Read Online When Tony Met Adam (Short Story) by Suzanne Brockmann - Free Book Online
Authors: Suzanne Brockmann
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calling because there was some mail or a package that had gone astray.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Adam, how are you? It’s Con. I’m sorry to bother you, but I just got the weirdest call from … Well, his name’s Adam, too. He’s my brother Steve’s latest boyfriend. They’re living over in 108, you know, your old place?”
“Yeah, Con,” Adam interrupted him, because the man could go on and on. “Sorry to have to make it short, but I’m just about to go into makeup.” Not quite a lie, considering he
was
due in makeup before the sun set, which counted as a
just about
in the earth-is-a-billion-years-old cosmic scheme of things. Until then, he was doing some shopping and getting some lunch. “If there’s something that you need …”
“Oh, sorry, of course,” Connor said. “It’s just that Adam—Steve’s Adam—told me that one of your, um, friends came to see you, but you weren’t there, of course, because you moved out. But apparently, this guy—Tony Something—had some kind of, I don’t know. Medical event, I guess. Adam called an ambulance and then he called me because he thought you should know.”
“Medical event,” Adam repeated, his heart in his throat. Tony had come to see him and had had a
medical event
.
“Yeah, the way Adam described it, he just kind of checked out. I don’t know if it’s drugs or alcohol—”
“It’s not,” Adam said.
“I’m not judging. It’s not my business to—”
“It’s
not.”
Adam spoke over him. “Tony was recently wounded in the war—the one in Afghanistan.”
“Oh, wow,” Connor said. “I had no idea.”
“Most people don’t,” Adam said. Tony had probably pushed himself too far, too fast. Driving all the way up from San Diego, to see Adam … God, he’d actually come to see Adam. “Which hospital did the ambulance take him to?”
“Cedars-Sinai,” Connor told him. “You might want to get over there, to talk to the doctors, you know, make sure they know he’s not just some drunk who needs to sleep it off.”
“Yeah, I will. Thanks for calling me. I really appreciate it.” Adam cut the connection and turned on his phone’s GPS, searching for Cedars-Sinai, which was on … Beverly Boulevard. Which wasn’t that far from his current location. He got his bearings and ran toward the street, scanning for a cab. There was nothing in sight, so he opened his phone again, and slowed to a jog as he scrolled through his recent history and found the number for Troubleshooters Incorporated. He hit TALK , and sure enough, after only one ring, good old Tracy picked up.
“Troubleshooters. This is—”
“Tracy,” Adam said. “Hi. You don’t know me. My name’s Adam, and I’m a friend of Sam’s. Well. Not exactly a friend. More like a nemesis, but okay. Whatever. Anyway, a mutual friend, a SEAL with Team Sixteen, was recently injured over in Afghanistan and I just got a call from another friend telling me that he’s—the SEAL friend—is in the hospital here in L.A., and it’s something of an emergency. I need Sam to get in touch with
another
SEAL named Jay Lopez, to ask him to call either me—” he rattled off his cell phone number “—or Cedars-Sinai Hospital because my injured friend might be unconscious and … Are you writing this down?”
“I am,” she said. “I’m also aware that you’re the one who called pretending to be Jules Cassidy, and I’m about to pull Sam out of another important meeting. So if this
isn’t
a real emergency? I will never put you through to him again, so help me God, as long as we both shall live, and I don’t think I got the name of the SEAL who’s in the hospital in L.A.…?”
“You didn’t get it because I didn’t give it to you,” Adam told her. “Sam will know who I’m talking about.”
She laughed her disdain. “He’s just going to read your mind …?”
“Wyndham,” Adam said, enunciating clearly. “Is
my
last name. You may have seen one of my movies? I’m
“Hello?”
“Hey, Adam, how are you? It’s Con. I’m sorry to bother you, but I just got the weirdest call from … Well, his name’s Adam, too. He’s my brother Steve’s latest boyfriend. They’re living over in 108, you know, your old place?”
“Yeah, Con,” Adam interrupted him, because the man could go on and on. “Sorry to have to make it short, but I’m just about to go into makeup.” Not quite a lie, considering he
was
due in makeup before the sun set, which counted as a
just about
in the earth-is-a-billion-years-old cosmic scheme of things. Until then, he was doing some shopping and getting some lunch. “If there’s something that you need …”
“Oh, sorry, of course,” Connor said. “It’s just that Adam—Steve’s Adam—told me that one of your, um, friends came to see you, but you weren’t there, of course, because you moved out. But apparently, this guy—Tony Something—had some kind of, I don’t know. Medical event, I guess. Adam called an ambulance and then he called me because he thought you should know.”
“Medical event,” Adam repeated, his heart in his throat. Tony had come to see him and had had a
medical event
.
“Yeah, the way Adam described it, he just kind of checked out. I don’t know if it’s drugs or alcohol—”
“It’s not,” Adam said.
“I’m not judging. It’s not my business to—”
“It’s
not.”
Adam spoke over him. “Tony was recently wounded in the war—the one in Afghanistan.”
“Oh, wow,” Connor said. “I had no idea.”
“Most people don’t,” Adam said. Tony had probably pushed himself too far, too fast. Driving all the way up from San Diego, to see Adam … God, he’d actually come to see Adam. “Which hospital did the ambulance take him to?”
“Cedars-Sinai,” Connor told him. “You might want to get over there, to talk to the doctors, you know, make sure they know he’s not just some drunk who needs to sleep it off.”
“Yeah, I will. Thanks for calling me. I really appreciate it.” Adam cut the connection and turned on his phone’s GPS, searching for Cedars-Sinai, which was on … Beverly Boulevard. Which wasn’t that far from his current location. He got his bearings and ran toward the street, scanning for a cab. There was nothing in sight, so he opened his phone again, and slowed to a jog as he scrolled through his recent history and found the number for Troubleshooters Incorporated. He hit TALK , and sure enough, after only one ring, good old Tracy picked up.
“Troubleshooters. This is—”
“Tracy,” Adam said. “Hi. You don’t know me. My name’s Adam, and I’m a friend of Sam’s. Well. Not exactly a friend. More like a nemesis, but okay. Whatever. Anyway, a mutual friend, a SEAL with Team Sixteen, was recently injured over in Afghanistan and I just got a call from another friend telling me that he’s—the SEAL friend—is in the hospital here in L.A., and it’s something of an emergency. I need Sam to get in touch with
another
SEAL named Jay Lopez, to ask him to call either me—” he rattled off his cell phone number “—or Cedars-Sinai Hospital because my injured friend might be unconscious and … Are you writing this down?”
“I am,” she said. “I’m also aware that you’re the one who called pretending to be Jules Cassidy, and I’m about to pull Sam out of another important meeting. So if this
isn’t
a real emergency? I will never put you through to him again, so help me God, as long as we both shall live, and I don’t think I got the name of the SEAL who’s in the hospital in L.A.…?”
“You didn’t get it because I didn’t give it to you,” Adam told her. “Sam will know who I’m talking about.”
She laughed her disdain. “He’s just going to read your mind …?”
“Wyndham,” Adam said, enunciating clearly. “Is
my
last name. You may have seen one of my movies? I’m
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