TOTAL ECLIPSE: The Evolution (Sin City Heat Series Book 7) (14 page)

“I’ll be better when I get this business out of the way. Once I do, I can finally put it behind me and focus on what’s important.”
Which was his wife and his son
. 

He didn’t say the words out loud, but Lorenzo seemed to know what he meant. “I hear ya’. You have a beautiful family. You’re a very lucky man.”

“Most definitely.”

Darrell thought about the look Jerra gave him before he left. He didn’t know how ‘lucky’ she felt to be married to
him
right now, but when he got back he was going to make things right with her.

“Look, Darrell, if you’re out riding around and killing time before we leave, you might as well come to my hotel and wait.” Lorenzo sensed Darrell’s reluctance. “It’s just a suggestion, but it’s almost midnight now. Hopefully we can get out of here first thing in the morning. Just trying to make things easy.”

It didn’t take long for Darrell to think about it. Lorenzo was right. “Where are you staying?”

Lorenzo gave him the name of his hotel and room number.

“Bet. I’m not too far away. Be there in about twenty-five minutes.”

“See you then.”

CHAPTER 14

As Darrell walked through the opulent lobby of Lorenzo’s hotel, his thoughts remained occupied with the scene that had taken place an hour ago at his house. He barely glanced at the ultra-modern sculptures, trickling fountains, and ornate chandeliers as he headed towards the elevators.

Although casually dressed in jeans, boots, and a black short-sleeved shirt, he carried himself with a natural confidence that automatically drew the eyes of others he passed by, especially the women. Once he got to the bank of elevators, he waited impatiently. His eyes flickered over several people standing beside him, including a sultry brunette with dark brown eyes, and a beautiful blue-eyed blonde.

Darrell saw the blonde whisper something to the other woman while continuing to stare at him. Both women giggled, their hungry gazes taking in every inch of his sexy masculine frame. The invitation in their eyes was clear, but Darrell purposely looked away. His body language told them he wasn’t interested in what they were offering.

After everyone got on the elevator, Darrell pushed the floor numbers since he was the one standing next to the panel. Three stops later, the only occupants left were Darrell and the two women, who it seemed, were going to the same floor as he. When the brunette cleared her throat for what had to be the third time he sighed and finally looked at her, but didn’t speak. Her smile slipped a bit when she saw the indifference in his eyes. Both women had the appearance of high fashion supermodels; it was obvious they were used to men tripping over themselves in their presence. Darrell figured he was somewhat of an anomaly to them. They seemed confused, as if they didn’t know how to take his lack of interest.

“Um, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but we think you’re a very handsome man,” the brunette purred.

Darrell nodded slowly but his expression didn’t change. “Thank you.”

“Gorgeous eyes,” the blonde added flirtatiously. “Simply breathtaking.”

Darrell gave her a tight smile.

Suddenly the brunette gasped. “Oh my God, what happened to your hand?” she asked, horror illuminating her face. 

Darrell glanced down at it, absently noticing that it was now quite swollen and discolored. “Just an accident.”

“You poor baby,” the blonde cooed as she moved to his other side, sandwiching him between the two of them. Pressing her breasts against his shoulder, she rubbed his back softly and blinked up at him with luminous baby blues, which he was sure usually got her anything she wanted. “Does it hurt?”

Nearly out of patience, Darrell wanted to ask her what the fuck did
she
think, but he bit back the sarcastic reply. It wasn’t worth the effort. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks when the elevator doors slid open seconds later.

“You ladies have a good night,” he told them as he stepped out. Without waiting on a response, he walked down the hallway, glancing at the room numbers searching for the one Lorenzo had given him. Turning his head slightly, he noticed the two women were a few feet behind him.

“Um, if you like, you can come to our room to let us take care of your injuries,” one of them called out to him. “Looks like we’re all going in the same direction anyway.”

“Yes, believe me, we know just how to make you forget all about that nasty old pain in your hand,” the other chimed in with a smile in her voice.

Darrell shook his head when he heard the girlish giggles that accompanied their invitation. Stopping in front of Lorenzo’s room, he knocked and waited. By the time Lorenzo opened the door, the women had slowed down to linger in front of it. When they saw Lorenzo, it was damn near comical the way they came to an abrupt halt and stared.

“Oh my God, there are
tw
o of them!” Darrell heard one gasp dramatically.

He didn’t even have to look to know it was the airhead brunette.

Lorenzo glanced from the two women to Darrell, his confusion clearly showing on his face.

“Don’t ask,” Darrell mumbled under his breath.

Lorenzo immediately got a grasp on the situation. Smiling, he folded his arms and leaned a shoulder against the doorframe.

Darrell’s teeth snapped together when he saw the mischievous gleam in his eye. “Don’t.”

Renzo’s grin only stretched wider in anticipation of having a little fun at Darrell’s expense. He switched his attention back to the two women.  “Well, well, well, who do we have here, little brother? You shouldn’t have.”

“I didn’t,” Darrell growled, glaring ominously at Lorenzo. He wasn’t even going to address Lorenzo using the familial term ‘brother’.

Lorenzo cocked his head slightly. It was obvious he took great joy in needling Darrell. “Really? I’m crushed.”

“Brothers?” the blonde repeated. She and the brunette exchanged meaningful looks then preened and flipped their long, lustrous locks over their shoulders.

“How are you ladies doing tonight?” Lorenzo asked the question accompanied by a sexy smile. 

The brunette looked as if she was going to cream in her panties right there in the hallway, especially when both Darrell and Lorenzo turned eyes two different shades of grey their way.

“Oh my
God
, you have beautiful eyes just like your brother. Like, you’re both so totally
hot
! Oh my
God
!”

“I think God gets it by now,” Darrell muttered, his lips twitching when Lorenzo let out a low chuckle.

The brunette blinked up at Darrell in confusion. “Huh?”

“Never mind, sweetheart. Don’t hurt yourself.” Lorenzo straightened from the doorway and opened the door to let Darrell in. “We won’t keep you any longer. You lovely creatures have a good night, though.”

The blonde moved between them before Darrell could step inside. “I was just telling your brother that if he wanted to come to our suite, we could take care of his hand. You know, kiss the hurt away.” She licked her lips provocatively. “We would love for you to come too.”

But Lorenzo’s playfulness disappeared the moment he looked down and saw Darrell’s hand. “What the hell happened?” he frowned.

“Look, my hand is fine.” He felt like he had repeated that phrase at least twenty times already. He gestured behind Lorenzo. “Can I come inside or not?”

Having had his fun, Lorenzo opened the door wider and stepped aside. He laughed under his breath when Darrell pushed his way in, intentionally shoving Lorenzo out of the way.

“Asshole,” Darrell mumbled.

His smile still in place, Lorenzo winked at the women. “Well, since he’s being a party pooper, I guess this is goodbye. Night, ladies.”

The brunette pouted prettily, but the blonde was a little bit more aggressive. She placed a hand on the door to stop Lorenzo from closing it.

“Are you sure? I mean,
you
can still come if you want to.” She glanced at her friend who perked up at the suggestion. “We don’t mind sharing.”

Lorenzo’s heavy-lidded eyes did a slow crawl over their bodies. He half wished he was in the mood to take them up on their offer, but they weren’t the flavor he craved at the moment. “I’d better not. Thanks for the offer though.”

After closing the door, he sauntered back into the sitting room to find Darrell sprawled back on the sofa. “Where did you find the Paris and Kim K. lookalikes?” he drawled in amusement.

“Rode up in the elevator with their dizzy asses.”

Lorenzo glanced at Darrell’s hand again before going over to the phone and calling room service. “Yes, this is room 2021. I need a bucket of ice brought to my room along with a couple of ace bandages.” As an afterthought he placed a hand on his flat abs and added. “And can you please bring several club sandwiches and beer as well? Thanks.”

“If I have to tell another person my hand is alright one more time, I’mma lose it,” Darrell growled when Lorenzo hung the phone up.

“If that were really true, you probably would’ve given me the finger while saying that.”

Darrell saluted him with the middle finger of his uninjured hand. “Better?”

Lorenzo grinned and sat down in one of the chairs opposite the sofa. “Why don’t you use a punching bag to let off steam next time instead of choosing something that’ll mess your hand up like that.”

“Didn’t have a punching bag handy so I improvised.” Darrell stared down at his hand and flexed his fingers. “Shit,” he hissed. It hurt like hell. “It’s probably just sprained,” he said hopefully.

“Maybe. Let’s hope no more than fractured. We’ll wrap it up tonight and have a doctor look at it in the morning when we get to New York.”

“Speaking of, what time we leavin’?”

“Few hours from now. Around 4 a.m.”

Darrell nodded. “Good.”

Lorenzo studied Darrell before casually asking, “What does Jerra think about you going to New York?”

“Haven’t told her yet.”

Lorenzo’s brows slashed together in a frown. “Don’t you think you should?”

Darrell’s eyes cooled significantly before sliding away from Lorenzo. “Look, don’t worry about my wife. She’s off limits.”

Lorenzo blew out a drawn out sigh. “I can already tell where your mind is going, so let’s get something straight right now. Jerra and I–”

A discreet knock at the door interrupted Lorenzo. Shaking his head at Darrell, he went to the door and let the waiter in. After giving him a tip and closing the door after he left, Lorenzo picked up the ice bucket and took it to Darrell. When he made no move to take it Lorenzo set it on the coffee table in front of Darrell with a loud thud.

“Stop being stubborn. Do whatever you want but you need to ice that hand down to decrease the swelling.”

After hesitating a few moments more, Darrell leaned forward and grabbed the bucket. He scooped some of the ice to the side with his good hand then carefully placed his injured one inside.

“Thanks.”

Lorenzo opened a couple of beers and handed one to Darrell before sitting down. After taking a long sip, he picked up the conversation they’d been having before they were interrupted.

“Like I was saying, I want to clear the air about something. I think you have it in your head that Jerra and I used to be involved but–”

“Look, we ain’t even discussing that. I know nothing happened between ya’ll, so it’s cool.”

Lorenzo hesitated, unsure if he believed him. “It’s just that you were clearly a little hostile when you found out Jerra and I knew each other from way back. I didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings.”

“Sheeit, I was a lot hostile.” A half-smile crossed Darrell’s lips. “But like I said, it’s cool. She and I…well, we kinda talked about it, so…”

“Good, ‘cause you were ready to bite my head off when she stumbled a little outside your house and I tried to help her.” Lorenzo lowered his voice and mockingly repeated the warning Darrell had given him with just the right amount of emphasis. “‘I got it, I can help my
wife
, mu’fucka’.”

He sounded so much like him that even Darrell had to smile. “Hey, all I can say is I don’t play when it comes to Jerra St. James-Monroe. Anybody who knows me knows that if nothin’ else. That woman is my heart, man. My baby.”

“Cool. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. There’s not many out there like her, I can tell you that for a fact. Hold on to her with both hands.”

Darrell sobered quickly when he heard Lorenzo’s words. “I know, man. I plan on doin’ just that.”

Lorenzo heard the subdued undertones in Darrell’s voice. He thought about the argument he’d witnessed between them earlier, but he’d interfered enough. It wasn’t his place to pry if Darrell didn’t want to discuss it. Glancing at the covered dish that held the sandwiches he’d ordered, he got up and placed one on a plate for Darrell and another on a separate plate for himself.

After giving Darrell one, Lorenzo remained standing and took a bite of his sandwich. “Left a message with my pops. Wanted to make sure he was available when we got there in the morning.” He watched Darrell closely to gauge his reaction to his next statement. “You can best believe the rest of the family will make a point of being there as well.”

Darrell didn’t blink. “I figured as much. So tell me: whose ass am I gonna have to kick first?”