“Phillip! I’m seeing all the signs of shock here,” Linda
barked like a drill sergeant as she wrapped Stephanie with a
blanket. The unnatural way she flopped in Linda’s arms like a
life-sized Raggedy Ann doll caused his hands to tremble. “We
have to keep her warm. She needs a doctor immediately.”
“Right. Preferably one who didn’t graduate last in his
class,” he yelled at her then realized he was wasting precious
time. He shoved Linda aside and picked Stephanie up, blanket
and all.
“Phillip. You should wait for the medics,” Nanna wailed,
but he didn’t even slow his step.
“I’m taking her to Tullamore. I can be there before the am-
bulance even gets here.” He was at the door, and after fixing
Danielle with a menacing look, she mutely flung it open for him.
“I’m coming with you,” Linda demanded as she chased him
down the steps.
He didn’t remember much about the drive except the police
trying to pull them over just outside of the city. He blew by as if they were standing still and didn’t give them a second glance.
Linda spent the entire drive turned all the way around in her seat.
Stephanie was lying in the back, deathly pale, wrapped in the
blanket like a burrito. Linda had insisted on propping three pillows under her ankles for some reason that still eluded him, but she’d had many first aid classes while he’d been wasting his time in poetry, so he deferred to her judgment. He stole one glance at her in the rearview mirror and knew he couldn’t look back at her again until they reached their destination or he’d completely lose it.
29
TAMMY COONS & MICHELLE PACE
A team of medics met them with a gurney at the entrance.
He later learned that Danielle had called ahead of them. The po-
lice pulled in behind him, but Phillip was already chasing
Steph’s gurney into the building shouting at the staff. Linda
practically tackled him.
“Phillip! Go and talk to the coppers. I’ll explain to the nurs-
es what’s going on,” She insisted. Just like that, the situation was plucked from his hands.
The police were unbelievably cool, all things considered.
After a stern talking to and agreeing to pose for a photo with
them (so they could prove they’d met him to their girlfriends),
they let him off with a warning. Sometimes being famous had its
perks.
Linda soon resurfaced with two cups of coffee. “They said
it sounds like she had a hot appendix that burst. They’re prep-
ping her now for emergency surgery.” Phillip had blanched at
the word surgery. He’d known something was terribly wrong
with her, but the mental image of someone slicing into her
caused him to cover his eyes with his palms as if somehow he
could block the vision from his mind. He desperately wanted to
smoke at that moment. Unfortunately, Cedric and Adam arrived
along with his parents, and he had more pressing problems than
his cravings.
“You ignorant punk!” Adam shouted, shoving him more vi-
olently than he would have thought possible. “You could have
killed her with your thoughtless cavalier bullshit.”
“Dad!” Cedric’s volume was loud, but his voice was calm
and collected. Adam didn’t even glance in his direction. If looks could kill, Phillip would have been hangin’ with St. Peter, as
Steph would say. The force of Adam’s right cross snapped Phil-
lip’s head back, knocking him into a potted tree behind him. His coffee splattered all over the window next to him. Linda gasped, and Phillip’s hand shot to his aching jaw. He gawked at Steph’s
father in surprise. Both Cedric and his father grabbed Adam and
30
RAGE
pulled him back, restraining him.
“Can’t be bothered to wait for the professionals? What if
she had crashed on the way here? You could have killed my little girl.” Adam shouted menacingly at him, spittle flying everywhere.
“Dad! Phillip got her here, and she’s getting the help she needs.” Cedric’s delivery carried throughout the waiting room,
and Adam stopped struggling against them.
“Please, everyone just calm down.” His mother cried as she
stepped between them as if she were capable of defending him. It was at that moment that a man in scrubs and a cap approached
them as if oblivious to the altercation taking place before him.
“Which one of you is Stephanie Brier’s next of kin?” The
gravity in his commanding voice cut like shards of glass. Phillip felt his stomach plummet to his feet.
“I’m her father. This is her brother.” Adam gestured to
Cedric as he snapped to attention like the doctor was his drill
sergeant.
“I’m her fiancé.” Phillip interjected and Adam spun on him.
“No you’re not. She never answered you!” His hostile eyes
pained Phillip. He knew Adam could be wildly protective of
Steph, and it dawned on him that Steph’s mother’s death was the
result of a car accident. He’d been driving like a maniac to get her here alive. He knew Adam had every right to be upset with
him, but Phillip couldn’t believe that he thought he’d do any-
thing to intentionally jeopardize her well-being.
“Follow me.” The surgeon’s eyes flit between them so
quickly and decisively that it was almost imperceptible. Adam
strode after him, and Cedric hobbled closely behind-cane in
hand. The three men disappeared behind security doors. That had
been four long hours ago, and he hadn’t seen them since.
He choked on the harsh smoke as his lungs acclimated to
inhaling for the first time in months. His head immediately
buzzed as the tobacco and other essential poisons flooded him.
31
TAMMY COONS & MICHELLE PACE
When the first news van pulled up, he wasn’t the least bit sur-
prised.
“Phillip! Mr. Kersey.” The reporter shouted from the street.
Phillip flicked his cigarette in their direction and turned to walk back inside. The sight of Adam Brier standing in his path
stopped him in his tracks. Adam looked ten years older than he
had just a few hours before and a bit lost.
“Do you have any more of those?” he asked Phillip, pulling
a flask out from an inside pocket of his jacket. Phillip pulled the cigarettes and matches from his pocket and handed them to him.
“Where’s Cedric?” His own voice sounded horse and hol-
low. He was afraid of what Adam’s answer might be.
“He’s with Bonnie. She’s out of surgery. They say she’s
stable.” Adam replied and lit
