Touched by a Phoenix (28 page)

Brad was so deep in programming software that he did not hear Phillip enter the office. Phillip placed his hand on Brad’s shoulder. “Son, do you have a minute?”

Brad jumped, “Yes sir, would you like to take a seat?”

“No thank you, I won’t take but a minute of your time. Do you remember our conversation several weeks ago?”

“Yes sir…I do,” Brad’s voice was both hesitant and concerned. Was this a firm no and what would he do if Phillip said no? Marry Alexis anyway; the answer was that simple.

“Do you still want to marry my daughter?”

Phillip’s eyes bore holes in him, as if he dared Brad to waiver. Brad stood as he nodded; his chest pounding, he managed to say, “More than anything else, sir.”

“Then, you may marry my daughter under one condition,” Phillip’s tone was even and impossible to read.

Brad waited with apprehension, expecting Phillip to drop a bombshell on him as the consequence for falling in love with Alexis.

“I am giving you all that is beautiful in my world; please make sure she is the beauty in yours.”

Night and day collided with Phillip’s words, the reality of a fathers’ love hitting right between the eyes.

“Thank you sir. She is the air that I breathe; my life is worthless without her love.”

“Good, keep it that way and the two of you will be just fine,” Phillip assured gruffly.

“Sir, may I ask what changed your mind?”

“Alexis did,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Brad cocked an eyebrow, “I see. Alexis can be quite convincing when need be.”

Phillip chuckled, “Son…you have no idea.” Phillip’s tone softened as he went on, “Brad, she loves you very much—possibly more than you could imagine. I expect you to take care of my baby girl.”

Brad beamed, “Yes sir, I will,” as he extended his hand and shook Phillip’s.

Phillip had already had more heart-to-heart than he knew how to deal with for one day and decided to change the subject. “Now, I hear you have been working a lot of late nights. Before my daughter throws a fit, I expect you to wrap it up early this evening and be out of here before the sun sets, do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir, I will,” Brad flashed him a dazzling smile.

When Phillip turned to leave, Brad stopped him, “Mr. Kincaid, I promise you—Alexis will know how much I love her every day for the rest of her life.”

Phillip nodded his head as he took his leave.

Brad’s knees were shaking from excitement. He sank down in the chair as he exhaled the breath he had been holding. He could now begin making plans to propose to Alexis. Deciding dinner was in order—he opened his Instant Message:

IM: Brad Scott - Conversation:

Scott, Bradley:
11:59AM

>
Can’t do lunch, but how about dinner at Angelo’s…7PM?

Saunders, Alexandria:
12:01PM

>
You don’t need to apologize again.

Scott, Bradley:
12:03AM

>
No apology, but I would like to make amends. Will you accept dinner and my surrender?

Saunders, Alexandria:
12:04PM

>
Your surrender sounds like my dessert :o)

Scott, Bradley:
12:06PM

>
LOL…meet me in the lobby at seven!

Chapter Twelve

T
he doors slowly
closed as the elevator began its descent.

Alexis leaned back against the wall frustrated and ashamed of herself. Her dad and Phillip had worked hard to build AAS and she was so proud of both of them. As much as she loved both of her fathers, she loved Brad more than anything in this world. This possessive streak in Phillip was a completely new experience for her and she had been struggling to deal with the changes. Thank God, they sorted some things out today. Phillip would make it right with Brad, she wondered if she should she say anything to Brad.

No, some things were better left unsaid.

She was so lost in thought she didn’t notice the elevator slowing until the doors opened. To her surprise Brad stepped through the doors.

“
Mmm,
hi,” she greeted softly.

“You’re still angry with me about last night?” he asked cautiously.

“No, love. It’s just been a long day,” she returned quietly.

He stepped closer as the doors closed behind him. He gently pulled her into his arms… his lips lingering just above hers.
Ooh,
why couldn’t she resist this man as her hand opened allowing her briefcase to fall to the floor freeing both hands so she could run them through his tousled hair.

Without warning, the elevator lurched. Brad grabbed Alexis tightly at the jarring motion. The stillness was like the inside of a coffin as if the elevator were suspended above a murky grave. The violent sound of the snapping cable filled the elevator shaft. The safety breaks screamed as they strained to slow the movement.

Only four floors to the parking garage. His mind was working fast. He calculated they would be moving close to a hundred miles an hour by the time they crashed. If he took into consideration the safety measures slowing their progress, it might cut their speed in half. The fall was the least of their worries. What if the cables or the assembly drums came crashing through the ceiling?

Hell
, no matter how he analyzed the situation, it was going to hurt. Alexis screamed as Brad threw her to the floor close to the sidewall of the elevator and shielded her body with his. He knew the lights and ceiling panels would likely give way on impact—at least his body would protect her from the falling debris.

“Alexis, try to relax your body to reduce the impact,” he yelled above the screaming breaks.

The elevator plunged towards the depth of darkness. The smell of smoke filled the elevator as the breaks overheated and gave away. They landed with a deafening boom as the elevator crashed into the pit. Shattering lights crashed around them as the pieces hit the floor. Through the eerie silence came the soft roar as the steel cables began their descent. Good Lord, thousands of pounds of steel were about to descend on them and there was nothing he could do.

“Alexis, are you all right?”

“Yes, I think so, but what is that noise?

“Cables.” He whispered against her ear, “I love you, darling.”

He braced himself for the possibility of the cables slicing through the ceiling and severing them in half.

The whistling sounded like a weeping willow branch whipping through the air. When he was a child, his father had used one on his backside when he misbehaved. His father trimmed all the leaves except for the last few on the tip…the switch had whistled as it whipped through the air before stinging his backside, even through his shorts. Brad couldn’t remember what he had done to deserve the spanking but none of that mattered. If they made it out of this mess, they would be lucky.

Brad’s ear-piercing scream rang throughout the elevator as one of the cables sliced across his arm before dead silence took hold.

“Brad….” Nothing—no response, no sound—just eerie silence.

She surveyed the floor as best as she could from her position beneath him. From what she could gather, a panel was laying atop him. It must have fallen when the cable burst through the ceiling. She freed her right arm enabling her to push the panel away. God, she hated to move him. It was dangerous. But if he was seriously hurt, she needed to get help. She pushed against his chest, rolling him off her. As she leaned up on her arm, her focus was immediately drawn to the blood. There was so much blood pooling under his head and the large amount of blood seeping through the sleeve of his jacket told her his left arm was in bad shape.

She immediately sprang into action. She ripped her jacket off and put it under his head to help stop the bleeding while she unbuckled his belt. She struggled to pull it through the loops. Finding her brief case, she thanked God for old fashion wooden rulers as she slipped it in the belt, making a makeshift tourniquet. Looking around for something to stop the bleeding from his arm, she found nothing useful. Instinct kicked in. She pulled her blouse off and covered the wound, pressing firmly with one hand as she pressed the call button to get help. She had no idea how many times she pressed the button before security came over the speaker.

“This is Ted with security, is everyone okay?”

“No, Brad is hurt,” she screamed.

“Brad who?”

“Brad Scott.”

“Who am I speaking with, ma’am?”

“This is Alexandria Saunders.”

“Okay, is anyone else in the elevator with you?”

“No.”

“How badly is Mr. Scott hurt?”

“I don’t know. He has a head wound and a bad gash on his left arm.”

“Is he conscious?”

“No, you have to get us out of here now!”

“Ma’am, I’ve called emergency and security should be there any second to start working on opening the doors.”

“Brad, Brad…please wake up.”

There was no response—only silence. As soon as Alexis heard security on the other side of the door, she screamed, “Please hurry,” hearing sirens blaring in the distance.

“Sweetheart, help is on the way. Hold on for me, okay. You are not to die on me…do you hear me?” she pleased as the tears began to fall.

The minutes seemed like hours as the fire department worked to free the doors. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the firefighters pried the doors open a couple of inches. Fresh air spilled into the small space.

Someone asked, “Ma’am, are you okay?”

“I’ll be okay, but you need to hurry—Brad’s hurt.”

“Okay, ma’am. I know this is difficult, but I need you to remain calm and tell me what’s wrong with Brad.”

“I think a light panel hit him in the head. There’s a lot of blood and he’s unconscious.”

“Okay ma’am, are you applying pressure to the wound?”

“Yes, I placed my jacket under his head.”

“Okay, good. Does he have any other injuries?”

“Yes, it looks like the laceration on his left arm is six to eight inches and it’s still bleeding…even with the tourniquet and pressure.”

“Okay, you’ve done a great job so far. Give us one more minute and we’ll have these doors open.”

The doors slid open with full force as the EMTs rushed the elevator. One pulled her away as the others started working on Brad.

“My name is Burt ma’am, and I’m here to help you. Please, let’s step outside so Mike and Randy can take care of the gentleman.”

“His name is Brad.”

“Okay, ma’am. We need to let them work on Brad while I check you out. You’re bleeding.”

She looked down at her blood-covered hands. Not her own blood—it was Brad’s. Her face turned ashen as her knees gave way. Burt scooped her up before she hit the floor and placed her on a stretcher. Burt checked Alexis for wounds to make sure he hadn’t missed anything and found that the majority of the blood was not hers. Alexis had multiple cuts and lacerations on her legs and knees with some glass embedded but nothing serious. Burt covered her with a blanket as he continued to check her vitals. When he was certain that she was okay, he pulled out the smelling salts.

Alexis awoke to the nasty smell of ammonia. She bolted upright as the EMTs were wheeling Brad to the ambulance.

“Where are they taking him?” her voice was trembling.

Burt tried to calm her. “Ma’am, we’re taking you both to the hospital.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“He’s lost a lot of blood ma’am, but Mike and Randy will do everything they can.”

She watched in horror as they loaded Brad into the second ambulance. Tears fell as she watched them close the doors and drive away.

“Where is Brad? I need to see him….”

The doctor responded, “He’s in the OR, ma’am.”

“How badly is he hurt?”

“I’m not sure ma’am, but he is in good hands.”

“I need to be with him.”

“Ma’am if you will calm down, we’ll finish taking care of you and get you upstairs to wait for the surgeon.”

A nurse entered, “Miss Saunders, your parents are waiting outside.”

“Nurse Kathy, if you will give me about five minutes, we’ll have Miss Saunders all cleaned up,” the doctor assured.

“May I have some clean clothes?” Alexis asked in a small voice.

“I’ll get you a set of scrubs to wear, Miss Saunders. Ma’am, you were awfully brave and may well have saved Mr. Scott’s life,” the nurse responded softly.

“Okay, Miss Saunders, we’re all finished. You are going to feel like someone hit you with a truck tomorrow from the impact. Your arms and legs are covered with cuts and bruises, which you will begin to feel as well. Why don’t you change into the scrubs while I will write you a prescription for some pain medicine. I’ll be right back and then you can go upstairs to check on Mr. Scott.”

“Thank you.”

Alexis gingerly slid off the hospital bed and began to change, tossing the blood-soaked clothes in a pile on the floor.

Catherine burst into the room, “Alexis honey, are you all right?”

“Oh Mom,” as she flung herself into Catherine’s waiting arms, tears overwhelming her. Catherine held her for a long moment while she cried.

“I need to check on Brad,” Alexis’s voice was shaky.

“He’s still in surgery, honey,” Phillip said.

“How do you know, Dad?”

“I just checked on him,” Phillip explained quietly.

They sat in the waiting room for what seemed like days—waiting for news about Brad. She jumped up as the surgeon entered the room, meeting the surgeon half-way.

“Alexandria, I have good news and bad,” he paused as he took her hands and guided her back down to her seat. Sitting across from her, he leaned forward as he looked down at his hands. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts before he spoke.

The air in the room was stiflingly hot. Alexis felt as though she would be sick if Dr. Anderson didn’t speak soon.

“The good news is…Brad is a fighter. He made it through surgery just fine.”

“And the bad news?” Alexis asked softly.

She didn’t know if she wanted to know the answer but was desperate to know everything.
Just get it over with!
her mind screamed.

“Brad has suffered a cerebral contusion and a hairline fracture to his skull. The MRI showed slight swelling of the brain. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will be critical.”

“But he’s going to be all right?” Alexis asked in an anguished voice.

“My dear, the majority of patients recover fully, but it’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen with Brad with 100% certainty. Right now, his chances are good, but we’ll have to keep a close watch on him for the next few days.”