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

Darrell’s expression turned fierce. “So he called Isaac Pattel to warn him?”

“He was warning him, but not in the way you think. Angel called my father to let him know you and your family were under his protection.”

Lorenzo’s words marinated for a few moments before their meaning sank in.

“Why?” Jerra asked sharply. “Did Isaac threaten Darrell in some way?”

Lorenzo paused before answering. “Not in so many words. Let’s just say Angel apparently knows Darrell very well. I think he was trying to stop the situation from spinning out of control.” His eyes bore into Darrell’s. “He wanted it understood that no harm was to come to you or yours.”

Tina had been quietly listening up to this point, but once she heard Lorenzo’s explanation, she stared hard at Darrell and whispered fiercely, “Now do you see what I was saying? Not only is Isaac Pattel dangerous, he’s evil. Believe me, he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you–or worse– if it came to that. That’s why Angel gave him the warning.”

“I don’t need Angel to fight my battles.”

Tina’s eyes flashed with frustration. “Darrell…”

Lorenzo ran a hand over his brow. “Look, uh, I think we need to get this business with Angel out of the way. I’m gonna head over there and see what he wants to talk about.”

“How long will you be in town?” Jerra asked.

“One or two more days. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been out of the country on business for the last couple of weeks, so there’s a lot I need to catch up on back in New York.” He looked at Tina, choosing his words carefully. “I’m sorry if you thought I was…attacking you. That wasn’t my intention. Everyone had a hand in what happened back then…including my mother,” he added. “If it’s okay with Darrell and Jerra, I’d like to stop by tomorrow so we can finish talking.”

“Of course you can come by.” Jerra felt the intensity of Darrell’s eyes on her, but she refused to look at him.

Tina’s eyes ran over Lorenzo’s face as if committing it to memory. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you deciding to meet me in spite of Isaac. I realize none of this is easy for you either, finding out the woman who raised you wasn’t your real mother, and then the circumstances of your father’s and my past. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

Lorenzo nodded then sent Jerra a half-grin. “It was good seeing you again after all these years.”

She gave him a small smile and nodded. “You too, Ren.”

Lorenzo’s smile faded when he turned to Darrell. “I have a rental outside. Did you want to ride over together or…?”

Darrell glanced at Jerra. “Nah. I have to take care of something here first. I’ll leave in a minute.”

Tina told Lorenzo she would walk him to the door. Once they were alone, Jerra sensed Darrell readying to pick up where they’d left off. “Please don’t. I’ve had enough for one night.”

Darrell was prepared to ignore her protests until he caught a glimpse of an emotion in her eyes that brought him up short. She looked like a cornered animal desperately trying to find a way out. That wasn’t something he ever wanted her to feel with him.

From the moment he met Jerra, he’d experienced a pull that went deeper than physical attraction. She’d presented a cool exterior to him and the rest of the world, but it hadn’t taken him long to see beneath that. Once he dug below the surface he’d witnessed first hand the damage she carried around. Darrell had recognized it because he’d been just as damaged himself. Still was in a way, but not with Jerra. She made him feel like King fuckin’ Kong, able to take on the world and crush everything it threw his way. The two of them were good together, and after the upheaval their marriage survived last time, he had promised both her and himself that he would never be responsible for making her feel that way again. The fact that he hadn’t kept that promise was like a knife lodged in his heart.

Looking at her now, he took a couple of steps back to give her some space. The immediate sigh of relief she gave shoved the knife in a few inches deeper. Instinctively, he knew this was not the time to push her.

“Alright. I’m leaving, okay? I, ah, I’ll be at Angel’s then…I don’t know, I’ll crash somewhere tonight.”

Darrell glanced around the room, shaking his head and hoping he didn’t appear as shell-shocked as he felt. The pain gnawing away at him was worse than any physical injury he’d ever endured. He felt stunned and…
scared
. For the first time in his marriage the possibility of losing his wife was undeniably real.  

Darrell stared at her, his grey eyes silently begging her to look at him, to give him some indication that she was willing to work with him to get through this, but she kept her attention fixed on a spot just over his right shoulder.

The helplessness he felt at the moment was foreign to him. He didn’t know what to do. Everything in him urged him to take control and fix this now, but somehow he resisted. 

“If you need me for anything, you can call my cell and–”

“I’ll be fine.” Jerra’s words cut him off like a sharp blade. Clean and precise. “Just…go.”

Looking for the world as if he’d rather take a bullet than do as she asked, it took Darrell a moment to get his feet to move. Once outside, he slid his shades on and climbed into his beloved Ferrari, but for the first time that he could remember, his Italian beast failed to give him the burst of pleasure he usually got while driving it. All he could think about was the mess he’d made of his marriage and how to fix it.
If
he could fix it. 

Nah, ain’t no ‘ifs’ about it Monroe
, he told himself as he backed out of the driveway and sped off with a loud screech of tires. He would give Jerra the time she needed, but they would work this out no matter what they had to do to make it happen. The alternative was unacceptable. 

CHAPTER 6

Almost forty-five minutes later, Darrell pulled up into Angel’s circular driveway and parked his car. He looked around as he walked to the front door, thinking about all of the security he’d had to go through before getting there.

As with Darrell’s own gated community, it had strictly controlled entrances staffed by private security guards. Angel’s property was the largest, and certainly the grandest, of all the luxury estates and villas there. As he waited for someone to open the door, Darrell glanced around at the men discreetly patrolling the grounds. Before anyone even entered through the security gate in front of his home, verification was again checked, and visual identification made. No one got through who wasn’t authorized to be there.

Hearing the door open, Darrell turned and nodded to Jonathon, Angel’s butler, and followed him inside.

“Mr. LaCroix is waiting for you in the library, Mr. Monroe,” Jonathon announced. “This way, please.”

Darrell followed him down the large hallway that served as the main avenue of traffic. They passed a small sitting room to the right and continued down the corridor until they came to a closed door. Darrell nodded to Jonathon then entered the room without knocking.

Decidedly masculine, the informal office was sophisticated, classy, and elegant. The walls were painted a rich tan and adorned with rare and expensive paintings. Crème colored draperies covered several tall windows. Part of the room was separated by a sitting area which was situated around a huge, stone fireplace. The mantel was made out of birch wood and carved with ornamental keystone designs. Every inch of the room reflected Angel’s impeccable and unique style.

“Hello, Darrell.”

Hearing Angel’s voice, Darrell turned his head and saw him sitting behind a huge custom made mahogany desk smoking a cigar. “Hey, Angel. What’s up?”

Angel blew out a steady stream of smoke then set the cigar in the ashtray beside him. Standing, he came around the desk, regarding Darrell through narrowed eyes before a ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Glad you made it.”

Darrell glanced at Lorenzo, who sat in one of the deep burgundy colored chairs in front of Angel’s desk. A wry expression crossed Darrell’s face as he shook Angel’s hand then leaned in for a brief hug. “You make it sound as if I had a choice to refuse the ‘invitation’.”  

“Of course you had a choice. Everyone has a choice in life, don’t they?” Amusement threaded its way through Angel’s laugh as he went to the bar and poured Darrell a drink. Handing it to him, he then picked up the crystal whiskey decanter and refreshed Lorenzo’s glass then his own.

Angel raised his glass to Darrell and Lorenzo. “Salute.”

The two men returned the gesture, but whereas Lorenzo and Angel only took a swallow of their drink, Darrell threw the liquor back and emptied the glass. Raising a brow, Angel wordlessly poured him another before resuming his seat. He nodded for Darrell to do the same in the chair beside Lorenzo, but Darrell abruptly shook his head.

“I’ll stand.”

“How’s Jerra?” Angel asked, bringing the glass up to his lips.

The way he asked the question made Darrell’s gaze sharpen, but Angel’s face remained closed, giving nothing away. “Jerra’s fine.”

“And Darrell Jr.?”

“He’s good, spending the night with a friend of his.”

A genuine smile relaxed Angel’s features somewhat. “We’ll have to get him and A.J. together soon now that things are on their way to getting back to normal around here.”

Of course Angel was talking about the incident that just occurred with Melania. Visible concern clouded Darrell’s face as he momentarily forgot about his own problems. “How’s Dom? I only talked to him for a brief minute after he got back. I’ll stop in and holla at him before I leave.”

“Actually, he and Keisha went home a couple of hours ago.”

Darrell paused in the act of bringing his glass to his lips. He and Marcus had been giving Dom some time to rest and heal from his ordeal before they came to see him. They’d taken it for granted that he and Keisha and the kids would stay at Angel’s compound for a while. 

Angel held a hand up before Darrell could ask the obvious. “I tried to get him to remain here for at least a couple more days, but the two of them were anxious to get back to their house, get the kids, including Manny, acclimated to some sense of normalcy.”

A slight frown marred Lorenzo’s face. “Manny. That’s Melania’s nephew, right? The son Dominick recently found out about?”

Angel nodded. “Yes.”

Darrell stared into his glass, his thoughts on Dom. He looked up at Angel. “How is he? Really?”

Angel hesitated. “He’s…okay. I’m not going to understate his experience. He went through a lot, but he survived it. Nick’s strong. He and Keisha will be fine.”

Darrell nodded because he had no doubt Dom would be okay. As for himself…

“How long have you known who my father was?” Darrell finally asked the question that had been repeating itself in his head the entire ride over.

Leaning back, Angel placed a bent elbow on the arm of his chair. His thumb settled under his chin and his forefinger rested on his temple as he regarded Darrell in silence for a few tense moments before answering.

“I’ve known you were Isaac Pattel’s son almost from the first moment I met you.”

Darrell stared at Angel. Obviously, he hadn’t heard him correctly. “You what?”

“Sit down, Darrell.” Angel nodded to the empty chair beside Lorenzo.

Darrell’s eyes flashed in anger. “I don’t want to sit down, I want you to explain what the hell you meant!”

Angel had been slowly rocking back and forth in the chair, but the movement stopped when he heard Darrell’s tone. His green eyes cooled, narrowing in warning. He understood Darrell was upset. He’d been expecting that and was trying to be patient. Even so, there was only so much he would tolerate. Disrespect was certainly not one of them.

Darrell’s agitation was apparent as he paced back and forth. “Between Tina and this crazy mothafucka who you say is my father, it’s no wonder my life was so fucked up.”

Some of Angel’s anger subsided. He sympathized with what Darrell was feeling because he’d gone through some of the same emotions Darrell was no doubt spiraling through now, but Isaac Pattel was nothing like Bradley Davidson, the man who Angel later discovered was his real father. He played by an entirely different set of rules.

“I know this is a lot to take in.”  He glanced at Lorenzo to include him as well. “For both of you. But, Darrell, I’m going to need you to calm down first and listen to what I have to say. Now please have a seat.”

Turbulent grey eyes clashed with cool green ones for several tension filled moments before Darrell sighed heavily and dropped down in the chair by Lorenzo’s. Elbows on his knees, his hand scrubbed his face impatiently. He did his best to contain the anger he felt at Angel, at Lorenzo…at
himself
, but had little success. He forced himself to push it aside and concentrate on what Angel was saying.

“I assume Tina filled you both in on the history she and Isaac shared.” Angel brought his cigar to his lips and took several puffs as he waited on their answer.

Nodding, Lorenzo spoke for the first time. “Yes, or rather her version of it. It’s crazy how I never suspected that the woman who raised me wasn’t my biological mother. There was no reason for me
not
to think she was.” Lorenzo glanced at Darrell. “Tina said you only found out a lot of this recently as well, right?”

“Yeah. Couple of weeks ago. Before she got her heart transplant a few months back, I basically had no contact with her since she dropped me off at the orphanage.” He lifted his eyes full of accusation to Angel. “All this time, you’ve known Isaac Pattel was my…”

His teeth clenched together. He refused to say the word “father” and “Isaac Pattel” in the same sentence. Isaac Pattel would never be that to him no matter what his DNA said.

Darrell’s anger made a steady rise to the surface again and threatened to pull him under. “You didn’t think this was something I should’ve known, Angel?”

“Darrell–”

“It’s not like you haven’t been through something similar. You, of all people, should understand how I feel.”

“I do.”

“Apparently you don’t or you would’ve told me,” he snapped.

Unable to continue to sit still, Darrell jumped up and resumed his restless pacing. Maybe he’d been too naïve to have trusted Angel, and if that was the case, he was slippin’. Darrell didn’t trust easily; he could name the people he did trust in one breath. It was difficult for him not to constantly look for a hidden agenda in people, wonder what their angle was. Did Angel have one?

Sighing, Angel stood up and came from around the desk. “Do you remember the night you, Nick, and Marcus came to my house to get help with that Rochelle situation?”

Darrell frowned. Of course he remembered. That was the first time he and Marcus met Angel. They’d both been blown away by the fact that, not only did Dom have a brother whom he never mentioned, but also according to what they’d later discover, he was on the government’s radar as one of the most powerful drug and arms dealers in the world.

Angel half-sat on his desk and folded his arms as he continued. “Even though Dominick and I hadn’t spoken in almost ten years, I never lost track of my brother. For his own safety, I, of course, made it a point to find out about the people he surrounded himself with. Very few knew he was my brother, but–”

“You didn’t want to chance them coming after you through him,” Darrell completed his sentence. “I know. You told us this later on.”

“I’ve known the Pattels for a long time. The moment I saw you, I noticed your resemblance to Isaac–but mainly to Lorenzo. I did a little digging around and eventually confirmed a past relationship between Tina and Isaac. It wasn’t too difficult to put two and two together after that.”

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell me.”

“Quite frankly, it wasn’t my place,” Angel answered bluntly. “In my world, there’s an unspoken code that we don’t interfere in the family business of others. Darrell, I know this doesn’t make sense to you, but you weren’t born into this life like Lorenzo, nor did you choose it like I did. Believe me, telling you about your father would’ve only caused more problems, but when you started making inquiries, I knew it wouldn’t be long before Isaac found out.”

“I’m not scared of him.”

Angel sighed. “I know you’re not. That was the least of my concerns.”

“Then–”

“I was trying to stop an inevitable confrontation between you and the Pattels because once that happened, Marcus and Nick would’ve been right there ready to kick ass with you. I would’ve had to step in anyway at that point, so I saved myself the trouble and handled the situation before it got out of control. I think this family has been through enough for now. Let’s allow one storm to blow over and settle before stirring up another, shall we?”

Angel brought his glass to his lips but kept his attention on Darrell, watching as his words sank in and took root. Once they did amusement lit up in his eyes because he knew the effort it took Darrell to finally acknowledge that Angel was right.

Darrell glowered fiercely when he saw the expression on Angel’s face. “So what, you wanna gloat now?”

Lorenzo chuckled under his breath, drawing Darrell’s eyes his way. Seconds later, however, the corner of his own mouth lifted reluctantly in response, easing some of the tension. Before they could continue, though, Renzo’s cell phone rang and interrupted the moment.

Still grinning, Lorenzo set his glass down and answered the call without checking the caller I.D. “Hello.”

“This is your father. Where are you?”