Through the Fire (12 page)

need me in an emergency get in touch with

Domino,” he said.

“Just what the hell is it that you and

Domino do anyway?” Brandon asked.

“Ask me no questions, and I’ll tell you no

lies, brother. Anyway, that’s it. I have to go. Oh,

before I go, Hobbs is heavily into debt. He’s a

gambler. Loves the ladies and loves to spend

his daddy’s money. He’s not dangerous, but

he’s in with some heavy shooters who can be

very dangerous. If you’re planning on seeing

the lady again, which from the scowl on your

face I believe you are, you need to tell her to be

careful of any involvement with this dude…she

doesn’t want to get caught in the crossfire. And

if Felton boy doesn’t pay up soon, I can almost

guarantee there will be repercussions,” Sinjin

said as he walked to the door.

122

SERENITY KING

“How did you get the information so

quickly? Never mind. Forget I asked. When you

get back, can you stop by to see me in New

York?” Brandon asked. “I need to discuss

something with you and Tristan.”

Brandon saw Sinjin’s body stiffen and

quickly reassured him.

“No, Sinjin, it’s nothing like that. It’s just

something personal that I need to discuss with

you two.”

“Let’s do it now. I’ll get Tristan down

here,” Sinjin said taking out his cell phone and

starting to dial Tristan.

“Sinjin, it can wait. I don’t feel like

discussing it at the moment, anyhow.”

“No, it can’t wait,” his younger brother

said shrewdly. “You’ve been acting out of sorts

for a while now, and from the haunted look

you’re sporting, you’ve been dealing with

something very bad for a very long time. I can

tell the signs, Brandon. We are doing this now.”

“Hello.”

Brandon

heard

Tristan’s

boisterous voice over the cell phone.

“Tristan, get over to Brandon’s room. He

has to talk to us. Bye,” Sinjin said and

disconnected the call. He walked over to the

Through the Fire

123

sofa and sat down. “You might want to get

dressed while we wait.”

Brandon ran his hand down his face.

“You’re crazy. Do you know that Sin?” Brandon

glared at his brother before grabbing a pair of

boxers and heading to the bathroom.

“Yes, well, that’s what y’all keep telling

me,” he heard Sinjin say.

Brandon took a quick shower. He heard

someone at the door and knew from the

murmured voices that it had to be Tristan.

Brandon snatched on a pair of jeans and

walked out to where his two brothers were

sitting, waiting for him.

Tristan was the first to speak. “You okay

Brandon? This room smells like sex.”

Brandon snickered. “Yes, I’m fine Tristan.

The room smells like sex because I was having

sex in it.”

“Okay, enough with the small talk. The

truth. Now,” Sinjin commanded.

Brandon inhaled a deep breath, then

slowly let it out. He looked from one frowning

brother to the other. “What I’m about to tell

you cannot leave this room,” Brandon said.

“Tristan, you can’t even tell Alisha. Mom and

Dad can’t know, either.”

124

SERENITY KING

Both Tristan and Sinjin jumped up from

the sofa at that.

“What’s going on Brandon?” Tristan

asked, eyeing Brandon.

“And we want a straight answer this

time,” Sinjin demanded.

“Please sit down. It’s nothing life

threatening.” Brandon waited until they were

both seated again before he started to speak.

“Dominique and I are…well, we’re married.”

“
What
?” They shouted simultaneously.

“I said, Dominique and I are married and

have been for over two years.”

“What the fuck!” Tristan exclaimed.

Brandon noticed that Sinjin was quiet,

looking at him as if he was an alien.

“Let me explain” Brandon let the words

spill out, telling his brothers about his and

Dominique’s courtship, the wedding, and the

loss of the baby.

He still remembered the day as if it were

yesterday. He’d been at work and over the

moon that Dominique was flying in from

Atlanta. They were going to their house in the

Hamptons to finish decorating the baby’s

room. The plan had been to invite the family to

Through the Fire

125

their home, show them the baby’s room, and

then make their announcement.

Things quickly changed once he’d met

Dominique at the airport. He knew something

was wrong the minute he saw her. She’d had a

pained expression on her face. “What’s

wrong?” Brandon had cried out so loudly that

one of the airport security guards glared at

him. He rushed to Dominique’s side.

Her eyes had a strange, glassy look.

“It’s…I’m just tired. That’s all. Tired.”

But Brandon knew his woman, and he

knew better. By the time he had hustled her

into the car, strapped her in, and pulled out of

the parking lot of LaGuardia airport,

Dominique was doubled over in pain.

Dominique, who never admitted to being in

pain.

Brandon had rushed her to the nearest

hospital. Not bothering to park in a parking

space, he drove up to the emergency room’s

front door, jerked the car into park, and was

out the door and over to the passenger side

lifting Dominique up and out of the car in a

flash. That’s when it happened. He’d seen the

blood on the seat and almost passed out. On

shaky legs, he’d left the car where it was and

126

SERENITY KING

rushed into the emergency room where the

staff, quickly assessing the situation, had

ushered him and Dominique directly into the

back. Once in the back, the staff separated

them. The nurse sent him to the waiting room

of the maternity ward, waving away his

objections and promising him that they’d let

him back in as soon as they got her stable.

He knew something was horribly wrong

when, a few minutes later, that same nurse

was ushering him into a room to change into

scrub-like clothes and then into what appeared

to be an operating room.

There the doctor advised Brandon that

they would have to take the baby because the

heartbeat was too low. Their baby girl was

born ten minutes later with hardly any

heartbeat at all.

They’d rushed her out of the operating

room and into neonatal intensive care, but the

doctor had already informed them that there

was no way that the baby would survive the

night. He hadn’t expected her to live at all. She

was just too weak and too small, weighing in

at only one pound.

Brandon tried to hold out hope. Surely

they wouldn’t have taken the baby to the NICU

Through the Fire

127

if there wasn’t at least a chance, even a small

chance…But by the time the doctor had

Dominique stitched up, the nurse had come

back in to inform them that the baby had

passed. He remembered Dominique’s screams,

a shrill wail that seemed to have no beginning

and no end. It ripped his heart out. After that,

his mind and body just went on lockdown.

Dominique had taken the loss very hard.

The doctors had been concerned. She wouldn’t

eat. To make matters worse, the damn fools

had placed her in the maternity unit where she

could hear healthy babies crying and delighted

parents cooing over them. After a day of that,

Brandon had moved mountains to have her

transferred to a private room in a private

hospital where she’d stayed for four days

before they released her to go home.

In the hospital, Dominique had begged

him not to tell anyone about the baby or their

marriage. She didn’t feel she could handle the

pitying looks and the intrusive questions. He

promised he wouldn’t say a word. At that

moment, he’d have given her the world just to

make everything all right again.

128

SERENITY KING

That day was when all the lies began.

That they had pulled it all off for so long was

miraculous to say the least.

“Are you okay, Brandon?” he heard

Tristan asked hesitantly.

“What…oh yeah I’m fine,” he lied, forcing

himself to control the quiver in his voice. “After

Dominique lost the baby, I think she suffered a

mini-breakdown or something. She was totally

inconsolable. She asked for space. I didn’t know

what to do, so I agreed. Finally, she came

around a little, but the week that her father had

the heart attack was the same week that we

were going to make the announcement about

the marriage and the baby. So we decided to

wait again.”

“I don’t understand. Why didn’t you guys

come clean after her father’s recovery? Why,

the secrecy?” Tristan interrupted.

“Dominique’s father always wanted her to

be with an African American man. He has one

man in particular picked out for her.”

“Felton Hobbs,” both Tristan and Sinjin

said in unison.

“Yes. Although before this weekend, I had

no idea. I’ve always suspected that Dominique’s

father has had ideas about me and Dominique.

Through the Fire

129

He calls on her for everything. Looking back,

it’s like he’s intentionally kept us apart. I told

Dominique as much this weekend. I think

Dominique has her suspicions as well. She just

hasn’t voiced them to me. I’m guessing he

doesn’t know about the baby or even the

marriage. Maybe he just senses Dominique has

an interest in me.”

“So, where’s Dominique now?” Tristan

asked.

“On her way back to Atlanta. We’re going

to tell her family as soon as this trial she’s

involved in is over. Oh, and she didn’t want to

ruin Rafe and Diamond’s moment.” Did the

words sound as lame to his brothers as they

suddenly sounded to him?

“You said you think she had a mini-

breakdown…how is she doing now?” Sinjin

asked.

“She seems okay. But honestly, when I

approached her about the entire situation after

the wedding, she just broke down. She scared

the hell out of me. She’s still not fully recovered

from the loss. That’s why I didn’t push for us to

tell her family now. I can’t go through losing

her again. I loved my baby, but she’s gone, and

I can’t bring her back. My wife’s still here and I

130

SERENITY KING

intend to do everything in my power to keep us

together,” Brandon choked out.

“Just how far along was she?” Tristan

asked.

“She was almost six months,” Brandon

replied pushing past the lump in his throat. He

couldn’t stop the tears that fell from his eyes,

tears he’d held in for far too long. Brandon put

his hands to his face and just let the floodgates

open.

“Shit!” Tristan murmured.

“Fuck!” Sinjin cried.

Brandon snorted in spite of himself.

“Thanks, guys. Knew I could count on you for

the emotional stuff.” He lifted his head, cleared

his throat and continued. “She actually lived for

a little while after she was born. They let us see

her before they took her to the NICU. She

wasn’t developed enough. She wasn’t even

bigger than a stick of butter. But yet, she was so

precious. I wanted to call you all but thought

better of it. What was the use? The baby was

gone. Dominique had started to retreat into

herself, and I was trying to hold it together for

the both of us. It was tough on her, man. The

doctors didn’t have explanation as to why she

went into pre-term labor. It just happened.”