It was a few days later and no one had seen or heard from Arthur. John had reassured me that he had been checking in and that he was okay, just needed some time. I was walking through the betting shop when Robert stopped me. "Hey, Evie. Eliza is here for that interview." he told me, taking his cap off as he spoke to me. I looked at him for a moment, confused. "Eliza..?" I asked, no idea what he was talking about. He shifted nervously. "You said to bring her in about the job at the pub?" he sounded unsure himself.
Then I remembered the conversation we had had a few days ago. "Of course! Sorry, Robert. I've got about a million things to do and I had completely forgotten! I am so sorry." I apologised, looking around. "Is she here now?" I asked, not spotting her. "Yeah, John said to put her in his office and to find you." he replied, pointing towards the office. "I'm going to assume Arthur isn't here?" I asked. He shook his head. Word had gotten out about what happened and, although the Blinders were told not to discuss it, it didn't stop the news spreading like wildfire amongst them.
"Alright, I'll go speak to her now. Thanks, Robert." I told him, before making my way to the office. "Just doing that interview." I called over to John when I caught his eye. He nodded once before going back to what he was doing. I opened the door and the young girl quickly stood. I smiled at her before shutting the door behind me. She was a small girl with blond hair and big brown eyes. "Hi, Eliza, right?" I asked, going around the desk and sitting down. "That's right, ma'am." she replied, taking her seat again. "Please, call me, Evie." I told her, opening John's notebook and picking up a pen. "You and Robert are engaged?" I asked, looking up at her. She nodded. "Yes, we hope to get married in autumn." she replied, fiddling with the edge of her cardigan. "How lovely." I smiled.
"Has Robert told you much about the job?" I asked. "A little bit, he said that you need a barmaid for the Garrison." she replied. I nodded. "That's right. Have you ever worked in a pub before?" I asked. She shook her head. "No, but I worked in the cafe down Great Barr. A lot of people know me round here." she told me, still fiddling with her cardigan. I nodded slowly. "And do you know who you will be working for?" I asked. "The Peaky Blinders." she replied. "That's right and do you know what that means?" I asked, watching her closely. "Don't ask questions." she offered, unsure. I laughed. "Did Robert teach you that?" I smiled. She nodded. "We aren't all as scary as he made out." I told her.
"I assume you know Thomas?" I asked. She nodded. "Well, he's obviously in charge of everything and Arthur owns the pub." I explained, watching her to make sure she was following. "Despite that you would answer to me, not them. I would be your boss, set your hours, pay your wages, the first person you would speak to if you had any issues. Do you understand?" I explained. She nodded again. "You've already got our protection because of Robert but now you'll get protection in your own right. Anyone gives you hassle or anything you come to me. Including if it is any Peaky Blinder no matter their rank or my personal relationship with them." she nodded again.
"Well, as long as you're happy, the job is yours." I smiled, leaning back in my chair. "Really?" she asked, her eyes going wide. I nodded, smiling at her. "Thank you!" she exclaimed, quickly standing up and sending her chair crashing to the floor. Suddenly, John was at the door and I could see Robert craning his head to see what was happening. "Are you alright?" John asked, looking between me and Eliza. "We are fine. This is Eliza, the new barmaid at the Garrison." I introduced, standing from my seat. "This is John, my husband." she awkwardly stuck her hand out and he shook it. "Welcome to the Peaky Blinders." he grinned.
John POV
I woke up to Evie shouting beside me. "No! Stop! Get off!" she shouted, over and over. I sat up to see that she was still asleep as she thrashed, trying to fight off someone that wasn't there. "Evie. Evie, wake up. I've got you." I reassured her, gently shaking her as I wrapped her in my arms.
Evie POV
I screamed as I felt the arms close around me, trying to fight them off. "Evie! Evie, it's me! I've got you! You're safe!" a voice cut through. I knew that voice. I looked up through wet eyes to see Johns concerned ones looking down at me. We were sat up in our old bed, I could hear Tommy shuffling around across the hall and Finn snoring down the hall. "I've got you." he whispered, watching me in the dim light. His soft voice reducing me to tears as I buried my head in his chest.
He moved me so I was straddling his lap, my face buried in his shoulder as his arms encompassed my small body. I wrapped my arms and legs around him as if I was holding on to a life raft while I cried silently into his shoulder. The last couple of weeks since the attack had been tough on both of us, I hardly slept and when I did, I woke John up with my nightmares. The sleepless nights were beginning to wear on both of us and we hadn't been intimate since we had made up after London.
There was a small knock on the door. "Everything alright?" Tommy's voice came through the door. "Fine, Tom. Sorry for waking ya." John replied, stroking my hair as my sobs subsided and my grip around him loosened. We listened as he went back across the hall and closed his door. "I'm sorry for waking you." I whispered, moving my head so my temple was on his shoulder and I was looking up at his jaw. "It's alright, Evie." he responded, kissing my forehead. I pulled away from him so I was looking at his face. "It's not alright, John. We are meant to be a team and I haven't been a very good teammate recently." I told him, thinking back to everything that had happened in London and since. "I haven't exactly been great either." he admitted.
I watched him for a moment, before pressing my lips to his. I could taste the remnants of my salty tears mixing with Johns usual whiskey and cigar taste as I deepened the kiss, bringing my hands up to the back of his neck. He kissed me back for a moment before pulling away, his hands on my hips. "Evie, not like this." he whispered, looking at me with heavy eyes. "Please, John. I need you." I whispered, looking at him through my lashes. He thought about it for a moment, his eyes searching mine, before bringing his lips back to mine. It was a slow but passionate kiss, neither of us were in any hurry.
John moved his hands to my back, his hands wide as he pulled my body against him. I moaned into him as my hips ground into his. His hand went to my hair, gently pulling it so our lips broke apart and I was looking up, giving him access to my neck. He placed light kisses down my neck and along my collarbone, my hands going to his short hair as I pushed my chest up towards him. His hand had made its way up my hip and under my night dress. The feeling of his hand on my bare back reignited a fire that I hadn't felt for weeks. I felt John shift under me. I knew he was going to move me so I was on my back and memories flashed across my eyes, causing my whole body to tense.
"What's wrong?" John asked, suddenly looking at me. "Can we stay like this?" I asked, watching him with wide eyes. He nodded, watching me for a moment before I brought my lips back to his. My body relaxed into his again as his relaxed beneath me. The sweet kiss soon turned passionate again, his hands on my hair and back holding me to him giving me a sense of safety. I pulled away from the kiss and I moved my legs so my knees were either side of him, watching him as I slowly pulled off my nightdress. I couldn't help but notice as his eyes flickered to the barely there yellow bruises that covered my arms and body. He must have seen the insecurity in my eyes as I sat naked before him as he quickly dipped his head, kissing each one lightly.
I could see the pain in his face as he looked back at me. "No one's ever going to hurt you again, do ya hear me?" he told me, bringing his hand to the side of my face. "I love you, Evelyn Shelby." he added. "I love you." I whispered before he pressed his lips to mine once more. I went up on my knees so my bum was off him to allow him to pull down his boxers. He brought his hand up my thigh, his fingers tracing my skin until he reached between my legs.
Despite the nerves, I was wet and inviting to his fingers as he massaged small circles. I bit into his shoulder to mute my moans, his arm around my waist holding me firmly against him. My orgasm slowly built inside me as he continued to massage me, placing slow kisses along my breasts and collarbone. I moaned his name into his ear before kissing along his jaw and finding his lips.
"I need you. Now." I whispered against them. His hand came to a stop, brushing his fingers back down the inside of my thigh before resting it on my hip. I watched him with heavy eyes as I slowly lowered myself onto him. I let out a moan as I felt him inside me. His eyes were on mine as I enveloped him, taking him all in. He captured my lips to his as I started to grind my hips against his. It was slow and passionate and I felt so close to him.
Our orgasms quickly built, his hands gripping my thigh and back as he fought his release. "Fuck, Eve." he groaned, breaking our lips apart. My breathing hitched as he bit along my collarbone and I couldn't hold in the release any longer. I buried my face in his neck as I orgasmed hard around him, my fingers gripping his bare back as he released into me. We stayed tensed together for a few moments before I relaxed around him. "Fuck." he groaned, relaxing beneath me. He kissed along my shoulder and neck before kissing my lips. "I love you." I whispered as we broke apart, looking into his eyes.
It was like a cloud had been lifted as we lay there together, my head on his chest. I thought back to the last few weeks and my eyes sprang open as I realised what had been happening. "I think I'm pregnant." I said. John chuckled underneath me. "I don't think you would know already. I know I am good but I'm not that good." he laughed, kissing my head. I pushed myself up on my elbows to look at him. "I'm being serious. I keep getting sick. The tea Polly gave me the other day that I got sick drinking was the exact same tea that made me ill with Lily. Plus I can't remember the last time I had a monthly." I explained, ticking off the symptoms on my fingers.
I could see he was piecing it together in his head. "Get me some paper and a pencil." I urged, pulling the blankets off him and pushing him. "Alright, alright." he laughed, going over to the desk and finding the items I had requested. He handed them to me as I sat up, getting back into bed beside me. "So it's the fifth of January today…" I thought out loud as I wrote. I wrote down a few more dates. "It must've been before London." I concluded, looking up at John. "I would say I'm about 9 or 10 weeks." I added, watching his reaction.
John grinned, grabbing me and pulling me into him. I squealed as he overestimated the space on the bed and we both crashed onto the floor. Suddenly, the house came to life as we heard doors opening and people swearing while we laughed loudly on the floor. Luckily, as we fell off the bed the sheets tangled around us as the door opened to a very unamused Tommy and Polly. "What the bloody hell are you two doing?" Polly asked, pulling her robe around her as Finn joined them at the door, rubbing his eyes.
John and I looked at each other and we were about to explain when cries filled the air. "How the fuck does she sleep through Arthur hollering but she wakes up to that?" John laughed, shaking his head. "Maybe she's missing her own room." Polly told us, raising an eyebrow, before heading towards Adas old room where Lily was. "Back to bed, Finn." Tommy and I said in unison, causing the teen to roll his eyes before going back to his room.
A/N Evie is pregnant again! What do you guys think?