darrell walked out, he couldn’t quell the urge to provoke him one last time.

“See you tomorrow…little brother.”

Darrell paused and looked back. If looks truly had the power to kill, his would have obliterated Lorenzo into a pile of nothingness right where he stood. He was goading him to react and they both knew it. With a superhuman effort he managed to find from somewhere, Darrell forced himself to turn and walk out the door without another word.

CHAPTER 8

“He did what?” Aleesha lowered her voice to a hissing whisper when Addy stirred in her crib. “Hold on, Jerra.”

Aleesha placed the pacifier back in the baby’s mouth, smiling when her little mouth latched on to it and started suckling furiously. Rubbing her back in a gentle motion, Aleesha let out a quiet sigh when Addy almost immediately fell back into a peaceful slumber.

Turning, she glanced at Marcus Stephen and saw that he was still fast asleep. After pulling the blanket up around him, Aleesha made sure the baby monitor was on then tiptoed out of the room.

Once she closed the door behind her, she brought the phone up to her ear. “I’m back. Jerra, tell me Darrell did not call her.”

“You heard me, Leesh. And if I hadn’t checked the cell phone bill, I never would have known it because he sure as hell had no intentions on telling me.”

Aleesha could hear the stress in Jerra’s usually calm voice. Walking into her bedroom, she glanced at Marcus, shaking her head in amusement when she saw how soaked his shirt was. While she’d taken care of the babies and put them down for the night, he’d seen to Olivia and Dillon’s bath and gotten them ready for bed. They were more than likely asleep now, but Aleesha would look in on them in a moment.

Marcus followed her gaze, grinning back at her before stripping the wet shirt off and heading for the bathroom. Momentarily distracted by the loping swagger of his sexy walk, and the sight of his wide, contoured back, it took a moment to realize that Jerra was still talking. Aleesha forced her attention back to the conversation.

Jerra had called Aleesha to find out if she’d spoken to Keisha lately. The last time either of them talked to her was a couple of days ago when Dominick made it home safely. They knew her priority was making sure Dom was okay and looking after the children, so they hadn’t wanted to bother her. After they established that she would call when she had a chance, Jerra had told Aleesha about Darrell calling Roni.

“And when I confronted him, he had the nerve to act condescending, said that I was overreacting.”

Aleesha shook her head, her eyes on Marcus as he came out of the bathroom and went to his bureau to grab a pair of clean underwear. “I can’t say that I’m surprised he used that tactic. Men are so good at trying to shift the blame from themselves when they know they’re in the wrong.”

Marcus looked over his shoulder and stared at her with a frown, but feeling Jerra’s outrage, Aleesha cut her eyes away from him and started taking the mound of pillows off the bed as she continued to listen.

“Aleesha, it was worse than the last argument we had about this same issue when he went to see her. I…I told him to get out.”

Aleesha paused in the act of reaching for another pillow. “Wait. You kicked him out?”

Marcus’ frown was now one of concern. He came over and stood in front of Aleesha. “Who? D?”

Eyes wide, Aleesha looked up at him and nodded.

“Why? What happened?” Marcus asked.

“Jerra found out Darrell has been calling Roni.”

“What?” Marcus shook his head, immediately dismissing Aleesha’s statement. “Nah, she’s gotta be mistaken.”

Jerra cut in. “Leesh, you may as well put me on speaker.”

Once Aleesha complied, Marcus didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “Jerra, what’s going on?”

“When was the last time you talked to him, Marcus?”

“A couple of days ago when Dominick made it back safely, but it was a brief call.”

“Between Dominick getting kidnapped, and you guys bringing the babies and the kids home, he probably felt it wasn’t a good time to tell you. I just found out everything today, and that was only because he was more or less forced to,” she said with a twinge of accusation in her voice.

“He didn’t want to tell me what? Jerra, talk to me.”

Marcus was silent as she proceeded to give him a rundown of Darrell finding out the identity of his father from Tina a couple of weeks ago. When she got to the part where Tina also told him he wasn’t her first child, Marcus’ eyebrows shot up.

“Hold up, what?”

“Apparently, she had a son a year or so before she had Darrell, but Isaac more or less forced her to let him and his wife raise him.”

The further Jerra got into the story, the more incredulous Marcus’ face became. Before she even finished relaying Darrell’s reason for calling Roni, Marcus already had it figured out.

“So Darrell called Roni to find out what she could tell him about the Pattels since she’s dealt with them in the past.”

Jerra sputtered on the other end. “That’s what he said, but it’s kind of a simplification of the facts–”

“Do you think he’s lying?”

“Well no, but–”

“Good. Because you know as well as I do that, one, Darrell loves you more than anything in this world. You and D.J. mean everything to him.”

“But, Marcus–”

“And two, Darrell’s never lied to you about the situation with Roni.” Marcus gentled his tone. “Honey, believe me, if he had feelings for Roni like that or was conflicted about his marriage, he would sit you down and tell you. That’s the bottom line.”

“The same way he sat me down and told me he called her, Marcus?” Jerra said sharply. “Let’s not misstate the facts here. He kept this from me because he knew he was wrong. If he felt he needed to get information from her, he should have come to me first.
Before
he called her.  Better yet, give me a chance to determine if I could’ve helped him, which it turns out I definitely could have being that I met his brother years ago in law school.”

“What?”
Marcus and Aleesha exclaimed in shock at the same time.

They both started shooting one question after another at Jerra until the story came out about how she came to know Lorenzo. By the time she got to the part about Renzo showing up on their doorstep earlier that day, Marcus was shaking his head in disbelief.

“Let me get this straight, Jerra. After everything the man has gone through in the last few weeks, which includes finding out about his father, discovering a brother he knew nothing about, then having that brother show up outta nowhere…you kicked him out the house?”

“Save it, Marcus.” Jerra’s voice trembled with fury. “Of course you’re going to take his side, but I don’t want to hear it. Yes, I kicked him out because it hurts too much to look at his lying face right now. I’m tired of dealing with this with him. I forgave him once already. How many women do you know would take their husband back so easily after he basically ran to his old girlfriend because of ‘unresolved issues’ he felt needed ‘closure’ to?”

“Come on, Jerra, now who’s misstating and oversimplifying facts?” Marcus ignored the daggers Aleesha was shooting him with her eyes.

“You
would
think that.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you started all of it. You couldn’t wait to call him and tell him you’d seen Roni while you were in Aruba, could you?”

“So we’re back to that now?”

“I’m just saying that you’re always going to have Darrell’s back and put his best interest above mine, but I’m not going to let you make me the bad guy in all of this. Anything you have to say about the subject doesn’t hold any weight with me because I know where your loyalties lie.”

“That is so far from the truth it’s laughable. You know I call Darrell on his shit whenever I think he’s wrong about something. Was he wrong in not coming to you first, or telling you about the phone call to Roni? Yes. He made a
mistake
. You kick him out of the house and threaten to divorce him over a mistake, Jerra?”

“Marcus, that’s enough!” Aleesha snapped.

He exhaled loudly. “Where is he now?”

It was obvious Jerra was making an effort to control her anger, but her tone carried a definite chill. “Angel called for both he and Lorenzo to come to his house a couple of hours ago.”

“Angel? So he knew about…” Marcus blew out a long breath and then pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Of course he did. I’m going to try and call him. Do you need anything, J., anything you need me to do?”

“No, thank you.” Jerra’s firm response was brief and decidedly distant.

Marcus grimaced. From Jerra’s tone and the way his wife glared at him, he knew he was in deep shit with both of them. “J., listen…”

“Aleesha, I’ll talk to you later,” she cut in. “Goodnight.” Moments later, the line went dead.

Aleesha couldn’t keep the astonishment from her face. “What’s wrong with you? Why would you attack her like that when she’s going through something so horrible?”

“Come on, Aleesha, I didn’t attack her. I sympathize with both sides, but do I think Jerra overreacted? Yeah, I do.”

“You know what, Marcus, I’m inclined to agree with Jerra. No matter what, you’re always going to take Darrell’s side, right or wrong.”

Marcus shook his head, trying to contain his impatience. “No, that’s not what
he and I
do, it’s what
you and your girls
do…and you’re proving it now.” He dialed Darrell’s number and brought the phone up to his ear.

Seeing Aleesha readying to bombard him with a rebuttal that was sure to turn into an argument, Marcus silenced her with one look. “Not now, Aleesha. We’ll talk about it later.”

She stared at him for a long moment, her gaze drilling into him like a pin sticking a butterfly to a board. With a hard roll of her eyes, Aleesha snatched the baby monitor from the nightstand and angrily stalked to the master bathroom.

Marcus shook his head after she slammed the door behind her, but when Darrell answered the phone, he gave his attention to the call. “D., whattup. It’s Marcus.”

Darrell let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a grunt. “No shit. What’s up, bruh?”

“I just got off the phone with Jerra. You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on?”

Silence greeted Marcus’ statement for a moment before Darrell answered. “It’s complicated.”

“Where you at, man? You still at Angel’s?”

“Nah, I left a little while ago. Just ridin’ around, trying to clear my head some, ya’ know?”

“Why don’t you come and crash here for a couple of days? You can have one of the suites on the other side of the house so that you’ll have some privacy.”

“I appreciate the offer, Marcus. No offense, but I just want to be alone right now.”

“D., why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

“You had your hands full with your family. I know you would’ve been there for me, even if it was only to let me bend your ear, but I didn’t want to intrude on your time like that.”

“You know what, I outta whip your ass on principle alone just for thinking some stupid shit like that.”

This time, Darrell’s laughter was more genuine. “Sorry, man. My bad.”

“How are you holding up?”

“I don’t know, Marcus. I fucked up, man. I guess Jerra told you about me calling Roni?”

“Yeah, but I told her I could see where you were going with that. It makes sense that you would call her for information, especially after Bryan told you she’d just recently met a member of the family.”

“Swear to God, that’s all I was thinkin’ about. I understand why Jerra is upset, I do, but for her to go
this
far?”

Darrell shook his head as he pulled up to one of several high-rise luxury condominium towers his company constructed in the city. Located in a prime area of Vegas, the tower was within walking distance to high-end shops and boutiques, restaurants, nightclubs, and casinos. It was a mecca for young, single, professionals who had the world at their fingertips, as well as ballers who kept a place in Vegas for whenever they came out to enjoy the amenities the city had to offer.

He hadn’t even realized he’d been driving in that direction, but at the last minute took the exit that would lead him there. The condos were exorbitantly expensive; the units had sold before they’d even completed construction. He and Carl were in the process of building another similar to this one. Construction hadn’t even started and already half of those units were gone as well.

At first, they’d kept a couple of the condos in this particular building with the intention of using them as models to show potential buyers, but after Jerra fell in love with the space, Darrell had decided to keep one as a getaway for them. Carl and his wife had one as well. Darrell figured he’d just crash there, at least for tonight, and then decide what to do tomorrow.

“She’s just upset,” Marcus was saying. “Give her time to calm down.”

“I don’t know, bruh. It was bad.”

Darrell pulled into the assigned parking spot and got out of his sports car. Once inside the lobby, he nodded to the twenty-four hour security guard who greeted him by name and walked to the glass elevators that took him up to the 42nd floor. When the doors slid open, Darrell made a right and continued on until he got to his destination. By the time he unlocked the front door, he had finished telling Marcus about Lorenzo and the subsequent conversation he’d had with Isaac.

“Is he crazy?” Marcus exclaimed. “He wants you to come to New York because of some bullshit story like that?”