Child of Ice (Thomas Shelby)

Chapter Six: Wanted

It was around midday, sun was shining brighter than ever which was rare in the UK. Ayla had finished beading her mothers necklace back together.she managed to get it back to the way it was before, each pearl polished and threaded carefully, it took her a while but she managed it in the end. She admired it remembering all the good things her mother had done for her as a child running it between her fingers. She could even remember her mothers face like it was yesterday beauty was apparent on her young face. She imagined handing that very necklace down to her own child one day but she couldn't see it happening. Ever. She knew she could never be normal after all she was cursed how good would life get for her?

She boiled the kettle pouring herself a cup of tea watching the steam clouds. She started getting used to the taste, it was a little different to the traditional Turkish tea that she was used to. Before she could take her first sip the door was knocked on.Cautiously opening the the door her green eyes met with the same blue but this time she found herself looking at the floor way from his gaze. She still felt anger towards him and who could blame her?

"Ayla?" His deep voice beamed through her ears. He was surprised to see that she wasn't looking directly at him, he missed looking into her deep green eyes. The once fearful woman he had come to love couldn't even look at him anymore and it hurt him for the first time in years.

"Mr Shelby" she couldn't bring herself to call him Tommy as that was how you would greet a friend and in her eyes their friendship had desiccated.

"We need to talk." He said raising panic in her body, she hoped and prayed that he wasn't here about her past. She hesitated but eventually stepped aside letting him in. Tommy instantly noticed the pearls laying on the table.

"Nice pearls, look pretty expensive" He looked at her for any kind of expression or giveaway 

"I just made tea. Would you like some?" She kept her focus elsewhere trying to change the conversation.

"Do I look like a man who drinks tea?" He let out a laugh but her face was deadly serious. She wasn't in the mood for jokes or guests.

"I don't know are you?" She questioned without interest. Her eyes looked tired and her face looked broken. Tommy knew she was still upset with him.

"Well why not?" He sat at the table picking the necklace up in his pale white hands, he instantly knew the expense of them which ignited questions in his head. She quickly made him a cup of tea placing it in her new cups and saucers.

"Any chance of a biscuit?" He smiled at her. She looked like the perfect housewife. The kind of wife he would love to have in his own house one day with kids running around in the garden and tea simmering in the pot.He never dreamed about a normal life but he found himself thinking about it around Ayla.She shook her head before handing him the cup of steaming tea. She sat opposite him waiting for a response.

"I know you're still mad at me but I promise I wouldn't have let anything happen to you. You are under the protection of the peaky blinders-" she cut him off

"Obviously you don't know where you're jurisdiction ends, anyway if I needed to I would have eaten him for breakfast-" he cut her off

"but you didn't, you let him man handle you because you were afraid of what I would have said if you didn't. I'm guessing you've heard the stories and you didn't want to get on the wrong side of me?" He looked down at her. Watching the way she flinched at his words.Never expecting to see fear on her face (he thought) the expression on her face was pain something she had become rather good at hiding unless someone understood. Something inside of her was changing. He wanted to hold her more than ever, hold her in his arms and protect her forever.

"You think I'm afraid of you?" she scoffed "you are the last person I would be afraid of Mr Shelby. I have stood before people far worse than you, you may have done bad things but I can guarantee you I've seen worse." her voice filled with spite , she still couldn't look up at him.

"Why wont you tell me who you really are? what's the big secret?" he lit a cigarette blowing clouds into the air, he was beginning to put pieces together.Staring at her so deeply she could feel his stare from across the table

"All you need to know is that I'm no threat to you. You'll figure it out one day and when you do it'll be too late" She said knowing what was lying ahead of her

"Why will it be too late? why don't you trust me?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Trust you? what a joke! this is coming from the man who sent me away with a random man for his sexual pleasure after I told him not to!" she raised her voice at him. Tommy wasn't used to people standing up to him, he couldn't be mad at her even if he tried.He stood up towering over her like a tree. when she looked up into his pure blue eyes

"I think you should leave" he heart started aching. This wasn't a normal type of aching. it was like her heart was beating again, she could feel again but she knew this couldn't be. Tommy looked down at the pearls once again. It reminded him of some of the jewellery him and his brothers had once stolen from a king but how could she have ones similar? He could tell they were similar because these types of pearls were only found in the Mediterranean sea and purchased by the richest of men for their trophy wives or whores.

"Where did you get those pearls?" He asked again. A flash of panic in her eyes but she remained calm.

"They belonged to my mother" She finally said. There was no point in lying anymore. She knew that tommy was on to her.

"Where did you say you were from again?" He questioned her even more. She felt like he knew about her, her hands sliding down her leg to her holsters running her hands along the handle of her knives.

"Far away" She kept her gaze on him. Her eyes blinking rapidly. Tommy's thoughts started to change. Maybe the picture perfect woman was no longer perfect. She had a secret and secrets in his line of business were extremely dangerous. He vowed the he would find out who this mysterious girl was and that was exactly what he was going to do.

A loud banging on the door broke both of them out of their gazes. Ayla wasn't expecting anyone. She looked at Tommy with a puzzled face. He stood up starting towards the banging door but she pulled him back as panic grew in her system.

"Don't open it" she pleaded. Something told Tommy that she was in trouble. The banging on the door got louder and louder and the sound of men behind it brought Ayla into realisation.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" The group of men shouted rather violently. she knew it wasn't her father she also knew they had been sent to apprehend her after all who else could it possibly be? The only people she knew in Birmingham were the Shelby's.

"Why not?" Tommy looked into her widened green eyes.Pulling out the gun from his holster and holding it firmly in his hand he could see her chest rising and falling faster.

"Because they're after me!" her voice calm yet plastered with panic. "If you open that door they're going to kill both of us on the spot" she said quickly grabbing a bag and throwing as much as she could into it, including her mothers jewellery box.

"Who's they?" Tommy questioned as he watched her frantically pack everything she owned

"WE'RE GOING TO BREAK THE DOOR IF YOU DON"T OPEN IT!!" the men shouted once again, the door jumping in the hinges. "WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE AYLA" the voice screamed behind the door. 

"why wont you tell me who's after you! I can help you!" Tommy's voice became more desperate. More than it had ever been.Ayla shook her head at his stupidity. She couldn't tell him... it would put his life in danger too. 

"We need to leave right now" Ayla grabbed Tommy's hand which sent chills down his spine. Pulling him out of the back window he knew he needed to protect her even if she didn't want/need him to she was in trouble. The woman tommy was falling for was in trouble and he couldn't let anything happen to her. He would rather die than see her hurt. He knew exactly where to take her and by the order of the peaky blinders he would kill anyone who hurt a single hair on her head. 

Tommy made sure no one was following them as the both ran hand in hand. Further and further away from her house they got.