Tommy and Luca sat on opposite sides of the table. Tommy kept hold of his wife's hand, knowing full well that she was nervous as he kept his grip in hers. She had said nothing to say that she hadn't already said to Luca or her husband. Tommy's thumb continuously ran over the back of her knuckles, trying to soothe her. He was well aware that she would rather be anywhere but in that office with Changretta. Truth be told, so would Tommy.
"So, yer came 'ere from Paris, eh?" Tommy wondered from Changretta as he lounged back in his seat, a smirk playing on the corners of his lip as Tommy inhaled a sharp breath quietly, doing his best not to appear nervous.
"Have you been?" Changretta wondered.
"Last time I was in Paris I was bein' shipped in a cattle truck back 'ome," Tommy responded and Luca nodded his head.
Tommy moved to his feet, dropping his wife's hand as he pulled out his cigarettes from his coat pocket that was hung up on the coat rack. Elizabeth remained still, hands in her lap as Tommy lit his cigarette, inhaling a breath and then exhaling the smoke, dangling the cigarette between his fingers before sitting back down.
"There were American soldiers we played at cards," Tommy said. "They sounded like you."
Elizabeth watched Luca pull a toothpick out from his jacket and toy with it between his teeth as he chuckled. "And did you win?"
"You didn't come a train here." Tommy said, not answering his question. "Your suits are freshly pressed and clean. Where do you get them made?"
Elizabeth almost wanted to snap at her husband and demand what that had to do with anything, but she bit her tongue as Luca pulled his suit jacket open, showing the expensive clothing he wore.
"New York City. I have a tailor," he stated. "My uncle makes suits in the basement. I did hear you dress well Mr Shelby, but now I see, not as well as me."
Tommy remained impassive as Elizabeth chewed down on the inside of her cheek, wondering what was going through her husband's mind as he remained silent, refusing to speak. She closed her eyes for a second as he began speaking, stubbing his cigarette out.
"Yer know, I 'ave uncles as well," Tommy spoke. "But they're not the sort of men who would work in the basement."
Elizabeth looked to Tommy, glowering, but Changretta was amused. Holding his toothpick between his fingers, he moved it back and forth as he looked to Tommy, nodding his head slowly.
"I am surprised how easy it was to get in a room with you," he commented. "I had thought that after my visit to your wife and daughter, you would have doubled your security."
It was then when Elizabeth saw Tommy reach for the gun in his holster. Pulling it out, he flicked off the safety as he aimed it at Changreta.
"And now?" Tommy wondered from him.
But Luca didn't even look scared. Instead he went into his suit pocket and pulled out bullets, dropping them onto the table as Elizabeth looked down and Tommy checked his gun. He tossed it onto the table and Elizabeth knew it was out of bullets. How had Luca even gotten into Tommy's office? He didn't even say anything or explain. Tommy didn't even ask the question.
Instead Luca moved the bullets upwards.
"Arthur Shelby…Polly Gray…Michael Gray…John Shelby…spent," he rolled the bullet towards Tommy and Elizabeth swore her husband was ready to explode. "Ada Thorne and finally…Tommy Shelby."
Luca moved to his feet then as Tommy did the same.
"None of you will survive," Luca said, looking out the blinds onto the factory floor. "We are an organisation you have never encountered, Mr Shelby. I could have killed you when I walked through the door, but I didn't. I want to leave you until last. My momma said that would hurt you the most…dying in front of your wife and child."
"No," Elizabeth said, unable to hold her tongue as she jumped to her feet and Tommy stopped her from moving forwards. He took hold of her by the waist, holding her to his side as Tommy watched Luca smirk.
"I could have had you killed in the night," Luca said. "But I want to fight with honour. I am a man with honour."
"My wife and daughter are outta bounds," Tommy said. "Yer know that, right?"
"No children or civilians," Changretta spoke.
"Then welcome to Birmingham," Tommy said and Luca smirked, nodding his head and tilting his hat before leaving them alone.
Elizabeth let out a breath she had been keeping in, her body shaking as she gripped onto Tommy and he turned to face her, his hands coming to hold onto her upper arms tightly as she reached for his shoulders, bowing her head.
"It's alright," Tommy whispered, trying to soothe her. "Yer alright, Liz."
"It is not me I am worried for, Tommy," Elizabeth said with a shake of her head. "What are we going to do? What is going to happen? I don't understand."
"Nor do I, Liz," Tommy said with a shake of his head. "But I know that I 'ave a plan and I need yer to trust me that I'm gonna do the right thin', eh?"
Elizabeth nodded her head and Tommy moved his hand down her arm to rest on her stomach, his other hand going to her chin to force her gaze to his. She looked him in the eye as he moved his lips against hers, kissing her chastely while she closed her eyes. Pulling back, Tommy, rested his forehead against hers.
"I'm goin' to keep us all safe," he said in a small whisper. "I'm goin' to keep us safe…you…me…Charlotte…and the little one inside of you."
Elizabeth bit down on her bottom lip before taking his cheeks into her hands, kissing him with haste and closing her eyes as she poured all of her feelings in the movement. Tommy groaned lightly as he took hold of her waist, pushing her backwards until he had her resting against the table, standing in between her legs as he reached for the buttons at the back of her dress. She pulled away for a second, her hand pressing against his chest.
"Tommy," she whispered his name. "We can't do this here."
"My factory," Tommy said to her.
"And if someone walks in?" she asked from him. "Besides, we've just met with the man who wants to kill you. I hardly think this is the appropriate time for this."
"Disagree," Tommy grunted, pulling at her sleeves. "I…I need yer to understand that I need yer, Liz. I need yer right now."
"Lock the door," Elizabeth demanded from him and Tommy smirked but gave in to his wife's request.
…
The factory was in chaos and Elizabeth knew that. She knew that Tommy had wanted the strike and he had warned her that things could get messy. Coming down the steps, she saw the workers stood outside, screaming loudly as Tommy placed his hand on the small of her back. Looking down the factory she saw someone throw what looked like a bottle on fire into the factory. Arthur soon found the culprit and began punching at him as Tommy noticed Finn stood by the doorway.
"What is going on?" Elizabeth asked, still slightly out of breath from her and Tommy's activities.
"Strikers don't like scabs," Tommy muttered to his wife. "Go with Finn and 'ead 'ome. Yer not goin' to want to see the rest of this."
"Tommy," she warned him, but he moved to kiss her quickly and winked to Finn before wandering away.
Elizabeth watched him go as she stood besides Finn, tugging her gloves onto her fingers as she chewed down on her lip. Finn offered her his arm and she took hold of it, leaving the factory through the back entrance and climbing into the car. She sat in the passenger seat as Finn drove through the streets of Birmingham, taking her back to Charlotte.
Finn made small talk with Elizabeth on the way back. The two of them returned to Small Heath and Elizabeth found Charlotte sat with Polly, reading her some kind of story. Pol looked entertained before noticing Elizabeth. Pulling her gloves off of her fingers, Elizabeth noticed that Ada was in the kitchen too.
"Ada," Elizabeth said with a small smile.
"Liz," Ada repeated.
"My God," Pol said in a whisper, chuckling as she noticed something once Elizabeth had removed her dress and had her back to her. "Charlotte, darling, why don't yer go and find another book, eh?"
Charlotte slipped down from the seat and went to the stairs before Pol stood up and Finn went to sit down. The three women stood in the kitchen as Pol dropped her hands to her hips and tilted her head to the side.
"Yer might want to check yer dress, Liz," she said and Elizabeth turned her head over her shoulder to see that her dress was buttoned completely wrong. Ada chuckled as Elizabeth reached behind her body for the buttons, but Pol pushed her hands out the way and did them herself. "I take it yer and Tommy didn't get much business done."
"I don't know, Pol, I think there was some business done," Ada responded cheekily and Elizabeth shook her head, feeling her cheeks heat up. "At least yer can't get pregnant again, eh?"
"I take it Tommy told everyone?" Elizabeth asked.
"He did," Pol said. "Although I already knew it."
"You knew it before I even did," Elizabeth scoffed.
"We should get going anyway, Pol," Ada said. "Tommy wants us all at the hospital for a company meeting."
"Yer comin', Liz?" Pol asked, finishing redoing Liz's dress as she shook her head.
"I am going to stay with Charlotte," she said. "Tommy will tell me what was discussed when he comes home."
"Right then, let's go," Ada said, grabbing her coat as Pol did the same. Elizabeth bid the two of them goodbye before seeking out her daughter, longing to spend as much time with her as possible.
…
Tommy returned home later that evening. Elizabeth had grown concerned as to where he was as she stood in the kitchen cooking a stew. Charlotte was perched at the kitchen table, watching her mother as she spoke with her in a soft voice.
"God that was tough," Tommy muttered as soon as he had locked the door behind him. He moved into the kitchen, bending down to kiss Charlotte on the forehead. "Hello, darlin'."
"Hello, daddy," Charlotte beamed and Thomas looked to his wife as she placed the stew into the oven and then turned to look to Tommy, wiping her hands on her apron as she moved towards him and kissed him chastely.
"What happened?" she wondered from him.
"We had the meetin' and agreed that we should tell Gold about Changretta and give him his photograph. Arthur wanted to be the one to kill 'im, but as long as he dies, it doesn't matter who does it. Arthur is a stickler for tradition."
"How did he react?"
"He didn't because he didn't bother to turn up to the meetin'," Tommy said with a firm shake of his head. "But he'll get over it. He'll just 'ave to, won't he, eh?"
"You know Arthur," Elizabeth responded.
"All too well," Tommy muttered. "Anyway, Pol was upset because Michael's foster mother came to visit 'im. She got over it, anyway. She also enjoyed teasin' me because my wife came home lookin' dishevelled."
Elizabeth buried her head into her hands, shaking her head as Tommy's lips quirked upwards at the sight of her. "I was mortified," she said in a whisper.
"I'm just 'appy I can still 'ave that effect after years of marriage," Tommy said.
"It hasn't been that many years," she responded with a tut in his direction before rolling her eyes and chewing down on her lip. "Anyway, what is the next move then? If Arthur isn't going to be the one to deal with Luca?"
"Yer not goin' to like it," Tommy informed his wife.
"I don't like many of the things that you plan," she confirmed, moving to set the table.
"Well, the reason why Arthur didn't come to the meetin' was because he was busy with some men Luca had sent. He dealt with 'em," Tommy told her. "But we need to forgo tradition. We need to stop playin' things obviously. We need to be deceitful."
"I really am not going to like this, am I?" she confirmed from him.
"Polly is goin' to meet with 'im," Tommy said. "She is goin' to lure him into a trap. Tell 'im that she will give me up to spare everyone else."
"I assume there is a but to this part of the conversation?" Elizabeth asked, glad that Charlotte had lost herself back in the book she was reading, not understanding what her parents were discussing.
"You assume correctly," Tommy said with a nod. "We're goin' to lure him into a trap and stop 'im. It will be dangerous, but it will be done. I'll get it done."
"Just be careful," she urged from him as she heard rain begin to fall outside. Looking through the net curtain, she saw the street and the men guarding it before turning back to Tommy. He managed a small smirk before moving to kiss her chastely.
He then went to Charlotte, sitting down besides her and resting one arm over the back of her chair.
"And what are yer readin'?" he asked from her.
"Just a book about a princess and a pea," Charlotte informed him. "The prince wants to marry a princess, but he needs to find a real one."
"Is that right?" Tommy wondered of her.
"But all of the princesses he keeps finding are wrong. I think he has found the right one now."
"And why is that?"
"Because she is sleeping on a pea and she can feel it. Do you think that I would know if I was sleeping on a pea?" Charlotte wondered and Tommy let his lips quirk upwards at hearing her, a part of him entertained with the conversation as he checked his pocket watch, unsure of how he had to tell his wife where he had to go later that evening.
"I think yer could," Tommy said and moved to pick her up, holding her in his lap.
"But I'm not a princess," Charlotte said and Tommy stood up, moving around the kitchen as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around him. Tommy kept his arms under her to hold her to him.
"You are a princess," he responded to her, but she shook her head.
"No I'm not," she responded. "I'm a Shelby."
Tommy felt some kind of pride at hearing her. Spinning around, he saw her hair fly around her head as she laughed at the movement and Tommy cradled her to him, longing never to have this feeling snatched from him.
"That's as good as bein' a Princess," Tommy told her and she rested her head on his shoulder as he kissed the top of her head and looked to his wife, seeing her smiling gently as she wiped her hands on a towel. He managed to let his lips quirk upwards.
His brother had been attacked in the factory and that had happened because the door had been unlocked. Tommy suspected he knew who had left it unlocked. The only man who keys would be the suspect. That was Niall. He didn't know how to tell his wife that he was going to interrogate him later on, knowing how she had a soft spot for him. He thought about keeping it quiet, but then he remembered that they didn't keep secrets.
He would tell her after dinner, however. For now, he quite enjoyed the moment he was trapped in.
…
A/N: Do let me know what you think!
