No Going Back by Casey Kelleher (bill gates books recommendations TXT) 📕

It did. As he cast one more look over to Shelby, his daughter looked so forlorn and broken that Pete wanted to break down and cry for her.

‘You lot need to pull your finger out,’ he said with finality, before stomping off towards the window and staring out into the car park.

‘Are you okay, Ashley?’ Lucy said, feeling sorry for him.

Though she too had noticed his lack of reaction.

Behaving the same way he had a couple of days previously: a completely cool, calm exterior, showing almost no reaction to the drama that was unfolding around him.

‘As well as I can be.’ Ashley shrugged.

Lucy wondered for a few seconds if that was just his coping mechanism. If maybe everyone was being too hard on him, just because he didn’t scream and shout and react the way everyone else did. Maybe this was the way he dealt with things, by going into himself and not making any fuss. Only there was something in the way that he tapped his foot frantically against the floor, an anxiety to the way that he tightly clasped his hands together on his lap and fiddled with his thumbs repeatedly that made Lucy think that maybe Pete was right.

Maybe there was more to this than Ashley was letting on.

‘Do you fancy grabbing a cuppa? I’m sure Shelby could do with a hot drink too. Wanna give me a hand?’ Lucy said, glad when Ashley nodded and followed her out of the room and towards the vending machines.

‘Go on then, how are you really?’ she said, sensing the man felt like a spare part.

Pete Baker could be an intimidating presence, and between him and Janey it looked as if Ashley wasn’t getting a word in when it came to looking after his wife.

‘I’m okay.’ Ashley shrugged as if he hadn’t given how he felt a second thought up until now. ‘I just can’t believe that this has happened. I feel like I’m in shock. It’s like my worst nightmare has come true. I’ve barely spent any time with the little fella and now someone’s taken him.’ He could feel the tremor in his words as he spoke. The raw emotion catching the back of his throat. ‘Shit, I’m sorry,’ he said, feeling embarrassed then at being so frank with the officer. ‘It’s just no one else, apart from you, has given a shit about me. I know it’s Shelby that’s gone through everything, but I’m Riley’s dad. I feel this too.’

‘I know, Ashley. That’s what I thought when I saw you sitting on your own. This must be hard on you too. I thought that maybe you could do with a breather for a few minutes. Clear your head.’

‘Why would someone take him? What would they want with him?’ Ashley said, his eyes boring into Lucy’s, as if she somehow held all the answers. Only Lucy simply shook her head.

‘Ashley, I know this isn’t the time. But I wanted to have a chat with you about the assault.’

‘I told you, I wasn’t there! What else can I tell you?’ Ashley said, almost defensively then.

‘No, not Shelby’s assault,’ Lucy replied. ‘The assault that took place outside Smokes nightclub… on you.’ She paused, watching for a reaction, and immediately she got one. ‘I’ve seen the footage. I know it wasn’t kids that did that to you,’ she said, pointing at Ashley’s bruised face, as he visibly flinched at being caught out. ‘I saw that you got into a taxi afterwards too.’ She didn’t mention the attractive brunette, who worked in the club, who had climbed in the car beside him. Lucy guessed that was another reason why Ashley didn’t want Shelby and Pete to find out all the details about his whereabouts that night.

He’d been cheating on Shelby while she was being attacked. No wonder he looked wracked with guilt.

‘Look, I’m not here to judge you. Your private business is exactly that,’ Lucy said, hoping that Ashley would trust her enough to open up to her. ‘But I need you to tell me who those men are and what your involvement is with them.’

Knowing that there was no point in continuing the lie, Ashley knew it was time to come clean. He wouldn’t win this one.

‘I’m sorry. Please don’t say anything to Shelby or Pete.’ Part of him was glad to finally get this off his chest. ‘You’re right, it wasn’t kids.’

Lucy nodded again. Waiting for Ashley to elaborate some more.

‘I’ve got myself into some trouble. I owe some money, a lot of money. To the Boland brothers,’ Ashley said, seeing the recognition in Lucy’s eyes at the familiar names.

‘Samuel and Russell Boland?’

Ashley nodded.

The footage Lucy had seen wasn’t clear enough for her to recognise the two brother’s faces, but the men had seemed vaguely familiar.

The Boland brothers were notorious in London. They liked to call themselves businessmen, but what they really were was a couple of thugs. Suspected of running protection rackets and dishing out loans with extortionate interest added on top. The brothers were well and truly on the police’s radar. And from what Lucy did know about them, they were not the type of men that you messed with, and if they were the ones who had set upon Ashley that night, then Lucy figured that they were definitely more than capable of being behind Shelby’s attack too.

‘But they wouldn’t have done this…’

Ashley bit his lip, shuffling his feet. He knew what Lucy was getting at, because he’d been thinking the same too. Since the minute he’d arrived at the hospital on hearing his son was missing, Ashley had thought about nothing else.

‘He’s just an innocent baby. They wouldn’t take him, would they?’

Ashley’s skin paled, turning a translucent white. Until now, in his head, it almost hadn’t seemed possible. That Sam and Russ Boland would stoop to this new low. That they would take his baby as payment. Or to punish him.