Read Online Red Hot Liar (9781617738654) by Noire - Free Book Online Page B

sister?”
    â€œYes . . . I should have been more aware,” Barron said as anger rose in him and joined his sorrow. He was fighting back hoarse sobs as his plan to stay even-keeled went out the window. “I . . . turned around and . . . I saw the stroller rocking. For a second I thought Sable had jumped out. It was like a dark shadow had swooped down . . . and . . . snatched my sister away from us . . . and it was all my fault.”
    And then he broke down completely. The pain he had buried for so long and the barriers he had built around those emotions had finally collapsed. Barron was truly a mama’s boy and he felt responsible for his mother’s pain as well. She had never given up on the search for Sable and he felt real guilty for trying to convince her for years that her little girl was dead.
    â€œI-I-I,” he started.
    Selah threw up her hand. “No, baby! That’s enough!” She got up and sat beside him, pulling her oldest child into her arms. “It was not your fault, Barron! You were too young to be watching anybody. Everything that happened that day was my fault. I was the adult. I was the mother. I neglected all of you that day. I’m the only one responsible, so I need you to let that pain go. Right now. Let it all go, Barron, you hear me? You don’t have to live with that burden anymore! It’s not yours to carry.”
    Mink couldn’t help the feeling that ripped through her gut. She didn’t really fuck with Barron like that. He had been real shitty to her when she first came to Texas. But seeing his pain up close finally made her understand what Sable had meant to him and how much of the blame he placed upon his own young shoulders for her abduction. Tears welled up in Mink’s eyes and she threw her arm around Barron as well.
    â€œIt’s okay, Bump,” she said as she hugged her brother. “You don’t have to blame yourself anymore. I’m back now and I’m not going anywhere. What happened back then is over. The important thing is that we’re all together now. That’s all that matters. It’s all good now big brother.”
    Okrah beamed. She knew her audiences at home were giving her guests a standing ovation as they saw a well-to-do family finally putting their demons to rest. What had just happened live on her show proved that no matter how much money you had, life could get real. The pure emotions had cast the Dominions in a good light instead of making them appear to be uppity tight-ass black folks. As a hostess she was well pleased. It was a powerful moment for the family and excellent ratings for television.
    â€œWe have to take a short commercial break, but we’ll be back so please stay tuned for more. This is Okrah Sinfree Live.”
    Â 
    Okrah was the shit! Selah was on deck last, so now it was my turn at bat! I felt bad for ragging on Bunni like I did because TV was all that and I was looking good as a mofo and I was so ready to work them cameras. I didn’t know what O-Mama was gonna ask me or how I was gonna work her angle to my advantage. I had managed to squeeze a few fake tears outta my eyes, but I wasn’t gonna get caught up in her trap or sit there slinging snot everywhere like Barron did, that’s for damn sure.
    â€œToday on Okrah Sinfree Live we’re bringing you a story about missing children. It’s a heartbreaking topic because it’s every parent’s nightmare. Today’s guests are the Dominions of Dallas, Texas. Viceroy Dominion, the multi-million-dollar oil tycoon and his wife experienced this tragedy firsthand. Their daughter Mink LaRue was kidnapped many years ago and her absence left a void in their lives that no amount of money could ever fill. But the strong-willed family never lost hope, and today after all these years they finally have their baby back.
    â€œTell me, Mink. After growing up in the slum ghetto of Harlem, what is it like to wake up one