The Dividing Line: ABSOLUTION #COMPLETED (Book 3)

35 ѱ RUFFLED FEATHERS (BWWM)

(Thursday, 08/08/2019 10:17 am)

"I appreciate you making a place for me in your busy schedules for us to have this meeting. I promise I won't take up much of your time. So please have a seat."

Angel selected a place that was open to the public to put her plans in motion. She was tired of sitting around watching as the men around her did everything in their power to make this situation bigger and more public than it had to be.

After receiving a call from one of her government contacts, she'd learned that the administrative forces over the national Brotherhood Alliance landed in the state of Oklahoma shortly before she decided to leave the hospital. At that point, she was tired of both Cole and Bruce. The only thing on her mind was to distance herself from this entire mixed-up chain of events and start over, incognito.

Cole left a pouch in her hospital room containing documents, making it far more difficult for her to settle on a course of action. She had no ties to any of the people named in the pieces of paper, and therefore she didn't owe any of them a thing.

Only one thought raced around her mind, and that was the reason she invited the women sitting before her to meet to discuss the resolution she was there to propose.

"I don't mean to be forward with you, but the call I received said that my son's life was in danger," The tallest of the two older women stated as soon as she took her seat.

The women seated before her were polished and quite attractive despite the number of years they lived beyond Angel's years. Either lady was old enough to be her mother based on the information she gathered within minutes of reading the letters she found in the bag. As she stared at them, hoping to glean a bit of who they were. Angel believed the women must be of high caliber, based on their appearance and the sparsely sprinkled information she'd collected from articles scattered throughout the internet. However, she couldn't figure out how one article after another beamed about them as if they were paragons in the black community. Those articles displayed their many amazing accomplishments while posing with their family members smiling for the cameras. What she found on their business and personal social media profiles would have been quite moving had it not been for the situation at hand.

"No. It's fine that you are concerned about him. But, honestly, the reason I'm here is to see if we can work together to secure his safety."

"What do you mean?" The other woman who looked like she was the singer Angie Stone's twin asked of her.

"Recently, I was kidnapped and beaten."

The collective gasp of the two ladies was heartfelt. Their response assured her that she was doing the right thing.

"Because of the trauma I suffered, I miscarried my child."

This time there were gasps so deeply troubled, they sucked the air out of the room. Two pairs of eyes held immeasurable amounts of hurt and enough regret to fill the restaurant as their piercing gaze froze on the younger woman. From the ladies' location in the party room, they could hear other patrons enjoying themselves as the laughter continued outside the door as the other diners carried on with their meals. On their side of the door that separated the ladies from the crowd, an insurmountable wave of grief-filled up the space between Angel and the two individuals she believed had at one time suffered because of people they should have known better than to fall in love with.

Angel opened three pieces of paper. She slowly turned them to face the older women and slid each paper over for them to examine. As they read the documents, their faces lit up as if they came to understand why the younger woman was sitting across from them. Then, allowing them adequate time to read all three letters, tears began to roll down their faces instantly as the meaning of Angel's presence became crystal clear.