The first flight out wasn’t until six the next morning. Luckily, it was a non-stop. He arrived in Phoenix by eight. He called Natalie’s cell as soon as he landed. She told him that Angel was still critical, but at least she had made it through the night.
Cole took a cab to the hospital.
Natalie met him at the entrance, and led him up to the ICU.
He could see Angel through the glass window from the nurse’s station. The doctor was standing there when they walked up, and Natalie explained to him who Cole was, and asked him to explain Angel’s injuries.
The doctor nodded, looking at Cole. “She has a collapsed lung. We’ve got her on a respirator. One of the stab wounds ruptured her spleen. We did emergency surgery last night to remove it, but she can live without it. There were some other injuries. Right now we’re worried about her blood pressure. Trying to get that to stabilize. If we can get her through the first 24 hours, her chances improve greatly. You can see her, but only for a few minutes.”
Cole nodded, and looked over to where she lay. He had raced across the country to be here, and now he was finding it hard to walk the last ten feet. He was scared to death.
He walked into the room, which was really more like a glass cubicle, than a room. What he saw stunned him. He barely recognized her. Her face looked swollen. There were tubes going down her throat and machines all around her.
He reached out, and covered her hand with his. “Angel, it’s Cole. You’re gonna be okay, baby. You hear me?”
The respirator made a horrible noise as it pumped life-giving oxygen into her lungs. The heart monitor blipped quietly.
She lay unresponsive. His eyes filled with tears. He couldn’t loose her. Not now. He leaned down, and kissed her forehead, and whispered, “I love you, Angel.”
He stayed with her for a few more minutes, and then turned, and walked out.
There was a police officer standing with Natalie by the entrance to the unit. Cole walked over to them. He recognized him as one of the cops that had hassled him.
“Sgt. Harmon,” Cole stated.
The officer nodded at him.
“Were you one of the officers on the scene?” Cole asked.
“No. But I talked to them. Some shoppers heard her scream. Saw her fall, and two guys run off. They stole her purse. We found it in a dumpster behind the store.”
“The doctor said she was stabbed.”
Harmon nodded. “Twice. One wound to the chest and one to the abdomen.”
“Any leads?”
“Some sketchy descriptions. We’re hoping maybe she’ll be able to tell us more.”
Cole looked back toward her bed.
Harmon leaned in, and said quietly, “Piece of advice.”
Cole looked back at Harmon.
“Leave this to us. Don’t go doing anything stupid. I know you mean something to her, and well everything she’s been through, I’d really hate to have to arrest you. Understand?”
Cole stared him down.
Harmon blew out a breath, and turned to Natalie. “Well, I just wanted to see how she was doing. Natalie, let me know if there’s any change?”
“Of course.”
Cole watched him walk away.
Natalie stepped closer. “What did he say to you, Cole?”
He shook his head in answer.
“Cole.”
“Where are the kids?”
“My friend, Bonnie, is watching them at her home.”
“Any place we can get a cup of coffee?”
She nodded, and led him down the hall to the ICU waiting room. There were vending machines against one wall.
Cole walked over to the coffee machine, and got them each a cup.
They sat.
Cole looked over at her. “You okay?”
She turned, and looked at him. “I blame myself.”
“Why?” Cole asked, stunned.
“You told us months ago that the neighborhood wasn’t safe. We should have left then.”
“Natalie, don’t. You were trying to get her out. We both were. I was coming out next week to bring her home.” If only he’d come sooner, but he’d wanted to find them a place, big enough for all of them. “I should have come back with you.”
“Oh, Cole. Don’t blame yourself.”
Cole looked away. He sat staring at the floor, barely remembering drinking the cup of coffee.
*****
Angel made it through the critical first twenty-four hours. The next hurdle, the doctor told them, was for her to get through the next week. Somehow they made it through that, too. Then an infection set in, and they fought to keep her alive. For weeks, Cole sat by her bedside, refusing to leave her side.
Eventually, she improved enough for them to remove her