A New Beginning

Chapter 84: All or Nothing

Chapter 84: All or Nothing

"Hold on Rose..." Jack hisses under his breath. He steers the car down the street out towards the richer parts of town. He didn't know where Cal lived, but he knew he had to get out of the main part of the city. Daylight is stretching across the landscape, reaching the tops of buildings with it's golden and orange glow. Most of the time, Jack would take a moment to watch the beauty of Mother Nature and be bathed in the warmth of the sun's glow, but without Rose, it would've felt empty and he didn't have time to waste... He was on a rescue mission and he was a wanted man. He was aware that by now the police would be looking for him, putting a warrant out for his arrest and probably spreading some grandiose lies about him as well. He swallowed a lump in his throat. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but the law had failed him. It had been unable to prove his innocence and it failed Rose and their child, the police were not doing their job to save them, instead of letting Cal keep them as his prisoners. They believed all the lies that the tycoon had told them and no matter how hard both Emma and Peter tried, they could not be extinguished, and he was kept in that holding cell.

He swallows a large lump in his throat thinking about his two best friends. No doubt they would have heard the news by now and he cannot imagine how they must be feeling. Betrayed, angry, sad, confused, and other negative emotions come to mind. If they felt deceived, he didn't blame them, after all, they were doing all they could to get him out of prison, legally and without consequences. For him to escape on his own basically demolished all the hard work they had done and... that he'd stolen their car to getaway. He knew that they meant well, and they were doing their best, but sometimes the best is not enough, not enough to save his fiancée and unborn child.

He knew that his actions would have consequences, and no doubt he'd probably be put in jail for a long time, but to spend one more minute trapped in that cell, while Rose was in Cal's greedy and greasy hands, he would have been driven absolutely insane. It was torture just being away from Rose, not knowing if she was safe or not, but to have the knowledge that Caledon Hockley, a man who had tried to kill them multiple times in the past, he knew he did not have any other choice. He'd hoped that Emma and Peter would understand someday soon.

He pushes the thoughts from his mind, he had to focus on finding Cal's home, his mansion no doubt, with the fanciest things one could ever imagine. A place filled with servants to be at his beck and call, rooms so vast that one could hold the most elaborate parties and a place to hold a helpless, pregnant woman.

As the 1910 Ford speeds through the streets where skyscrapers were reaching towards the morning sky and people were beginning to wake up and begin their morning routines, Jack noticed that the car was becoming slower and slower with every passing mile. He cursed to himself, knowing that it is running low on fuel. Additionally, his stomach growls; he had not eaten the prison dinner that had been given to him the night before and he is quite hungry. He wants to push on, but he has no idea where he is going, and he needed to keep his strength up if he was going to rescue Rose.

After much debate in his head, Jack pulls over to a service station that seemed far enough away that his escape would likely not have reached the people there yet.

He pulls up to the first pump and a friendly older looking gentleman in coveralls and wore a straw hat on his head stands up from his chair in front of his garage and walks towards the car.

"Fill'er up?" the man says in a gruff voice, a cigarette hanging between his teeth.

"Yes." Jack nods.

As the man begins his work on filling the vehicle, Jack steps out into the morning sun to stretch his legs. He tries to act as naturally as possible. He wasn't sure if this man would have found a paper or be listening to the radio yet, but he couldn't take any chances.