The Dividing Line: ABSOLUTION #COMPLETED (Book 3)

20 ѱ GRIEF (BWWM)

THE HOSPITAL

How a man allowed himself to succumb to anger strong enough to encourage him to kidnap a pregnant woman from a hospital and then abuse her as severely as Bruce abused Angel reflected how out of control and vicious he was. When they found her, she was barely recognizable. She was left beaten and covered in bruises. Swollen shut, the skin on her face ranged from purple to black. Both of her lips ballooned to twice their size, with the bottom lip slit from the man's fist connecting hard with her mouth.

Cole was devastated by the catastrophe he witnessed before him.

The cops explained that they found her hanging from the ceiling unconscious. When they freed her, she never moved once. Angel didn't move, expected to fight, flinch, or even acknowledge that someone was touching her. In truth, she was barely breathing. If they hadn't called for an ambulance as soon as they entered the house, there was no telling if she would have even made it to the hospital because she was so bad off.

"Did they do anything else to her?" He struggled to speak his words.

"She was fully clothed when we found her, but it is pretty standard in this situation for the doctors to do a rape kit. It's a precaution to preserve evidence if there is any. But honestly, she didn't appear to have been..." The detective stopped as Cole threw up his hand as if to say stop.

"What about the baby?" Tears fell from his eyes despite his efforts to keep them from falling.

"Mr. McGregor, we haven't had a chance to run those tests since Ms..." The doctor walking through the door thumbed through her file.

The lady doctor examined the file. Then she turned to determine who was related to the patient.

"I'm her fiancé. My name was on all of her paperwork when we were here a few days ago." He informed the woman.

"I'm sorry, sir, but since you're not her family, we can't disclose any information to you without her consent." The doctor requested a moment to speak with the detectives while she turned her back on Cole. He used that time to go outside the room to call for their attorney.

Jacquaella showed up in less than thirty minutes with Angel's advance directive in hand. It clearly stated that Attorney Jacquaella Sparks or Allen Cole McGregor was privileged to any information about her health. They would jointly decide to keep her alive by all means necessary unless she was determined to be brain dead. The document would remain in effect until the day they were legally married. The legal document had been signed and officially recorded with the City of Dallas, Texas, on the same day he received the pack of papers regarding his inheritance.

Once the doctor examined the document, she turned to Cole and apologized if she seemed abrasive when he asked questions about the patient. J.J. proceeded to explain that since Angel was brought to the hospital, the nursing staff had drawn blood, taken a urine sample, and hooked her up to necessary life-saving equipment.

"Please, run a rape kit and let me know when you get the results back concerning the baby. I want to make sure he is okay." The situation humbled the man who many saw as dangerous. Yet, Cole's voice softened by what he had already witnessed, leaving him emotionally raw for all to see.

"Yes, sir. We will make sure we get that taken care of momentarily. Are there any other questions we can answer for you?" The doctor asked with a better bedside manner.

"No." He said as he went to sit next to her bed.

ѱ ѱ ѱ

"No, no, no... don't touch me. Don't fucking touch me." She squeaked out through lips that were nearly swollen shut almost two weeks prior.