Anchor

Chapter 13

Unknown

It didn't work

If anything the beating which that mindless thug had received had only brought the pair closer. Something had to be done about John Shelby.

Emily

I could hear my siblings chat happily with John in the living room as I prepared dinner. After taking my siblings aside and letting them know not to get too rough and tumble with John they all sat in the living area where they were playing a game. Rolling my eyes I saw John was trying to teach them poker to no avail.

"Dinner"

Tommy

"Where's John now?"

"With Emily" Lotte replied as she balanced a sleeping baby in her arms

"This matter needs to be dealt with force" I spoke whilst lighting another cigarette "I was meeting some potential business partners up near London. They had heard about the beating which naturally led them to believe the Peaky Blinders had grown weak and not business appropriate people. So me and Lotte sent them with smiles and bruises" I rubbed my sore knuckles feeling the skin tightened as the scabs began to appear as one of the blokes got lucky and managed to smash my handle to the ground where gravel lay. Needless to say he wouldn't be using his hands for a while and the Peaky Blinders were still on top.

"Do we have any idea who attacked John?" Polly poured us all some whisky

"The piece of crap wouldn't talk, didn't see any reason to keep him alive" Arthur replied while eyeing the whisky which was poured for the others with envy. His new lady didn't like excessive drinking so he tried to cut down. But the thing with Arthur is like that old saying. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

I looked over at Lotte whose eyes were dropping; it had been a long day for all of us. I didn't know how she did it. Between the business of the Peaky Blinders and looking after our daughter I was convinced she was a born leader. I counted everyday she was with me and cursed my stupidity for not noticing her sooner. Her tired eyes made contact with mine and gave me a soft smile which caused my heart to clench, giving her a soft smile back I reached over and tangled my hand with hers.

"I think I'll get this little one to bed, see you all tomorrow" giving my hand a gentle squeeze she headed upstairs to her old room.

"Do you think this has something to do with the Lee family? They were the only ones to ever hit us and not give a shit" Polly commented

Shaking my head I emptied the ash into the cigarette bowl "no, no this is someone else. One of our runners have been noticing a new bloke in Birmingham, same bloke who travelled from London not long after Emily"

Silence

The only sound which occupied the room was the grandfather clock nailed to the wall

"You think Emily did this?" Arthur quizzed with an unbelieving look on his face.

"It wouldn't be the first time a woman tried to tear us down"

"Don't bring your personal past into this Tommy, Emily isn't Grace" turning sharply I hadn't even heard Lotte come down the stairs. I always trusted my gut feeling however when my gut was positive and my mind still pondered in doubt I knew I could always turn to Lotte for advise. Her gut feeling and mind were always in sync and always had better judgement than me.

"No, she isn't" I replied, letting out a sigh I placed the cigarette in the ash tray before standing "it's been a long day, let's be grateful John pulled through and we'll deal with whatever crap comes our way tomorrow"

Emily

John held Ellie in his arms as he carried her upstairs, David being as tired as he was refused to be carried and walked behind John but still held onto his shirt. My heart warmed at the sight. After tucking in my brother and sister for the night with John by Ellies bed and handing her the teddy he bought her

"Night Ellie"

"Will I see you tomorrow John?"

He eyed me with his none swollen eye and I gave him a smile before turning to Ellie "You'll see him bright and early"

Smiling happily she snuggled into her bed and closed her eyes. John said goodnight to David and gently rubbed his head which David tried to protest to but soon fell straight to sleep. Chuckling softly I grabbed Johns hand feeling the faded cuts he had acquired over the years

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" I whispered

Nodding silently we made our way into my bedroom. Closing the door with a slight click I watched John from the corner of my eye wince as he removed his jacket and slowly undo his shirt buttons

"Here" I removed his shirt and ignored the scowl across his face as he looked at me "don't give me any shit" I glared at him "I know your capable but I just wanted to help"

He gave me a smile "do I get to help you out of yours?"

Rolling my eyes I scoffed and turned away. Hanging his shirt and jacket in the wardrobe. Turning his back John let me slip into my night dress before I got into the bed. He followed shortly after and if it wasn't for the gentle street lamp light from outside I wouldn't have been able to see the bruises covering his body. We were both facing each other as we lay in silence. With my right arm tucked between us I gently rest my other hand on his side as I moved closer until our noses touched. He brought me closer to him my wrapping both of his arms around me. One arm around my waist the other tangled into my loose hair.

"I was worried you wouldn't make it" I whispered and I wasn't ignoring the fact if I moved closer our lips would be touching. He smelt of soap and men's aftershave.

"I didn't realize I had been out for so long, I missed our date"

Making a circular movement with my thumb across on his skin as my hand now moved to his back I smiled "don't worry about it, there's always time to do that"

"Yeah?" I saw him smile and I couldn't help but smile as well

My eyelids grew heavy and I leaned in an placed a gentle kiss on his lips before pulling back "night John"

"Night Em"