Crown of a Prince (Finn Shelby)

41.

By the time Ailbhe and the women were back in their seats it was the end of the third round. Bonnie was well marked up, blood dried onto his face and all down one cheek. He was panting and sweating, his adrenaline and sheer will power keeping him going but he was getting more tired, they could see that. But Bonnie Gold wasn’t done yet, far from it and it was the fourth round. It was his moment to take Goliath.
 
Ailbhe could see how Arthur watched the men in Goliath’s corner, how he didn’t trust them and how it made Ailbhe sure that it wasn’t just the snow and the booze riling Arthur up. There was something shifty about them but Ailbhe had been drinking and the ladies were convincing her to have fun so she tried to ignore it. The others roared in support of Bonnie, cheering and shouting for him to flatten Goliath.
 
Ailbhe didn’t realise how Tommy, Arthur and Finn kept an eye on them. They watched how Linda seemed more excited and happier to be there than ever, how Ada and Ailbhe were shouting for Bonnie to finish it and how Lizzie even tipped back a few swigs of the bottle in Polly’s hands.
 
“What the fuck are they laughing at?” Tommy snapped, keeping an eye on them.
 
Finn wasn’t sure, Ailbhe seemed to have suddenly slipped over into the tipsy stage and Linda was so far beyond it she couldn’t have seen it in a rear-view mirror.
 
“It’s that new batch, too strong” Arthur answered, knowing the bottle of gin they had was Tommy’s own distilled gin.
 
Finn watched Ailbhe, her laugh muffled by the crowd and yet he could almost hear it in his ears. He caught her eye, giving her a subtle wink before focusing back on the fight. He found it hard to focus when she was there looking as good as she did. Ever since she had left his bed that morning he had been thinking about her. The smell of her lingered in the room and he liked how she had left scratch marks on his back frm her nails. It had been the best night of his life, he was sure of it.

Bonnie was holding up well and he just had to finish it now. Finn had been back stage before Bonnie came on, explaining to him about how Bonnie would get twenty percent of profits if he could wait off until the fourth round before putting Goliath flat on his back.
 
In spite of the fact Finn had wanted to hate Bonnie Gold for putting his hands on Ailbhe, he quite liked him and had even become friends with him in recent times. Bonnie had taken Finn aside that morning in the boxing club. He had held his hand out to him, saying he had no hard feelings and respected Ailbhe’s decision entirely. He told Finn he just wanted to be friends now that he was a peaky blinder. And he wanted them to be his friends, his new family.
 
Ailbhe’s eyes moved from Finn to Arthur, as he stood up and went to follow the Solomon’s man who were leaving. She watched as Tommy tried to call him back but failed. She watched as Arthur beckoned for Niall, his longest and most loyal friend to follow him. Ailbhe knew Niall would follow Arthur into hell and would probably say he already had in France. She tried to catch their eyes, to tell them not to follow anyone but she was immediately distracted, Bonnie taking a massive hit and falling to the ground. She watched; her breath caught in her throat as she thought he was finished. But he looked up, winking at Aberama Gold and Ailbhe knew he was alright, he still had it under control.
 
She noticed Charlie pulling a wad of cash out of his pocket, ready to bet big on Bonnie right as he was about to win and how Tommy watched another of Solomon’s men leave. Tommy knew something wasn’t right, getting to his feet and following him.
 
Polly, Lizzie and Linda were too focused on cheering for Bonnie but Ailbhe pulled on Polly’s arm.
 
“Pol, Tommy, Niall and Arthur have gone after those Solomon’s men” She whispered, directing Polly to look in their direction.
 
Polly grabbed her purse, standing and going to follow them, Ailbhe closely with her. She kept her purse in her hand too, knowing that Polly and her might need guns.
 
“Stay with Finn and Liam, don’t move from their side until I say so” She whispered, gesturing to where Finn stood.
 
Ailbhe didn’t question it, going straight to his side. She was surrounded by Peaky boys, knowing they were more protected in the crowd. She knew that if there were men out there wanting Shelby blood, they would kill Finn to get to Tommy. Ailbhe also knew that the Changretta’s had bullets with her and her brother’s names written on them. They wouldn’t leave a single Shelby or Kennedy alive if they had the chance.
 
Finn was grinning, shouting for Bonnie to finish it and his hands moving wildly. When Ailbhe appeared by his side, she slipped her hand into his and he grinned at her, barely even realising how she didn't even try to fake a smile back. He was too excited, too worked up. Bonnie put Goliath down with that little extra effort and had won. Aberama jumped into the ring, parading his son around and screaming that he was the champion.
 
Finn turned to Ailbhe, grabbing her and kissing her until she nearly fully smiled too.
 
“We fucking did it” He grinned, his arm around her shoulders as he yelled out to Bonnie.
 
The atmosphere was electric, the crowd screaming and the Peaky Blinders had done it again.
 
Ailbhe felt someone pushing towards them and looked around. It was Tommy, he grabbed Finn and Liam by the neck, pulling them in to whisper something to them. Ailbhe hoped and prayed it was a false alarm, that everything was okay but from the pale and sweaty mess Tom was in and how Finn’s hand went slack in hers she knew everything was not okay.
 
“What is it?” she asked, holding onto Finn’s hand and searching his blank expression for answers.
 
She felt him go cold and silent. She looked to Tommy, how he grabbed her shoulder and tried to tell her to stay calm. Liam looked as though his world had been swept out from under him as he pulled his cap off, making sure his blades were well secure. He gritted his teeth and looked as though he could scream.
 
“Arthur and Niall are dead, it’s the wops. They’re here”
 
The words rang in her ears like a bell. Her brothers were dead. Two more of their family were dead and gone from this vendetta. She felt her own hand go limp in Finn’s, her mouth fell open and her eyes wait for tears but they stayed dry. She felt numb, completely numb and unaware of what was going on. It seemed like the world had stopped for a second.
 
She looked away from Tommy’s blue eyes as she felt the world speed up again to normal pace until the noise of the victory came bursting into her mind again.
 
Ailbhe heard bits of what Tommy said, how he ordered Finn and Liam to follow Isiah and find the second man, the man who was responsible for killing Arthur and Niall, the man who had taken their brothers’ lives. Ailbhe felt close to vomiting and fainting, her legs like jelly. The only thing she could feel was Tommy's grip on her arm, making sure she stayed standing and stayed beside him. He wasn't sure how she would react but the last thing he needed was her trying to go to Arthur and Niall, where it wasn't safe.
 
Tommy pulled her with him a few feet, grabbing Lizzie and telling her what had just happened. Lizzie could barely believe it. They were just there a few moments ago. Polly was by Linda’s side, comforting her and explaining to her what had happened. Lizzie dropped to the seat beside Ailbhe, directing her to sit down and to breathe calmly. She could feel Lizzie’s arm around her, how she told her to calm down and to breathe but Ailbhe could do neither.
 
Her head snapped up at the noise of a gunshot but it was Tommy, in the middle of the ring his gun pointed at the ceiling.
 
“Shut the doors” He roared, his expression wild and angered “No one fucking leaves”
 
He fired another three shots into the ceiling, pointing the gun down to the crowds.
 
“My brothers are dead” he shouted into the silence “You hear me? My brothers are dead!”
 
She watched as he dropped down to his haunches, unable to stand anymore until Charlie climbed into the ring, grabbing the gun from his hands and stopping him from moving.
 
Ailbhe felt sick as she realised Tommy’s suit was stained. And it was blood. She wondered if that was Niall’s blood or Arthur’s. She just knew it was more blood spilt, more blood of her family and more lives lost. That was what she would remember most, the blood on Tommy’s shirt and how Finn’s hands were stained with it too when he came back to her at the ringside, how it was spattered across Liam's shirt and face. They were all stained from it, ruined from it. And she knew it would never wash off.