It Was Only Supposed to Be Business

The Room

When Tommy left the room, my heart lunged out of my chest. It felt like my feet were stuck in thick mud. I was pushing and pulling, but I couldn't free myself no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to leave the room to be with Thomas, but when I heard a pair of men's heavy boots cease in front of the door, I took a step back, wishing the person would leave.

"This room is occupied!" I hollered. A storm of helplessness surged to my chest as the mysterious man's drastic attempts to enter the small gambling room became forceful. He didn't stop shaking the oak door until he managed to snap its lock and join me inside.

"If you scream, Adeline Yardley, I'll have you beat and abused by nastiest Italians known to mankind!" I felt my eyelids shoot open as wide as they could as I consumed the features of the tall, menacing man standing before me. Spit flew out of his wicked mouth as he called my name, but I couldn't identify him. He wore a tuxedo reserved for royalty with a hat high enough to be prominent. How did a man like him know who I was?

"Do you know who I am?" The stranger demanded an answer as he slammed the door shut behind him, causing a thunderous sound to roar in my ears. My worried eyes searched the man's expression, trying to identify him. I hoped he was no one Thomas Shelby shared a vendetta with, but the ruthless hue seething in the man's narrow eyes cautioned me for the worst. Shaking my head, I pleaded with the ungodly man for a response.

"My name doesn't concern you, you little whore! Mr. Darby Sabini gave me strict orders to keep an eye on you!" The man greasily snarled as he slowly inched towards me, eyeing me up like a piece of candy. His heels dug into the floor, generating a clinking sound that reminded me of the ticking of a bomb, ready to explode. The name Sabini was burnt inside my head. Jack made it clear that if I didn't marry Charles, the Sabini gang would slit my throat. 

"I see what Mr. Shelby sees in a little whore like you, though," the man added as his voice shifted from being full vexation and disgust to being fueled by temptation and lust. I didn't care what he said to me, but the moment he ran his perverted fingers along my cool cheek and stroked my hair, my dignity was stripped from my back.

"If I see you with that fucking gyspy swine again, your life will be in the hands of Darby Sabini, and his hands are covered in blood!" The mysterious monster's voice was raw with fury as his yellow-ringed eyes bore into my soul. The only thing I could do was step back from him. I felt like a mouse in a small hole, hiding from a nasty cat who clawed at me. The Sabini gang had immense power over me. I ceased up with the sheer mention of their name.

Suddenly, the man swung open the door and left as if nothing occurred between us. Leaving me in a stormy sea of unknowns, I slumped into a chair and tried to piece my life together. The situation between myself and Charles escalated more each day. With my life on the line, I took a few deep breaths before venturing back into the parlour. Certainly, Charles would have been worried about me by now.

Back at the bar, Charles was a couple of brandies deep, trying to cope with his loss of his bets. Out of fear for my life, I did my best to fit in and appear to be enjoying myself. After all, the mystery man sent by Sabini couldn't prove what occurred between Thomas and me in the secluded room. He had no evidence that I kissed another man or that I was unfaithful to my awful fiancé. Even though I felt my body sink into a never-ending pit of doom, I allowed Charles to intertwine his arm in mine and show me off like a prized horse at auction. What would I have to do to escape Charles's wrath and control?

"Charles, do you mind if I share a dance with your beautiful fiancée?" One of Charles' acquaintances questioned as he offered me his arm. Much like Charles, he was old and had the personality of wet mop. The only thing that differed between them was their dancing abilities.