Authors: Serenity King
already gathered outside. Brandon could see
the smoke emanating from the windows and
his stomach twisted in terror. This was déjà vu
all over again. The only difference was that the
last time
his
woman wasn’t in the building.
“Don’t panic Brandon. Maybe she got
out,” Tristan said, his calm voice belying the
panic in his eyes.
Brandon didn’t say anything. He knew in
his heart that she wasn’t out. “She didn’t get
out. We’d see her. She’d be looking for me.
Where the hell is the fire department?”
Brandon’s cell phone ringing startled
him. Quickly taking it out of his pocket and
looking at the display, he almost didn’t answer
because he didn’t recognize the number. Then
he thought better of it and answered anyway.
“
Hello?
”
“Brandon?” the caller shouted in his ear.
He could hear something roaring behind him.
“Yes, this is Brandon. Who’s this?” he
yelled back.
“Thank God! Brandon, this is Craig
Randolph. We’re stuck on the first floor.”
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“Where’s Dominique? Is she okay?”
Brandon cried.
“I don’t know. She’s conscious now. She
fell, hit her head, and was out for a minute or
two. She’s awake now but kind of out of it. I
don’t know if it’s from the bump on her head or
the smoke. I’m hurt, too.” Craig’s voice seemed
to be drifting away. “Too…weak.”
Brandon stiffened. Dominique was hurt.
He needed to get in there. Those damned
firemen were taking forever. “Craig, hold on!
Help’s on the way. Tell me exactly where you
are.”
Craig had to explain three times before
Brandon finally understood. He hoped the man
really knew where they were in the building
and wasn’t just babbling from confusion.
Dominique’s life depended on it. So did
Brandon’s.
“I’m going in,” Brandon said to Tristan.
“The hell you are! You are not going into
that building, Brandon,” Tristan roared.
“Yes, I am. The only way you’re going to
stop me is to either knock me out or shoot me.
Either way, you’d better make sure I’m dead,
because if I come through and something’s
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happened to my wife, I won’t be responsible for
my actions,” Brandon barked.
“Brandon, let the firemen do their jobs.
See, here they come now. You go in there now
and you’ll just be another victim. In fact, you’ll
draw their attention away from Dominique and
Craig.”
“Tristan, Dominique’s hurt. I have to be
with her. Live or die, we are going to be
together. When I married that woman, I said
till death do us part, in sickness and in health
,
and I plan on sticking to my vows. So don’t try
to stop me,” Brandon cried. “Tell me you
wouldn’t do the same thing if it was Alisha in
that building.”
Tristan looked hard into Brandon’s eyes
for a moment, absorbing the message that
Brandon really was willing to die for his wife.
Then he let go of his brother’s arm.
Brandon took off into the building,
following the directions Craig had given him.
Smoke swirled into his lungs, making him
cough and gag. He used his arm to cover up his
mouth but that still wasn’t enough. Eyes
streaming, Brandon twisted and turned
through fallen debris until he got close to where
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Craig had said he and Dominique were waiting.
They weren’t there.
“Dominique! Craig!” he yelled.
“Brandon,
over
here!”
he
heard
Dominique yell. She was alive. His heart beat
faster.
“Where, baby?” Brandon shouted.
“Towards the left. I can’t see you, but I
can hear you,” Dominique yelled back.
“Keep talking, baby, I’ll find you.”
“Okay. Keep walking. Craig’s sitting. He
has a head wound that’s still bleeding and he’s
dizzy...”
“I know, baby. He told me he was hurt.
Keep talking. I think I’m closer. How are you
doing? Craig said you were hurt, too.” Brandon
choked back a curse as he dodged another piece
of debris falling from the ceiling.
“I have a bump on my head and I’m a
little lightheaded, but otherwise okay. We’re
over here in the corner. I don’t think you can
get through. There’s too much debris.”
“I know exactly where you are now.
Listen, I am going to crawl beneath some of this
stuff to get to you. Keep talking to me baby. Let
me know you’re still okay.”
“I’m okay, Brandon.”
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Brandon got on his belly. The floor was
hot as hell and burned his skin, but he gritted
his teeth and crawled, making his way through
fallen sheet rock, beams, and smoke to reach
Dominique. His heart swelled when he got a
glimpse of her high heeled shoe. Not wanting to
be apart from her a moment longer, he reached
out and grabbed hold of her foot. “I got you,
baby,” he cried.
“Brandon, you found us!” Dominique’s
eyes welled up as she looked into her husband’s
soot-covered face.
Brandon smiled. “I told you I would,” he
said reaching her and pulling himself up in
front of her. Brandon drew Dominique into his
embrace and cried like a baby. “Damn, I love
you, baby. I love you so much.”
“I love you too. Looks like the cavalry
have arrived,” Dominique said pointing to the
flashlights of the firemen behind him.
Brandon looked back over his shoulder
and laughed. “Figures. We’re over here!
There’s a man hurt,” he yelled.
They watched as the firefighters cleared a
pathway with precision. They helped Brandon
and Dominique up and led them out of the
building as they put Craig on a gurney. It was
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still rough going, but the firemen knew the
hotspots and weak areas, and seemed to
anticipate where each piece of sheetrock would
fall before it did. By the time they were free of
the falling debris, Brandon had a whole new
respect for firefighters.
As soon as they were away from the
burning building, they were greeted by the
EMTs and oxygen masks were put on his,
Dominique’s and Craig’s faces. Brandon
refused the gurney for Dominique, preferring to
carry her out in his arms. Outside, they were
met by his and Dominique’s families. Their
families gathered close, weeping in relief,
surrounding and shielding them with love.
“Shit, Brandon, you took ten years off of my
life,” Tristan laughed, hugging Brandon and
placing a kiss on Dominique’s head.
Brandon laughed too, from sheer relief.
“I’m okay. I’ll meet y’all at the hospital.
Dominique hit her head, and she needs to get
checked out.”
“You both need to be checked. You’ve
inhaled smoke yourself, and you have some
nasty scrapes and burns,” the EMT informed
him.
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“Yes, brother-in-law, so just climb on up
there with your wife and get checked out,”
Xavier said. “It’s official, you get brother-in-law
of the year. Now get. Sorry, Rafe, but you can’t
keep your wife quiet long enough to get
brother-in-law of the year.”
“Forget you, Xavier,” Diamond said
around everyone’s laughter.
“Love you too, Di,” Xavier teased.
At the hospital, Brandon was treated for
his injuries and released against the ER
doctor’s advice. He wasn’t worried about
himself. He needed to make sure Dominique
was good. He heard that Craig Randolph was
being treated for his head injury and smoke
inhalation.
The doctors had taken a CT scan of
Dominique’s head and had drawn some blood.
The two families were waiting for the results of
both tests. Brandon sat on the hospital bed next
to Dominique. She had fallen asleep in his
arms. One of the nurses had frowned at him.
She could frown all she wanted. He wasn’t
moving, and she wasn’t going to make him.
He looked up when the doctor pulled the
curtain back and peeped in.
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“Come on in, Doc, she’s sleeping,”
Brandon whispered.
“Hi, Mr. Cameron, her test results are in,”
the doctor said. “She has a slight concussion.
Also, given the smoke she inhaled, and her
condition, I’d feel better if she stayed overnight
for observation. We’ll move her to a private
room if you’d prefer.”
“Yes, I would like that very much. Thank
you. Should she be sleeping so much with a
concussion?” Brandon asked, concerned.
“We’re monitoring her. That’s why it’s
safer if she stays in the hospital. Considering
her condition and what she’s been through,
though, she’s going to want to sleep a lot.”
“You said that before, ‘her condition.’
What condition? Is something wrong with my
wife, Doctor?” Brandon asked.
The doctor looked a little taken aback.
“I…uh… take it you don’t know. I’m really not
supposed to give you any information without
her consent but…” the doctor looked at
Dominique, who was sleeping soundly in
Brandon’s embrace. “Mr. Cameron, your wife is
pregnant. It showed up during the blood work.
I want to do a sonogram before I transfer her to
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her room. I’ll get a technician in here in a few
moments.”
Brandon looked at the doctor with his
mouth and eyes stretched wide. “My wife’s
pregnant?” he uttered in disbelief. “But…but,
she was told that there was only a very slim
chance she could get pregnant again. She had a
miscarriage before.”
“Well, slim has turned into a definite.
Yes, she is very much pregnant and you have
the awesome task of telling her,” the doctor
chuckled. “I’ll have her moved to that private
room in a jiffy. Talk to you both later,” he said
slipping outside the curtain.
Brandon glanced down into the beautiful
face of his wife and smiled. “God’s given us
another baby,” he whispered. Placing a kiss on
her brow, he gently laid her back against the
pillows and slipped out of the bed. He needed
to tell his family the news before Dominique
woke up.
Brandon met the families out in the
waiting area.
“How’s Dominique?” Olivia Shaw asked,
followed by his mother.
“She’s going to be okay. She has a
concussion. They want to keep her overnight.
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She’s being transferred to a private room
shortly.”
“Oh, thank God,” Olivia cried. “Can I see
her now?”
“You could, but she’s sleeping. You might
want to wait until they transfer her. I just came
out to let you all know that she’s doing okay. I
have to get back in there before the technician
comes in.” Brandon smiled.
“Technician?” his mother questioned.
“Yeah, they want to do a sonogram.”
Brandon’s smile widened.
“Dominique’s
pregnant.”
For a moment the room was silent then
words of joy and congratulations flowed forth,
washing over Brandon like a healing balm.
“Y’all hold onto those cheers and
congrats,” he said with a grin. I want to be in
there when they tell her. See y’all later and
don’t tell my wife that I told y’all,” he said softly
before going back to Dominique’s side.
* * *
Dominique was awakened by a very
enthusiastic woman holding something in her
hand.
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“Good, Mrs. Cameron, you’re awake. I
just need you to lift up your gown, so I can get
this sonogram done, then you can go back to
lala land.” The technician laughed at her own
joke.
Dominique looked up into the eyes of her
smiling husband. What was he smiling about?
What was going on? “Brandon…?” she asked.
“It’s okay, Dominique, she just wants to
make sure that the baby’s okay.” Brandon
looked into her eyes.
“B-Baby?”