Chapter 43: Chapter 43

"Trish, what the hell is this?" I groan, leaning back against the pillows on her bed. An uncomfortable twinging pain runs through my stomach and I wince, clutching it with my hand. Whilst I'm focusing on my breathing, Trish is busy raising her wardrobe, finding the best camouflage outfit for our plan.

So far she's decided on a camouflaged army style jacket with green army pants and a plain black baseball cap. I reach forward and take hold of the cap, inspecting it —

"Where did you even find this stuff?" I ask in amusement, shaking my head at her. Trish pops her head out of the wardrobe, her eyes wide with excitement.

"I have clothes for every single occasion!" She replies enthusiastically before disappearing inside her wardrobe once again. I roll my eyes and throw the cap to the end of the bed. Another small burst of pain flares through my stomach and I wince, discomfort flashing across my face.

"Emily? What's wrong? Is it the baby?" Trish suddenly asks me, rushing to my side. I blink and give her a small reassuring smile despite feeling worry fill me.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I think he or she is having a little moment." I respond. The ache to have Jake beside me right now is becoming unbearable and I close my eyes, trying to compose myself.

"Emily, are you in pain?" Trish murmurs quietly, the mattress dipping as she takes a seat beside me.

"This is so hard Trish. How am I supposed to do this without him?" I explain quietly, my heart aching from his absence. She immediately drapes an arm around my shoulders, giving me a gentle squeeze. A comfortable silence falls upon us and I rest my head on my best friends shoulder, breathing in her scent —

"We're going to prove his innocence, I promise you. In the meantime, you have a badass friend right next to you. The badass friend is me by the way." Trish says, as if I wouldn't understand who she's referring to. I release an ugly laugh, reaching up to wipe at my eyes.

"Thanks Trish." I smile. She looks back at me with sympathy in her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips —

"How about we put the plan on hold for now and order pizza instead? We can find a movie and eat until we're about to explode." Trish suggests and I nod, sniffling back the tears.

"Can we get extra cheese?" I murmur, batting my eyelashes at her. She let out a small chuckle before reaching over for her phone to make the order —

"Of course we can get extra cheese."

*****

"Look! There she is!" Trish yells, pointing out of the car. I gasp and grip hold of her arm, dragging her down in her seat.

"Get down!" I hiss, my eyes wide with panic at potentially being spotted. Trish nods beside me before peeking above the dashboard and I mirror her actions.

There she is, the starring role of my plan.

"Okay, let's follow her." I whisper, motioning for Trish to start the car back up. Trish turns the key in the engine and the car bursts to life.

"We need to hide ourselves." Trish states, reaching over to the back seat and dropping a plastic bag in my lap. She slowly begins to drive, following behind our suspect.

"What is this?" I ask, signalling at the bag. I open it up and study the contents, letting out a low groan.

"How many times do I have to tell you? We are not MI five!" I exclaim, throwing my hands up in the air.

"Please Em! We need to keep ourselves hidden! We can't risk her seeing us!" Trish justifies her actions, using one hand to pull out the black caps. She hastily put one on my head and I roll my eyes before fixing it.

"Okay Trish, you win." I laugh, giving in to her.

"And the glasses," Trish commands me, pulling out two black pair of glasses with tinted lenses.

"Oh my god, my best friend is actually a lunatic." I mutter, pulling the sunglasses up to my eyes. Everything is suddenly covered in a murky tint and I stare intensely at our target, watching her every move.

"She's turning right," I mumble, motioning for Trish to follow her.

"I'm on it Momma Bear."

I snap my head towards Trish, widening my eyes at her in disbelief.

"Are you for real right now? Momma bear?" I question, my voice rising. I pull my glasses down and drop them into my lap, shaking my head at Trish.

"That's your code name!" Trish hisses, her eyes trained on the road. I've never seen her drive so carefully in my entire life, her entire concentration is focused on the target.

"I don't want a code name! Especially not Momma Bear!"

"It fits you well because you're pregnant!" Trish yells back at me, huffing out an annoyed breath. Please remind me never to go into the criminal life with Trisha Louise Lockwood.

"So what's your code name?" I ask her, my eyebrow raised high. Moments pass and Trish remains silent, the only sounds coming from the car.

"I don't have one," she mutters, averting her eyes away from me.

"Why don't you have one Trish?" I ask sarcastically, mentally rolling my eyes repeatedly at her.

"Because!" She begins to explain, slapping her hands down onto the steering wheel.

"I can't make my own code name up, someone else has to do it for me!" She finishes, sounding like she regrets the whole code name fiasco.

"So am I allowed to give you a code name?" I respond, a small smirk appearing on my lips. Trish shrugs and glances at me warily from the side of her eyes.

"Shit face." I say bluntly, turning to stare out of the window. Trish gasps and screeches to a halt, the car jerking forward as we stop.

"Baby on board!" I yell, wrapping my arm around my stomach protectively. My eyes are wide and I turn towards her to find her glaring at me, her eyes narrowed.

"Shít face? Really?" She yells, her hands flying out in annoyance. I let out a small giggle, biting down on my lip to stop myself. At the horrified look on her face, I can't help but laugh further.

I snort and slap a hand over my mouth, my laughter a muffled sound. Trish's intense gaze is still burning holes through me, nostrils flaring with anger.

"You should be glad you're with baby." She hisses, attempting to be threatening towards me. I let out a loud chuckle, looking down at my stomach.

"Did you hear that baby? Auntie Trish wants to knock your mum out." I grin, turning to find Trish staring at me intently, her mouth twitching up into a smile.

"What?" I ask, frowning at her sudden change in features. The girl really can be unpredictable sometimes.

"I'm going to be Auntie Trish?" She asks me, her eyes lighting up. I nod, my heart warming a little for her enthusiasm.

"Of course, you're my best friend. And beside, I don't have much family so the baby is going to need as many aunties as it can get." I tell her quietly, stroking my hand over my perfect little baby bump. Trish beams back at me, her eyes flickering down to my stomach.

"I can't wait to be Aunty Trish." She smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. I grin back at her and turn, suddenly spotting something out of my eye.

"Oh my god, Trish. Look!" I yell, jumping up and down in my seat.

"This is it! My plan worked!" I cry out in relief, keeping my eyes fixed on the number one suspect in front of us. She's looking around suspiciously before entering a side alleyway, completely disappearing out of sight —

"We've got you now Jane," I whisper, the adrenaline pumping through my blood.