His Desert Rose Read online

  His Desert Rose:

  To Love & To Protect 2

  By

  Deborah R. Brandon

  His Desert Rose: To Love & To Protect 2

  © 2015 Creative Flow Publications

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in review.

  Published by Creative Flow Publications

  First Edition

  This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to organizations, people; living or dead, events, establishments are strictly the product of the author's imagination. All was used fictitiously.

  Contributing Author: Deborah R. Brandon

  Cover Design: K and T Graphics

  Editor: Shawnna Robinson

  Acknowledgements

  First giving honor and glory to God, for blessing me with this talent and providing an avenue for me to be able to do what I love.

  To my extraordinary mother Earnest R. Brown, you are my queen, my life line, my friend and I appreciate so much.

  To my wonderful husband and best friend Michael Alexander Brandon, I saw thank you. To our beautiful children, Precious Jones, Preston Jones and Zander Brandon thank you.

  To my siblings Patricia Wilson, Demetra Bates and family, Antonio K. Brown and family, Sue Brown and Family, Seymore Brown and Family, Sharonda Brown, Patrina Radford and Family, Ricardo Brown and family and Tywanda Brown and Family, thank you for your love and support.

  To all my friends but especially Laytoia Salaam-Hill and family, Chase Lamar Graham and family, Jennifer Crosby, Sheryl Kinard and Maria Andrade thank you so much. To Dr. Carmen Stone and Professor Karri Scollon, who were two of my English teacher at Piedmont Technical College, your corrections made me better.

  To my family and friends, that have passed on, you are loved and missed. This is your victory as well as mine. Sending kisses to heaven.

  Lastly, I want thank my Creative Flow Publications family, thank you for help, guidance and your support as my journey continues.

  Chapter 1

  Renee Anderson was seated between her twin pre-teen nieces on the stage at the University of Emerald Grove. They were waiting for her sister, South Carolina State Representative, to wrap up her speech to the eager fresh faced college students. Jasmine had a charismatic appeal with people. She drew them to her like bees to flowers. She always left them with a little more hope than when she first met them; that was just her way. Unlike most politicians, she spoke from the heart each time, with refreshing honesty, wisdom and encouragement. Renee smiled outwardly, because she was proud of her baby sister and what she had been able to accomplish.

  Out of nowhere a shot rang out. The crowd was up on their feet. Some people were ducking for cover and others were leaving the arena. Renee had reached for the girls as an instinct. Security was bum rushing the stage. She was looking around for Jasmine but had not spotted her. A stretcher was being brought onto stage. Renee stood to her feet, as the fear in the pit of her stomach started to rage from within.

  People began to move, so that the stretcher could get through. Renee’s heart moved into her throat as she realized that her sister was hurt. There was so much blood. A police officer came and ushered her and the children off of the stage. Instead of following his lead, she ran towards her sister and was intercepted in mid run by a pair of strong arms. No matter how much she tried she couldn’t get to her sister. Tears were falling down her face unchecked.

  Claire Blake-Moore was standing beside the officer who was holding her, telling her that she had to calm down. Renee heard her and she didn’t, she was caught up in the whole scene; red, white, and blue flashing lights, everyone talking at once, the whole scene was chaotic. It reminded her of the same scene where her parents had died in a horrific car accident. Renee’s life had drastically changed since then. She started to feel light headed, then turned her head as she heard Amber’s cry above the noise, and Alyson’s words of comfort. In a few seconds, she crashed back down into reality. She stopped fighting the officer, then gathered the girls and allowed herself to be ushered off the stage into a waiting patrol car.

  “Where to ma’am?” the police officer asked.

  Deciding quickly Renee rattled off the address to Blake-Moore Estates. With full bells and whistles the police pulled off. Renee hugged both the girls to her, throughout the ride to Blake-Moore Estates. She called Eleanor Blake-Moore and told her that she needed to drop the girls off there while she went to the hospital. Eleanor advised that she had seen it on the news and would be ready to go with her when they arrived and then rang off. Renee dialed an international number that had gotten lost in her sea of contacts over the past year.

  Antonio Favero answered with a thick Italian accent with a simple, “Hello.”

  Renee responded, “Antonio, I know that this is a lot to ask, but I am in an emergency situation here in Emerald Grove, South Carolina. I know that it is a lot to ask, but I need you to come and be here for me and with me, please.”

  “What is wrong? What has happened? Are you okay?” Antonio asked one question right after the other one, not pausing to allow her to answer.

  “I am with the girls and cannot discuss the matter right now, I am okay physically but Jasmine is not. When you arrive, I probably will still be at the Emerald Grove Medical Center, which is a trauma one medical facility as well as a teaching hospital,” Renee answered.

  “Is Jasmine okay?” Antonio pressed.

  “No,” Renee answered on a sob, and then said, “and I don’t know that she will be.”

  “I will be in flight within the next hour, just hang on and be strong until I get there,” Antonio responded.

  “Thank you, see you soon,” Renee said as she disconnected the call.

  Chapter 2

  Antonio Favero hung up the phone and ran his hands through his thick wavy, dark brown almost black, short hair. He picked up the phone and immediately called his families pilot. Apologized for the short notice, but advised that he needed the plane fueled, inspected and ready for takeoff within the hour. Antonio pulled his five foot, eleven inch frame up from his seat behind his desk at Favero International Corporation and grabbed his suit jacket as he headed to the parking garage. He opened the door and threw his jacket onto the backseat before sliding behind the wheel. He called the main house and his baby sister Elizabeth answered the phone.

  “Ciao!” Elizabeth sang into the phone receiver.

  “Ciao Elizabeth, where is Rosalie?” Antonio asked.

  “I’m fine, thank you for asking,” Elizabeth answered then continued to say, “She needed to be off early this evening. Is there something that I can do for you?”

  “Elizabeth I apologize, but I’m in bit of a hurry. An emergency situation arose and I’m needed in the states as soon as possible. Can you please get my emergency travel suitcase and bring it downstairs, as well as tell Papa that I need to speak with him briefly before departing?” Antonio requested politely.

  “Sure, anything for you,” Elizabeth said with concern. “Antonio is everything okay?” Elizabeth said.

  “I‘m afraid not,” Antonio answered honestly.

  “I will see you when you get here brother,” and disconnected the call.

  Fifteen minutes later, Antonio was pulling into the long winding driveway of their forty four acre estate. Their white two story family home was quite impressive, with a lush green manicured lawn and a cherub fountain that took center stage. Perfectly cut hedges on either side of the steps, an immaculate recreational pool, and a colorful flower bed.

  Antonio walked into the foyer of their home and true to her word Elizabeth h
ad his suitcase downstairs waiting for him, plus his laptop, little black book of phone numbers and passcodes, and his cellphone charger.

  His parents, Stefano and Maria Favero came from around the corner. He could see the worry that was in his mother’s sea green eyes.

  “Antonio, what is this problem in the states?” Stefano asked.

  “Papa you all may want to sit down for this,” Antonio advised. The last time they had gotten a call from the states, it had been Jasmine advising that about a troubled accident that had claimed both her parent’s lives.

  Once they were seated, Antonio informed them of Renee’s phone call. He explained that Jasmine had been shot while giving a speech to students at a major university. She had been air lifted to the hospital and was in surgery the last he had heard.

  “Cristo,” Stefano said, clearly upset and shaken by the news.

  Maria was holding his sister Elizabeth, who had become emotional upon hearing the news. She turned her salt and pepper head and said, “Godspeed son, go.”

  Antonio kissed his mother and sister on both cheeks. His father had stood to walk him out.

  “Antonio, you are a good boy,” Stefano said while Antonio was loading his things into the car.

  “Thank you Papa,” Antonio said looking at his father curiously.

  “I’m old, and I wish to retire,” his father said point blankly. “Yet I won’t hand my business over to you until you are settled down with a wife, building a family of your own. I will have your brother’s Federico and Marco fill in for you while you are gone, and we will keep you informed through email. Think about what I said while you are gone and take care of my friend’s girls. If Stanley wasn’t dead already this would kill him,” Stefano said handing him a folded piece of paper.

  Antonio accepted the paper from his father, hugged and kissed each of his cheeks, and hopped into the front seat and headed to the airport.

  Antonio used the ride to the airport to clear his head. There was simply too much going on right now in his life. He pondered everything and decided to make Renee and Jasmine his top concern right now; especially Renee, who had suffered from anxiety and depression since her parent’s untimely death. She removed herself from the spotlight, as she also battled an addiction to prescription pain relievers after she miscarried; due to stress probably. He had tried to stay in her life, but she wouldn’t have it. Yet when she was going through another traumatic experience she called him. That meant something to him. He would do anything and everything to take care of her and assure that she doesn’t go down a dark path again.

  Chapter 3

  Renee stood looking out of the window, wishing that it would rain, like it had when her parents died in a horrific traffic accident. It rained a calm, steady, somewhat soothing rain the day God took their parents away. It was perfect because the dreary gloomy dark day matched the pure agony, weariness, and pain that she had felt all the way down to her soul. The anger that pulsed through her body was as deafening and violent as a clap of thunder. Life was not fair and that’s for sure. She cried salty tears with a grief that was so profound. She had never experienced or even witnessed a loss of this magnitude and she hoped never to again. All of the fabrics that made her who she was were ripped apart that night. It was so cruel, to take them both at once. The worst part was there was no time to say goodbye. They were here one second and gone the next. The carnage of the wreckage added fuel to the fire. They had died quickly and together, but in such a violent manner. Why did two kind hearted souls have to leave like that, with mangled body parts, blunt force trauma and severed limbs? Why couldn’t they have died old and warm in their beds, having seen their children become all they had dreamed that they would be? Having seen two or three generations of their off springs?

  This loss was not like other losses she had experienced. It gave birth to fears and anxieties that I did not know I even possessed. It crippled her for about six months. Yes for six months she was paralyzed. Stuck in a sea of emotions that she felt like she couldn’t verbalize to anyone, for she feared that she had indeed lost some of her marbles.

  Michael Blake-Moore, my doctor, and family friend, took me out of work for two months. He feared that I had not taken time to grieve properly. I was on automatic pilot; just doing what needed to be done. Being strong for everyone else and not taking care of myself. The sleepless nights were wreaking havoc on my mind and body. My head was so full, my thoughts so many. Most days it felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. Renee hugged herself tightly, realizing that this situation had the potential of driving her back into this state.

  Michael had performed a three hour surgery, on her sister Jasmine who had been shot by an unknown gunman at this time. Michael Blake-Moore a family friend and the chief of surgery had updated her on Jasmine’s condition. He explained that Jasmine sustained injuries from being shot with a high velocity bullet that entered her upper right brachial area. The bullet did not hit any major arteries or bones, until entering her upper right quadrant, where the bullet cracked her fourth rib and changed direction then came out her lower right quadrant. She lost a lot of blood, and has some tissue damage. She received several units of blood during surgery.

  “What’s next?” Renee asked.

  Michael responded, “Jasmine will have to stay in recovery for a few hours until I can get her blood pressure under control. Right now, I have her on an antibiotic to help prevent an infection. She is receiving fluids as well to help rehydrate her. Lastly she is receiving pain medication intravenously.”

  Michael stood back and observed Renee’s behavior. Then he reassured her by saying, “Jasmine will make a full recovery.”

  “That’s good,” Renee said using the back of her hand to wipe her eyes.

  Nicole Alexander walked over and put her arms around Renee and said, “I came as soon as I heard.”

  “Thank you,” Renee said going through the motions.

  “Ah, Claire called Trent and he is on the way with his team of inactive Marines, from Blake-Moore & Associates to assist the FBI with the investigation, and help back up security measures,” Renee advised them.

  “Oh, wow,” Nicole said. “Do you need me to do anything right now?” she asked.

  “Yes, please can you call Mr. Blake-Moore and update him on Jasmine’s condition? He has the girls,” Renee explained.

  “Renee,” Nicole called her name softly, while placing her hand on her forearm. “Are you okay?” she asked really concerned.

  “I am in a better place than I was last year,” Renee said. “I’m scared for my sister, her children, and myself. She is all I have left. If I had an Oxycontin or Percocet pain pills right now, chances are high that I would compromise my sobriety by taking one,” she said hugging herself.

  Nicole said, “Even though I feel like most of the time when you are talking, you are giving us the standard company line. I have nothing but respect for you right now in this moment. You went through your treatment plan, successfully I might add. You know your triggers and have avoided them. You have a list of healthy alternatives, right?” Nicole asked.

  “Yes, I can walk outside in the sunlight which will increase my Vitamin D intake,” Renee replied. “Be honest with myself and others about how I am feeling, and I can do physical exercise,” Renee responded and smiled over at Nicole.

  “You always did enjoy being a know it all,” Nicole replied. Yet you forgot one very important alternative,” Nicole finished.

  “What did I forget?” Renee asked running the list through her head again.

  “Sex,” Nicole answered. “Some studies have shown that sex is great at helping to release stress, improve a person’s immune system, and can double as cardio and strength training if you add a little spice and some variety,” Nicole finished laughing.

  “Nicole you are so bad,” Renee said smiling for the first time that evening.

  Nicole moved to dodge her playful swat, and added, “I believe things are looking up for you in the
sex department.”

  “Why do you say that?” Renee asked following Nicole’s stare.

  “Oh,” Renee said as her eyes landed on a very tall dark and handsome Antonio Favero in the flesh.

  “Yeah,” Nicole said reading her mind.

  “I am so out of his league,” Renee said.

  Nicole looked at her and said, “Yeah you went through some things this past year but you are bouncing back from them; don’t you dare sell yourself short. Hell, you were the one to watch in the International Business Market. He would be lucky to have you,” Nicole finished.

  “You are the best Nicole,” Renee said and side hugged her friend.

  Chapter 4

  Antonio stopped at the nurse’s station to get directions on where the family and friends of South Carolina State Representative, Jasmine Anderson, were gathered.

  When he looked up and saw Renee hug a tall African American woman with pecan tan colored skin, and her hair cut in a layered chin length bob. His eyes swung from the lady Renee was talking with, to her.

  Renee had her natural black hair with red tones color treated to bring out more of the red and blonde highlights. It was secured tightly in a curly ponytail. She was wearing a navy blue halter top professional dress, with navy blue heels. Antonio admired her from afar. He had always called her his desert rose, because she like the flower, was rare and oh so beautiful. She had bloomed in an environment that was designed for her to fail. Against all odds, Renee survived. She was slowly getting back on her feet, but she looked exhausted.

  Renee accepted his hug. He smelled of mango fused with a hint of silver armor something else she couldn’t quite catch. He smelled delicious.

  “I came as soon as I could,” Antonio said.

  “Thank you1 for coming,” Renee said. “This is Nicole a longtime family friend. And Nicole this is Antonio also a longtime family friend.”