Chapter 15 #2
He nodded, then paused. “I could use a driver. I’ve got phone calls to make on the way, and it would be safer if I wasn’t behind the wheel.”
She didn’t even have to think about it. “I’ll get my purse.”
The next twenty minutes were a blur. She’d never been on a story assignment before, and while it was exciting, her emotions were tempered by the seriousness of the situation.
Sebastian made calls to different first responder agencies and police dispatchers, giving her directions in between as they hurried to Chester.
When he was done, he snapped his phone shut.
“The apartment building is in a rural area,” he said.
“That’s fortunate because it won’t spread to other buildings or businesses. But it’s bad, Jade. Real bad.”
“How did you find out?”
“Isaiah has a scanner, and he was listening in. He would have come himself, but he sprained his ankle square dancing yesterday. Take a left here.”
Jade complied.
“Sorry to drag you into this,” he said.
“I’m not.” Her problems were fading into the background compared to the fire. Suddenly she smelled smoke through the car vents. “We’re almost there.”
“Yeah.” His tone was somber.
Blue flashing lights appeared, and two police cars were blocking access to the road. Sebastian rolled down the window as an officer came over. “Hey, Scott. I’m here to cover the story. Can you let us through?”
Scott nodded. “Just stay out of the way. It’s a dangerous scene, and we still have people inside the building.”
Jade gripped the steering wheel. Sebastian merely nodded.
Scott moved his cruiser and let them pass. She looked in the rearview mirror as the police car reclosed the gap.
The air was thick with smoke as she pulled into the lit parking lot, getting as close as she could without being in the way of the first responders. Fire and emergency crews were dealing with the blaze. She said a silent prayer for all of them.
“Stay here.” Sebastian reached into the chaotic back seat of his car, grabbed a camera case, and looped the strap around his neck.
“But—”
“Stay. Here.” He dashed out the door and headed for the ambulance.
Jade sat back and stared at the flames bursting out of the three-level building. Sebastian was speaking with the ambulance crew, and then he moved on to several witnesses standing by. She felt so helpless. But what could she do? She didn’t have any first responder experience.
Then she noticed a woman standing separate from everyone else, her head in her hands.
Jade’s heart went out to her. She might not be able to help with the fire, but maybe she could offer some comfort.
She rushed out of Sebastian’s car and went to her, ignoring the smoke, ash, and heat coming from the building.
Once she was close, the woman lifted her head. “I’ve lost...” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’ve lost everything.”
Oh no. “I’m so sorry.” What else could she say? She put her arm around the woman’s shoulders and held her for a moment, then heard shrieking.
“My baby! My baby’s in there!”
Jade looked up and saw a hysterical woman being guided out of the building. When she tried to run back inside, the firefighter held her back.
Rational thought drained out of Jade. All she could think about was the baby. She ran toward the building.
“Wait!” a male voice yelled. “You can’t go in there!”
She ignored it, instinct blocking out everything else. She couldn’t let that baby die.
* * *
Seb had just jotted down a quote when he heard one of the firefighters yelling for someone to stop. “Thanks,” he said to the witness, then spun around to see what was going on.
“You can’t go in there!” the firefighter hollered.
Someone was running toward the blazing building. A woman... a flash of a red ponytail... “Jade!” Seb sped toward her.
A firefighter moved to block him. “Mister, you have to stay back.”
Seb tried to dodge him.
“Hey!” He grabbed him by the shoulders. “I said stay back.”
“Didn’t you see her run in there?”
“Yeah. Don’t you be stupid too.” Sweat dripped off his brow, his respirator hanging to one side. “It’s not safe. The building’s lost.”
No... “You have to go after her.”
“I’m sorry, mister, I can’t. You can’t either.” The guy looked barely older than Tyler.
When Seb tried moving again, the kid shoved him back. “I’ll get a cop over here if you don’t stop interfering.”
He had no choice but to give in. Everyone, everything was moving in slow motion now as terror engulfed him. Why, Jade? Why?
* * *
Smoke crawled down Jade’s throat, her skin searing hot. Thoughts jumbled through her mind as she tried to see through the haze. Yeah, she’d made a dumb decision. A really dumb one. But she didn’t care. All she wanted was to find the baby.
A beam crashed to the ground behind her. Fire crackled everywhere. And by some miracle, she heard wailing. She ran toward the sound and saw the crib. Scooped up the infant. Held it to her chest and dashed toward the exit.
The red haze and burning heat gave way to cold, breathable air. Jade gasped as people descended upon her. Someone took the baby from her. Another guided her away from the fire. A third appeared in front of her.
Sebastian. Thank God.
“Sir, we need to check her out,” a calm female voice said.
“Is the baby okay?” Jade was surprised at how raspy she sounded.
“Yes,” he said, still in front of her. He cupped her face in his hands. “Because of you.”
Jade touched his cheek and smiled.
“Sir.” The woman to her left was more forceful. “I have to take her to the ambulance.”
He nodded, his hands slowly falling away. “I’m going with you.”
She wouldn’t have it any other way.
* * *
“Thanks for letting Jade spend the night,” Seb said.
Evelyn Margot handed him a cup of black coffee. “I’m glad she agreed to stay.”
While the paramedics had looked Jade over, he called Evelyn and asked if they could come to her apartment.
After what had happened, he didn’t want her to be alone.
Of course Evelyn agreed. When they arrived, she had fresh clothes and a warm towel at the ready.
“You can shower in there,” she told Jade, pointing to the bathroom down the hall. Jade had resisted but not too much.
Seb ignored the coffee, still trying to grasp the reality that Jade had survived.
He didn’t know how. When he saw the beam crash inside the building, he was sure she was gone.
Even now the anguish still lingered. And the fear—the bone-chilling fear he felt when he thought she was dead.
Other than mild smoke inhalation, she was unscathed.
If she hadn’t come out of the building as fast as she did—
“Hey.” Evelyn sat down on her bright blue papasan chair. “She’s going to be fine.”
“I know.”
She regarded him for a moment. “However... are you okay?”
“Me? Sure.” Seb leaned back in the chair, hiding his turmoil.
“Yeah, right.” She took a sip from her mug. “You can fool everyone else, Sebastian Percival Hudson—”
He groaned.
“—but you can’t fool me. You don’t have to be so stoic all the time. It’s okay to let yourself feel things.”
Ever since he showed up at Jade’s motel room, he’d been engulfed in feelings. The first was when she opened the door, looking like she’d tumbled out of bed and more captivating than he’d ever seen her. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless.
But he’d gone to her room for a reason, and he had to focus on that, not on what he wanted.
Besides, he couldn’t have it anyway. And when he saw her reaction after he mentioned Lydia, he knew he’d made a huge mistake.
It wasn’t just the anger. It was the deep, stark pain in her eyes that made him realize that he should have never said a word.
“You don’t have the right.”
He absolutely didn’t.
As horrible as the fire was, it had given them both an out from the conversation. But then he almost lost her—
“Oh, hey, Jade.” Evelyn bounced up from the chair and went to her. “How was the shower?”
“Good.” Her voice sounded gravelly. “I feel much better.”
Seb rose, unable to keep his eyes off her.
That wasn’t unusual, considering every time he saw her he struggled with staring, but the outfit Evelyn gave her didn’t help.
His sister was more petite, and the turquoise sweatpants Jade was wearing were on the tight side, as was the waffle weave pink shirt. He didn’t mind that at all.
There was also a bigger, more important reason why he was staring—one that didn’t make complete sense. If he looked away, she might disappear again. His chest constricted at the thought.
Evelyn walked to her small kitchen, which was just off the living room of her one-bedroom apartment. “Can you two keep down the fort for a little while?”
He whirled around. “You’re leaving?”
“I’ll be back in a bit.” She slung her purse over her shoulder.
“Make sure you cater to her every whim, bro. She deserves it.”
“Evelyn Margot—”
His sister dashed out the door.
Sebastian faced Jade and shrugged. “Welcome to my world.”
“I like her.”
“Me too... sometimes.” He hesitated, unsure what to do next. “Do you, ah, need anything?”
“Some water would be great.” She clasped her hands in front of her.
Seb was glad to see they weren’t shaking, like they had in her motel room. “Coming right up.” He quickly fixed it and brought it to her. “Do you want to lie down?”
“I probably should.”
“Okay. I’ll be here until Evelyn gets back.” He sat back in the chair.
“You don’t have to stay.”
He looked up at her. “I want to.”
* * *
Jade couldn’t move, the tenderness in Sebastian’s eyes holding her in place.
In the back of her mind, she was still processing that she had saved a life.
.. and had taken a monumentally stupid risk.
To his credit, he didn’t berate her for that, just brought her to his sister’s apartment, insisting that she didn’t stay by herself tonight.
At first she balked, but now she was glad she’d agreed.
She’d rather be here than alone, despite Mabel’s hospitality.
He cleared his throat. “Evelyn said you could take her room.”
She shook her head, still gripping the water he gave her. “I can’t do that.”
“Good luck telling her no.”
Chuckling, she sat down on the cream-colored love seat.
Evelyn’s apartment had a bohemian flair and was decorated in warm earth tones.
She took a sip of the water, and it cooled her scratchy throat.
“You were extremely lucky, Ms. Smith,” the paramedic had said as she filled out forms on a clipboard. “You could have died.”
The reminder gave her chills. She shivered.
“Are you cold?”
“No,” she said, looking at him again. It wasn’t that long ago that she’d been furious with him. Now, in spite of everything that had just happened, she felt... serene. He always had that effect on her.
“I can get you a blanket.” He started to stand again. “Evelyn probably has a sweatshirt somewhere—”
“I’m okay, Sebastian. Really.”
He nodded, growing silent again, and also looking unsure. He pressed his palms against his thighs. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have brought up Lydia—”
“It’s okay.” She leaned back on the couch, still holding the water. “I’m sorry I got so upset. Lydia and I are complicated.”
“Family can be that way.”
“She’s not family.” She stared at the glass. “I don’t have one.”
“Jade...”
She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t bear to see the pity she heard in his voice. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”
He got up and sat beside her. “I wish you would have told me,” he said. “You know, when we were together. I could have...”
“There was nothing you could have done. You couldn’t make Lydia be a real mother or fix Logan’s problems. I couldn’t even do that.”
“You tried.”
She lifted her gaze. “He told you that too?”
“Yeah. He said you wanted to adopt him.”
Unbidden, tears pricked her eyes. “I took the job in Atlanta because it paid better, but I still ran out of money. Logan’s social worker didn’t want me to take him out of Arkansas, and the state lawyer didn’t think I was able to take care of him.
I would have been a single mother to a troubled teenager.
” She swallowed. “But I would have done it.”
“You didn’t have to go through that alone.”
“I solve my own problems. I always have. I wasn’t going to put that on you.”
“You could have given me the chance. I would have helped you. Given you whatever you needed.”
Her heart soared... and she pulled it back. Nothing had changed between them. Her feelings didn’t matter. More importantly, even if a second chance were possible, she didn’t deserve a wonderful man like Sebastian Hudson. She was too set in her ways, too independent. Too broken.
She got up from the couch, needing distance from him. When she was near the kitchen, she turned around, having regained control. To maintain it, she had to do something she abhorred. She had to exploit his kindness, his feelings. She had to manipulate him.
“I do need something from you, Sebastian. I need you to talk to Miles.”