One Last Chance

by Hollowed, Beverley

  “Hey Man,” Nathan said brightly in to the phone. “How did the scan go? What are we having?”

  “It’s a girl,” Cole said trying to sound happy but failing miserably.

  “What’s happened?” Nathan asked hearing the sadness in his friend’s voice. “Everything is okay with Ally and the baby, isn’t it?”

  “Ally and the baby are both fine,” Cole replied but then thought about what he had said. He thought of Ally. She was far from fine. She was upset and scared. And he needed to make it right for her. “Well the baby is okay, I am not so sure about Ally.”

  “Why?” Nathan said and Cole could hear the concern in his friend’s voice.

  “Jason!” Cole growled, even saying his name made Cole’s blood boil. “Nathan he got to her grandmother, her fucking grandmother.”

  “Buddy, we need to sort this asshole out once and for all.” Nathan blurted back angrily. “Nan is a sweet old girl. Did that fucker hurt her? I will kill him myself if he did.”

  Cole told Nathan what happened with Nan and her encounter with Jason. He assured him that both Nan and Pop had been brought up to speed on the whole Jason issue and that they had been warned to have nothing more to do with him.

  “You leave this with me,” Nathan insisted when Cole had told him all that had happened earlier that day. “Your wife is pregnant and she needs you there with her. I know you want to beat the life out of this scumbag, believe me I would feel exactly the same. But we need to do this without you getting caught up in it. We need to do this when you are somewhere where there are plenty of witnesses that can prove you had nothing to do with this.”

  “Nathan, I want him dead,” Cole growled angrily.

  “You just go take care of Ally,” Nathan said. “Leave the rest to me.”

  “In just over two weeks’ time, we have that charity ball, I am guest speaker.” Cole told Nathan. “I want him taken care of that night.”

  “Consider it done,” Nathan replied.

  “Goodnight Nathan,” Cole said as relief washed over him. “And thank you.”

  “Goodnight mate,” Nathan replied. “And congratulations on the little girl.”

  “Thank you,” Cole replied and hung up the phone.

  He switched off the lamp on his desk and headed up to the bedroom looking for Ally.

  It was just after nine and he found her asleep in the big cosy armchair in Ben’s newly redecorated nursery, Ben fast asleep on her chest.

  Cole carefully lifted Ben from Ally’s chest and placed him into his crib, settling him in. Then he checked the baby monitor to see that it was switched on before he turned back to Ally. He carefully scooped her up into his arms and headed for their bedroom.

  As he was carrying her, she awoke. She turned her face into Cole’s chest and began to cry softly. All Cole could do was hold her closer to him.

  When he reached the bedroom he lay her down on the bed and climbed in next to her pulling her closer to him once again as she sobbed quietly into his chest.

  “Please don’t cry gorgeous girl,” Cole whispered softly as the tears kept coming from Ally. “I am going to make everything okay. He will never hurt you again.”

  “I just want us to be happy,” Ally sobbed. “Just me you and our babies. Why can’t he just leave us alone?”

  “I promise you,” Cole said as he closed his eyes, refusing to let the tears free. “We will be happy, just the four of us and Jason will be nothing more than a bad memory. I promise you Ally.”

  Ally turned and looked up into Cole face. Her eyes searched his.

  “Kiss me Cole,” she pleaded tearfully. “Please, I need you.”

  Cole quickly sealed her mouth with his and pressed her body tighter to his.

  Suddenly, his kissed deepened and Ally could feel his rock hard length against her hip and desire exploded inside her.

  She reached for the buttons on his shirt and made fast work of them pushing his shirt from his strong shoulders.

  “Ally, you don’t have to…” he began to protest but she kissed his mouth quickly and stopped him before he could finish.

  “I need you,” she said breathlessly against his mouth.

  Cole couldn’t deny that he wanted her too. He needed them to feel they were okay and this was their way.

  He claimed her mouth again as he reached for the end of her top and pulled it up her body, breaking their kiss only long enough to pull the top over her head.

  As his tongue searched her mouth, he made short work of her bra, opening the clasp that was thankfully in the front. Once it was opened, he quickly dropped his mouth to her swollen breast, sucking her nipple into his mouth, making her cry out in pure pleasure as it hardened and puckered between his lips.

  His hands went to the hem of her skirt, sliding it slowly up her body until he reached the rim of her black lace panties. He pulled them hard until he heard the rip and he quickly disposed of them on to the floor. He slid his legs in-between Ally’s as he pushed his trousers down freeing is hard cock.

  He pressed his slick head against her opening and with on single thrust, he buried himself deep inside her.

  “OH GOD!” She cried out as he pulled back and slammed into her again.

  “I fucking love you Ally Thomas,” he growled against her neck as he pushed into her once again.

  His paced quickened as he drove deeper and deeper into her, each time making her cry out with sheer pleasure.

  He wrapped his arms tightly around her and rolled her over in the bed until she was now on top of him. Once she was above him, he reached for the button and zipper on the side of her skirt and unfastened it. Then he lifted it up her body, over her head and dropped it to the floor too.

  He brought his eyes back to meet Ally’s as he took hold of her hips, pulling her down harder onto him. She dropped her hands to his bare chest and began to slowly grind into him, her eyes locked with his.

  “That’s it my gorgeous girl,” he growl as he tilted his hips up again and again to meet her every trust.

  She rode him hard, her breathing becoming laboured and faster, a thin layer of sweat covering both their bodies.

  “OH COLE YES! YES!” Ally cried out as she ground into him harder and faster. “OH GOD YES!”

  He sat up in the bed so he was face to face with her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her so tightly they were almost one.

  Ally continued to rock back and forth on top of Cole as he claimed her mouth with his.

  She could feel the quiver begin in the pit of her stomach as it begin to work its way out to every single part of her body.

  She pinched her eyes shut as the sensation became too much. Finally, throwing her head back as her orgasm tore through her body.

  “YES! YES! YES!” She cried out as she came apart above Cole.

  “I am not finished with you yet,” he growled against her mouth as he kissed her once again before he held her to him and rolled them back over.

  But this time instead of slipping back between her legs, he rolled to the side and then rolled Ally on to her stomach then kneeled behind her.

  He pushed her legs up one at a time until she was on her two knees and elbows.

  He positioned the now throbbing head of his cock against her opening once more and slid it deep inside her.

  He took hold of her by the hips and began to thrust inside her hard and fast, sending her body in to turmoil once again.

  “OH FUCK YES!” Cole cried out and he knew he was ready to erupt inside Ally.

  Ally pushed back against Cole, taking him deeper inside her each time.

  “OH ALLY, I AM GOING TO COME!” He cried as he gripped her hips harder.

  “Come for me baby,” she cried as she could feel her body come apart once again.

  Cole slammed into her once more and exploded inside her, emptied himself into her before they both slumped down on the bed breathless, sweating and still entwined in each other’s bodies.

  “I love you Cole,” Ally finally m
anaged to say breathlessly.

  “I love you more, my gorgeous girl.” Cole replied as he held her tighter to him as he possibly could.

  They both drifted off to sleep, each one completely exhausted and completely sated.

  Cole woke with a jolt in the small hours of the morning in a cold sweat. He dreamt Ally was missing. He could hear her crying and begging him to help her but he couldn’t find her anywhere. Then he was standing at a big black door, banging on it harder and harder to be let inside but he couldn’t get through it.

  Suddenly, he heard a loud, shrill scream followed by a loud bang and silence. It was then he woke, his heart racing rapidly in his chest.

  He turned over and found Ally sleeping peacefully next time him and relief washed over him.

  He snuggled closer to her and closed his eyes. But the sense of dread and fear he had inside him just wouldn’t seem to go.

  He needed to deal with this Jason situation as soon as possible. He needed to know his gorgeous girl, his Ally, was safe and Jason was no longer a threat to her.

  He finally drifted off to sleep but it was a restless night he spent, waking again just checking Ally was still beside him and still safe.

  Chapter 19

  Ally was on edge for the next few days. She found she was looking for any excuse not to leave the house. But she knew she couldn’t hide forever.

  On the Sunday after their visit to Nan and Pop’s, Cole convinced her to join him and Ben to go for a walk to the park to feed the ducks.

  She was nervous as they walked side by side pushing the buggy in the lovely spring sunshine through the park. She found herself checking over her shoulder on more than one occasion. She couldn’t seem to relax.

  By the time they reached the part of the park that had the duck pond, Ally was completely stressed out and anxious.

  “Relax,” Cole said, taking her in his arms and holding her close to him. “I am with you, I promise you I will not let anything happen to you. Please, don’t let him win.”

  “I won’t,” she said and smiled. She knew she needed to calm down. She had no reason to believe Jason was even anywhere around. She just felt like she was being watched, but she knew it was probably all in her head.

  Cole undid Ben’s straps and lifted him from his buggy as Ally pulled out the bag of bread from beneath Ben’s buggy they had brought with them.

  Then they walked down to the edge of the pond and turned Ben around so he could see the ducks.

  After about ten minutes, Ben became a little cranky.

  “Maybe we should just head home,” Cole suggested still worried Ally was stressed out.

  “Not yet,” Ally replied. She was just starting to relax and enjoy herself and she didn’t want to go home just yet. “I will get his little elephant and see if it will calm him down.

  Ally hurried back to where they had left the buggy and peered in but couldn’t see the elephant. She pulled back the blanket but still couldn’t find it. She searched through the nappy bag but with no luck. She thought for a moment. She remembered picking it up before they had left the house and she could have sworn she had put it into the buggy next to Ben.

  She then crouched down to search in the basket under the buggy but it was nowhere to be found.

  “Ally,” a voice from behind her made her jump with fright. She quickly turned to see who it was when she lost her balance and landed on her backside.

  “Jesus, Ally,” Nathan said as he helped her up from the ground. “I am so sorry I didn’t mean to startle you. I called to the house and Rosie said you guys went for a walk down here, so instead of waiting I decided to follow you.”

  Ally brushed herself off as she regained her composure.

  “Are you okay?” Nathan asked once again. “Did you hurt yourself?”

  “No, I’m fine, I’m fine,” Ally insisted with a laugh as she tried to make light of what had happened, but she knew she was blushing.

  “Ally, sweetheart,” Cole said, the panic clear in his voice as he suddenly appeared beside her and Nathan. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? We should have you checked out.”

  “I’m fine, honestly,” Ally insisted once again. “Please calm down.”

  She turned to Ben, who was still crying, took him from Cole’s arms and cradled him against her shoulder.

  “We should get him home,” Ally said, as she settled Ben back into his buggy, despite his protests. “We seemed to have walked off without his elephant. I could have sworn I put it in the buggy next to him but I can’t seem to find it anywhere.”

  “Maybe we dropped it on the way?” Cole suggested.

  “No, I remember putting it in beside him,” Ally replied. “I don’t know how it would have fallen out.”

  “Maybe it’s at home,” Cole replied.

  “I really could have sworn I put it in,” Ally sighed. “Damn, this pregnancy brain. I have become so forgetful lately.”

  The three of them retraced their journey all the way home but they didn’t come across the elephant anywhere. Nor did they find it at the house.

  Ally couldn’t for the life of her think where she could have left it.

  She changed Ben, then fed him and settled him in his baby chair and left him with Cole and Nathan watching Rugby while she excused herself and headed up to soak in the bath.

  She didn’t want to admit it to Cole but she had hurt her bottom when she fell on the ground. A good soak was just what she needed.

  As Ally lay in the bath, she laughed to herself when she thought of how ridiculous she had been earlier that day. She couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched but she realised she was just being silly. She needed to stop letting Jason get to her and stop letting him ruin her life. Ally decided from now on she was going to get on with her life as she should. No more hiding out in the house.

  When she woke up the next morning, Ally decided her and Ben were going to go do a little shopping.

  When Cole set off for his office, she jumped into the shower and got herself ready before she went to get Ben ready for a day out shopping.

  When she got down to the kitchen, Ally found Rosie baking up a storm and Nick sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee. He was on his feet the moment he saw Ally walking through the kitchen door with Ben in her arms.

  “Good morning Ally,” Nick said as he straightened his tie and jacket. “Mr. Thomas mentioned you are planning a shopping trip. Just give me five minutes to get everything sorted and we can head off whenever you are ready.”

  “Thanks Nick,” Ally replied with a smile. “I am just gonna grab a cup of tea and a slice of toast then we are good to go.”

  “I will be in the car whenever you are ready,” Nick said with a smile as he placed his empty mug down on the counter and headed for the door.

  “Glad to see you getting out and about,” Rosie said as she sat a cup of tea down in front of Ally and turned back to get the toast from the toaster that had just popped up. “Being cooped up in this house too much is not good for you.”

  When she sat the toast down next to the tea, she took Ben from Ally so she could have her breakfast.

  Ally lifted her tea and toast from the counter, moved to one of the chairs at the table and sat down. Rosie sat down next to her still cuddling a happy Ben babbling up at her.

  “I figured I can’t keep hiding away in here forever,” Ally said as she took a sip of her tea.

  “No you can’t,” Rosie agreed. “You can’t let that useless excuse for a man ruin your life any longer. You have done nothing wrong so why should you be prisoner in your own home because of him.”

  “Exactly,” Ally replied as she drained her tea and stood up. She hurried out into the hall to grab her coat and her bag then back into the kitchen to collect Ben. She kissed Rosie on the cheek before she headed out to Nick and the awaiting car.

  They headed to the Blanchardstown Shopping centre. Although Dundrum shopping centre was closer to the house in Merrion, Blanchardstown was Ally’s home away f
rom home. Her apartment wasn’t that far away from it so she always did her shopping there. Now it was just habit.

  When they got there, they parked in the multi-story car park. They made their way into the centre and wasted no time hitting the shops. Ally wandered from one store to another while Nick just followed closely.

  Ally stopped into BT2, Marks and Spencers and Mothercare. Then couldn’t resist going to the BUILD-A-BEAR workshop to have a new bear made for Ben. His little elephant seemed to have vanished so Ally pick one as close as possible to the one he lost.

  After a couple of hours, they stopped into one of the little coffee shops to get a coffee so Ally could give Ben his bottle.

  “Do you have any family Nick?” Ally asked when the thought popped into her head suddenly.

  “I have a brother that lives in the US,” Nick replied as he took a sip of his coffee. “But we aren’t close, never were. Our parents died in a car accident when I was eighteen.”

  “Oh Nick, I am so sorry,” Ally said feeling genuinely sad for her friend. And that is what she thought of Nick. He was now her friend.

  “Alex was twenty six and an arrogant asshole,” Nick continued. “He thought because he was older he could tell me how to live my life. So I joined up with the service and haven’t really spoken to him since. He didn’t approve.”

  “Don’t you talk to him at all?” Ally asked surprised by this. She never really thought about Nick as having a family or a life outside his work for Cole.

  “He calls me at Christmas,” Nick sighed as if the memory of all his brothers’ phone calls were something he didn’t want to think about. “But sometimes I wonder why he bothers calling at all. He doesn’t approve of my life and makes it very clear when we talk.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ally said unsure of what else she could say.

  “You’ve just discovered you have three sisters recently haven’t you?” Nick said suddenly seeming more comfortable to talk to Ally than he had ever seemed to before. “How do you feel about that?”

  “I don’t know to be honest,” Ally replied truthfully. “I have known those girls all my life. And in some ways they were already like my sisters. But things are still new and a little weird.”