Read Beginning of an Eclipse (SIN CITY HEAT SERIES PREQUEL) for Free Online Page B

snapped.
     Bryan laughed. “Now I know you’re hiding something. You never get defensive unless you feel backed into a corner.”
         His eyes ran over Roni's face. They couldn’t have been any closer if they were brother and sister instead of cousins.   Roni was an extremely beautiful woman. It was hard to believe she was thirty-eight years old; she could’ve easily passed for a woman ten years younger. Her body rivaled that of any of the tender young things down in the club right now. Many men had tried to get with her, but she wasn’t having it.
     Bryan’s eyes turned thoughtful. He’d tried to convince her that it was time to move on, that Frank would’ve wanted that for her, but so far….
     His inner musings were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Come in,” he called out.
         Roni kept her back to him as she continued watching the monitor. He knew she was avoiding his prying eyes. That was okay, though. He’d get it out of her if it killed him. Frowning, Bryan turned his attention to the young guy who'd just walked in.
     “Can I help you?”
     “I’m here to see Roni.”
     Hearing that voice, Roni swiftly inhaled. She sat up in the chair and whipped her head around to stare at Darrell with an expression akin to horror. Bryan’s frown deepened to one of intense speculation as he sat back and observed her reaction. Roni was always a cool one no matter what. However, right now, she was anything but.
     “Wh-what are you doing here?” Roni cringed as she heard the slight catch in her voice. Ignoring Bryan’s look of extreme interest, she cleared her throat and stood up. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “I mean, was there something you wanted?”
     Bryan’s shrewd gaze went to the young guy and saw the hungry response which leapt into his eyes at Roni's question. Oh, he wanted something alright - or rather someone - and she was standing right in front of him.
         Feeling like he was at a tennis match, Bryan switched up and swung his attention back to Roni. From the nervousness she displayed, Bryan knew she’d noticed the craving in the young man’s eyes as well. He’d never seen her flustered like this. Taking pity on her, he stood up and took a couple of steps towards the other man.
     “Is there something I can help you with son?”
     Bryan immediately tensed up when Darrell's gray eyes coldly ran over him. He wasn’t a small man, and after retiring from the Special Forces division of the military years ago, he had no problem defending himself, but he wondered how in the hell this punk got past security.
     “Nah, nothin’ you can do for me….Pops.”
     That’s it! Bryan scowled as he took a step towards Darrell. He’s dead!
     “Bryan…”
     Bryan paused when he heard Roni quietly call his name. His eyes shot a warning to the smart ass who was boldly staring at him with a taunting smile on his face. Bryan knew he was trying to goad him into losing his cool - and he was doing a damned good job of it too!
     Keeping his eyes on the kid, he directed his question towards Roni. “You know him?”
    “Yeah, she knows me,” Darrell sneered.
    The sound that came from Bryan was close to a growl. “I wasn’t talking to you!”
         “Well, I was talkin’ to you.”
     “Enough!” Roni rarely raised her voice, and the fact that Darrell had once again managed to bring out this side of her was not lost on her. She turned cool eyes his way. “Darrell, what are you doing here?”
     “Darrell?!” Bryan pivoted around and gave Roni a look full of disbelief. “This is the new performer you hired??”
     “Yes.”
     “Oh hell no!” Bryan continuously shook his head. “Hell fucking no!”
     “Bryan….”
     “Roni, you and I never interfere in one another’s decisions, but this time, I'm making an