“Ahhh…” He licked his lips nervously, his eyes still wild.
“Think, Doc,” she told him.
Alex gripped the arms of the chair, amazed at how steady Ava could stay in these situations.
“S-suction. And light. I need this blood out of here, then we need to try to mop things up and see where the blood appears.”
She bobbed her head, grabbing the baster and working quickly to remove as much blood as she could before she stuffed gauze inside the wound, swabbing it around.
Kyle immediately leaned forward as she pulled it away, his eyes searching as she held the light. “I see it. I can repair it, but I’m going to need you to remove as much blood as you can from the wound while I work.”
“Got it,” Ava said as he prepared a suture for the nicked artery.
While Ava did her best to keep the area blood-free, he delicately sutured the vessel’s tear closed. When he removed his blood-stained fingers from the wound, she suctionedout the last baster full of blood before he pressed gauze inside.
When he removed it, he heaved a sigh of relief. “It’s good. No more bleeders. Now, I need to close him.”
Ava bobbed her head, holding the light as he worked to finish the surgery. With the wound bandaged, Kyle collapsed into a chair, swiping at the sweat on his brow as he stared at Sebastian. “Whew, that was…not easy.”
“But you did it, Doc. And that’s why you’re a part of this team.”
Alex shifted his gaze from the bandage over Sebastian’s belly to Kyle. “She’s right. That was…impressive.”
“Thanks, Mav,” Kyle said with a grin.
Ava grabbed the receptacle she’d used for the blood and carried it into the kitchen along with the baster. “Do you think he’ll need a transfusion?” she called.
Kyle followed her, returning with blood-free hands that he wiped against a wad of paper towels.
“Please tell me the answer to that is no,” Alex said with a grimace. “I’m a universal donor, and I really don’t want to see any more blood today.”
“Sorry to say, I think he’s going to need it.” Kyle pressed his stethoscope against Sebastian’s chest. “He’s pale, and he lost a lot of blood. I don’t like this sluggish heart rate, either.”
Alex murmured a curse as Kyle pulled out tubing and an empty blood bag.
“Sorry, buddy,” Kyle said as he grabbed an alcohol swab from his bag and ripped it open.
The cold, wet wipe sent a shiver down Alex’s spine. “Man, I really hate this.”
“Try to relax, Ace,” Ava said as she returned to the dining room with clean hands and a clean cheek, but blood still staining her hair.
“Ugh, you have blood in your hair, Sparky.”
She slid her eyes sideways to it before she tried to wipe it away with her paper towel. “Consider it a really gross highlight.”
She tossed the paper towel aside and skirted the table, grabbing Alex’s hand in hers. “It won’t be too bad, babe.”
"I hate needles." Alex grimaced, feeling wooziness washing over him again. As the blood trickled into the bag, he couldn’t shake the bitterness churning in his stomach. Here he was, saving the man who had haunted their lives, the man who had sent his wife into hiding. He pressed his lips together, wrestling with the conflicting emotions of gratitude and resentment.
“I know,” she said with a wrinkled nose. “But I’ll give you a cookie after.”
“I don’t want one of Shadow’s stupid cookies,” Alex said with a frown. “I don’t even want to save his stupid life after all the roses he gave you and stuff.”
Alex jumped as Kyle pierced his skin with the needle.
“Ow, Doc. Call your shots, huh?”
“Thought it would be better if you didn’t know.” Kyle adjusted the tubing, allowing the bag to fill with Alex’s blood.
