Episode 1

Carlos was already tired of those long hours of surgery. It was exhausting all the pressure to save the patient's life, especially having to share the operating room with his ex-boyfriend, Lucas, who was next to his new boyfriend.

He was an excellent doctor and surgeon. Carlos had tried several times to change hospitals to avoid meeting Lucas, his ex-boyfriend, who was also a doctor and now paraded through the corridors with his new boyfriend, who was also a doctor. However, Carlos always changed his mind when his colleagues begged him to stay.

After several hours, the surgery finally came to an end.

"Please finish," Carlos said to an assistant.

Carlos handed the suturing part to a team member and wished to leave as soon as possible. He left the operating room, encountering the patient's family.

"The surgery went well. He will be kept in the ICU for approximately twenty-four hours and then be transferred to a room," he explained to the family.

While bidding farewell to the family, Carlos saw Lucas and his boyfriend also leaving the room. He politely waved to the patient's family, then headed to another room to change clothes.

Carlos followed behind them and discreetly observed the smiles they exchanged and the occasional touches on each other's arms. He wondered why he tortured himself so much by doing so.

"Why are you staring at that? Are you a masochist?" He heard the voice of his nurse friend, Nina, who snapped him out of his thoughts.

Carlos, confused, replied, "What?"

Nina approached and explained, smiling, "You seem like a masochist, why do you keep watching those two?"

Carlos sighed. "I don't know, Nina. I can't help it."

"If you weren't gay, I would volunteer to make you forget about him. You know what you need? Find a muscular man, well... you know what, to forget about that idiot quickly," Nina said bluntly, trying all ways to help her friend get over his ex. Carlos shook his head, smiling, and once again glanced at the two as they turned the corner, remembering Lucas' words.

"I tried, but you're too passive for me. I'm not talking about our positions, but you're too obedient, you don't take risks, you don't do anything impulsive. I'm different, I want someone with a firm hand, someone more aggressive, so to speak. You're a great guy, but you're not the type of guy I'm looking for. It's no use being with you just to avoid hurting you by ending it. But I have to think about myself too. I'm sorry."

Lucas' words from when he left Carlos' house after the discovery of the betrayal still echoed in his mind. Was he that predictable? Too obedient and perhaps monotonous in bed? Was not liking to take risks and preferring to keep everything under control really a bad thing?

Carlos was eager to change clothes and go home; his shift had ended, and he just wanted to take a relaxing shower. He said goodbye to Nina and went to the locker room, where he changed clothes, then returned to his office to collect his belongings before leaving. It was already midnight, and he had performed several surgeries that day. As he headed towards the reception, he noticed an unusual commotion.

Carlos heard screams and noticed that armed men had entered the facility, bringing with them three injured men. They pointed a gun at Nina and asked where the doctor was. Carlos realized that his peaceful night was ruined.

"I am a doctor," he said, drawing the attention of the men and pulling them away from his friend. He was apprehensive but couldn't show his fear.

One of the men approached, pointed the gun at him, and ordered him to save the life of the man in front of him, while Carlos struggled to remain calm. The man in front of him requested that other doctors be called. At that moment, Lucas and his boyfriend also appeared in the reception, drawn by the noises, and had guns pointed at their heads.

Carlos didn't want to talk to them, but he had no choice.

"Take care of these two patients, while I attend to this one," he said to Lucas and his boyfriend, then turning to the armed man, he added, "Take the other two wherever the doctors indicate, and you follow me."

Carlos acted quickly, without waiting for questions from the man in front of him. He turned and began to walk, realizing that the man was following him.

"Put him on the stretcher," Carlos ordered, grabbing gloves to examine the patient, while two other armed men watched from the room.

Carlos opened the shirt of the man lying on the stretcher. He was young, probably the same age as himself, and his body was covered in tattoos. The patient was conscious and seemed to be in a great deal of pain.

"The bullet didn't go through, I need to remove it. It would be better to take him to the operating room."

The man on the stretcher looked at Carlos strangely and immediately responded, "Doctor, don't put me to sleep. Just take this damn bullet out of my shoulder right here. It's not the first time, I can handle it."

Carlos was surprised to hear what the man said. Was there really someone brave enough not to want to be anesthetized in a hospital and go through a painful procedure while conscious?

"It's going to hurt a lot," Carlos still tried to convince him.

The armed man who was standing nearby approached closer and spoke directly, "We can't risk someone finding us and him being unconscious. You have no idea who you're dealing with, doctor. So, just do your job, remove the bullet, and don't you dare let him die," he said, finishing the sentence close to Carlos's ear.

Carlos had sworn to save lives, and it didn't matter if it was a criminal; it was still a life. He handed the man a towel to bite on when the pain became unbearable.

He gathered everything he needed, cut the man's shirt, and began to clean the wound to locate the bullet. Then, he used tweezers to try and remove the projectile, which was lodged in the right shoulder and hadn't hit anything vital.

"Hold him down so he doesn't interfere with the procedure," Carlos told the brute who had brought him.

Carlos continued the procedure for a few minutes until he managed to extract the bullet. He performed all the necessary procedures and gave instructions for the dressing. With the help of his subordinate, the man on the stretcher sat up and faced Carlos, placing a hand on the doctor's face.

"I won't forget what you did today, doctor, and I won't forget this handsome face, even with the mask on," he said, giving a smirk, despite clearly being in pain. Then, he stood up with assistance, asked where he could find the other two wounded men, and left the room, leaving Carlos paralyzed with fear.

"Please forget, you don't need to remember my face," Carlos thought.

Carlos removed his gloves and mask, trying to calm his accelerated heartbeat caused by adrenaline. He didn't know what was happening in the other room, and he was worried about the other people in the hospital. Although he didn't want to admit it, his greatest concern was Lucas.

He left the room and headed towards where the others were. He could hear raised voices, and the man who previously had a gun pointed at him now held Lucas by the collar. Carlos guessed that the other man hadn't survived. Lucas tried to intervene but was pushed by one of the other armed men.

"Your friend has lost a lot of blood. Judging by the state of his clothes, I imagine it wasn't just one bullet. If the bullet hit a vital organ, it would be difficult to save him," Carlos explained.

He intervened, drawing the attention of the man he had previously treated. The man turned to him and approached.

"Do you trust his skills, doctor?" The criminal asked the question and turned to face the man who was still being held.

Internally, Carlos felt satisfaction at seeing the man being intimidated, but he knew he couldn't let the situation become too dangerous. He was aware that those men could kill him right there and he didn't want to be responsible for that. Carlos stared at the man and then looked at Lucas.

"Yes, I trust him," Carlos said confidently.

The thug in front of him stared at him again and smiled.

"Well, doctor, if you say so, I will consider it a coincidence."

He turned to his men, ordering them to release Lucas's boyfriend, and instructed others to take care of the deceased man and the injured man to remove them from the scene. Then, he turned back to Carlos.

"My name is Andrey Marastrove. Maybe you've heard my last name before. And yours, doctor?"

Carlos swallowed hard and looked away.

"My name is Carlos."

Andrey smiled and turned, leaving with his men. Slowly, the employees and patients began to move. Some were crying, others wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

Carlos pressed his forehead, feeling a slight headache settling in. He needed to go home and rest. He gathered his things and, this time, exited through the back, heading towards the parking lot.

Driving in the early morning, Carlos observed the deserted streets. It was past two in the morning, and his only wish was to get home quickly. He thought about the name mentioned by the man at the hospital and remembered having heard of the Marastrove surname before. He knew it was a powerful mafia family in the region. He feared that treating the son of the Marastrove family's boss could bring trouble.

Carlos arrived in front of his house and pressed the button on the remote control. Before moving the car again, he heard a thud on the window. He looked startled and saw an armed man.

"What else could happen this early morning? Wasn't what happened at the hospital enough, and now I'm being robbed," Carlos thought.

The man made a gesture with his gun, indicating for Carlos to roll down the window. Carlos obeyed, not wanting to risk doing anything that could result in a shootout. He noticed that the man's hand was bloody, and the other hand held his abdomen.

"I need to get inside your house. If you cooperate, nothing bad will happen. Drive in slowly and close the gate," the armed man said.

Carlos was perplexed. "I thought he wanted to take the car. Why does he need to get into my house?" He thought as he obeyed and slowly drove in, closing the gate. He looked in the rearview mirror and noticed that the man had been shot. He thought he should do the same as he did at the hospital, not just to try to save his own life but also the man's life. After all, he was a doctor and couldn't run away from that responsibility.

He waited for the man to approach the car with difficulty.

"Get out. We need to go inside. I need you to do me a favor."

Carlos imagined that the man would ask him to help with the wound. He got out of the car, and the man in front of him almost fell. Carlos's reflexes were faster, and he held onto the man, getting his face close to his. Carlos couldn't maintain eye contact and looked down at the man's abdomen.

"Put the gun away and put your arm around my neck. I'm a doctor and I can help. I won't do anything against you. If this wound isn't treated, you could die. You're still losing blood."

The man looked at Carlos incredulously, probably thinking about how lucky he was to have approached a doctor, Carlos reflected. Carefully, he opened the back door and grabbed his medical bag from the back seat, under the watchful eye of the man standing beside him. Then, he walked towards the door, and heard a groan from the man. Carlos turned around and realized that the man was about to faint. He acted quickly, holding onto him and putting his arm around him. With this movement, Carlos couldn't avoid their faces being close again.

They both looked at each other, but Carlos couldn't maintain eye contact with those eyes. He looked away and continued to hold onto the man.

"You have beautiful eyes," the man said, catching Carlos' attention once again.

"Let's go inside. You're getting weak," Carlos replied, adjusting the man's body next to his and guiding him towards the door.

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