A massive thank you to those of you who wrote such lovely reviews. I'm so happy you're enjoying the story and enjoying Rose. I love reading your thoughts about where the story might go next.

This chapter didn't develop the way I thought it would. Have a read and I'll meet you at the bottom to explain what I mean.

Rose sat in the car and watched the short conversation between Tommy and Alfie. She couldn't hear the words but watched as Tommy stepped towards Alfie, say something then turn abruptly and march towards the car. She frowned when she saw Alfie's expression as he watched Tommy walk away. It was one of shock which quickly morphed into anger. Tommy's face was one of stony impassiveness as he climbed into the car and turned it on. She looked at him.

"What did you say to him, Tommy?"

Tommy said nothing as he put the car in reverse and maneuvered it round to face the gate. Rose tried to keep her eyes on Alfie as the car swung round. She turned and looked out of her window as Alfie got smaller and smaller. She waved to him and he held up a hand, and then the car passed through the gate of the yard and he was gone. Rose sat back and looked out of the front window wondering what was going on. She glanced at her brother.

"Are you angry?"

"Not with you."

"With Alfie?"

He didn't answer. But she knew he was.

"He just wanted something to eat. We didn't go anywhere unsafe. And it was my decision to go to the yard so that we could talk. It was fine, Tommy, nothing happened."

Tommy stayed silent. He wasn't in the mood to discuss it with Rose. He was conscious that she was still recovering and fragile, and he knew that she'd be upset if she found out his decision to never allow her to see Alfie again. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. He changed the subject.

"You had Mr. Peterson fire my head-waiter."

Rose blushed but didn't shy away from explaining herself. "He was rude. He didn't know who I was and he looked at me and Alfie like we were dirt on his shoe. He wouldn't let us in. And then, when he was told, he wasn't sorry, just annoyed he'd been called out. He didn't know his place and he shouldn't be working in a Shelby establishment. You'd have done the same thing."

Tommy looked over at her, impressed with the strength of her feeling. He inclined his head in agreement. "You're right, but you should have waited for me."

"No, it needed to happen then and there. He needed to know I wasn't going to take it, that I'm a Shelby just like you are."

He laughed wryly. "Well, congratulations, you've just made your first enemy."

"He said something like that."

"He threatened you?"

"He just said something like - how many enemies could the Shelbys have before it was too many."

"Did he, now?"

"Alfie stepped in front of him then though, so he left."

Tommy said nothing. They pulled into Watery Lane and he parked in front of number six. Rose followed him into the house and was glad to see Fred. Finn had brought him home from the distillery and the dog had been disgruntled at not being allowed to go with Rose and her interesting-smelling friend. Tommy didn't take his coat off; he was going back to the office.

"Rose, I want you to rest."

"What?"

"You heard. You were out for a long time."

"You want me to nap like a baby?"

"You don't have to nap, you just have to rest. Finn is here, he'll keep an eye on you."

She scoffed. "Finn? Doesn't he have a flat to decorate?"

"Take your coat off, have a cup of tea, sit down. Finn will be here if you need him."

"What the hell would I need Finn for? To show me how to burn toast?"

Tommy ignored her. "Go to bed early, I want you in work tomorrow. Michael needs you at the hospital."

Rose blinked at him. "I was hoping to see Alfie tomorrow before he leaves."

"Alfie won't be here tomorrow."

"What? Why? I thought you'd booked him rooms at The Midland."

"Plans have changed."

"Why?"

"He's a busy man, Rose, as am I. I need to get back to work."

"Did you tell him to leave?"

"Be ready on time tomorrow. Finn will drive you to the hospital."

She was angry now. "You did, didn't you? You told him to leave because of what happened. But nothing happened, Tommy, nothing! We went for lunch and then we went for a cup of tea and a chat. I was safe the entire time. Alfie wouldn't let anything happen to me, you know that." She narrowed her eyes. "He was the one who saved my life when the people you were in business with abducted me – remember?"

Tommy clenched his jaw. Of course he remembered, of course he knew how much Alfie had done for her and how much he meant to her. He didn't want to vie for his sister's attention. And he didn't fully trust Alfie. With the right motivation, Alfie wouldn't hesitate to use Rose against him and he would never let that happen.

"I do not have to explain myself to you. You are my sister, my ward, my responsibility - mine - and he had no right to take you anywhere without my permission."

Rose looked at him open-mouthed.

"You don't own me, Tommy, you don't …"

"Yes, I do. You are mine until you get married. That's how it is with families like ours, that's our tradition, that's how I protect you."

She stared at him in utter shock. She had felt controlled by Tommy and her other brothers all her life, but until now, no-one had laid it out so starkly. Tommy took advantage of her silence to end the conversation. He turned to the door, put a hand on the handle and looked back at her.

"Do I need to lock the door?"

She furrowed her brow, not understanding. He tried again.

"Are you planning on running off tonight?"

She looked at the door and back at him and he read her mind.

"Alfie has already left. My men had orders to escort him out of the city. And, in case you were wondering, not a single dealer will sell you drugs within ten miles of here. Not unless they want to end up like Ray Garnett and be walking with a stick for the rest of their lives."

Rose glared at him and turned away. She didn't trust herself not to cry and she was definitely not going to let Tommy see her upset. She heard Tommy sigh, then open the door and leave. He closed it behind him without locking it. She turned and looked at it and wanted nothing more than to run away. But she didn't know where to go. Tommy would find her wherever she went. She thought of the camp in the grounds of Arrow House and wished she was there – sitting by the crackling fire, warmed inside by the brandy, laughing with the twins. She thought of Mal and pictured his green eyes and his kind smile. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she put her head in her hands. A voice behind her startled her.

"Didn't realise how much I'd missed your shouting matches with Tommy"

She quickly swiped her tears away with her hands, turned round to see Finn grinning at her and swore at him. He was unperturbed.

"Drink?" He headed to the bottles on the sideboard. She nodded. She really did want a drink. Taking her coat off, she sat down on the sofa as he poured himself a whiskey and her a brandy. She was suddenly aware of how tired she was. In fact, she was exhausted. Finn handed her the glass and sat down in the armchair. He took a sip and tilted his head at her.

"Why are things always so complicated with you, Squirt?"

Rose took a sip of brandy and closed her eyes as the liquor went down. It had been a while since she'd had any alcohol and she was already glad for the effects. She opened her eyes and looked at her youngest brother. She rarely saw him, even these days when they were all in Small Heath. He was busy fulfilling his role in the family business, becoming an adult, finding his way. She shrugged.

"I don't know, do I? I wish they weren't."

"And since when are you pals with Alfie Solomons?"

"Since I ran away to London that time."

Finn shook his head. "I remember that. Everyone here lost their minds. I told them you'd be fine, you were always fine. But no one listened to me, as usual."

"I don't think I'm always fine. I think I'm a mess."

He took another sip of whiskey. "Everyone's a mess."

She frowned. "How are you a mess? You're doing well, you even have your own flat now."

He sighed and looked away. "Don't want my own flat."

"Yeah, Artillery Square isn't exactly a step up from here, is it?"

"You and I are in the wrong bodies, Squirt."

She laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"You'd have made a great lad – you're brave and you're not scared of a fight and you're smart. It would have been better if I was just expected to toe the line and mind the books."

"That's not true, Finn. You're brave."

He shook his head. He spoke quietly. "I'm not. When we were at the ambush, Tommy told me to watch the bridge. I had a rifle but I couldn't have used it. There were these men and I thought they were Italians but I didn't do anything. I couldn't have shot them. I was a coward."

"Oh, Finn"

"And now Tommy wants me to take John's place. But I'm not John, am I? I didn't go to war and kill a few hundred men."

Rose's heart went out to her gentle and loyal brother. "We weren't just born into a family, were we, Finn? We were born into a business."

He nodded. "Remember when you asked me to kill people for you when you're in charge of the company?"

She had a vague recollection of the first night she'd got drunk. "Vaguely."

"Well, I don't think I can be Arthur to your Tommy."

"Don't matter. I can do the killing myself if needs be." She took a swig of brandy.

Finn was shocked. "You would?"

"I already did, didn't I?"

"What was that like? Killing someone?"

Rose thought of how she hadn't thought twice about slicing his neck with the knife, the power she'd felt as she saw the fear in his face, the calmness afterwards.

"It was what it was. It was him or me. Had to be done."

"And you'd do it again?"

She took another drink. "I won't let anyone hurt me ever again, Finn. Or anyone I love. I get why Tommy does what he does."

"You should be careful, Rose, if you end up like Tommy, you'll lose the best parts of yourself."

She finished her glass. "Why are you talking in riddles all of a sudden?"

He shook his head, embarrassed. Tipping his head back, he finished his drink and looked at Rose. "Another?"

"Of course!"

Finn and Rose enjoyed another drink together, mostly sitting in a comfortable silence, Fred on the sofa with his head on Rose's lap. She wondered what their futures held, where they'd both end up. She couldn't imagine Finn running the streets like Arthur did, and she couldn't imagine herself with a husband and children. To be fair to Tommy, he didn't have anything against women holding a position of power in the company - both Polly and Ada were on the board. But she wasn't them and she felt Tommy would find it difficult to allow her to be anything except the baby sister he had to protect.

"Have you ever been to the seaside, Finn?"

"Once, the boys took me to a fair and it was near a beach."

"Was it nice?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Finn, will you help me get to London?"

"What? Why would you want to go to London? London's not by the sea."

She didn't answer but he suddenly understood. He scoffed. "Alfie Solomons? Are you mad?"

"You don't know him like I do, Finn. He's kind and good to me, he treats me like an equal. Here, all I get are orders and rules and no freedom."

"You're fourteen, that's how it's supposed to be."

"You don't understand, it's different being a girl. Tommy expects me to just let him control me. He wants me to be a perfect, obedient little child and have no thoughts of my own. It's not fair."

"You don't think Tommy has expectations of me too? 'Be a man! Shoot the gun! Cut him!' Your life is easy compared to mine."

He had a point. She pursed her lips at her next thought but voiced it anyway. "Come with me."

His mouth dropped open. "Are you serious? Me and you defecting to Solomons? What is wrong with you? We're Shelbys."

"We wouldn't be defecting, we'd be taking control of our own lives. Alfie wouldn't make us join his business."

"You are out of your mind, Rose. Alfie Solomons is not the saint you seem to think he is. He's no different to our Tommy. Probably worse."

"Not to me, he isn't…"

"Stop, Rose! It would be a betrayal of the family."

"It's not like that. It's different."

Finn stood up, angry now. "If you don't stop talking right now, I'll tell Tommy what you said."

"Finn, you're being an idiot…"

"Shut up, Rose, just shut up!"

Rose looked at him shocked. He was furious. She closed her mouth, indicating that she wouldn't say anything more. Finn downed his drink and turned away.

"Go to bed, Rose."

Rose decided it was best to do as he said. She shouldn't have said anything; the brandy had made her drop her guard. If he told Tommy, she'd be in serious trouble.

"You won't tell Tommy, will you, Finn?"

"Just go to bed."

He wouldn't look at her so Rose turned and headed up the stairs, Fred on her heels. She was restless that night. She fretted about what Finn would tell Tommy; she was sad that Alfie had been made to leave Birmingham; she was upset at what Finn had told her about how he was feeling pushed into a life he didn't want; she was angry with Tommy but at the same time wished he was with her like he had been the past few nights so that she could feel safe. She tossed and turned, disturbing Fred, trying to come to terms with such conflicting emotions. She imagined a life with Alfie, a life where she was understood and allowed to be herself. She thought about how hurt Tommy would be if she left – yes, he'd be angry and hunt her down and drag her back, but he'd be hurt more than anything. And despite it all, she loved Tommy and she knew for a fact he loved her. Maybe Finn was right, maybe Alfie wasn't much different to Tommy. Would he try to control her too if she went to stay with him? Would she miss Tommy if she left? She sighed as she turned over in bed again. Fred crawled up and put his head on her shoulder. She reached up and stroked him.

An image of her mother popped into her head – or rather, an image of the mother she'd seen in her visions. She wished she were real. She wished she could go and ask her advice. She wished she could take a pill to increase the chance of seeing her again.

The front door opened and closed downstairs. She looked at her clock, it was late, way past midnight. She wondered where he'd been. The sound of muffled talking came up through the floor and her stomach flipped. What was Finn telling him? She pulled her knees up and squeezed them to her chest. She couldn't imagine what Tommy would do if Finn told him what she'd said. Hand her over to the Italians probably. She heard the front door go again and guessed that Finn had left to go back to his flat. There was some moving around downstairs but before long the familiar sound of his footsteps on the stairs reached her ears and she felt sick. She relaxed her body and pretended to be asleep. The footsteps reached her door and it opened quietly. She forced herself to lie perfectly still and breathe evenly.

Tommy looked at Rose, sleeping peacefully, one hand lying palm-up on the pillow next to her face, the other resting across her stomach. She looked just like she had when she was small – red hair flung behind her messily, her long eyelashes just kissing her freckled cheek, curled up under the blankets like a cat curls up in front of a fire. He felt sad as he regarded his sister. He really didn't like being at odds with her so often. She was growing up and desperately wanted to be independent, but he was so terrified of anything happening to her that he just couldn't let her go, especially after what had happened last year. And yes, he was jealous of her relationship with Alfie. It hurt that she seemed to prefer that man to her own brother who had raised her from the minute she was born. It was also true that he didn't, and would never, fully trust Alfie. Rose was too precious to him to take a risk like that.

Rose felt the bed dip as Tommy sat down next to her. Fred sat up and she felt his tail thump against the bed as he greeted him. She heard Tommy speak quietly.

"You been watching her, boy, eh? Doing my job for me? Hmm? Good boy."

She heard him sigh and then felt his hand touch her head and stroke her hair back from her face. It was warm and gentle and so familiar. The smell of whiskey and cigarettes and shaving soap filled her nostrils and the emotions it stirred up in her were so powerful that she almost flinched. This man, her brother, had been so central in her life, so instrumental, so close to her that she knew that nothing and no one could ever take his place in her life. He was controlling and harsh and impatient, but he loved her so fiercely and so unconditionally that she would forgive him anything. At that moment, something shifted in her, something fell into place. She knew she would never leave him; she knew that she would stay loyal to him, fight for him, support him. She knew in that instance that this was what her mother would have wanted her to do.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. Tommy was surprised to see she was awake. He smiled at her and her eyes filled with tears at the sight of the smiling face of the brother she loved. She sat up, put her arms around his neck and held him tightly. She buried her head in his shoulder and felt the soft wool of his expensive suit jacket against her face.

Tommy, who had thought that Rose was angry with him, was even more surprised at her embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. He didn't know what had changed her mind, but he wasn't going to question it. He was just glad they were on good terms again. There was so much going on in his head, so much that he worried about, and being at odds with Rose just made everything that much harder. Sitting on her bed, holding her in his arms, feeling her arms tight around his neck, catching the scent of honeysuckle in her hair, he felt almost optimistic – like he could achieve anything. He held her for as long as she held him and when she eventually pulled away and looked up at him, he took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead.

"Will you trust me, Mouse?"

She nodded. "Yes"

He pushed her hair back from her face.

"Tommy?"

"Mmh?

"I'm scared you're going to leave me again. It's hard to trust you."

He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I know."

She nodded. "I'll try though."

He let go of her face and took her hands. "So will I."

She squeezed his hands back. Fred decided to join the moment and laid his head on top of their hands. Rose laughed and Tommy smiled. He let go and scratched the dog's ears, then looked at her.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

She hesitated. She did, but knew she had to work on managing on her own.

"I'll be ok."

"Sure?"

"Yeah"

"You know where I am if you need me."

She nodded and lay back down in her bed. Tommy helped straighten the blankets and tucked them in tightly around her.

"Good night, Mouse."

"Good night, Tommy."

He took one last look at her. Tomorrow was the day he would face Luca Changretta, although only Polly knew his plan. He was confident he would be the one to come back home - he had to be - but he still took a moment to imprint this moment with Rose in his mind. She frowned at him slightly, aware something was on his mind.

"Is everything ok, Tommy?"

He smiled at her concern. "Everything is grand, little Mouse." He leant forward, kissed her forehead and stood up. "Bright and early tomorrow, mind?"

She rolled her eyes. "I know!"

"Good. I'll see you at the hospital when I check in with Michael."

"Ok"

"Sweet dreams."

He walked through the door and closed it quietly behind him. Rose watched him go and then pulled Fred close. She felt calm and at peace. Things were where they belonged. She fell asleep within minutes.

So, when I started this chapter, I had every intention of having Rose be angry with Tommy for a good while. But as I wrote, it became clear that Rose belongs with Tommy, despite how close she and Alfie are. The whole theme that underpins the story is that they are 'cut from the same cloth', so this love-hate relationship between them comes from them being so similar that they often clash, but also from the realisation that they can't be without each other. Plus, I do love it when Rose and Tommy are having a moment. What do you think? I'd love to hear your opinions. Wenlock x