BOOK BLURB:
Olivia has overcome
many challenges and disappointments in her life. Yet, when faced with an
unexpected death of a family member, and witnessing the murder of someone she
cares for, she isn’t sure she can survive. The losses incurred on this journey
may cause her to pay the ultimate sacrifice.
The return of Black
and Kianna means the puzzle pieces of Angel’s life are finally locking into
place. The picture is different than she envisioned. Angel must determine if
uncovering the truth of their past, is worth the sacrifice of her new
relationship.
Kianna’s played
dirty in the past, but this time the fight is deadly. She’s willing to go all
in to expose the truth, which will cause everyone in the game to ante up. Will
her sacrifice be more than she bargained for?
Black’s gambled
several times in the past, but this time the stakes are high. With his life and
those of his family serving as the bargaining chips, it isn’t that easy to
fold. To protect those he loves the most, he may have to sacrifice his own life
to save theirs.
Angel. Kianna.
Black. In the end everyone must bear their cross. And the truth is so
explosive, the House will never be the same. One will stand strong and walk
away. One will stand strong and make the ultimate sacrifice. And one will stand
strong and won’t survive!
EXCERPT
Angel had
been sitting in the waiting room for several hours with Georgette beside her.
On her way to the hospital, Angel called Black’s mom to let her know what
happened. She promised Angel she would be on the next flight in from DC and
catch a cab to the hospital. Angel expected she would arrive at any moment.
“Mrs.
Franklin,” a nurse greeted, entering the waiting room and approaching Angel.
“Yes?”
Angel replied, standing up.
“Terrence
is out of surgery now. He was back in recovery for the last half an hour, and
they just rolled him up to his room. You can see him for a brief moment. Please
follow me, Mrs. Franklin,” the nurse said. Her name tag read, “Ophelia.”
Angel
looked back at Georgette who nodded her head reassuringly. She folded her arms
across herself as she nervously followed the nurse through the blue swinging
double doors marked Intensive Care Unit 1 {ICU 1}. Georgette had stayed behind
in the waiting area, because no one was allowed back but family. Angel had told
the nurse upon her arrival she was his wife, conveniently leaving the “ex” off.
Despite
all the hell Black had taken her through with his years of selling drugs and
cheating, she didn’t want any harm to come to him. There were more years with
him as his woman and wife than not. Not to mention he was the father of her
child. Although she would not admit it to anyone else, she still cared about
Black.
She paused
momentarily as the nurse came to a stop outside a room two doors down from the
nurses’ reception desk. Angel looked through the glass partition of the ICU
room Black was in. Gasping, she placed her hand to her mouth to stifle the sob
that threatened to break forth. Angel didn’t try to stop the tears that flooded
her eyes, running down her face. She had to be strong right now, for him and
her little boy.
“Are you
up to this, honey?” Ophelia asked. She placed a tiny, cool hand on Angel’s
wrist and cast a warm, blue gaze at Angel.
Inhaling
deeply, unable to find her voice, Angel shook her head “yes.” Following the
nurse into the room, she warily took in her surroundings. The monitors stood
guard over his bed like night watchmen, bleeping out readings that wouldn’t
make sense to her in a million years. To the left of his bed stood two
machines. According to Nurse Ophelia, one recorded his heart rate and monitored
his blood pressure, while the other monitored his oxygen level. A saline drip
was attached to his left hand and another pole with a plastic packet stood next
to it. She was unsure as to what it was for, but the tubing attached to it;
snaked its way underneath the covers to his pelvic region.
Her heart
skipped a beat when she found the courage to lift her eyes to see Black lying
inert in the bed. He was on a ventilator. Her Black who was so full of life, so
flirtatious and fun one moment and so hardcore the next, but always talking.
There were no sounds coming from him now. The endotracheal tube made sure of
that. No sounds other than the low beeping and the whooshing of the equipment
could be heard.
“Why is he
on a ventilator?” Angel found her voice.
“It’s to
assist him with breathing until he is able to do so on his own. It’s not
abnormal. It just ensures that if he misses a breath, the machine will do the
breathing for him. This tubing here,” Ophelia pointed at the plastic tube
coming from his nose, “is a feeding tube that will give him all the nutrients
he needs until he’s off the ventilator and able to eat on his own.”
“Do we
know how long he’ll be here in ICU?”
“That
always varies depending on the patient, their response to treatment, and how
soon he begins coming around. It’s really difficult to say. But what you can do
while he’s here is just talk to him, as you normally would. Just be careful not
to say anything that might be upsetting to him. It’s okay to rub his hand or
arm; you can even kiss him on his forehead if you would like.”
Angel
shook her head and sniffed as she blinked back tears.
“All
right, I’m going to step out, and I’ll be at the nurses’ station if you need
anything. Its 4:30 now,” Ophelia stated, looking at her wrist watch. “You have
15 minutes with him, and then you’ll have to leave until 8:30 tonight. That’s
our next visiting time.”
Angel
cautiously sat in the chair on the right side of his bed. She wasn’t sure what
to do with herself or how to even respond to him. A part of her continued to
wait for him to wake up and say something sarcastic to her at any moment, or
even ask about his son.
After
sitting there for almost five minutes, she tentatively reached out her hand and
touched his wrist. “Black…what happened? Who did this to you? I told you! I
told you if you didn’t change your lifestyle…” Angel shook her head, recalling
the nurse’s advice.
“I’m
sorry,” she tried again, “I don’t know who did this to you, or why, but I’m
sure we’re gonna bring them to justice.” She sat rocking back and forth for a
few moments more, staring at him.
“I don’t
know what I’m gonna tell TJ. He was looking forward to spending this weekend
with you. Maybe I’ll just say you aren’t feeling well. I know we’ve been
through so much, but that little boy loves you. And neither of you deserves
this. There’s a lot of things I didn’t say throughout our marriage, which I
should have said. But the one thing I never failed to tell you is you’re a wonderful
father. You’ve always been the best father that little boy could have. You’re
strong, smart, funny, and you have so much love in you for him. And he needs
that. So if for no other reason, you have to get well for TJ, Black.” She
rubbed his hand and stared at him, fighting back the tears.
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ABOUT CHELLE RAMSEY:
An original Georgia Peach, Chelle Ramsey
is a fiction author, writing stories to encourage, empower, entertain and
strengthen readers. Many of her stories are based in her birthplace of Atlanta
or her husband’s hometown of Cincinnati, where readers can relate to local hot
spots and events. She wants her readers (women and men) to become empowered to
rise above adversity, with faith in God, and belief in themselves.
Chelle holds an MBA in Human Resource Management, which she puts to use in her
HR generalist role by day, while she writes her women’s fiction and Christian
fiction novels by night. She is also a romance ghostwriter, a genre very
diverse from her own.
Her most important
roles are those of a wife and mother of three. During her “me time,” she loves
listening to music, and becomes enraptured with the enthralling stories of
Terry McMillan, and Nora Roberts. She especially relishes trying to solve the
engaging mysteries of James Patterson and Stuart Woods, while eating a bowl of
her favorite butter pecan ice cream. Chelle resides in a rural
community of Atlanta, GA and enjoys writing, family time, and watching NBA
games with her husband.
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