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

by S. K. Hardy

  “Maybe.”

  Darrell heard the amusement in her voice. Quickly pulling his sweatpants on, he put the phone back to his ear, waiting for her to tell him she was pulling his leg. Less than ten seconds later, he was standing in the living room staring at Jerra.

  She sat curled up on the couch, fully dressed in the extra set of clothes he’d retrieved out of her car last night. Her glasses were perched on her nose, giving her what Darrell liked to call her sexy geek look, and her hair was now neatly pulled back in its bun. An array of disheveled papers lay scattered around her on the couch and on the floor. The freaky sex kitten she’d unleashed last night had been put away for now. In her place was his prim, proper, professional attorney.

  Either way? Sexy. As. Fuck.

  A wide grin crossed his handsome face. “Hey.”

  Jerra kept the phone to her ear and smiled as well. “Hey yourself.”

  Darrell walked towards her, still talking into his cell phone. “For a minute there you know I was pissed off, right? I thought you had left.”

  “I know. Like I said, you’re such a grouch.” Her lips pursed into a cute little pout, but her eyes danced teasingly as he stood over her. She turned her phone off and surprised Darrell by lifting her mouth in invitation for a kiss.

  He obliged without hesitation then looked around at the papers beside her. “What’s all this?”

  Jerra reached up and placed a hand on his chest, sliding it down to his tight stomach until she reached the waistband of his sweats. Although she was tempted to continue her exploration, she thought about the work she still needed to do. Sighing with regret, she sat back on the couch.

  “I’m finishing what I should have been doing last night before somebody decided to distract me.”

  Darrell bit back a smile and refrained from pointing out that she was the one who had come to the condo instead of going home. “Sorry. My bad.” He tilted his head and glanced at the legal pad she’d been writing on. “Workin’ on a case?”

  Eager to share her news with him, Jerra’s face lit up as she nodded. “Yes. You know the Abrams case that’s been in the news?”

  “Yeah. That rich boy who killed his girlfriend?” As Jerra said, it had been all in the news and splashed over the Internet. He paused, his eyes stretching wide when he realized where she was headed with the question. “You got that case?”

  Jerra nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Justin assigned it to me yesterday morning. That’s why I was so late. Or rather, later than usual.”

  “Congratulations, baby!” Pride shone in his eyes as he pulled Jerra up and gave her a hug. “That’s huge.”

  “Yes it is. Thank you. I’m excited. This is one of those cases of a lifetime.”

  “Damn sure is.” His expression turned cautious. “You gonna have your work cut out for you, though. He already admitted that he killed her. This won’t be an easy case to argue.”

  “I know, but I’m up for the challenge. I’m already outlining our defense. The arraignment is in a couple of days.” She reluctantly pulled away and started gathering up the papers and putting them in her briefcase. “Which is why I’m up so early. There’s a lot I need to do.”

  “You sure you gonna be okay today? You barely got any sleep last night.”

  Holding his arm to steady herself, she slipped her feet into her heels. “Is that guilt I hear in your voice?”

  Darrell laughed. “I guess a little.”

  “Hmmm. And if you had known I had work to do…”

  Darrell popped her on the ass and winked. “I still woulda rocked that thang all night.”

  Jerra laughed. “That’s what I thought. But I’m okay. For some reason, I’m feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.” She gave him a sly grin and stood on tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. Picking up her purse and briefcase, she added, “I’d better get going, though. Like I said, I have a lot to do today.”

  Darrell frowned. “Why don’t you let me fix you something to eat first?”

  Jerra grimaced at his determination to make sure she ate. “I’ll pick something up from the cafeteria when I get to work.”

  The look Darrell gave her said he didn’t believe her.

  “I promise,” she smiled. “Walk me to the door?”

  Darrell grumbled behind her the entire way. “J., seriously, you can’t keep working like this and not eating.”

  “Yes, Darrell.”

  “Your body’s gonna give out on you if you don’t take better care of yourself.”

  “Yes, Darrell.”

  “You gotta keep your strength up, especially now that you got this case.” When she opened her mouth to respond, he raised his voice in order to talk over her. “And if you say ‘Yes, Darrell’ in that smart ass tone you one more time…”

  Jerra swiveled around and started walking backwards while looking at him. “Yes, Daddy,” she purred. “How’s that?”

  Darrell laughed and keyed in the code to disarm the alarm. “Now that, I like.”

  They stood smiling at one another with silly grins on their faces, but after a few seconds things turned a little awkward. Neither knew what to say next. They both started talking at the same time.

  “Alright, I’ll talk to you–”

  “I’ll call you later on and–”

  Jerra glanced down shyly. “I’m sorry, go on.”

  Darrell shook his head. “Nah, you first.”

  “I was just going to say I’ll call later on today to speak to D.J.” Her face fell as her eyes reflected her sadness. “More than likely, tonight will be another late night. I’m sorry. That’s going to make two nights in a row that I don’t see him.”

  “He understands.”

  “I know, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

  “Tell you what, I got a slow day today. How about I bring him by this afternoon to see you? That is, if you won’t be too busy.”

  Jerra’s eyes lit up. “No, I’ll make time. Are…are you sure you don’t mind? I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

  “Hey, nothing that has to do with my family is ever an inconvenience. You know that. Better yet, why don’t we plan on making it around dinnertime? I’ll ask Mrs. H. to pack up whatever she cooks for tonight and I’ll bring it to the office. That way, you can spend some time with D.J., catch up on his day, and…um…”

  Darrell hesitated, wondering if he was overstepping the boundaries he knew she had in place. That was one of the downsides about this estranged couple with benefits thing. It was hard to know what was and wasn’t acceptable.

  Jerra’s expression softened. She stepped closer and looked at him as if he were Superman and had just saved the day. “You’d do that?”

  “Of course.” Darrell frowned when she sniffed. Aw, hell, now she was gonna start cryin’ and that hadn’t been his intention. “Jerra–”

  But she cut him off by lifting up on her tippy toes and giving him a long sweet kiss…with tongue. When she pulled back, he was relieved to see her smiling.

  “Thank you,” Jerra said.

  “You’re welcome,” Darrell answered in a husky voice. Clearing his throat, he reached around her and opened the door. “Give me a call and let me know what time is best to come by…I mean bring D.J. by.”

  Jerra nodded, but paused and turned back to him before leaving. “I might just…stay here again tonight…after work…if it’s not too late, that is. Although I’ll need to get something to wear tomorrow. If it’s okay with you,” she quickly added.

  “It’s more than okay with me. Don’t matter what time. I’ll be waiting. And don’t worry, I’ll swing by the house and pick up a couple of outfits for you. I promise to let you get some rest tonight.”

  “Oh, no, I’ll be fine,” Jerra shook her head emphatically as she hurried to reassure him. “You know me, when my adrenalin gets to pumping, all I need are a couple of hours sleep to refuel then I’m good to go, so don’t worry about cutting… things… short tonight.”

  Darrell laughed softly and leaned
against the doorjamb. “Alright.”

  Jerra’s eyes dropped to his groin area where the outline of his erection was clearly visible in the sweatpants. “I’ll make sure I take care of that for you when I get here. You just make sure you let Workout Barbie know you’re unavailable for late night exercise sessions.”

  Darrell’s grey eyes lit up in amusement because he could see she was totally serious. “Yes ma’am.”

  Jerra stared at him a few moments longer to make sure he got her point before turning to leave. “To be continued, Monroe.”

  Darrell watched the sensual sway of her hips as she walked away. What was that saying: he hated to see her go but loved to watch her leave. Yeah, he planned to make it his mission to insure she didn’t lose none of that ass if he could help it.

  “Most definitely,” he murmured before closing the door. “To be continued.”

  CHAPTER 38

  “Walt, I don’t want excuses, and that’s all we’ve been hearin’, man. I want results. You’re the expert. Identify whatever the issue seems to be and get it resolved it. That’s the bottom line.”

  Darrell was in his office along with Carl wrapping up a conference call with the lead engineer and project manager on a job that was slightly behind schedule and coming dangerously close to overrunning the set budget. Both situations were completely unacceptable, and Darrell wanted it rectified ASAP.

  Carl leaned forward in his chair to reiterate their point. “Make sure everything is done right the first time so that it doesn’t have to be reworked, because if that happens, there’s going to be hell to pay. And I’m not just talking to Walt, Charlie. You both need to get together, reassess the decisions being made, and get your teams on the same page. Do we all understand each other?”

  When both men answered affirmatively, they made plans to speak again in a couple of days then ended the call.

  Carl leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “Damn. I know you were planning on taking a trip out there next month, but if things don’t turn around, you might have to make plans to go before that.”

  “Yeah, I was thinkin’ the same thing. I’m tellin’ you now, if they don’t get it together, heads are gonna roll. We ain’t got time for this bullshit this far into the project.”

  “I agree. Let’s just see what happens and take things from there.”

  They continued talking business for the next hour until Carl switched the conversation to one of a more personal nature.

  “So, how are things going between you and Jerra? From the way you’ve been acting, I’d take a guess and say pretty damn good,” Carl smiled.

  Darrell couldn’t stop the grin that blossomed over his face. The last couple of weeks had been like old times. Better even. He felt like he was getting to know his wife all over again.

  Jerra was still busy as hell with the Abrams case, but they had fallen into a routine that seemed to work for them. Best of all, their family was healing. Jerra was less stressed, D.J. was happy, and Darrell was more at peace with the issues of his past than he’d ever been. He’d worked out a lot of shit thanks to Dr. Williams, realizing that although his past experiences had been pivotal in helping to shape his present, that didn’t mean he had to allow them to define his future and how he lived his life. Not any longer. Darrell realized that’s what he’d been doing when it came to Tina, Isaac, and…Roni.

  “Hey, D.” Carl waved his hand to get Darrell’s attention. “You still with me?”

  Darrell blinked and refocused on his friend. “Sorry, man. Guess I kinda zoned out for a moment. But, yeah, to answer your question, things have been pretty damn good lately. Matter of fact, better than good. We’re goin’ out to dinner tonight to discuss some things, and just have a little alone time.”

  “That’s great. I can’t think of a more perfect couple than you and Jerra.”

  “Thanks, Carl. I appreciate that. I also appreciate you takin’ up the slack around here these last couple of months. I know I’ve been a little preoccupied, but…”

  Carl shook his head. “You don’t have to thank me, bro. When I was going through my divorce, you practically ran this business single handedly. I was more than happy to return the favor.”

  Darrell nodded his head in acknowledgment. When his cell phone vibrated, he looked at the I.D. and saw Jerra’s picture flash on the screen. “There’s my better half now,” he smiled.

  Carl immediately stood up to leave. “Alright, tell her I said hello.”

  “I will.” Connecting the call, he leaned back in his chair and propped his boots on his desk. “Hey, beautiful.”

  “Hi, baby.”

  Darrell smiled at the endearment. For a time there, he seriously didn’t think he’d ever be on the receiving end of any type of affection from her again.

  “How’s your day been? We still on for tonight, right?”

  “Hm? Oh, uh, yes, but…”

  Darrell frowned. He didn’t like the sound of that. “But…what? You sound distracted. Everything alright?”

  “I’m late for a meeting, but I had to talk to you first. I hate to have to tell you this on the run, but…”

  “Tell me what?”

  “Wait…I’m sorry, hold on a second.”

  Darrell heard her address her secretary.

  “Heather, I know. Tell them I’ll be there in five minutes…no…just…stall them, please.”

  A sense of foreboding hit Darrell all at once. Something was wrong. He could hear it in Jerra’s voice. He swung his feet to the floor, his face reflecting his worry. “Jerra, what’s goin’ on?”

  He heard her take a deep breath. “It’s your mother. Darrell, she…she just left the condo. She stopped by to see D.J.”

  Darrell stared across the room and squinted. He couldn’t have heard her right. “She what?”

  “I know you said she’s tried to call you several times–”

  “Yeah, I ignored the calls at first. Finally, I blocked her number because she wouldn’t stop callin’. But go back. What do you mean ‘she just left the condo’?”

  Jerra sounded flustered, something that was definitely out of character for her. “God, I wish I had time to discuss this properly. Okay, Tina stopped by the condo. Mrs. Henderson tried to call you to find out if it was okay, but she couldn’t get through. When she couldn’t get you, she called me.”

  “I must have missed her call. My phone was lying on my desk, but I had it on vibrate because I was on a conference call.”

  “Well, she was fairly certain it was fine for Tina to be there because D.J. was so excited to see his grandmother. Plus, he still talks about her from time to time, but she still wanted to check with us. Of course as soon as she told me, I asked her to put Tina on the phone.”

  Darrell stood up and started pacing back and forth. “I hope you told her to get the hell out!”

  “Darrell, will you let me finish please? I didn’t quite use those words, but yes, I told her she had to leave, that she couldn’t just drop by and see D.J. like that without our permission. She told me she’s been trying to call you because there’s something important she needs to discuss with you.”

  “There ain’t a damn thing she needs to do but stay the hell out of our lives. I told her this. I made it clear that she was not to contact my family. Her going to see my son behind my back only proves what I’ve known all along. The only person she cares about is herself. Screw everything else.”

  “I don’t think that’s true.”

  “I’m not gonna argue with you about it because frankly she’s not worth it. You and I are in a good place right now and I’d like to keep it that way. The last thing we need is Tina’s bullshit.” Sensing there was something Jerra wanted to add, he sighed and rubbed his temple. “What else?”

  Having gotten the green light, Jerra quickly forged ahead with the rest. “Tina insisted that there’s something you need to know about your father and your uncle. She says they didn’t tell you everything.”

  “See, that’s
what I’m talking about. That right there. I’m through with all that. At least Isaac is respecting my wishes and keeping his distance. Why can’t she do the same?”

  “Darrell, she wants me to ask you to talk to her before she leaves to go back home, but–”

  “Where’s she staying?” Darrell growled through clenched teeth.

  “I think you should calm down before you see her.”

  “Jerra…” The warning came through his voice loud and clear.

  “At least wait until I can go with you. You don’t need to go over there when you’re this angry and–”

  “Jerra!” Darrell slammed his fist down on his desk. “What I don’t need are instructions on how to deal with my mother!” he shouted. “Will you please just tell me where she’s staying?”

  Silence greeted him on the other end before Jerra gave him the information in a clipped tone.

  Darrell ran a hand over his face and took several deep breaths. He hadn’t meant to take his anger out on her. “I’m sorry. I…I didn’t mean to…I shouldn’t have…”

  Jerra sighed softly. “It’s okay.”

  “It’s just that I have no interest in anything she wants to tell me about Isaac or Joseph. I just want to concentrate on our family. You and D.J. That’s it. Not Tina. Not Isaac. And not Joseph.”

  “I understand. Look, I have to go. After this meeting, I’m leaving for the day. I’ll see you at home?”

  Darrell’s heart sped up when he heard those words. Three months ago whenever he thought about ‘home’, he automatically would’ve meant the house they’d shared for the last six years. However, he knew Jerra was talking about the condo where they’d been spending so much time together lately, and she was right. ‘Home’ wasn’t a particular place or address. It was wherever the three of them were. Together.

  “I’ll be there. I…I’ll try not to go off when I see her, but she needs to understand that this can’t happen again.”

  “Whatever you think is best.”

  “Alright, go to your meeting before they send a search party out for you. I love you, Jerra.”