As the youngest Shelby child and twin to Finn Shelby, Kezia has spent the last 4 of her 10 years locked away for her mental defectiveness.
She returns to Small Heath under the legal guardianship of her brother, Thomas Shelby. Despite knowing she's s...
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CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Admittedly, the cane did help.
Alfie allowed his weight to fall to his right as he and Ollie watched Sabini leave through the distillery doors. A sourness seeped into his stomach for the remaining half of the meeting. He made peace with Sabini to get rid of him in the long run. But to do so, he needed to betray Shelby. Which meant betraying Kizzie.
Nerve pain shot down his leg like a bullet. Iron hot and pulsing. Alfie's knee buckled but he remained standing.
"Boss," Ollie said, reaching out his hands to help.
"I'm fine." Alfie squeezed the cane tighter. "Fine."
He'd figure it out. Lessen the blow so she would still visit. Alfie wanted to ask her, when he next saw her, about how she'd feel about learning how to read. Because she fucking deserved to. A new world awaited her. One that did not leave her dependent on others—she would have the choice to be dependent.
"You're sweatin', Alfie," Ollie said. "Take the hat off maybe."
"No. The hat stays on."
They walked together back to Alfie's office. Passed the charred bin filled halfway with ash. His assistant eyed the carnage with apprehension.
"What are you going to do about the girl?"
The young man collided with the wall, losing his breath along the way. Alfie gripped his collar, so tight his blunt nails dug into Ollie's neck. The Mad Baker huffed and grunted, eyes wide as could be. The pain in Alfie's leg bursted outward. He could only see red.
"What you're gonna do is not mention her," Alfie said, jaw tight as frozen steel. "You fucking understand me?"
Ollie nodded. Tried to, at least.
Alfie released him and he fell to the ground. "Get back to work."
He walked off, cane clanking from the extra weight. Only after breathing deeply did Alfie return to the present... What was he going to do?
☻
Kizzie didn't want to go out tonight. And the longer Arthur and Finn took, the longer she'd stay out for.
She tightened the bow holding her hair and rounded the corner, following Arthur's booming voice in the sitting room. Finn's response was his barking laugh, muffled by snorting and sniffling.
They sat on the floor beside each other with the dying fire at their backs.
