Hot for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #2) (24 page)

Just
as Lisa turned to leave, she caught a glimpse of the television. It
was breaking news about a fire. Lisa ran to the television and turned
it up. There was a huge building fire with a roof collapse. There
were firefighters unaccounted for.

“He's
at that fire. I know he is. It was his day off and they called him
in. I was mean to him when he left. What if something happened? I
need to be there. What if he's there?”

Becky
put her arms around Lisa and tried to calm her down. Maybe he was
someplace else. Lisa text him to see if he was okay. There was no
response. They showed a close up of one of the trucks.

“It's
his station. I can't believe this. I have to go. I have to make sure
he's okay. He has to be okay.”

Becky
called Gavin to let him know about the fire and that the roof
collapsed. Gavin told her he was on his way. Lisa took off out the
door and was gone. She was going to find him. He would be okay. Josh
had to be okay. She needed to tell him how sorry she was.

Lisa
could barely see out of her eyes as she pulled up to the fire. It
looked horrible with flames everywhere. The lights from the trucks
and other emergency vehicles bounced off of each other. As soon as
she got out of her car, Gavin ran to her. Becky must have told him
she was coming. Heath was right behind Gavin. She was sobbing loud as
Heath wrapped his arms around her.

“It's
his station, isn't it?” she asked.

She
felt Heath let out a huge sigh. He leaned down next to her.

“Yes,
it's his station. You saw on television that the roof collapsed,
right?”

She
shook her head.

“A
couple of the guys haven't come out of the building yet. They are
looking for them now,” Heath said.

“Where's
Josh?” she asked.

Heath
pulled her against him tighter.

“Heath,
where is Josh? I want to see him. I need to see him,” she said,
as she looked up at him.

Heath's
eyes were watery and Lisa lost it. Her legs went limp and she started
to slide down, as he grabbed her to hold her up. She looked at Gavin
who looked down at his feet.

“Is
he missing?” she asked.

Again,
Heath stood silent.

“Answer
me Heath. Is he missing?” she asked again.

“Yes,”
he said.

She
pushed against him hard, and he slid back. She took off for the
trucks.

“Lisa,
you can't go up there,” he yelled, and they both started after
her.

She
made it up to where a couple of the guys were standing, before they
caught up with her. One of the guys saw her and rushed to her.

“I
need to see him. Where is he?” she cried.

He
wrapped his arms around her and let her cry.

“He's
in there, Lisa. We will find him. He'll be okay,” he said. “You
have to stay back here. We can't have you get close or hurt. Promise
me you will stay back here. Sit right here okay.”

She
shook her head and sat down. He leaned down in front of her.

“You
can't go up there. Stay right here, okay. We'll find him.”

“What
about everyone else. Is there anyone else missing?”

“We
got everyone else out. Two of them went to the hospital to be
checked, but we think they are fine. Josh is the only guy we still
need to find.”

She
pulled the front of his jacket and looked up at him, as she continued
to cry.

“I
love him. You have to help him. I love him.”

“About
time one of you admitted it,” he joked. “We'll get him.
I'll be back in a few minutes. I will let you know as soon as I can.”

Heath
and Gavin walked up and sat down next to her.

“He'll
be okay,” Heath said, as he wrapped his arms around her.

One
of the guys was standing a few feet from her. She heard his radio go
off.

“We
see him. He's not moving. There's something on top of him. I'm almost
there.”

He
turned and looked at her. He ran to the truck and came back with a
blanket.

“Lisa,
put this around your shoulders. They found him. We just have to get
him out and see what we are dealing with. Stay here. Even if you see
him, you have to stay here. I'll get in trouble if you get in the way
okay. We will help him.”

It
felt like her whole life was fading away. She thought about him
pulling her from the fire, him taking care of her, them cooking
together, them working together, and about the most intimate moment
of her life. He was her everything. Her life would never be the same
without him in it.

She
heard commotion and saw a bunch of movement. Lisa saw three guys
carrying another. She could not control the tears falling from her
eyes. They got him out, but he wasn't moving. All of the men ran to
them to help. They pulled off his helmet as his head hung limp. She
pulled Heath closer and buried her head in his chest. When she looked
back up, he was being wheeled into the ambulance. She tried to pull
away from Heath, but he held her tight.

“He
said to stay here. You can't get in the way. They have to do their
job.”

The
guy ran up to her and leaned down.

“Something
fell on him. They had to move him around a lot to get him out in
time. They are taking him to the hospital.”

“I
want to go with him,” she said.

“You
can't go with him. They need to see how bad his injuries are. We
didn't wait for them to check him here. They have to work on him on
the way there, so you can't be in there. You can go straight to the
hospital.”

“Was
he awake? Is he okay?” she asked.

He
looked at her and shook his head.

“He
was not awake, but that doesn't mean anything. They are going to get
him there. We don't know anything yet. He's in good hands. They will
take care of him Lisa. He needs you to be there for him. Promise me
you'll be there for him. He told me what happened before he left the
apartment tonight. You can't leave him.”

He
leaned down and whispered in her ear.

“He
has not been with anyone since he pulled you from that fire. That
Rachel girl is nuts. Please be there for him. Give him a chance.”

He
kissed her cheek and then ran off to the rest of the guys.

Heath
stood up and helped her to her feet. Gavin grabbed her car keys so he
could have one of the guys drive her car to the station when they
were done. Gavin and Heath helped her to Heath's truck. He followed
the ambulance away from the scene. Gavin drove behind them.

Lisa
jumped out of the truck and ran into the hospital. She ran up to the
woman at the desk. There was only one way to see him. Lisa told the
woman she was Josh's wife. The woman told her to have a seat and that
they would speak to her as soon as they could. Heath, Gavin, and Lisa
sat down to wait.

The
doctor came out and took her to the back. He pulled her into a tiny
room to talk to her. The doctor told her that Josh had some internal
injuries. They needed to run some tests to see how bad they were. The
stuff that fell on his was heavy and they had to find out how much
damage he had. He needed tests run to see how bad the smoke hurt him,
as well. They were keeping him asleep until they had all of their
answers, because they didn't want him to move around and possibly do
more damage. He said she could see Josh for a little bit before they
admitted him and took him for more testing.

Lisa
walked up to him and burst into tears again. He looked so bad. His
face and hair were black and he was hooked up to so many machines. He
had a blanket on. She moved it slightly so she could see how bad his
body looked. He had bandages on several places, and she could see
blood coming through some of them. She leaned down and kissed his
cheek. Her hand covered his.

“Don't
you ever do that to me again. You scared me so bad. I know you're
going to be okay. You have to be. I need you, Josh. You don't know
how bad I need you. I'm so sorry for getting mad about that woman
calling your phone. I shouldn't have answered it. Get rest and heal.
You still have to teach me how to cook. I will be right here every
second. I am not leaving here, until you go home. I will take care of
you and do everything you need. Just hang in there and come back to
me. I love you.”

She
sat in the chair next to his bed with her hand on his. His mom, she
thought. She needed to talk to his mom. Lisa wanted to tell his
brother or sister. She didn't want to scare his mom. Her number was
the only one she had. Lisa called it, unsure of what to say. She was
relieved when a man answered.

“Jack
is that you?” Lisa asked.

“Lisa,
are you okay?” he asked.

“Make
sure you are not right next to your mom. I need to talk to you.”

“Okay,
go ahead. Is Josh okay?”

“Everything
is okay. There was a huge fire and the roof collapsed. He was
missing. They pulled him out. He was not awake and something had
fallen on his back. They took him to the hospital. I told them I was
his wife, so I could see him. They know he has internal injuries, but
they don't know how bad they are. They are keeping him asleep. The
doctors are going to do a bunch of tests for damage and for the
smoke. He's alive. They found him. We just don't know how bad it is.”

“Shit!
Thanks for calling. We are all three here right now. I was just
getting ready to leave. We will be there as soon as we can.”

“They
are going to admit him. Call me when you get here, and I will tell
you where we are. I'm not leaving his side until he goes home.”

“You
are so damn good to him.”

“I
love him. Call me when you're here. I'm going to try to clean him up
before your mom gets here.”

Lisa
got one of the nurses and explained that she wanted to try to clean
him up a bit before his mother saw him. She was worried about her.
The nurse grabbed her some water and towels. Lisa thanked her and
cleaned his face and hair the best she could. She made sure the
blanket was on as high as it could be, so it covered the bandages.

She
sat back down and waited. Jack called her when they arrived and she
went out to meet them. His mom looked like she had been crying. As
soon as she saw Lisa, she wrapped her arms around her. Lisa walked
the three of them back to where Josh was. She explained that they
were keeping him asleep so he didn't do more damage. Lisa walked with
her arms around his mom as they approached his bed. His mom cried and
held his hand. She rubbed his cheek and told him she loved him. Jack
and Tammy stood together and looked at their brother. Josh still had
a little smudge here and there, but he didn't look nearly as bad.

Two
of the nurses came to get him for testing. The one nurse whispered in
Lisa's ear.

“Good
job. He looks so much better. Hang in there. Everything will be
okay.”

Lisa
smiled at the nurse. She took Josh's family to the waiting room.
Gavin, Heath, and Becky were there to see them. They all hugged his
family and sat with his mom. Becky pulled Lisa to the side.

“Are
you okay?” she asked.

“I'm
okay. He'll be okay. I know he will. We can get through this. I'm not
leaving here until he goes home.”

Becky
hugged her and stayed with her.

Lisa
explained to Josh's mom that they thought she was his wife. There was
nobody there yet, and she didn't want him to be alone. She had to see
him. His mom held her hand and told her she understood. She looked at
Lisa.

“You
love him don't you?”

Lisa
nodded and hugged her.

They
settled Josh into a room and went to get his family. None of the
results would be ready until morning and there were still more tests
to run. Lisa told his mom that she would not leave his side and if
anything happened she would call her. Jack was going to stay at his
mom's house, in case they needed anything. Josh's family left, along
with Gavin, Heath, and Becky.

Lisa
sat with Josh all night and all day. The nurses told her to go home
and get some rest, but she refused. She sat in the chair next to his
bed, with her hand on his. They took him for tests a few times, and
the doctors came and went. She combed his hair, cleaned is face, and
made sure his blanket kept him warm. Lisa talked to him, sure he
could hear her. She told him about his family and friends being there
and explained how nice it was outside. Firefighters came throughout
the day to visit. She told him how much they cared about him and
needed him back at work. Lisa sat next to him and cried, as she told
him much she loved and needed him. She turned on the television and
kept him company.

The
doctors told her that he was a very lucky man. He had a few cracked
ribs and some major bruising. With everything he had been through,
his injuries could have been much worse. He would be in pain and it
would take time to heal. They asked her if she would be able to take
care of him at home. She had enough family and friends around to help
her. They let her know that they would slowly remove the medicine to
keep him asleep. It would be up to him to wake up. It would be touch
and go until he did. His body would have to let it happen.

Lisa
called his brother to let him know what they said. The next few days
ran together for Lisa. Friends, family, and firefighters came in
throughout the day. Becky brought Lisa clothes and tried to get her
to go home, while someone else stayed. She said she promised to stay
by his side and wanted to be there when he woke up. His mom stayed
for a couple of hours at a time. She made sure to tell Lisa how lucky
he was to have her and how much she appreciated her being there with
him. Jack told him that he better wake up soon, before he stole his
woman. The firemen she had grown so close to took turns bringing her
food. They made sure she had breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day.