Taking hold of Tommy's hand inside of hers, Elizabeth walked out of the hotel with him by her side. She kept her fingers laced in his as they crossed the road and made their way back towards Camden Town. Elizabeth had changed into her travelling blue gown and draped her long black coat over it. Her wide rimmed hat sat on the top of her head and she had done her best to cover up the bruises which stained her neck and face. Her trunk was packed along with Tommy's and they were preparing to leave for Epsom as soon as they had done business with Alfie.

"Just to clarify," Elizabeth spoke to Tommy as he looked down to her and she glanced up to him, doing her best not to feel her stomach churn at the sight of his intense stare. How did his eyes still have that effect on her? Every time he looked at her she felt herself flutter. "We intend to go into business with Solomons to tackle Sabini, but we intend to deal with Campbell on our own?"

Tommy shook his head. "There's no we, Liz," he promised her. "You shall be stayin' in the 'otel at Epsom while I do what I 'ave to do."

"The hell I am," Elizabeth scoffed in disbelief at her husband as they parted hands to allow a gaggle of children past and Elizabeth smiled to them as they apologised profusely.

She linked hands with Tommy once they had passed and he shook his head, his free hand moving to push at the cap on top of his head as his cigarette continued to dangle from his lips and Elizabeth gave his fingers a tight squeeze.

"I am serious, Tommy," Elizabeth spoke. "I shall go with Epsom with you. I have no intention of letting you do this alone."

"And I 'ave no intention of lettin' you near the low life I 'ave to deal with. You belong in a different world, Liz," Tommy replied and his wife rolled her eyes as they turned the corner.

"I belong with you, regardless of wherever we are," Elizabeth declared. "There is nothing else to discuss. Let us go and discuss business with Alfie and leave London before anyone else can find us here."

Tommy chuckled at that part but obliged, continuing to lead Elizabeth towards Camden Town. They brushed past people and found themselves back outside of Alfie Solomons business establishment. His men were hauling boxes along the canal and placing them on boats and Elizabeth suspected he was not exporting bread. They stepped up the stairs into his building and declared themselves to Ollie once again.

"Ah, Mr and Mrs Shelby," Alfie Solomons' booming voice rang out and Elizabeth almost smiled at the sight of him as he offered Tommy his hand to shake. "Congratulations are in order, ain't they, mate?" Alfie continued to chuckle as he shook his hand tightly and Tommy nodded his head slowly. "I saw yer Mrs earlier but she said you were sleeping. No doubt she'd tired yer out from the honeymoon, eh?"

"No doubt," Tommy managed to agree. "Regardless, Mr Solomons, we are here in a business capacity. I believe we 'ave some things to discuss, eh?"

Solomons nodded, a hand moving to rub over his beard as he waved with a hand for them to follow. Tommy led Elizabeth towards the back of the building where Alfie's office was located. Stepping inside, Elizabeth closed the door behind them as Alfie already took a seat and leaned back, his hands behind his back as he shrugged at the couple before him.

"I take you've 'ad time to consider my offer?" Alfie asked of Elizabeth and she nodded, sitting down in the chair and holding herself straight as Tommy leaned back in his own chair, his hands resting on the arms.

"I have," Elizabeth spoke. "And I am still considering it, but first I think we have business regarding Epsom and a certain man named Sabini."

Chuckling, Alfie nodded and looked to the ceiling. He didn't want to tell them that he had Sabini in his office only an hour earlier. Of course he had no intention of double crossing Tommy like Sabini wanted him to do. He had heard what Darby had intended to do to Liz and there was something about the posh bird that Alfie liked. The fact that Sabini intended to hurt her only made Alfie the more determined to defeat Sabini.

"You taken my option, eh?" Alfie asked from Tommy.

"Aye," Tommy agreed. "We'll 'elp you take Epsom from Sabini, but I want something in return."

"You want something in return?" Alfie's brows furrowed and he wrinkled his nose and leaned forwards.

"I want Sabini dead," Tommy spoke and Elizabeth felt her eyes widen.

"We have not discussed this," Elizabeth whispered and Tommy looked across to her, solemnly shaking his head and giving her that serious look he tended to reserve for grave matters. He was not discussing this. This was going to happen and it was not up for negotiation.

"After what Sabini did, I want 'im to suffer," Tommy decreed. "He was goin' to rape my wife…no one gets away with that."

"And no one tends to get away with murder," Elizabeth hissed to her husband and Alfie chuckled, shaking his head and shrugging.

"You want to be the one to pull the trigger?" Alfie asked and Elizabeth huffed in annoyance.

"Preferably," Tommy agreed. "So do we have an agreement?"

Moving his hand across the desk, Alfie waited for Tommy to take it inside of his. He did so after a moment and Elizabeth felt her eyes widen as she wondered what her husband was truly thinking.

…..

Tommy drove Alfie's borrowed car towards Epsom as Elizabeth sat in the passenger seat, completely silent and looking at the views they passed as the sun slowly set. Her hat covered her face from him and her hands were loosely held together in her lap, crumpling the blue material of her skirts as she ignored her husband.

Tommy would occasionally look out to Elizabeth, but she never looked back. She knew that Tommy was looking out for her, but she was angry with him. She was beyond annoyed with what he had said and done, but she could change nothing. She knew that Tommy was stubborn when he had his mind made up. Nothing could change his thoughts, not even her sometimes.

"Are you gonna say anythin' to me tonight?"

The question hung in the air as Elizabeth slowly turned her gaze back to her husband and he looked at her for a second before he turned his gaze back to the road in front of him.

"It depends," Elizabeth spoke. "Did you intend to tell me what you were thinking about Sabini?"

Frowning, Tommy resisted the urge to laugh at hearing how ridiculous she sounded. "Do you intend to beg for 'is life?"

"Of course not," Elizabeth responded. "I just do not enjoy seeing my husband agree to kill people so easily, no matter how horrid the person he intends to kill is."

Shrugging, Tommy turned the corner and noted a small sign towards Epsom.

"I 'ave killed," Tommy informed her. "I 'ave killed men and men 'ave tried to kill me. Some men have no care for life."

"I do not want you to be one of them," Elizabeth replied. "I know what you did in the past, Tommy. I know that you have killed, but I thought that we were looking to a future together…a future which involved no killing."

"And we are," Tommy promised her. "We will have that, but we need to get rid of people who would hurt us. I'm sorry you think this way, Liz, but killin' does not bother me…stop worryin'…"

Elizabeth laughed then and rolled her eyes at hearing him. She folded her arms over her stomach as she felt a chill roll through her and she bowed her head, her hat falling to her lap as she pushed a hand through her limp curls and Tommy managed to reach over, his hand running up and down her arm.

"Liz," Tommy tried to convince her to his way of thinking.

"I know," Elizabeth whispered. "I know what you have done, but I also grew up in the company of men who killed without a second thought. "I never thought that I would end up married to someone…and I know that you are not like them, but sometimes I worry, Tommy. I worry that you don't understand what is wrong or right."

"Wrong and right is not always black and white," Tommy counteracted. "When push comes to shove, Liz, I kill people who would kill me…no one else…especially when the police aren't on my side."

Shaking her head, Elizabeth sighed as Tommy moved his hand to take hold of hers and she nodded her head. She knew what Tommy was trying to say, but it did not make it any easier. It was a world of learning how to survive. Elizabeth had never been in such a situation and it scared her. She didn't want to just survive. She wanted to live without fear.

"You're with me, right, Liz?" Tommy wondered and Elizabeth let out another deep breath and nodded.

"I'm always with you," Elizabeth promised him. "I just want you to…to not be forced into such impossible positions. I worry enough about you already."

Chuckling, Tommy gave her hand one final squeeze before taking the wheel again and shaking his head.

"You don't need to worry about me."

…..

"Where do we settle down once all of this is over?"

The question took Tommy by surprise as the two of them sat in another hotel that evening just outside from the Epsom racecourse. Tommy had sent word to Arthur telling him that they would meet tomorrow and find a horse before going through with their plan. Tommy was still determined to keep Elizabeth locked away, but he suspected his wife had other ideas.

"Settle down?" Tommy wondered back from her as he saw her hanging a dress up on the hanger in the wardrobe as Tommy slipped his jacket from his body to the bed.

The hotel wasn't exactly luxury, but it was the best Tommy could find at short notice. It was a simple room with a dresser, wardrobe and a double bed in the middle of the room. The lampshade was dusty and there were some holes in the curtains. Tommy had seen Elizabeth inspect them, but she had not openly complained. He suspected this was the downside to being married to a girl who came from luxury.

"Yes," Elizabeth said, turning her head over her shoulder to glance back to Tommy. "We do intend to settle down somewhere, don't we?"

Shrugging, Tommy moved around the room, his hands in his pockets as Elizabeth cocked a brow.

"I don't know," Tommy admitted. "I'd thought that London was safe for us…but I think it ain't…and now Campbell has made 'is demands and I don't know if Birmingham is safe or not. Depends if Campbell will leave me alone when I do this job for 'im."

Frowning, Elizabeth gave Tommy a sarcastic stare. "So I take it that means you do not know where to settle down?"

"No idea," Tommy agreed. "Where do you want to go?"

Laughing, Elizabeth finished hanging her final dress up. She knelt down and closed the empty trunk before sliding it to the side of the dresser and Tommy sat down on the end of the bed.

"Wherever no one can bother us," Elizabeth mumbled. "I don't want to live with threats anymore."

"Aye," Tommy grunted and Elizabeth moved towards the bed.

She sat against the headboard and Tommy turned his upper body to the side to look to her. Moving his hand upwards, he waited for Elizabeth to take hold of his limbs inside of hers. She moved slowly and with a sigh as she felt Tommy move over her, his body hovering above hers as his hand cupped her hip and his lips moved against her neck.

Laughing at the feeling, Elizabeth tried to prise her husband from her. "You do know that we have to discuss this sooner or later," she declared. "Distracting me will not make the decision."

Groaning, Tommy quickly pecked her lips before speaking. "If it keeps yer from worrying then I'll do it," he informed her. "Let's get through this and then worry about settling down, eh?"

Nodding, Elizabeth moved a hand to his cheek and pecked his lips back. "Fine," she agreed.

….

"How fast can it go?"

"It's a racehorse, Arthur, I am certain it can go fast enough," Elizabeth was the one to answer the question as she petted the creature they had just bought following the horse auction.

They stood in the backroom with the creature as others looked over their purchases. John stood to one side while Arthur stood to the other. Tommy had his hand on Elizabeth's back as she stroked the white racehorse slowly, her hands moving over its mane as she completed the motion.

"So what now, eh?" Arthur was the one to wonder.

Tommy almost laughed. His brother was still asking him questions even though he was now claiming to be in charge. It was a joke and Tommy couldn't help but wonder how weak Arthur felt.

"When is the race?" Elizabeth wondered, tilting her head back so that her hat did not sit in her way once she looked between the three brothers.

"In a week," Tommy said.

"Then you need to find a trainer to house the horse for a week," Elizabeth spoke. "But I assume you did think about that before you went and bought a horse?"

"Do I look like I know about horses?" Arthur was the one to chuckle, moving to dangle his cigarette from his lips as Elizabeth rolled her eyes and Tommy nodded to her.

"We'll find a trainer," he spoke. "We'll just see if we can keep the 'orse 'ere for a few 'ours."

"Then we should go and try to find a trainer before everyone disappears," Elizabeth said.

The four of them began to make their way back through the auction ring and towards the reception area where people would be milling about to discuss their recent purchases. They stepped through the auction ring where the horses had been paraded before them, the sand slippery underfoot as they went.

"So, how do you know so much about horses?"

Arthur's question was addressed to Liz and she turned around to look at him, her hat almost falling from her head as her black coat crumpled around her body with the motion.

"I lived on an estate," Elizabeth replied. "I had no other option but to learn how to ride."

"Rich women these days, all they really want is workin' class cock, tell me that's why yer not with Tommy?" Arthur wondered and Elizabeth almost scoffed as Tommy supressed a chuckle, his arm wrapping around his wife's waist as his hip bumped against her side.

"I suspect there is more to it than the thoroughly enjoyable sex," Elizabeth said and Tommy did laugh this time as John bent backwards, the snort escaping him as he slapped Arthur on the back and the eldest Shelby smirked.

As they moved through the ring, they barely noted the figure in the grey coat sat at the chair where the auctioneer had been sat.

"Thomas Shelby."

Tommy turned to the figure once his name was called and he moved his hand into his jacket, reaching for his gun as the man in the grey coat peeled out his weapon.

"Tommy!" John yelled as three other men seemed to appear from nowhere.

Arthur took the man in the grey coat onto the floor, dragging him downwards as John shot at one of the other men and Tommy took the other. That left one who was no target. Elizabeth's gaze met his as he lifted his gun and aimed at Tommy. She didn't know what possessed her as she moved with haste, pushing her husband out of the way as shots continued to be fired. Tommy stumbled backwards, shocked at the force Elizabeth had used. He wondered what she was doing before he heard her yell out in pain, her hand moving to her arm as she stumbled.

Tommy saw the man who had shot at him and he instantly fired back along with John, the final man falling to the ground as Arthur continued to punch at the one in grey.

Gasping for breath and sweating, Tommy moved with haste to take hold of Elizabeth by the upper arms, looking where her coat had been ripped off with the force of the bullet. Tommy took her arm into his hands and observed the wound as Elizabeth hissed in pain.

"The bastard," Elizabeth snarled, looking to the dead man on the floor.

"It's a flesh wound," Tommy promised her before he heard Arthur's yells.

"Pull him off of him," Tommy demanded from John and he nodded, going to struggle with Arthur.

"Just a flesh wound?" Elizabeth checked and Tommy nodded.

"We'll get back to the 'otel and get it cleaned up."

Nodding, Elizabeth allowed Tommy to continue cradling her arm as they left the auction site, wondering who had just tried to kill all of them. It seemed as though they had plenty of enemies these days.

….

"Ow."

Elizabeth complained for what seemed like the hundredth time as she sat in nothing but her nightgown and sat on Tommy's lap in the small chair by the dresser as he cleaned up her wound and dabbed at it to disinfect it. Elizabeth had her head resting on Tommy's shoulder by his neck as she kept her eyes closed and did her best not to continue hissing in pain at the feeling of Tommy cleaning her wound.

"Ow," Elizabeth complained again.

"Sorry," Tommy mumbled to her. "Yer lucky it is just a flesh wound, Liz."

"I do not feel lucky," Elizabeth repeated. "None of this feels lucky."

Tommy picked up a fresh bit of towel and wiped the blood away before he reached for the needle and thread to stitch up her wound. She closed her eyes when she saw that and felt the prick enter her skin.

"Christ," Elizabeth grumbled. "I'm going to kill Sabini myself for this."

Shaking slightly, Elizabeth managed to look up to Tommy as she bit down on her tongue to stop herself from complaining as Tommy focused on stitching up her arm, his fingers delicate as he closed the wound together as best as he could.

"So yer think it was Sabini?" Tommy wondered.

"I think it is likely," Elizabeth responded. "Besides, I doubt it would be Campbell. I think he would want to put a bullet in your himself, not pay someone to do it."

"Thank you for that sentimental thought," Tommy mumbled. "But this is exactly the reason why you are not comin' to Epsom. I ain't seein' yer get 'urt again."

Elizabeth shook her head. "You said it yourself, it was just a flesh wound."

Tommy frowned then and looked away from his work to Liz's eyes. "I don't ever want to see anythin' 'appen to yer…" Tommy trailed off.

"Well, that makes two of us," Elizabeth agreed with him and took another deep breath as Tommy pierced her skin again and she hissed.

"There yer go," Tommy said, placing the needle down once he had finished, his hands moving over her cleaned wound as she looked to it herself. "We should get some rest, eh? I need to try and find a trainer tomorrow."

"Oh, I did hear someone mention a woman," Elizabeth said as she continued to look at her wound and Tommy's arms wrapped around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as he kissed the side of her neck.

"And who was this woman?" Tommy asked of his wife.

"May Carleton," Elizabeth declared. "I think she is an aristocrat like me. Perhaps you two will get along just fine if you have learned to tolerate me."

Chuckling, Tommy nodded as he moved slightly to kiss Liz on her cheek. "I think I more than tolerate yer…I did marry yer."

"What a fool you are," Elizabeth joked and kissed Tommy hastily again. "Regardless, we should try to find May Carleton tomorrow…and perhaps notify Alfie that Sabini tried to kill us."

Tommy frowned. He didn't particularly enjoy the way Alfie Solomons regarded his wife. He didn't like the way the man offered her a job or considered her his equal. Tommy preferred to keep Elizabeth away from men like Alfie. Even though Tommy was not far from Alfie, he still did not like the man.

"As you say," Tommy declared, not bothering to start an argument as he kissed Liz and she smiled to him, knowing full well what was running through her husband's mind as he continued to keep kissing her.

…..

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has stuck with the story so far. Hope you enjoyed this longer chapter!