Two weeks after Philip d'Autremont is acquitted of his wife's murder, it's time for him and his partner and lawyer, Charles Barnett, to start building their life together. But it turns out that not everyone in Atlanta is as ready to leave the trial in the past as Charles and Philip, and a surprise attack leaves Charles in the hospital and Philip's arm in a sling.<br><br>With thoughts of their own mortality fresh in their minds, Charles and Philip make a decision that will change their lives forever. Future plans and home renovations take their minds off the attacks, but the danger isn't over yet: the people behind the attacks are still at large, and they weren't acting alone.

Tribulation

Philip left and came back about twenty minutes later with some hot food. I looked at the plate he placed in front of me and said, “This is all healthy shit.”


“You’re in a hospital bed, you don’t need unhealthy shit. Now eat.”


Having had neither breakfast nor lunch, I devoured the food. Then I realized that nature was calling and said, “They took the catheter out while you were downstairs, and I need something to pee in.”


Philip rummaged in the nightstand and produced a urinal, and I said, “Don’t just stand there. All of a sudden my need is immediate and acute.”


He chuckled and pulled the curtains around the bed, saying, “In case anyone comes in.” Then he pulled the sheet down and my hospital gown up before inserting my penis into the urinal. “I don’t hear any water running.”


“Give me a minute. This isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.” Finally the floodgates opened and my bladder emptied itself.


Chapter 25