“Cyst is secure. We’ve freed up the prostate, the bladder and the rectum. Who has the best and fastest stitching technique? I want to try to maintain his fertility if possible.”
Hunt said, “Pat is the best closer around.”
“Okay, Hedges. Before we go, I want to check one more thing.” Mac made an incision into the scrotum. “The second surprise of the day. His second seminal vesicle is here. It has good blood supply. I’m going to put you back where you belong. And, wahoo, he has a second testicle. The other urologist stitched them together. I can fix this while he has the epidural. It won’t increase anesthesia time. Pat, I’m going to clamp and pull the shard. You fix the hole without blocking the artery.”
“Tim, adjust the scope for me. Ready,” Pat said.
The shard came out along with a gelatinous clot. “Surprise three,” Mac said.
Hedges’ hands flew. “Remove the clamps. Ethan, irrigate. Lap pad. Looks good.”
“Okay, Beth, Jayden, you have a mobile stump.” Mac stood back, and with Tim’s help, drank a juice box and sat on a stool.
The stapler fired again and again. “Irrigate,” Jayden said. “Dry the field. Removing the internal stapler. Instill saline.”
The OR went quiet as they filled Troy’s bowel with fluid. “No leaks,” Beth whispered like a prayer.
“No leaks,” Jayden said.
Each surgeon and Tim checked the field and said, “No leaks.”
“Fresh gloves. I promised him a nice scar. Let’s close,” Pat said.
Pat and Hunt stepped to the table and began to close. Mac returned to the table and, with Ethan’s help, returned his seminal vesicle to where it belonged. Ethan began teasing apart the testicles.
Nine hours later, when the entire surgery was complete, alarm bells filled the room. “No you don’t, Troy,” Elizabeth, always calm under pressure, screamed.
* * *
Gwen wantedto fly over the table and strangle Luka Valent, but instead, she channeled Troy. “Luka, I want to help you. It’s been a long time since Annapolis. Put the knife down, and we can talk about things.”
“I don’t think so. How’s Bremen?” Luka asked.
“He’s okay. How long have you been out?” Gwen asked.
Luka slid closer to Kim. “He was always a cocky bastard. Defender of the downtrodden.”
“He was a twenty-year-old kid. So were you. I was nineteen. We were all cocky. But Troy didn’t go around raping women,” Kim said.
“That’s still up for debate. I saw the movies. And I heard his interview. Consent wasn’t obvious.”
“This isn’t about him; it’s about you. You raped Kim Pesce. No debate. She ID’d you; her rape kit was positive. Your DNA was in her and on her face. Two outcry witnesses, blood evidence,” Gwen listed.
“You liked it rough, right, Kim?” Luka retorted.
Gwen’s gut flipped. “You broke her arm. Your skin was under her nails as she fought you. Luka, you can’t rewrite history,” she chided. “And now you’re making it worse for her.”
“I can do what I want. What happened to Bremen—Karma is a bitch,” Luka taunted the women.
“You do realize we aren’t alone here, right? No matter what you do to us, you won’t get out of here alive. You haven’t answered the question. What do you want? If it was to kill me, I’d be dead already,”Kim’s voice quivered.
“Maybe I want to torture you a while. The woman who helped put me in prison and Bremen’s girlfriend. That’s who you are?” He glared at them.
“I run security for Mr. Bremen. As for torture, I’ve been there already. No one can do anything to me that is worse than what was already done. Before this goes on any longer, let Kim go. Look at her. Hell, she told me she forgave you.” Gwen cocked her head.
He glared. “What do I get if I do?”
“One less reason not to hate yourself,” Gwen remarked.
