“You’re the doctor that just got yelled at by that other doctor. I saw. Boy, she really let you have it,” she commented. Athena frowned at her but didn’t say anything.
“When I’m mad at my best friend, I just send her a text message with the mad face emoji. Yours...wow she really is pissed at you.”
“I know. I know she is, okay? Can we not talk about this? What happened to your arm?” she asked, changing the subject. She already knew from reviewing the chart, but needed to distract the inquisitive girl.
“Oh my friend dared me that I wouldn’t cut my arm with a swiss army knife. She lost. She doesn’t believe how tough I am.”
“That’s not tough, that’s stupid. You could have really done some serious nerve damage.”
“Well you’re stupid for not realizing that your friend needed you.”
“I’m not stupid, she didn’t tell me she had things going on.”
“You’re her best friend, you should have known.”
“Yeah, well your best friend should have known that you could have really hurt yourself with this stunt. Don’t do something like this again.”
“Don’t be so self-involved next time that you forget who your friends are.”
The two stared at each other for a few minutes, before having to grudgingly admit that the other had a point.
“Fine,” they said at the same time.
“Now shut up and let me get these stitches in so you can go home.”
Athena spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon seeing patients that came into the ER. Sabine glared at her every chance she got and each time she felt worse and worse. She needed to get her alone so that they could hash everything out.
Her pager went off and it was time to head to Sebastian’s room to get him prepped for surgery. They’d both been called and the walk to his room was a stony one. Unable to stand the tension, she tried to reach out.
“Sab I—”
“Don’t, Thene. Not here. We’ll do this after work.” Athena frowned. So it was okay for her to scream at her in front of everyone at work, but not for her to try to set things right. Sighing, she let it go.
Sebastian kept up the chatter as they got him ready and Mrs. Harris hovered, unsure what to do with herself. Once it was time to wheel him away she burst into tears and threw herself on top of him.
“Oh, God, Sebastian, Mommy loves you so much. My brave, brave boy. Daddy loves you too and he’d be so proud of you if he was here. You be strong in there and I’ll be right here when you come out.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I got this. Grand slam! I love you too!” he called out as they started to wheel him out the door. Athena looked back at Mrs. Harris as she all but collapsed in the chair, her body wracked with sobs and knew what she had to do.
“Sab,” she motioned her forward. “Go with Sebastian. I’m staying here.”
“What? No, Thene. If this is about what I—”
“It’s not. It’s just the right thing to do. Go and scrub in, you can do this, I know you can. There’s no one else I trust more. I need to be here with Mrs. Harris.”
Together they watched until they could no longer see them down the hall and then began the torturous act of waiting.
Several hours later, Mrs. Harris finally spoke, having sat quietly for most of the time. “Jay and I were high school sweethearts. We got married right after we graduated which pissed off both of our parents’,” she said with a chuckle. “He went into trade work so that I could go to college and get my degree to become a teacher. He was always putting my needs above his.”
Athena reached out and took her hand, recognizing that she needed to talk.
“I found out I was pregnant on the first day of my new job as a teacher. We were counting on me working for a few years before we started a family so that we could get caught up on some bills and create a little nest egg for ourselves. I remember being so scared to tell him, afraid that he might leave me.” She took a deep breath before continuing.
“When I finally did tell him, you know what he did? He took an ad out in the paper to announce that we were expecting. He worked three jobs during my mat leave so that we could make ends meet. He was the best man I’ve ever met.” Tears rolled down both their faces now as she shared her very personal memories with Athena.
“It sounds like he loved you very much, Mrs. Harris.”
“Please, call me, Mara. We’re sharing one of the worst experiences of my life together after all.”
She smiled and nodded. “Okay, Mara. I’d like that.”
“When we found out Sebastian was sick, I got the news first. I called him in a panic, bawling my eyes out. He was so worried about me, about us, that he rushed home. Rushed so bad that he got in that car wreck and he died. He died, Athena, and it’s all my fault,” she buried her head in her shoulder and let all the grief flow out of her. The months and months of stress worrying if her son was going to be alright. The all-consuming loss over losing the love of her life; all of it. It all came out in those tears that now soaked through Athena’s shirt.
“No, Mara. No. It’s not your fault. It was a horrible, tragic accident. Do you think that Jay would have wanted to be anywhere else once you got that news? No, of course not. He loved you, he loved Sebastian and he just wanted to be there for you. To be with his family.”
“What am I going to do if I lose both of them, Athena?”
She didn’t get to respond as at that moment, Cian and Sabine rounded the corner, headed their way. One look at Cian’s face and the dried tears on Sabine’s face and she knew. Dread filled her, sadness enveloped her and all she wanted to do was hold Mara forever to spare her the pain that was inevitably coming her way.
The tears started to fall silently and she could literally feel her heart crack in two. Sebastian’s little face swam in front of her. The light in his blue eyes as they played cards, his excitement when his team won. They way he liked to tell jokes. It wasn’t fucking fair. He was just a child.
“Mara.” Cian called her name. She pulled out of Athena’s arms and glanced up, seeing them there and freezing. Like Athena, she took one look at their faces and knew.
“No.” she whispered. And then she screamed it. “Nooooo! My baby! Not my baby boy, please God, no, no, no. Sebastian!” Her wails grew louder and Athena couldn’t keep it together as she grabbed her and wrapped her in her arms.
“No! You promised! You said if we got a heart he would be okay. That it would fix him. You promised!” she raged at Cian, pinning him with a hateful glare. “My son...oh, God, Jay not our son too.”
“I said it was our best chance for him, Mara. He was very sick and we wanted to give him every opportunity we could to come out of this. I—” his voice cracked, an unusual occurrence for him. “I wanted him to come out of this.”
Looking up at him, she saw how he too was devastated by the news. Saw the doctor that had been by her son’s side day in and day out for months, working to find solutions to better his health. All the anger drained from her body and just her grief remained. She launched herself into his arms and sobbed into his chest.
“H—H—He was only f—f—four years old. He never got to live. My baby, oh, God. No, Sebastian.” Cian led her away to have a private moment, leaving Athena alone with Sabine. As soon as they were out of earshot, she too let her tears fall, sobbing over the loss of such a precious little boy with so much love to give.
Sabine stepped forward and they embraced, the comfort they both needed trumping the fight they’d had.
“Thene, about what I said...”
“It’s okay. You were right about most of what you said. I should have been there for you to lean on. You sure as hell could have picked a better venue for your little outburst, but I understand where you’re coming from.”
Sabine looked embarrassed but before they could get into it any further Athena told her she wanted to check on Mara, see what they could do for her. Sebastian’s death was a large lead rock sitting
in her chest. She couldn’t believe such a sweet boy had been taken so young and yet assholes like those two serial killers were still walking around. Life really wasn’t fucking fair.
CIAN HAD BEEN filled with rage ever since losing Sebastian on the table. That little boy had looked up to him; trusted him to get it right and he’d failed him just like he’d failed Hannah. Waiting for the twenty-third day had been torture as he needed some sort of an outlet to channel all his pent up fury. He’d been taking things slow with Athena, the death had hit them both hard and they needed time to process their feelings. Plus, that fucking Detective was still hanging around and that was really starting to piss him off. She was off the market, claimed, taken, his. They may not have made anything official, but he shouldn’t have to tell her that he was not a man that shared nicely with others.
He was sitting in the living room watching the news, before leaving to pick up his target and heading into work. Mornings were his thing, he liked to drink his coffee and peruse the paper and news channels for more criminals to add to his portfolio. He looked up as that idiot, Rae Kelley came on screen.
“Good morning! I’m Rae Kelley, here with your morning update from Channel 15. New York City is still baffled by our reports of The Watcher. Is he friend or foe? The body count keeps rising, but suspiciously each victim linked to him is a hardened criminal that escaped prosecution. If I were someone thinking about going on a crime spree in this city, I’d beware. You just never know if The Watcher will end up with you in his sights! Be sure to tune in daily to Channel 15 for updates on this developing story and check out my blog, Rae’s Ramblings for up to the minute news.”
Cian swore and switched the TV off. He’d thought the vigilante reports had died down, but obviously he was wrong. The more media attention that stayed on this, the more difficult it was going to be to keep it going. He’d have to sit down at some point and think up a strategy to get the heat off him and his team.
Downing his last sip of coffee, he headed out the door to pick up his newest patient. His dark excitement to get this fucker on his table put an extra spring in his step as he walked to his car.
Damien Lock, age 36
59 West 32nd, Upper West Side
Accused of date rape, serial rape, murder, attempted murder, assault and battery
Witnesses failed to testify, insufficient evidence to convict
Damien Lock was one cold-hearted son-of-a-bitch. He had a real, deep-seeded hate for females and it showed in every one of his victims. He’d brutally rape and beat them repeatedly, either leaving them battered beyond recognition or he just killed them altogether. A wealthy corporate type, he thought he was untouchable. Until he messed with the wrong victim who reported his ass. After that, women started coming out of the woodwork, telling their stories. Unfortunately, as fast as they appeared, they disappeared, some never to be heard from again. It was obvious he was having them silenced, but with no proof, there was nothing the authorities could do. In the end, like so many other criminals, he’d walked. But now came the time for him to pay the price. His price; his way.
Getting him to the hospital was going to be tricky since he was a corporate executive, but with some creative genius, he was able to set up a lunch meeting at a high-end restaurant with a fictitious client looking to invest in the company. That got Damien alone, which was exactly what Cian needed. While seated at the table, Cian walked by and casually dropped a tablet into his Damien’s glass of water and then kept right on moving. It dissolved instantly and it didn’t take long for the commotion to start as he collapsed onto the floor in convulsions.
As soon as the ambulance was called, he rushed off to the hospital to arrive before it, thus avoiding any suspicion. He couldn’t have been more thrilled with how smoothly it had gone. His one and only hiccup was Athena. She materialized from nowhere, hinting around that she’d like to scrub in on a surgery to start off her day. He tried to dodge her and pretend that he didn’t catch her meaning but he wasn’t sure if she bought it. In the end, he managed to wheel Damien away and leave Athena behind, but he knew he’d have major damage control to do later.
In the OR, he could barely contain his excitement to try out his new toy. Liquid nitrogen was set up and ready for use. His plan was to inject it into Damien and ultimately freeze him alive while he worked on him. When everything was set, he stepped up to the table to begin.
Sixteen needles. Sixteen needles sunk softly into the flesh of the offending man. He moved to the side and reached across and pressed his thumbs over two of the ends of the needles.
He met the eyes of Damien, delighting in the terror reflected back at him. The drug would be injected into his system in three...two...one...
He knew exactly the second it hit his bloodstream as Damien’s entire body went stiff and his eyes widened even more if possible. “Saw,” he ordered. Once it was in his hands he leaned over so that Damien could get a good look.
“So, Mr. Lock, I hear that you like to torture innocent women. Rape them, beat them, even murder the unlucky ones. Then when they finally decide to make you pay for your despicable acts, you have them wiped out! Well, that’s rather ungentlemanly of you, don’t you think?”
Damien could only blink, his eyes were the only part of his body that weren’t completely frozen solid.
“I think you need to be punished, Mr. Lock. Fair is fair after all, and lucky for me, I’m very good at what I do.”
He walked to the end of the table and looked at his feet. “Hmm, wonder how fast you’ll be able to evade the law without these?” He lowered the saw, but instead of cutting off the entire foot; he started with a toe. It clattered to the table and he picked it up to examine it. “Fascinating. No blood at all. No muss, no fuss, torture. I like it.”
He removed two more toes before walking back up to Damien’s side. Damien’s eyes were scooting all around the room, desperate to see what was happening since he couldn’t feel a thing.
“Curious to see more, are you? Let’s see what we can do about that.” Using a scalpel, he obtained from Lorna, he set to work removing one of Damien’s eyes partway from it’s socket. The only indication that he felt anything at all was the bugging out of his left that was still intact while he worked on the right.
The sick monster inside him had been released, the longer he tortured Damien, the farther he wanted to push himself past the point of no redemption. The rage he still felt over Sebastian’s death, Hannah’s death, his role in Bianca’s death—it was starting to eat away at the last good parts of his soul that were left. It wouldn’t be long before his facade of being a respected professional was erased and the killer that he was destined to be was all that was left.
Disgusted with himself and finished with Damien, he gave the order to remove the liquid nitrogen. He’d already cut the main artery, so once he was thawed, he’d bleed out like all the rest. He’d feel every injury first though and that was what Cian wanted the most. To have him suffer the way he’d made his victims suffer.
Turning to leave the OR, he ran smack into Athena who was just coming in.
“Oomph,” she said as they collided. “Oh, good they sent me to get you. There’s a case in the ER that needs you right away. Hey, do they need help in there while you go? I can stay.” She craned her neck to see around him and took in the scene. “Is that guy alright? What happened to him?”
Cian grabbed her arm and dragged her away as quickly as possible before she could see anything else and put things together.
“He’s fine. Reynolds is just waking him up now. Why don’t you go see what they need from me in the ER. Tell them I gave permission for you to take my report and I’ll be right there.”
Athena frowned at him, but obeyed, not wanting to do anything to upset him. As she walked away, she replayed what she saw. The man looked frozen? And what was with that saw and no other medical staff in the surgery with him besides two nurses and Dr. Reynolds? Something wasn’t right and all her instincts were screaming at h
er to leave it alone. Of course, she didn’t want to do that and likely wouldn’t until she got to the bottom of what she saw.
Ever since Sebastian had passed away, Cian had been distant with her. Gone was the man who was dangerously attracted to her, and in his place was one that was cold and closed off. He still treated her with respect and the sex was still mind-blowing; but there was something missing. A piece of him died in that OR as well, a vital piece that she feverishly wanted to help him get back. She had a feeling that without it, he would sink farther into the darkness she knew was within him and this time, he may never find his way back.
Arriving in the ER, she found Seth waiting for her, a bouquet of roses and a picnic basket in his hands. He looked handsome and hopeful and she truly hated herself for what she was about to do. He was such a kind man and she couldn’t continue to string him along when her heart was somewhere else. He deserved better than that.
“Hi,” she greeted him warmly, accepting the kiss on the cheek he gave her. “What’s all this?”
“I wanted to surprise you since our last date didn’t turn out as planned. Thought maybe you could sneak away for half an hour—not off hospital grounds—and we could share some lunch together.”
He really was so sweet and adorable. She truly wished she felt more for him than friendship, but the fact was that she didn’t. A romance between them wasn’t meant to be. He might have been the better choice, he definitely was the safer choice; but he wasn’t her heart’s choice and that’s what she had to follow.
“This is so wonderful of you, really. But I really can’t sneak away today, I’m sorry. We’re slammed in the ER as you can see, and I promised Sabine I’d have lunch with her if we get a break since things have been a little rocky between us.”
Disappointment fluttered across his face and Athena felt like scum. Here he was trying to do something nice for her and she was weaseling out of it with a lame excuse.
“Seth. I have to be honest with you. I don’t see this going anywhere more than a friendship. I think you’re a wonderful, kind man, but I don’t have any feelings for you that way and it isn’t fair to you for me to pretend that I do.” She tried to step forward to touch his arm, but he backed away.
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