Page 45 of Dirty Play

Denise and Josh went up with Kennedy to start helping her get prepped, but not one of them looked nervous. That’s not usually the reality with one of these surgeries, but I think they’ve all struggled with this illness for long enough that even a major surgery feels like a relief because it’s a step in the right direction—hopefully, a fresh start.

When I head down the hall toward her room, Dr. Dickhead is walking toward me with a nurse, probably on their way to get ready.

“What are you doing?” he asks, his snippy tone mixed with confusion.

“Oh, I was just checking in with Kennedy one last time,” I reply with a smile, not letting his attitude bother me today.

“No.”

I turn to look at him, confusion evident on my face, but it’s Karla, the nurse standing next to him who speaks up first.

“We’ve been trying to reach you for a while. A man named Cade has been trying to get a hold of you for the last hour.”

“Oh, he can wait until after this. I’ll give him a call once her surgery has started,” I tell them, turning to look back toward Kennedy’s room. I’m sure Cade is just calling to wish me luck. He knows today is a big day.

“No, sweetie, he actually can’t,” she says, her smile soft. “Why don’t you just go talk to him? He’s in room 442.”

Room 442?

Why would Cade be in room 442?

That’s the room the donor is in.

“You must be mistaken,” I tell them. “That’s the room the donor is in.”

Dr. D turns to look at me, an incredulous look on his face. “Cade Williams is the donor,” he says in a snarky tone before turning on his heel and walking down the hall toward the operating room.

My heart stops.

This can’t be true.

Cade can’t be the donor… could he?

Without another thought, I turn and sprint down the hall. I ignore every single rule about running in the hallways. I don’t wait for the elevator. I go straight for the stairs, not stopping until I make it to the room. I open the door, expecting to see some random person lying in the bed getting prepped. I’m shocked when I see a pair of warm brown eyes staring back at me, filled to the rim with fear.

“You came,” he says quietly, his voice hoarse, breaking my heart.

I walk over to Cade with tears in my eyes, falling to my knees as I grab his hand in mine. I have questions. So many questions. Like, why the fuck is he here? What is he doing donating a kidney? But most importantly, I want to know why the fuck he didn’t tell me, especially when we just spent the night together?

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

“By the looks of it, I’m about to have surgery,” he says softly, squeezing my hand in his.

“But why?” I ask, ignoring the nurses around us as they get ready to move him to the OR.

“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “I guess I met a sweet little girl and her mom one night, and she let it slip that she needed a new kidney. I mean, why should I have two perfectly good kidneys while she needs one just to survive? When I found out I was a perfect match, it was a no-brainer.”

I just gape at him. He sounds confident, like this is an everyday occurrence, getting ready to be put under for surgery. But he’s definitely not confident, I can see it clear as day. I can see it all, the fear in his eyes, the slight tremble in his touch. I can feel it all. Dammit, all I want is for him to know he’s going to be fine—but that it’s okay to be scared.

I may be annoyed that he didn’t tell me before today—pissed off, even—and I definitely need to know why. But he called for me. He wanted me here with him before he went in, and this vulnerability from him means more than anything else—he’s letting me see that he's scared.

I’m scared, too.

“Mr. Williams, we’re just about ready to take you back,” one of the nurses says with a smile.

I shake my head. “Just give us one moment,” I tell her, looking back up at Cade.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Who brought you?” I ask, my words hoarse as I watch him squirm, not wanting to make him feel bad but needing to know why he hid this from me. How he could spend basically the last two days with me and not tell me that the surgery I’ve been so excited about is one that involves him, too.

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