sweet french. peaky blinders

68

Lucille

The moans and cries of the hospital did nothing to ease Lucille's erratic heartbeat nor her overwhelming thoughts. After the events of the evening, there was little more that could go wrong. She'd thought the worst of it was over, with Sabini's men chased off thanks to her iron foot and Dawson left with a beating that wasn't too bad. But here she was in the hospital, rushing to the man she had saved once and not again.

"Excuse me!" The nurse shouted behind her as she scurried past, coat barely covering her shoulders. "You need to sign in as a visitor first. Excuse me!"

Lucille forced herself forward, skipping through the doors into his room. Tommy's head snapped upwards, causing a wince to fall from his lips. She was met with open arms, and fell forward, wrapping her own around his neck, loosening her grip as he let out a quick breath.

"I'm alright," he hummed, brushing her hair back. "I'll be alright. You won't have the hassle of fixing me up this time."

"I want to be the one fixing you up," she said desperately. "Each time I've done it, you've been alright."

"I'm alright," he repeated, his fingers rough against her damp cheek. "You made sure Dawson was safe. You've done your part."

"You heard about that?"

He nodded, a small smile spreading on his face. "I think cars are your specialised weapon."

Lucille let an insecure laugh fall past her lips as she pulled away to finally look at him properly. His eyes were haggard, bloodshot, a vessel burst on his right side, with bruises swelling from the centre of his face out toward his jawline. A gash stained his left cheek, a matching one splitting down his purple lips toward the point of his chin.

"Don't worry about me," he said. "I'm just pleased you're alright. As beautiful as the day I first met you."

The door opened, interrupting them. "Ready for a visitor, Mr Shelby?"

"No," Tommy snapped.

"I'm here on the King's orders." Lucille stiffened at the sound of Inspector Campbell's voice. Her hand outstretched, reaching nervously for Tommy's. "I'm afraid I must insist."

The man walked forward with a slow pace, a cane grasped tightly in his hand. It wobbled against the pressure and his weight. Campbell's face turned to the single string of sun that fell through the window, illuminating the dusty air.

"Ah, you paid extra for daylight. The racketeering business must be booming," he said, stopping at the end of the bed. "I'm afraid I must also insist on this being a private conversation."

"No," Lucille said harshly.

The man didn't look at her. He stared at Tommy, who looked back with the same sense of tenacity.

"It's alright, he won't be here long," Tommy finally said, squeezing her hand in his.

Lucille's lips thinned in worry, but she trusted him, she reminded herself and stood up.

"I'll be outside."

Tommy

As he was left alone, Tommy choked out a cough. The Inspector had pressed against his windpipe, and even still he felt the pressure, knocking the breath from his lungs and itching at his throat. He forced himself to quieten as light footsteps covered the silence outside of his dull room.

"What was that about a murder?" Lucille said as she stepped back into the room, Campbell already having left.

He sighed. "You heard all of that?"

"Most of it," she said, coming to sit beside him again. "You promised to tell me things, Tommy."

"I know, and I will. I didn't want to burden you. If you knew, if any of the family knew it would put them in danger. Do you understand?" He said, and Lucille nodded grimly. "You can't tell Polly."

Lucille stayed quiet beside the bed, her hands wrung together, fingertips tinged with pink. Tommy sighed again, eyes fluttering closed, swirls of dim yellow painting the back of his lids. Campbell knew about the man he'd been ordered to kill. There was only one thing he could do now that it was out. Tommy would go to Solomons and play his cards- hopefully, it would be enough, but as the days went by, he wasn't so sure anymore. Everything felt as if it was slipping from his firm grasp, being held on a string just out of his range of reach. The universe was playing some cruel trick on him.

"Can you help me?" he breathed, letting his hand fall to rest upon hers.

"With what?

"I need to get out of here. I'm like a sitting duck. You can patch me up."

Her lips thinned as they always did when she was worried. "I can't fix broken ribs."

He offered a small, tender smile. It was all he had to give. "I'm not asking you to. I need to go to London, to start the next step early before it's too late. But in my locked top drawer in my office, there are some documents that may explain a few things. It's not everything, but it's a start. Could you sort it for me? You'll know what to do when you see it," Tommy said, and then he repeated, "it's not everything, but it's a start."

Lucille's face softened into a smile. Her fingers reached up to grave across his damp forehead, brushing his hair back. Tommy flinched as she soothed across a bruise.

God, he was hurting everywhere. His stomach burned and his face pained at every tiny movement. But one touch from Lucille made it all go away as if her tenderness was laced with magic.

"Yes, of course," she whispered, placing a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose. "I'll do anything you need me to."

Not a fan of this chapter but here we are xx