FURY

Sophie hadn't slept for more than an hour or two in the past few days and despite her best efforts to continue on as normal, the cracks were beginning to show. Every night she'd lie awake staring at the ceiling, haunted by the image of her beloved bleeding out at her feet. Often she would pretend to be asleep to placate Alfie but her brain felt constantly wired wide awake. On top of all of that, toilet training their new puppy Cyril was proving difficult and keeping her up through the night to let him outdoors. His tiny bladder wasn't capable of holding through the night yet and so on the rare occasion that she was able to somehow drift off to sleep, his tiny yapping would wake her up very quickly. She'd become so sleep deprived that one morning the sound of a car backfiring outside had prompted an intense meltdown of hyperventilating and paranoia. After Alfie had found her huddled in the foetal position on their kitchen floor crying as she cuddled Cyril, he'd suggested she try and get out the house and see her family.

So here she was, outside of the Eden club, visiting her oldest brother Arthur. She'd hesitated to leave London, too afraid to be that far from Alfie in case it was the day that her dream was to come to fruition. Thomas had said that they'd taken over the club and that he'd put Arthur in charge there so it seemed the ideal compromise to get out the house.

Pushing the gold double doors open, the two blinders stationed there took one glance at her and knew not to bother her. Head held high, she stalked into the large club and focused on where her brother sat hunched over a small table. There was another man sat next to him, also hunched over. The distinct sound of his harsh sniffing could be heard as she neared, causing a scowl to take over her face.

"Hello brother." She cleared her throat, gaining his attention. Both Arthur and the other man quickly sat back, staring up at her. She quickly pulled a chair out and sat down at their table.

"Go get me a drink, Jones." She said without taking her eyes off Arthur. The other man, William Jones, nodded his head at the young Shelby before standing and exiting.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, eh Soph?" Arthur cracked a wry smile. His eyes were glazed over, like he was there but not completely.

"Alf said I should get out the house so I figured you could use some company." She shrugged, taking her coat off and placing it over the back of her chair. The wood of the chair was painted a bright gold with a soft burgundy cushion on the seat, the colours matching the gold walls and pillars with burgundy curtains draped across the place.

"He getting sick of you already?" He joked, smoothing his hair back. Sophie rolled her eyes, and failing to suppress a snort at his comment.

"Not exactly. I think I spooked him the other night though, had one of my dreams." She mumbled, the smile leaving her face momentarily at the mention of the dream.

"What was this one about?" He asked, taking in her serious face. A sudden flashback of a young Sophie crying in her bed and clutching her covers to her cheeks after she'd had her first 'dream'.

"I don't want to get into it, supposed to be here to take my mind off it aren't I? How's everything back home?" She changed the subject, swallowing down the image of Alfie's mottled face.

"Oh y'know, always the same innit?" He said, taking a particularly harsh sniff and rubbing at his nose. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a tiny blue glass bottle. Sophie narrowed her eyes at his actions, his habit must have really gotten out of control if he can't even wait until the end of their conversation for his next fix. Swiftly she leant forward and snatched it out of his hand.

"Arthur you've gotta get off this shit. Messes with your head." She scolded. "Does Tommy know you're on snow?"

"Who do you think it was that put me on it eh?" He sneers, clearly agitated. "Keeps my head quiet."

"This isn't solving anything. There are people you can talk to, proper medications you can go on. Lots of men are having the same problem, you know? You're not alone in this." She softened. Arthur was always the loud one out of her brother, John certainly gave him a run for his money but as the oldest he always felt like he had to be the 'big guns' of the family. She'd seen him at his most volatile, his mind ravaged by the war that continued to rage inside. So seeing him so vulnerable was unnerving and deeply troubling to Sophie.

From over Arthur's shoulder, she could see Jones approaching with her glass in hand. Before he could reach the table and overhear, she leaned forward and whispered, "Arthur you can talk to me about anything, we can sort your head out, alright?"

Arthur gave her an emotional smile, tears brimming in his eyes that he wiped away harshly as Jones arrived at their table. Sophie pocketed the small blue bottle, keeping it on her and far away from her brother.

A loud gunshot rang through the air, Jones crumbling to the floor. Before she could even process what had happened, she felt a thick itchy rope against her throat, snatching her backwards and out of her chair. A sharp cry left her mouth as the wiry fibres of the rope tore at her skin. She could feel a large hand grab a fistful of her hair and yank her back into what she assumed to be someone's chest.

"Get the fuck off!" Arthur shouted, who was in a similar hold to Sophie. Her hands instinctively reached up to try and loosen the rope around her neck. Breaths coming out in gasps, the world felt like it was spinning around her. From what she could make out, An Italian man with a smart grey fedora stood in front of Arthur in a long fancy matching grey coat. There were several other men, one holding the gun he'd just used to shoot Jones in the cheekbone, his mangled face sparking overpowering flashbacks to Alfie's similarly mangled face.

"Well look what we have here, Arthur fucking Shelby and the little Shelby, what was your name again?" He took slow even steps towards her before standing peering down at her smugly. The proud grin quickly disappeared once Sophie filled her mouth and spat at him. A sudden white rage struck through his eyes, striking her across the face harshly. Her head swung to the side from the impact, her skin tugging painfully against the rope on her neck. Her mouth dropped open as she tried to inhale as much as she could.

"Sophie is it? You killed two of my men, I guess now could be a good time to avenge them, no?" His thick italian accent mocked her, smiling at her pain. In the background, Sophie could hear Arthur's grunts as the three men holding him tightened the rope around his neck even further, completely cutting off his air supply. "But I guess I can use you to send a message instead."

The man who had yet to introduce himself, reached down and gripped her face. His nails dug into the sides of her jaw as he pulled her face up to look at him. An ugly sneer stretched across his olive face with eyes as dark as coal.

"Tell your brother to get the fuck out of London." He hissed, speckles of spit hitting her face from his mouth. Her face felt wet, hot liquid trickled down the side of her face from where she assumed her stitches had opened up at the top of her forehead.

Shrill deafening whistles echoed through the grand room, splintering into sharp fragments inside Sophie's head as a strong headache began to bloom. Several police officers rushed into the room, flocking to Arthur and for a split second Sophie felt relief. Thomas had the police in his back pocket and it had finally come in handy. That relief quickly dissipated however as the man in front of her turned on his heel to face them.

"Fucking animal shot him in the face, my men barely restrained him before he killed us all." He spoke calmly.

"Yes, Mr Sabini." The officers nodded. They hastily took hold of Arthur and roughhoused him out of the building before Sophie could even register he'd gone. Her mind felt like it was moving in slow motion, not completely understanding her situation.

In another flurry of motion, she was suddenly dropped, left laying on the ground staring across the room into Jones' lifeless eyes. The room was now silent after they'd all scarpered and the same voice as the last time she was surrounded by Italian men returned, screaming at her to get up and move.

The cold floor against her face felt soothing, relieving the sting in her cheek from who she now knew to be Darby Sabini's slap. She also thought it safe to draw the conclusion that the police were most definitely not on their side. Yet again, she'd been caught up in Thomas' fight. Anger flushed through her veins, how could he be so stupid and reckless? This was too big for them, if this was how the London gangs functioned the Shelby's were not cut out for this. Arthur was in jail, London prison to be specific, which meant he was in serious danger. He'd become another victim of Thomas and his ambition.

Pushing off against the floor, Sophie sat up and wiped at the blood dripping down her face from the opened cut. Surveying the room, she could see smashed glass littering the top of the bar in the far corner. The back benches of the bar were empty where she assumed the men must have ransacked all the liquor whilst her and Arthur were restrained.

"Fuck." She exclaimed, harshly running her hands through her hair. Summoning her strength, she stood shakily. Sophie took slow uneven steps to the bar that had been destroyed and reached for the phone at the end of the back bar. As she lifted her hand to pick up the earpiece, she couldn't help but notice the tremor in her hands. Endeavouring to steady herself, Sophie's eyes shut and she took a deep breath. In through her nose, and out through her mouth. Once she felt more balanced, she quickly picked up the phone and requested the line for the betting shop.

"Hello?" Scudboats' thick Birmingham accent carried over the line.

"I need Tommy, it's Sophie." She replied, swallowing thickly.

"He's not here, Soph. Gone to some posh lass's house." He chuckled.

"Fuck sake." Sophie bit out. "Is John there?"

From the other line she could hear him shout for John and a scuffle while she waited for him to get to the phone. Did Alfie know what had happened? There's no way he didn't have his men trailing her when she left for the club, but why had Sabini's men not been stopped by them?

"Soph? You there?" John's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Arthur's been arrested, John. We were at the Eden club and Sabini's men came in, shot Jones and had the police take Arthur. Took all the whiskey and rum as well." She relayed. John's loud curse rang out over the phone.

"Fucking hell, fucking Tommy man. Are you alright, Soph?" He ranted.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Sabini was here, told me to tell you lot to get out of London. What the fuck was Tommy thinking coming here."

"Us lot, yeah? You not included in that anymore?" John snarked.

"John that's not what I-"

"Yeah alright, Sophie. Look I've gotta get a hold of Tommy, I'll speak to you later." He cut her off. The buzz of the line as he ended the phone call rang in her ears. Hot fury flared through her brain. Impulsively Sophie yanked the phone off the wall and threw it on the ground in a rage.

"Fuck!" She shouted into the air, the sound echoing across the empty club.