Two days passed until Eve had came to. The doctors had her on a morphine drip after John had managed to pull the bullet from the back of her thigh. An infection had already started within the first 24 hours, which is when Polly forced Thomas to get her to a doctor. He'd visit every night after doing a day's work at Shelby Brothers Limited. Trying to keep the bookies in order while juggling the paperwork for his new betting licenses.
He was the first thing she saw when she woke up. His lips turning up at the corners as he pulled his seat closer to her bed side.
"Was wondering when I'd see those green eyes again." His voice was soft as he lifted a hand, brushing her matted hair from her forehead.
"Can't get rid of me that easy, Mr. Shelby." She smiled weakly, pushing herself up into a sitting position as she stretched her arms above her head. The pain in her leg was dull, tolerable compared to what it had been.
"Evelyn," he began, his hand slipping into hers as he held her gaze. "I'm sorry… for all of this." He gestured to her bandaged leg as he spoke.
"Tommy…" She began, taking a deep breath in as she prepared to tell him everything. She had to. After that near-death experience, the guilt had haunted her dreams. "There's something you need to know."
"It can wait." He said, gesturing for a nurse to come in. "We're getting you moved home today, now that you're awake."
She didn't fight him, just merely nodded as the nurse began to pull the IV from her arm and rewrap the bandage on her leg.
As they arrived at her house, she walked in to see that it had been cleaned from the night she was taken. The light was fixed, a new window in the place of the shattered one. It made her smile.
"Polly took it upon herself to fix everything up." He said, his hand on her lower in case she fell. "I told her how you'd distracted Kimber enough by throwing the dirt in his face, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now."
Her guilt blossomed again, making her eyes water as she took Thomas' hand, guiding him to the small living room.
"There are some things you need to know, Thomas." She sat on the couch, propping her leg up on the coffee table as he sat in the chair across from her. Closing her eyes, she forced the tears away before she met his gaze. "The reason I came to Small Heath, wasn't a coincidence." His eyebrows narrowed at this, his gaze not moving from hers. "My father had owed a ton of money to Kimber after a vacation he took here a few years ago. He tried to run, but Kimber always found him…" Releasing a sigh, she looked to her fingers which shook as she spoke. "He decided to sell me to Kimber, as a bargaining chip to free my father of his debt- but it put me into debt with Kimber at the same time. I was supposed to report to him, tell him your plans against him. But, that day you sent me home with him… that night- he killed my father because I had refused to sleep with him. It freed me from having to work for him, but I ran out of time to leave… It's why they broke in and took me. I-…" She stopped, tears burning her eyes as she remembered the night Kimber had forced himself on her after she told him what she knew. "I tried to fight his tactics, but that's when he forced himself on me. I'm the one who told him about you and the Lees coming together against him."
"Eve…" He shook his head, leaning forward to take her hands in his face. "I know. But I also knew you wouldn't have done it willingly."
"I wouldn't have." She wiped a tear away, his forehead resting against hers. Her hands moved to curl into the collar of his shirt as she moved her leg from the table. "I love you, Thomas Shelby. I shouldn't- but I do."
He knew she shouldn't. But he also knew he shouldn't love her either. She was sent to him to destroy him, but this was the first time he fell in love with someone that was considered an enemy. Although, as he pulled back, his eyes meeting her reddened green orbs, he knew she was no enemy. She was a pawn, used and abused by the man he'd finally killed.
Moving to sit beside her, he slid his arm around her lower back, letting her cry into his shoulder. All she could think of was how dirty she felt. She'd never thought she'd fall in love with him, but she had. She was free of Kimber's control over her, as well as her father's. Both burning in hell, she supposed.
AU Note: I know this one was rather short, but for me to continue to build up the story as it led into season 2, I must modify some things. A lot of this will follow the original script, but some things will be changed in order to go with my version of the story. I hope ya'll are enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Thank you so much for your reviews and kind words!
