Chapter 11
Small Heath
Garrison Court
Dec. 24, 1919
John's POV
The pub was gone, there was nothing left but a portion of the buildings shell. Putting a bomb in a pub with all that alcohol, the stills for making house blends. The building being made mostly of wood...just a portion of the shell.
He was worried about Tommy. He was just standing there staring at the building, as what was left burned to ashes. Looking at his face it was blank stone... but if you looked in his eyes. They looked like he was living in a nightmare that he couldn't escape.
The firemotors had been on scene almost instantly. They'd started spraying down the surrounding buildings to keep it from spreading. It was like they'd known the best they could do was to keep it contained. The alcohol fueled fire burned too hot for them to even attempt to see if anyone who'd been inside was still alive yet. Not that anyone who'd been inside when it blew, would want to still be breathing.
The ambulances came second, lines of 'em, trying to tend to those who'd been minding there own, walking down the fucking street, doing there god damn jobs.
When Arthur and him had pulled Tommy to his feet and dragged him to cover, they'd seen the look in his eyes, he hadn't been there with them in that moment, he'd been back in France. The explosion had to have sent him back. John almost wished Tommy hadn't snapped back to the present the look that had crossed his face when he realized he was seeing the pub burn was worse than whatever he'd been reliving.
When they realized that Tommy wasn't going to be moving from this spot, Arthur had taken off back home to get Aunt Polly. Fuckin hell...
"Tommy?...Tommy maybe she wasn't inside, eh."
"How many people are hurt John? We were barely halfway down the street when the blast wave hit. You know anyone who'd been closer is...between that and the shrapnel, anyone who's breathing is lucky. When I left her this morning, she was in a room on the third floor. Say she wasn't downstairs but still up there...with the initial blast her body could be fucking two alleys over, that's if there's anything left. If by some fucking stroke of luck that didn't take her, with the fire... ... floor caving in. With all the ways...with all...fuckin hell, because... You want me to have hope that she wasn't in there, where I fuckin left her. John boy... I'm not that fuckin lucky."
John had seen Aunt Polly and Arthur come up behind them, they'd heard almost everything Tommy'd said. The sad fucking thing was that Tommy was right. About everything. The chances of Aoife not being in there were slim to none.
He looked up when he heard the firemen start shouting, they'd found a body. He shared a look with Arthur and Aunt Pol. They'd stay with Tommy. John shot quickly down the street closer to the fire to see what information he could get. Tommy needed to know one way or another. He'd never rest if her remains couldn't be recovered.
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The body they'd found had been male, based on the time the bomb had gone off and the wedding band, it would appear Harry had been inside when it blew. No other remains had been found as yet but they hadn't been able to reach the back, so the search wasn't over.
John really didn't want to go back to Tommy without more, the body found wasn't Aoife, not yet. As he turned his head to try and breathe past the lump that was forming in his throat he caught sight of a flash of red...coppery in color. He squinted his eyes to try and see through the wafting smoke. There at the far end behind the emergency line. In the crowd gathering to see what had happened.
John took off running down the road as fast as he could toward what he hoped to god was not a figment of his imagination. It looked like her, but she was in different clothing...trousers. As he got closer he could hear her voice asking the copper what building was on fire. The copper was being a real piece a shite, telling her it wasn't her business and to move along. He couldn't help but feel a burst of laughter bubble up inside him when he heard her tell the bastard that if it was the bloody fucking Garrison pub up in flames then it was bloody fucking well her business seeing as how she'd been renting a room there.
"AOIFE!"
She looked up at him as he came barreling towards her. "John!"
"Thank God, we thought you were inside, Tommy's gone out of his mind...Come on."
John gave the copper a snarl and told him to get the fuck out of the way and let her through if he knew what was good for him. He wasn't in the mood to deal with fuckers that weren't on Peaky payroll. He could tell the copper was going to give him shite. Lucky for him one of the coppers that did take kick backs came over and took the idiot aside.
"Come on Aoife, let's get you to Tommy so he can fucking snap out of it."
John grabbed her hand and went to pull her down the street. He felt her tug on his hold gently and he turned to see her waving a man that'd been standing near to come with. When she turned back to him, he must a had a nasty look on his face or something cause Aoife was quick to introduce them.
"John, this is my brother Reilly, he's why I wasn't inside."
"Right. Come on, now's not the time, we'll shake when we're back at the house, eh?"
He caught Reilly's quick nod and they made their way down the road towards the billowing smoke.
They moved at a fast clip, Aoife surprised him a bit with her speed, she was very swift and light on her feet. He supposed he'd never really thought about how much a skirt or dress tended to slow women down. They came upon the remains of the Garrison and both Aoife and her brother slowed slightly to survey the damage. "John, Harry was in there when I left..."
"He didn't make it Aoife, they found his body during their first entry into the fire."
Aoife looked back into the smoldering embers that were slowly dying out. There was a sad look in her eyes but she simply nodded. He watched as both her and her brother made a strange sign with their hands before they continued on around the corner and towards where he'd left Tommy and the others.
As they got closer to the area where he'd left them he'd had to do a quick search, he didn't see them there. Tommy wouldn't 'ave moved unless Aunt Pol had made him and he certainly wouldn't have moved far. He continued to search until he saw a couple of the Blinders standing a bit more down the lane. As he moved closer he saw the top of Arthurs head behind an upturned conveyance.
As they moved up towards the trashed conveyance he could just make out Aunt Pol leaning over Tommy who'd been sat down in a doorway with her hand on his shoulder. His head was bowed, Aunt Pol was trying to talk to him, tell him something but he wasn't there he wasn't hearing anything.
Coming up on them the Blinders recognized him and stepped aside to let them move closer.
Aoife POV
John hadn't been exaggerating Tommy looked a mess. A far cry from the man who'd rushed away from her not a couple of hours ago. She could hear the thankful praises from Polly as her eyes landed on her and Arthur seemed to release a heavy burden from his shoulders when he noted her appearance as well.
But she only had eyes for Tommy. He just stared at the ground unmoving as though he had no notion of the happenings around him. She now understood why there were Peaky Blinders keeping people from coming near. She imagined it wouldn't be good for anyone not close to the Shelby's to witness Tommy in this condition.
Her voice came out soft and silky with a touch a of iron, soothing but forceful, "Tommy." No recognition, not even a twitch that he'd heard anything. She slowly went to him and knelt before him...still nothing. Gently she placed her hands above his bent knees where he sat, pressing down slightly and called his name again.
The contact mixed with her voice seemed to spark some recognition and bring him back from whatever place his mind had taken him. His eyes snapped up from the ground and locked onto her face. The icy pools that drew her in every time seemed to examine every inch of her. His hand slowly lifted and brushed carefully over her jaw, almost as if he were afraid she'd disappear.
The moment he realized she was real and not a hallucination his grip firmed and was joined by his other hand to feel her solid and well before him. Pulling her into his arms and burrowing his head into her neck. She could feel him taking deep dragging breathes. His voice was whispered and muffled but she could make the words out all the same. "You weren't inside...you weren't inside."
Wrapping her arms around him and holding him securely so he had no doubt that she was indeed there with him, she told him, "I wasn't inside, Tommy. I wasn't there. I'm all right, perfectly fine."
Reilly POV
After seeing what was left of the place Aoife had been staying he could say for sure, had she been inside, she wouldn't be alive right now. No matter how much knowledge and training she had when it came to dealing with explosive materials. They hadn't dealt in hydrogen on the airship since they upgraded their systems to that of helium and during the war things that exploded were not her specialty.
Reilly was fucking grateful that his family tended to continue to have extremely good luck. Sometimes they joked that Aoife was like a cat and had nine lives. Her count sure as shit went down today. Thank God he'd decided to get a look at the cargo he'd need to be loading up.
It was bizarre seeing Aoife wrapped in this strangers arms. By the man's reaction to her appearance it was clear that he cared deeply about his sister. What was odd to him was the amount of care he was witnessing. He knew they hadn't known one another for that long. That was an awful lot of emotion for a veritable stranger.
Plus it was...well Aoife. She wasn't rainbows and butterflies she was lightening storms and blood sucking bats. If it were Aine he might be able to understand it more. She was the one that was more home baked bread and sun rays.
Most men that'd shown interest in Aoife seemed to flip their switch for the other twin once they'd met. He often got aggravated about it on behalf of both his sisters. Aoife once told him, introducing them to Aine was usually the quickest way to figure out if they were interested in her person or just her looks.
Hell Aoife and Aine usually had some diabolical plan, to test the men they allowed into the lives. He supposed they never tested Alfie. Though Alfie hadn't started seeing Aine until well into knowing both his sisters. He loved both of 'em, but he was in love with Aine.
Obviously this man was different. He hadn't met Aine yet. Aoife seemed to have some serious feelings for the bloke, based on the concern she was showing for the man. She was being damn right tender with him. If the bastard turned out to be like the rest of 'em he'd break his neck. Fuck it, he probably wouldn't have to. If Aoife truly allowed herself to care about him and he fucked it up she'd break his neck herself.
Clearly this man thought she'd been inside that building and that he wasn't going to be seeing her again. That fact seemed to weigh on him heavily and the relief he felt was obvious. Reilly guessed he'd reserve his judgment.
He might be the baby brother in this scenario, but no one, was going to fuck with Aoife's heart. With as guarded and as careful as she was with it, if she fell, she would fall hard. The man she fell for had better fucking fall just as hard if not harder.
Tommy POV
Tommy continued to breathe deeply, he could smell the shampoo she must of used to wash and he felt the cool satiny soft strands of her copper hair swaying around his face. Her skin was warm and he could feel the pulse in her neck beating a rhythm. Her voice sounded in his ear and her arms held him just as firmly as his held her.
She hadn't been inside. By some stroke of fate she'd left the Garrison for some reason and hadn't been inside. She was here, he could feel her breathe. Slowly the sounds of the chaos around them became clear to his ears, like a fog being lifted from his senses. Emergency workers shouting and people crying.
It came to him in that moment, like a lightning bolt striking him. He cared about her far more than he imagined he could ever care about a woman. He'd lost faith and been disillusioned. Grace had taught him not to trust and the war had taught him not to hope. Yet he found both of those things with the woman in his arms.
His life thus far had shown him time and again that being a bad man meant he didn't deserve good things. He'd get a glimpse, a small taster of something good and then it would be ripped away from him because he didn't deserve it and fate wouldn't be kind enough to let him have it. Maybe he'd been wrong.
He pulled back gradually, enough to rest his and Aoife's foreheads together. He didn't open his eyes, he knew he needed another minute to collect himself. He needed to pull himself together and start taking care of the situation.
"Arthur, we need to see to it that Harry's daughter is informed about his passing. Make sure that she receives a generous offer for the land the Garrison sat on...if she wants to sell. John, make sure to make a contribution to the fire marshal's fund. It was gas, seems gas and the electricity Harry'd updated to didn't mix... We'll take care of this ourselves."
He opened his eyes and looked into Aoife's for a second before lifting his head and looking at his brothers. He knew the look in his eyes was more than likely a bit feral. What he wanted was Erasmus Lee's head on a pike, even though he knew that's not how this would play out. His brothers both nodded in understanding of what he expected from them.
Tommy didn't miss the newcomer to their group, a stranger, but one look let him know that the young man he'd never seen before, had to be one of Aoife's brothers. His eyes were dark brown like Polly's but his hair, his hair was copper.
Polly's voice piped up from somewhere to his right before he could say or do anything else. "Might I suggest we take this home. In a moment we won't be anything but in the way. There's been enough people to see our presence so they know that we will deal with this."
Tommy nodded. They did need to get out of the open, he needed to think about his next move and he needed to think about the safety of his family. "John, I want you and Arthur to go collect your kids and Ada. Bring them back to the house. I don't want anyone staying by themselves until we've dealt with this."
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When they arrived back at the house he'd had Polly take Aoife and her brother to the kitchen while he went upstairs to his room. He needed a moment by himself. What he really wanted was for Aoife to be up here with him. Her being out of his line of sight, at the moment seemed to make him itchy. Which was precisely the reason he'd asked Polly to take Aoife with her.
He needed to get a rein on his emotions. Right now they were far too raw. He'd come too close to losing Aoife and he'd just fuckin found her. Hell he hadn't even bedded her yet but she was front and center for him.
The feud with the Lee's had gotten out of control, far too out of control. They hadn't cared about collateral damages when they'd set that bomb at the Garrison. The Lee's had no issue with Harry. No issue with any of the people who'd gotten hurt outside the pub. As much as he'd like to show them their graves he didn't have the numbers.
The Lee clan outnumbered them four to one. The Blinders had the guns and the munitions to deal with them but that would alert others to the fact the Tommy did indeed have the fucking guns. Which in turn would bring a whole different kind of wrath down upon them. No an all out war between the Lee's and Blinders would be bloody and cause additional dilemmas. He needed to figure a peaceful resolution to this.
Polly POV
Polly showed Aoife and her brother into the kitchen. She could see the concerned look on the girls face when Tommy went upstairs.
"Aoife, he just needs a moment, he'll be all right. This...all of this today...France is close to the surface and thinking you were...well, thinking something had happened to you. Isn't making it any easier to deal with. Give him a few minutes to put his mind back to rights. You know he's not a man that typically wears emotions on his sleeve."
She watched Aoife bite her lip before looking her in the eyes, nodding her head in understanding.
"Do you need any help Polly?"
"I think...I think a good stew will work wonders for us. Would you mind doing some chopping?"
"Of course not, Reilly and I will be your helpers, won't we Rei?"
"Sure. After events and what not I probably won't get to take a look at that cargo today anyway."
Polly directed them to the cutting boards and knives and they started helping to prep. They had the stock on and were discussing spices of all things when they heard the front door open.
Polly could hear John's kids and Ada's voice before being followed by both Johns and Arthurs. An army of little footsteps raced up the stairs more than likely heading for Finns room. He'd wanted to go with her when Arthur and shown back up at the house after they'd heard the explosion. Even the windows had rattled in their panes. She'd told him to stay inside with the doors locked until they'd returned.
She'd checked in on him once while the Deveroux's had been busy with kitchen work. It seemed he'd fallen asleep, she hadn't had the heart to wake him. No doubt he'd be waking up momentarily. Hopefully Ada would be able to get everyone's sleeping arrangements worked out. They'd have to separate the sick little ones so they'd get their own room, the others would share with Finn.
John would have to take the attic room and share with Michael, she'd share with Ada. It would be a full house but Tommy was right, it wasn't safe for them to be isolated from one another. She thanked God that Michael had taken the first tramline down to London this morning.
He was expected back this evening and she knew he'd come here first to check in with Tommy before going anywhere else. He was safe enough tonight, the Lee's wouldn't make another move so close to their last.
Polly turned away from the stove when she heard Ada coming into the room.
Ada POV
Ada took care of getting John's two oldest, William and Jacob settled in. She knew with as rough as they were feeling they'd be falling asleep shortly. She'd already ushered the two younger ones, Katie and Helen into Finn's room.
She was ever grateful that all the people she cared most about were unharmed. She'd heard the explosion at John's and seen smoke billowing from the court but she hadn't known what had happened. She'd thought it was an industrial accident at one of the plants, god knows it wouldn't have been the first.
When John and Arthur had come through the door and told her to pack the kids things cause they were going to be staying at home, she'd demanded an explanation. That's when they'd told her it was the Garrison that had blown. A bomb from the Lee's. They told her how they'd thought Aoife had been inside but how she'd luckily been out when it happened. Unfortunately Harry had been inside and perished in the blast, the poor man, at least he was with his wife now.
As soon as the kids were settled she rushed downstairs to make sure Aoife was unharmed with her own eyes. After spending the day with her at the fair she'd become rather fond of the girl. She didn't have many friends, mostly due to being a Shelby, and Aoife, well she didn't care what her last name was. Or who her brothers were.
She didn't seem to care about what they did. Well she was going to be moving something for Tommy anyway so she wasn't exactly an angel either. In the grand scheme of things she imagined that Aoife really wasn't the judgmental type. She took you for who you were, she expected nothing but the same in return.
Ada would like to think that even though they really hadn't known each other long, that Aoife would consider her a friend. It had been obvious that Tommy had taken a shine to her at any rate. Made her hope that maybe Aoife would possibly be more than a friend one day.
Aoife was standing at the counter and chopping vegetables, Polly was minding the pot on the stove and there was man setting the table. She'd find out about the man later, first she'd check on Aoife.
"Aoife! Thank God you're all right, the boys told me what happened. You are all right aren't you?"
"I'm fine Ada. I was nowhere near the Garrison when it happened."
"You have no idea how relieved I am that you're all right."
"Thank you for caring Ada, I do appreciate it."
Ada couldn't help the scoff that came out at that, "Seriously Aoife. You still need to teach me how you did thing at the fair. I wouldn't have forgiven you if you'd up and died on me before you could."
There was a brief moment of silence, before both she and Aoife started laughing at the lunacy. Sometimes when serious things happened what you really needed to do was have a good laugh. Crying wouldn't accomplish anything and besides there was no reason to cry because Aoife was fine.
Arthur and John walked in the room with Arthur commenting on how lovely it was to hear the sound of laughter before the afternoon meal.
With all that had happened it was hard to believe the day was only half over.
Aoife took the vegetables over to the stove and added them to the pot. Ada noted Polly whispering something to her, Polly's eyes drifting up to the ceiling for a moment. She figured they must be discussing Tommy.
Aoife POV
As the vegetables plopped into the stock Polly spoke to her in a low tone. "Tommy's been up there by himself long enough. Go on up and check on him, let him know that dinner will be on the table in about 15 minutes. Make sure he's managed to stitch himself back together. Up the stairs to the second landing, his is the door at the end of the hall."
"Are you sure I should bother him?"
"Aoife, I guarantee, right now...you're the only one he wants to see."
"All right."
Aoife turned around and noted that Reilly and the Shelby sibling seemed to be having a staring contest, sitting across from one another at the table. She knew Reilly would not appreciate her abandoning him in a room of strangers.
"Reilly, you met Polly already and John earlier of course. This is his brother Arthur and sister Ada. Everyone this is my baby brother Reilly."
Reilly sent her a glare, she knew he would, just as she knew he'd have some comment to go with it.
"I think baby is a rather relative term, half pint."
"Well you, under the stroke of fate, were born last, which will forever make you the baby. Even if you did sprout taller than your elders."
The Shelby's chuckled at their banter and it seemed to lighten the tension in the room a bit. Ada was a sweetheart and started asking Reilly questions about what he did on the Adelisa.
Aoife gave a quick nod to Polly before stepping out of the kitchen to go and find Tommy.
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She stepped in front of the door that was supposedly Tommy's, there was nothing but silence from the other side. She knocked softly, but heard nothing. She didn't feel right about just letting herself into his room.
She didn't know if that was just an issue for her because of how she was used to living on an airship or not. During their parents stint on the Adelisa all private cabins had been soundproofed. It was a matter of having some privacy. if there was an alert it blared through the PA and was sounded in every room. Otherwise they left their cabin doors open when they were available to others or didn't mind having some company. So normally the doors were open unless they were wanting their privacy.
She knocked lightly again but said his name through the door in hopes of getting a response. She took a person's want of privacy seriously and had no desire to disturb his, if he needed it.
She heard a small thump before his voice told her she could come in.
Opening the door into his room she noted that he had a dresser with washing stand in the corner, a wardrobe against the far wall, and a side table by his single, which he had pushed against the wall to allow for floor space. His quarters were fairly utilitarian, not really all that much decoration other than the walls being wallpapered in a deep green pattern. What little personal items he had were situated on the top of his dresser or the side table.
Tommy sat in the middle of his bed with his back leaned against the wall and his eyes closed, his forearms resting on his bent knees. He said nothing when she entered and didn't move a muscle from his position.
She closed the door behind her before she stepped into the middle of his room. His voice came quietly, almost hesitant. Like he wasn't sure he wanted to speak the words that were coming out of his mouth.
"I'm an ordinary man Aoife... Did you know I fought at Verdun, I won gallantry medals at the Somme. For my actions at Mons they gave me the Military medal and the Distinguished Conduct medal. When I came home I threw the fucking things in the cut. Back in France...I was a Sapper. They gave us the worst job. The kicker is that we fucking volunteered. The noises they never stop...they last all night long. Sometimes I lie here and I listen to the shovels...and the picks against that wall there. I pray the sun will come up through the curtains before they break through. No...I don't prey, I hope...and sometimes it happen, the suns beats them. But mostly the shovels beat the sun."
Tommy finally opened his eyes and looked her straight in hers.
"Until last night. The shovels and the picks never came, it was silent. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've heard silence Aoife? It was because of you, I know that. I can't explain it, but I found you Aoife, and you found me. After this morning..."
"After this morning, what Tommy?"
She watched him as he shook his head, either not having an answer or not willing to give one. For all that his words sounded positive in nature, there was some reason she felt like he was stepping back. Wanting one thing, but deciding on a separate course. She stepped towards him, her legs coming to the edge of his bed. She climbed onto the empty space next to him and sat on her knees facing him.
"I'm going to be honest, Tommy. We just met, we barely know one another. You're a grounder, no offense, and well...I'm not. The idea of this." Aoife used her hand to indicate him and her. "It's, well quite frankly, I don't think it's smart... But there is something...that sets you apart from everyone else that I've met. I can't tell you what, cause I don't know. You make...you make me feel things that I don't understand. This...whatever this pull is that is here between us, makes me not care whether it's smart or not. I don't know. It's like I know I shouldn't get involved with you...but I want to."
"I'm a bad man, I do bad things Aoife. You know most of my business is illegal. You've seen how dangerous being with me is. You're right, it's not smart. You should have been in the pub this morning, we were both lucky that you weren't."
"Tommy, life is anything but certain. The Adelisa could get caught smuggling and I could spend years of my life imprisoned. We could be set upon and I could die in a fight. The ship could go down in a storm. Safety equipment can malfunction...Yes, I could've died this morning. I could die tomorrow or the day after, in a week, month, year. No matter when I go Tommy, no one will be able to say that I didn't live. Fear has no place in my life because if I allow it to take hold, then I stop living and no one knows how long they have. Both of our lives are dangerous...just in different ways. I asked you if you could handle all of me Tommy. So I'm telling you now...I can handle all of you."
Aoife watched Tommy as he took in everything she said. She had made her decision the other night and no matter how unwise or crazy it seemed she wasn't going to change it. There was something inside her that was telling her she'd regret it if she did. Tommy took a deep breath and then released it in a sigh.
"There's something else you should know about me Aoife...I'm a selfish man...come here."
Aoife pushed herself up and Tommy's arms immediately wrapped around her pulling her to him so that she was sitting across his lap. His chest solid, firm and warm, as she relaxed into his strength. Feeling the rise and fall of each of his breaths, she felt a sense of relief and strangely, safety envelope her.
He tunneled his hand through her hair to grasp the back of her head, angling and holding her where he wished. She felt the careful stroke of his knuckles trace her cheekbone. While his nose skimmed across her jaw line, breathing in the scent of her. A barely there scrape of his full lips glanced her skin as they made their way to her own. He gave a light tug on her hair, not enough to cause pain, just enough to make her gasp. His tongue, warm and slick and tasting of a mixture of smoke and whiskey delving in to explore her. Slow, sensual and with just the right amount of demand.
She found that her hands had moved to his face, tracing the sharp planes of his jaw, her fingertips enjoying the scratch of barely there stubble, that she could envision him shaving every morning. Tracing the lines of his cheek with her thumb. His lips and tongue were twisting her up inside. She reached back around him splaying her fingers across the back of his neck. Pulling ever so softly in a quiet demand for more.
He made her forget herself. Wrapped up in the feelings he provoked to life inside her, but she was no wallflower and when he pulled her more tightly into his body she slipped her own tongue out to run across his lips and dive delectably into his mouth. The taste of him becoming darker and sweeter.
When they managed to pull apart, breathless and needy, having re-stoked the fire from that morning, Aoife couldn't help but chuckle softly. "We really need to stop working each other up when we don't have the time to enjoy one another...dinner is no doubt on the table right now."
She watched Tommy close his eyes as he leaned down and kissed her temple tenderly. His voice hoarse from his own need, "Better not keep them waiting then."
I'm glad everyone seemed to be pleased with the last chapter. I hope this one meets everyone's approval. Let me know how you feel about Reilly's POV - I'm not completely sure if I managed to convey his feelings about the differences in Aine's and Aoife's personalities correctly or not - just let me know how that came out for you (what you took away from it)
Again, love the comments, so thrilled with everyone for contributing their thoughts. Please keep them coming.
