Daddy’s Baby © 2016 by Landis Y. Lain
Brown Girls Books, LLC
www.BrownGirlsBooks.com
ISBN Ebook: 978-1-944359-34-8
ISBN Print: 978-1-944359-44-7
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical or photocopying or stored in a retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages to be included in a review.
First Brown Girls Publishing LLC trade printing
Manufactured and Printed in the United States of America
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It is reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped” book.
Table of Contents
August – Two Months Later
Damon
SASHA
SEPTEMBER
BRIELLE
DAMON
Sasha
Brielle
Damon
Sasha
Brielle
Sasha
Damon
Sasha
Brielle
Sasha
October
Damon and Brielle
Sasha
Brielle
Damon
Brielle
Damon
Sasha
Damon
Brielle
Sasha
Damon
Sasha
Brielle
October
Brielle
Damon
Brielle
Sasha
Damon and Brielle
November
Sasha
Damon
Sasha
Brielle
Damon
Damon
December
Sasha
Damon
Brielle
Damon
Sasha
Brielle
Damon
Sasha
Damon
Damon
Brielle
Brielle
Damon
Brielle
Sasha
Damon
Brielle
January
Damon
Brielle
Damon
Damon and Sasha
Damon and Ricky
February
Damon and Brielle
Brielle
March
Damon
April
Brielle
Damon
Sasha
Brielle
Damon
Damon
Damon
May
Sasha and Damon
Brielle
Brielle
Brielle
June
Brielle and Damon
Gasping for breath in the grip of a maniac was a terrible way to end a school day. If he could have squeezed enough oxygen into his asthmatic lungs to get to his brain, Damon Hamilton would have had just that thought. He was slowly dying from lack of breath and fear so his thoughts were tattered and flickering like a broken neon sign.
“Stay away from my woman!”
One second Damon was meandering down the hallway of Lansing Southern High School, open book in one hand, engrossed in the wonders of Greek Mythology. The next, Craig “Dragon Dog” Frazier had him slammed up against the locker, elbow jammed against Damon’s Adam’s apple and a knife blade pressed to his belly. Students scattered like Damon’s books, except the students disappeared with the class bell and the books were on the hallway floor. Gold wire rimmed glasses were knocked off his face. Through his hazy vision Damon could see several Death Lord Gang members hang back, not involving themselves in the altercation, and making sure nobody else did either.
“Punk! You been talking to my woman,” said Craig, spraying spit.
The Dragon’s snarling lips were so close that Damon could feel hot breath and the droplets of warm spit run down his cheek. He moved only his eyes. Damon had read some place that showing teeth or moving suddenly in the animal kingdom was some sort of threatening gesture. Since he was definitely dealing with a new species of sub human in Craig Frazier, Damon didn’t want to do anything to spook him.
“She says she in love with you.”
Taken individually, Craig’s hard-planed features shouldn’t have been so menacing. Café au lait skin covered an aquiline nose and full lips. Somehow, the features converged into a mean reptile face, mouth surrounded by a bristly five o’clock shadow that brushed ever-so-slightly against Damon’s smooth cheek.
“Who?” Damon mumbled. “I don’t even know your woman.”
Wild with fear, Damon could feel the stiletto sharp point of the knife touching his ribs through his shirt. Although Craig was slightly shorter, he was at least two years older, strong and thick. He also liked to fight and was as vicious as a komodo dragon, intent on protecting his territory. Gossip had it that Craig had been kicked out of every other school in the city.
“You want to talk to my new lady? Do it now,” said Craig. Damon cut his eyes to the girl standing in the hall in front of him.
“Craig,” said the girl, in a high, distressed voice. “Stop it. All he did was say hi. It wasn’t about nothing.”
“I thought you said you was in love with him,” said Craig, still spitting as he talked. Damon didn’t raise his hand to wipe the side of his face. He turned his head slightly and met Craig’s eyes.
“I only said he was cute, baby,” said Sherry.
“Your observation is about to get your boy here gutted,” said the Dragon. “You want to see that Sherry, baby?”
“No, please, don’t,” said Sherry.
“Sasha used to be my woman,” murmured Craig. “You like a brother’s sloppy seconds, huh?”
“Naw, man,” said Damon. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Craig was seriously crazy.
“I kicked her to the curb,” said Craig. “If I want her back, she’s mine. Once my property, always mine.”
“All right,” said Damon. Sasha was history, what did he care?
“You get one warning,” said Craig. “You understand?”
“Yeah,” said Damon, feeling his chest tighten ominously.
In desperation, he grabbed Craig’s hand to drag it away from the chokehold at his neck. He wheezed in. Where was school security when you needed them? MIA, that’s where.
“Craig,” said Sherry. “He can’t breathe. Let him go.”
“That means don’t speak to her, at all,” said Craig, mean piggy eyes narrowed to slits.
“It won’t happen again.” Damon hated himself for begging but fear made it impossible to do anything else.
Damon knew that Sherry was kicking it with Craig because he was always manhandling her in the hallways. He stopped short of actually hitting her, but did a lot of looming and grabbing her arm. Damon hated to watch it but would never intervene. Sherry could tell that he’d felt sorry for her, because sometimes, when she thought Craig wasn’t looking, she’d give Damon a small, sad smile. Everybody in school knew how ruthless Craig Frazier was. She continued to beg Craig to be reasonable.
Just when Damon thought that Craig was going to actually stab him, one of Craig’s boys yelled, “Yo, man, Five-O.”
Everybody scattered, like a fan cutting through smoke. Pressure on his throat was abruptly gone. Damon dropped to his knees. Tears of relief welled. He fumbled in his back pocket for his inhaler and took two puffs, dragging in ragged breaths. He stuffed the inhaler back into his pocket. He ignored the come-lately security guard who asked him if he was okay. Seething with humiliation and rage, Damon gathered up his books. He found his undamaged glasses – OMG, mama would be ticked if I broke another pair - and scrubbed the side of his spit and tear stained face with the back of his hand. He stumbled out of Southern High School for the last
