One Last Chance (29 page)

“Okay,” Cole nodded. “Get in, but
I think its best I drive.”

Both men jumped into the car and Cole pulled out
of the car park like a bat out of hell. All he could think about was getting to her. Getting to his Ally.

*************************

“What are we doing here?” Ally asked when they pulled up outside her old apartment block. This was the last place she would have expected him to go. “Jason why have you brought me here?”

Jason
just ignored her instead just telling her to get out of the car. As she reached for the handle of the car, Jason grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back towards him.

“Remember, I have a gun,” Jason said to her with such venom he spat when he spoke. “I will put one through that pretty head of yours and the
n through this.” He poked her in the bump once again with the barrel of the gun.

Ally nodded as she blinked back the tears. She knew he meant what he said so she dutifully climbed out of the car and waited on the pavement for him. Coming around the car to meet her, he once again gripped her tightly by the forearm and pushed her towards the
main door of the apartment building.

Once inside he didn’t wait for the lift, instead heading towards
the stairs, pushing Ally up them in front of him.

It took a lot out of Ally, in her condition the last thing she should have been doing was rushing up four flights of stairs.

By the time they reached the top, she was exhausted and feeling a little light headed. She tried to stop to catch her breath but Jason didn’t let her. Instead he pushed her down the long corridor until they reached her apartment.

He quickly opened the
door and pushed Ally inside. By the time she reached the sofa, Ally was feeling a little unwell. She felt dizzy and she wanted to vomit.

“Can I have some water?” Ally asked as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

“Certainly sweetheart,” Jason replied with a big warm smile. “Anything for you.” Ally looked at him in complete disbelief.

“Don’t you get it?” H
e asked when he saw the confused look on Ally’s face. “I am doing all this for you. You and our baby are the most important things in the world to me. Don’t you see this Ally?”

Ally had no response, she just stared at him blankly.

“Come with me,” he said reaching out his hand to Ally and indicating towards the bedroom. “There is something I want to show you.”

Ally didn’t take his hand, she didn’t move. She just stared at him as terror took hold.
The memory of the last time he took her to that bedroom crashed into her mind. She sat frozen to the spot, pure fear taking hold of her body.

“Ally,” he said sensing her unwillingness to go with him. “It’s nothing bad, I promise. I just want to show you something. It’s something good.”

Ally reluctantly stood up, thinking it was best to go along with him and not anger him. When she walked into the bedroom, she was surprised to see a baby crib set up in the corner of the room. He guided her towards it so she could have a better look.

As she approached the crib, the first thing she noticed w
as the blanket that was inside it. It was Ben’s. The one that vanished from his pram in the park weeks earlier. Then she noticed his little elephant. She thought back to how unsettled he had been when it went missing and how she had kept blaming herself for losing it.

“I know it’s not all brand new
,” he said, sounding a little embarrassed. “Money is a bit tight since I lost my job.”

“You took Ben’s things,”
Ally said looking at him in disbelief. “Why would you do that?”

“Don’t worry,” he said his whole demeanour suddenly changing. “Mr. Moneybags can afford more.”

“That’s not the point,” Ally snapped angrily. “That little boy fretted for days over his elephant.”

Jason just looked at her, thinking what his response should be. He was about to speak when Ally spo
tted the picture frame Ella bought them, on the shelf above the crib and the missing 3-D scan photo.

“You were in my home,” she said as she turned and looked at him with disgust.
“How did you get into my home?”

“Your precious Cole, may have had you watched around the clock,” Jason sneered. “But that stupid old trout that lives with you is a real liability. She washed her damn floors every day at the same time. And always left the back door open to let it dry. You all thought you were untouchable but that stupid old biddy was the chink in your high security armour.”

“How dare you come into my home,” Ally growled at him with complete and utter contempt.

“This is your home,” he
snapped back,

“NO IT’S NOT!” she scream
ed. But suddenly she doubled over as a shooting pain went through her stomach making her cry out in agony. “OH GOD!”

Jason looked at her for a moment and said nothing.

“JASON, PLEASEEEE!” She cried as a second piercing pain shot through her. She looked down at her legs and she could see a trickle of blood running down her leg. “SOMETHINGS WRONG!”

“What do you mean?” Jason said looking at her in panic.

“THE BABY!” She cried out as the pain shot through her body once again and she knew she was having contractions. “SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE BABY.”

Ally stumbled to the bed and collapsed onto it.

“Jason, please,” Ally sobbed as the pain grew stronger. “I need help. Something is wrong with the baby.”

Ally could feel a pop and her waters came rushing out, soaking the bed beneath her.
She began to sob harder and harder.

“You stop crying,” Jason demanded as he paced up and down the bedroom the gun in his hand. He repeatedly tapped it against the side of his leg.

“Jason, the baby is coming,” Ally sobbed. “But I can’t have her here, we will both die if I have her here.”

“I NEED TO THINK!” Jason
shouted and he pointed the gun at Ally. “STOP CRYING AND LET ME THINK!”

Ally screamed in agony as another contraction took hold. She knew
with each one, the baby was closer to coming and the closer she and the baby were coming to bleeding out.

“I SAID STOP FUCKING SCREAMING!
” Jason snapped. “I CAN’T FUCKING THINK!”

“I WANT COLE!
” Ally cried.

“NO!” Jason shouted ang
rily. “YOU WANT ME, YOU LOVE ME!”

“I want Cole,” she sobbed. “Please Jason don’t let my baby die.”

“I want you to tell me you love me,” Jason demanded. “Tell me it’s me you want, not him.”

“I WANT COLE!” She screamed as another contraction washed over her body like a tidal wave.

“SAY IT!” He demanded angrily but Ally just cried out in agony. “SAY IT NOW!”

“I WANT COLE!
” Ally cried out again. “PLEASE, I NEED HELP, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE BABY!”

“Well
, you can’t have him,” Jason said coldly lifting up the gun and pointing it at Ally. “And if I can’t have you, no one can.”

When they pulled up outside Jason’s apartment, Cole was a little taken back by the amount of police cars and blue flashing lights there were. He knew Nathan had called in a few favours and made sure the troops were called in.

He pulled to a stop and
jumped out of the car. Nick got out the far side of the car and made his way around to Cole.

“I really think you
should go to the hospital,” Cole said as he looked at a now, very pale looking Nick.

“I can’t go
until I know she is okay,” Nick insisted. “I was supposed to keep her safe. I let her down.”

“This was all Jason’s doing,” Cole growled. “And Ally wouldn’t want you to not take care of yourself. You know this.”

“I can’t leave,” Nick replied simply.

Cole sighed and nodded and looked around the car park of the apartment.
He spotted Nathan talking to two police officers. He quickly headed over to them, leaving Nick standing next to the car.

“This is Mr. Thomas,” Nathan said to the two officers, as Cole approached them.
“Cole these are the two officers in charge of finding Ally.”

“Mr. Thomas,” one of the officers said and hel
d out his hand to Cole. “I am Sergeant Dickson and my colleague here is Sergeant O’Flaherty. We understand you believe that your wife’s ex-partner is behind this. A Mr. Jeffreys.”

“That’s correct,” Cole nodded. “He seems to have gotten it into his head
that our baby is his. And for the record, it isn’t his baby. But I need you to understand, my wife is not well. She had an appointment today with the doctors at the hospital that she never made. We need to find her and find her fast.”

“We have all ou
r best men on it Mr. Thomas,” Sergeant Dickson assured Cole. “We are doing everything in our power to track them down. We are currently pulling video surveillance from around the hospital car park. If we get a visual, we may be able to track the car and see where he may have taken her.”

“Money is no object,” Cole replied. “Whatever it takes, I will make sure you have it.”

“There is no need,” Sergeant O’Flaherty replied quickly. “We have all our resources channelled into this. We will do whatever it takes to bring Mrs. Thomas home safely.”

“Se
rg,” one of the junior officers called out, as he walked out of the main door to Jason’s building. “You have to come and see this.” Then the officer turned and hurried back inside.

The two police officers turned and headed into the building followed closely by Cole and Nathan.

“Mr. Thomas,” one of the officer’s said as he stopped and turned back to Cole. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea you coming in here.”

“If this is something to do with my wife,” Cole insisted. “I want to see it.
I need to see it.”

He looked at Cole for a moment,
sighed and reluctantly nodded.

“Fine!” H
e agreed before he turned and continued on into the building. “But touch nothing.”

When they reached Jason’s apartment, the first thing Cole noticed was the stench. The apartment was filthy.
There was dirty dishes everywhere, filled with rotten food and covered with mould. There were empty beer bottles and whiskey bottles everywhere. There was a collection of flies buzzing around the room. It was like walking into hell.

It was hard to believe that the man who lived in this
squalor, was once a pretty confident and successful business man in his own right.

“In here,” the officer who had called them into the build
ing said, when he emerged from one of the side rooms. Cole and Nathan followed the two officers into the room and Cole’s stomach heaved.

The room was wall to wall pictures of Ally. Some on her own, some with him, some with Ben. They were tak
en everywhere. He had some of her coming and going from her grandparents. Some of her out and about with Ben. He even had some of her sitting in her back garden, reading or playing with Ben on his blanket.

He has been following her for months, and all of these were taken before the incident with Nathan. Cole could
n’t bear to think of what he had been up to since then.

Cole’s
stomach heaved once again as his heart pounded rapidly in his chest. This was worse than he had thought. He knew he was going to be sick. He barely made it out of the apartment before he threw his guts up all over the hallway.

“Come on buddy,” Nathan said, suddenly next to Cole’s side.
He rubbed Cole’s back as Cole remained bent over, his hands resting on his knees. “Just breathe deeply.”

“Where is she, Nate?” Cole asked glancing up sideways at his best friend. “She is my world, I am nothing without her. I can’t lose her.”

“We will find her,” Nathan said trying his hardest to keep Cole’s spirits up. But deep inside, he knew this was not looking good. This Jason was completely insane. That much was apparent. Nathan silently prayed they would get to Ally in time.

“I hope so,
Nathan,” Cole replied. “I really hope so. I can’t live without her.”

“Maybe we should get you home,” Nathan suggested. “Ben will be there waiting for you
, and you need to talk to your mom, dad and Ally’s grandparents. You don’t want them hearing this news, second hand. It should be you they hear it from.”

“You’re right I should call Nan and P
op,” Cole nodded. “And then my mom and dad. They are expecting us back to take them to see Ally’s apartment.”

Then it hit Cole, he looked up to Nathan
as the realisation took hold.

“I know where she is,” Cole said
suddenly, then without saying another word he ran flat out, down the stairs, out of the building and to his car outside.

“COLE WAIT!” Nathan called after him, as he burst through the doors after Cole.
But Cole was already reversing and wasn’t slowing down.