Page 65 of Hollywood Undercover
The place didn’t blowup.
ThankGod.
“Good job, Sebastian.” Someone from the neighborhood patted him on theback.
“Where’sAlex?”
He pushed past the onlookers, searching for Max and Alex. A firetruck came to a stop by the curb. His coworkers spilled out. Sebastian approached them to let them know what toexpect.
“Hey, guys,” he shouted. “There’s medical equipment in there, and there may be another oxygen tank in the dining room. Becareful.”
His old crew started to hook up hoses. A separate team of firefighters got to work on pushing the crowd back. The house could still blow, but all he was interested in now was findingAlexandra.
“Bash!”
He heard her call his name. It was like no one else was around them. The buzz and clamor died down, and he zeroed in on her scared face, standing out from the rest. She was at the back of the ambulance where paramedics were working on Mr. Storme. He ran toher.
“Alex! Is he alright? Are youalright?”
He dragged her into his arms, hugging her, squeezing her tight. He didn’t care who was watching or what anyone thought. He didn’t care if she was worried about what they thought either. When she wriggled away, he pulled her back in. He tucked her head under his chin and ran his hand through her hair. The smoke smell clung to them both. None of that mattered. She was alive. She wassafe.
“I’m fine,” Alex answered, pulling away to turn to Max. “Daddy inhaled some smoke. With his pneumonia, it can’t begood.”
“Oh, no. I wish I had made it inside fastenough.”
“They’re taking him to the hospital. I have to phone Rosa and tell her what’s going on, and I want to go with him.” She looked down at the terrycloth robe and flip flops she had on. “I can’t go likethis!”
Alexandra moved to her father’s side. She stared down at him, sooty tears rolling down her gray cheeks. The gains he had made over the past two weeks were wiped away by the fire. A fresh oxygen mask was now in place, pumping air into his body. Still, Max’s face was pale. He looked weak. His eyes continued to flutter and close. He was depleted by theordeal.
“We have to go now, Mr. Roberts,” the paramedicsaid.
Alexandra looked over at Sebastian, desperation on herface.
“I’ll get you to the hospital, Alex,” he told her. “We can stop over at my place and find you something to wear. You can use my phone to call Rosa on the wayover.”
She nodded gratefully. Only then did she hop down from the ambulance. She followed him back through the crowd to get to his place. Sebastian heard the fire chief call him over. Already, there was reluctance on Alexandra’s face. She wanted to follow her dad to the hospital as soon aspossible.
“I can’t talk right now, Chief,” he shouted over to him. “I need to get my neighbor’s nephew to thehospital.”
“Hey, Bash! Alex!” Nate waved and jogged over to them. “Are you two allright?”
“Yes,” he said for both ofthem.
“Glad to hear it. There weren’t any more oxygen tanks inside,” Nate told them. “So there’s no risk of explosion. We got the worst of the fire out. You know the drill. We can’t give an official cause without the fire chief’s confirmation, but it looks electrical. Probably old wiring, and definitely from the second floor. We see that a lot in old houses like this, rightBash?”
“For sure. Thanks for the update, Nate. Alex and I have to get to the hospital now. Call me on my cell when this is all over,okay?”
“Willdo.”
Sebastian was still fighting through the pain that made his knee tight and inflexible. He pushed open his front door and went over to the entryway table, grabbing his keys and pocketing his wallet and phone. “Come on, Alex. My clothes will all be too big for you, but it’s better than arobe.”
He hobbled to the laundry room and grabbed a clean set of clothes from the dryer. He wasn’t going to make it all the way up the stairs after overworking his knee. It hurt like hell as he crouched down and pulled out some shorts and a t-shirt. “Try this,” he told her, and pointed to the main floor bathroom. Alexandra hurriedly went in, and came out in shorts that hung almost to her calves, cinched at the waist with a drawstring. The t-shirt was also oversized, but it got the jobdone.
“Let’s go,” sheordered.
He tossed her the phone and locked up before walking to the Jeep. He would have to maneuver through the crowded street and probably break the speed limit to get to the hospital. There was no way they would catch up to theambulance.
Alexandra wheezed beside him. “There was so much smoke,” she whispered, seeming to relive what had just happened. She was shaking. He reached across the center console and squeezed her handgently.
