NO SECRETS NO LIES (SIN CITY HEAT SERIES Book 3) (29 page)

    
Angel drummed his fingers along the side of his glass and narrowed his eyes.
"Really? I'm feeling lucky as well. Why don't we triple it?"

    
Bryan nodded once and raised his glass in acceptance. Angel did the same as
they each took a sip of their brandy to seal the deal.

    
"So. That was Roni on the phone?" Brian asked. "She told me she
was going to give you a call."

    
"Yes. She seems happy. I think the visit with Darrell really helped."

    
"I agree. I was a little worried at first, but she sounds really
good."

    
"She does. She even mentioned coming home one day."

     
Bryan's brow furrowed a bit because Roni had said the same thing to him.
"Do you really think that's a good idea? She's still in love with him, you
know."

    
"Yes, I know. But we can't protect her forever, Bryan. Roni's a lot
stronger than we give her credit for."

    
Bryan made a sound of agreement before changing the subject. "Darrell
still has no idea that you were the one who helped fake Roni's death and paid
for her treatment."

    
"I know. And I want it to stay that way."

    
Angel had briefly met Darrell over a year and a half ago when he and Marcus
accompanied his brother, Dominick, to his home seeking his help with a
predicament which involved Keisha. Angel had taken care of that situation
within twenty-four hours and gotten rid of the...problem. He'd also been
impressed with Darrell and Marcus' loyalty to his brother.

    
Angel was also aware of how Darrell had taken care of the men who tried to kill
Roni. As soon as Angel found out the Sicilians weren't responsible, it hadn't
taken him long to find out who was. Apparently, Darrell had the same idea. Angel
had stepped back and let him handle it. Darrell was a good man, the kind of man
Angel respected. He'd been very interested to see how things would play out
when he and Roni saw each other again after all these years. As he and Bryan
said, they both knew Roni was still in love with Darrell. When Darrell made the
decision to go back to his family, Angel had been happy to see that his
instincts about him hadn’t been wrong.

    
Finishing off his brandy, he said to Bryan, "So when do you want to set up
a date to lose your ‘thirty thou’? And just as a reminder: cash only."

Darrell
turned onto his street, eager to get home. He glanced at the clock on the dash.
It was way past DJ's bedtime, so he would be asleep by now. Darrell missed the
hell out of him, but this would give him and Jerra time to sit down and –

    
He frowned as he pulled into his driveway and saw Marcus and Dom's vehicles
parked there. With a look of curiosity on his face, he got out of his Rover and
hurried to the front door. Curiosity immediately turned to apprehension.

    
If something was wrong, surely somebody woulda called him...

    
Letting himself inside, he automatically tossed his keys in the square tray that
sat on the table by the front door and walked through the house. When he didn’t
see anyone in the living room, he headed to the family room. He was half-way
there when he heard the Sunday night game blaring from the surround sound
speakers set up around the room.

    
Stepping inside, he saw Dom and Marcus sitting on the couch intently watching
the play in progress. Darrell stopped several feet behind them and folded his
arms to watch as well. When the quarterback of his favorite team took a hard
sack by a player who was twice as big as he was, Darrell hissed.

    
"Damn! What's the score?"

    
It was almost comical the way Dom and Marcus' heads swiveled around at the
sound of his voice. They stared at him with their mouths hanging open before
they jumped up off the couch.

    
"Wassup, bruh?" Marcus grinned as he walked over and slapped hands
with him. "We weren’t expecting you back until sometime tomorrow."

    
"You lucky you didn’t get popped, sneaking up on a brutha like that,"
Dom teased as he shook Darrell's hand.

    
"Yeah, right. A muthafucka gotta make an announcement before he walks into
his own home?" Darrell laughed.

    
Marcus folded his arms and rubbed his chin. "So, uh. You handled your
business?"

    
Darrell nodded. "Yeah. It's handled. I'll talk to ya'll about it tomorrow,
but wasn’t no reason for me to stay any longer. I needed to get home to my
family." Darrell glanced around. "Speaking of which, where's Jerra
and her partners in crime?"

   
Dom snorted. "They've been closed up in Jerra's bedroom for an hour and a
half. Last time we saw them, they were carrying a bucket of ice, a bottle of
Ciroc Red Berry Vodka, Hawaiian Punch, and a Sprite. So my guess is they're
probably feelin' hella good right about now."

    
"What?!" Darrell yelled. "Aw, hell nah! I know ya'll did not let
them give my baby nothin' to drink! Ya'll know Jerra can't hold her liquor
worth a damn."

    
"What did you expect us to do?" Marcus asked as he and Dom settled
back on the couch and directed their attention towards the television. "By
now, I'm sure they've hatched a plan on how to cut ya balls off and feed 'em to
ya for breakfast," he casually added.

    
Darrell winced. "Ouch. That bad, huh?"

    
"Yep," Dom added.

    
Darrell glared at both of them. Neither seemed the least bit concerned that he
was floundering like a fish on the end of a hook. They quickly became engrossed
in the game again. Darrell went over and snatched the remote out of Marcus'
hand and turned the television off. Ignoring their yells and curses, Darrell
waved his hands for them to dead the bullshit. "Nah, nah. I'on wanna hear
it. Get ya asses up, come get ya tipsy ass wives outta my bedroom, and get the
hell out. Finish the game at ya own damn houses."

    
He walked out of the room with them still behind him talking shit. Darrell gave
them each a middle finger salute over his shoulder, but as soon as they stood
outside of Darrell's bedroom door, they instantly became quiet and looked at
Darrell, ready to follow his lead.

    
Darrell took a deep breath before opening the door and walking in. The men’s
eyes immediately went to their women who were lying on their stomachs, sipping
glasses full of Ciroc and watching a DVD of the old movie,
Waiting To
Exhale.
They still hadn’t realized their husbands were standing just a few
feet away.

    
"I tell ya. Men can be such dogs," Keisha slurred, frowning as Angela
Bassett's husband revealed he'd been having an affair and was leaving her.

    
Dom frowned and tilted his head to the side. Why they gotta be dogs??

    
"Yeah. They can be really, really selfish too!" Aleesha chimed in a
little bit too loudly before sipping on her straw. 

    
Marcus folded his arms and narrowed his eyes at his wife. She hadn't said that
in Aruba when he made sure she was satisfied several times over before he got
his own satisfaction.

    
"That's okay, though!" Jerra pointed a limp finger at the television.
"'Cause Angela gon' take care o' his cheatin' ass! She gonna burn his
clothes..."

    
"And sell all his shit for a dolla!" Keisha added.

    
"And then take all his money when they go to court!" Aleesha grinned.

    
Darrell raised an eyebrow as those scenario's flashed through his mind,
starring him as the lead actor in the film.
Hell nah! 

    
"Jerra."

    
When he softly called her name, three surprised - then accusing - faces turned
his way. Jerra scooted back and sat with her rump resting on her heels and
looked at him with large unblinking stares. "What are you doing
here?"

    
Mild amusement brightened Darrell's tired gray eyes. He'd been going almost
non-stop for the last couple of days. "That seems to be the question of
the night, I see. Guess next time I'll make it known ahead of time before I
just pop up at my own house."

    
Keisha scowled and sat up as well. "Next time? Are you planning on going
back?"

    
An immediate frown marred Darrell's forehead. "That's not what I meant,
Keisha."

    
Aleesha raised up to join them. "Well, that's the way it sounded."

    
Darrell's frown switched to Aleesha. "The way it sounded and the way I
meant it are too different things, Leesh."

    
"Then exactly what
did
you mean?" Jerra glared.

Chapter
36

    
Darrell walked towards the bed and stared at Jerra. "I mean that I'm sorry
I let things go this far. Instead of just leaving, I should've stayed so that
we could fix this. But I'm here, willing to do that now if you are."

    
Aleesha and Keisha looked at the sincerity written on Darrell's face and turned
identical questioning eyes to Jerra. She hesitated before nodding. Darrell knew
he was still on probation with her girls, so he didn’t let his impatience show.
He breathed a sigh of relief when they each gave her a hug and drunkenly
crawled out of his bed without incident. Keisha paused and gave him the evil
eye, but she still lifted her cheek towards him. Darrell dutifully kissed it
and told her to have a good night and then did the same with Aleesha. Marcus
and Dom came over and gathered their wives and told Darrell they'd make sure
the door was locked behind them.

    
After they were gone, Darrell sat down on the bed with his elbows resting on
his knees and stared at Jerra. "Giselle made it off okay?"

    
"Yes. She called several hours ago to let me know they were home. She
wants to come back to stay during spring break. I told her yes. I assume that's
okay with you?"

    
"Of course, baby. I'm sorry I wasn't able to spend time with her, but I'll
make it up to her when I see her again."

     
An uncomfortable silence fell between them that neither was accustomed to.
Jerra stirred her straw around in her drink then asked, "So, how did your
visit with Roni go?"

    
"It was good. Helpful. Provided closure."

    
Jerra nodded. "Can I ask you a question?"

    
"Shoot."

    
"Are you still in love with her?"

    
Darrell shook his head. "No."

    
"Look, don't worry about hurting my feelings. If you are, just be honest
about it and tell me rather than -"

    
"Have I ever lied to you, Jerra?"

    
"No."

    
"If I were still in love with Roni, I'd tell you. I'll always care about
her. She was a big part of my life...a very important part at one time, but
that was B.J."

    
Jerra frowned. "'B.J.'?"

    
"Before Jerra," he smiled. When she didn’t return the smile and just
looked back down at her glass, Darrell's face sobered. "Is there somethin'
you wanna ask me?"

    
"Is there something you want to tell me?" she countered. 
Jerra's lips turned down at the corners then met his direct stare with one of
her own. "Did you sleep with her?"

    
Darrell slowly moved his head from side to side. "No. I didn’t."

    
"But you wanted to?"

    
Darrell's eyes wavered for the briefest of seconds before he brought them back
to her face. "It's not that simple. Did old feelings surface when I saw
her? I'd be lyin' if I said they didn't, but sleeping with her was never an
option."

    
"Did you kiss her?"

    
Darrell hesitated before answering. "Yes."

    
Jerra closed her eyes and swallowed hard as the image of Darrell kissing and touching
another woman played out in her head. She reached over and placed her glass on
the nightstand before crawling out of bed. "I think I'm going to be
sick."

    
"Jerra," Darrell softly called her name. When she ignored him and
started to walk away, Darrell grabbed her wrist and pulled her between his
widely spread thighs. He placed his hands on her hips. "Jerra, please,
just listen to me." He tried to catch her eye when she stubbornly averted
her gaze. "Please?"

    
Reluctantly, Jerra turned her face to his but didn’t say anything.

    
"Baby, I don't want this distance to continue. Before I left, I said that
we probably both needed to face our pasts in order to move forward in our
future. I think we've both done that. I can't say that I'm sorry I went to see
Roni because I'm not. It's something I felt I needed to do, just like the
process of finding your daughter your way was something you needed to do."

    
Jerra reached up and wiped the dampness from her eyes.

    
"I never meant to make you doubt my love for you. We both made mistakes in
the way we handled our situations but the only thing we can do now is learn
from those mistakes and move on. As perfect as I am, I'm sure it won't be the
last mistake I make," Darrell teased, hoping to get at least a tiny smile
from her.