Bête noire → Peaky Blinders [Tommy Shelby] [ BOOK 1 ]

Twenty eight.

Chapter twenty eight: No goodbyes

Her heart obliterated into thousands of tiny little pieces when her eyes fell upon Thomas's disfigured appearance. The man always managed to appear with new cuts and bruises on his face with each greeting he shared with Caroline, but this time was different. Soon, the realisation dawned on the pair of them that neither were the only ones who were attacked the day before he left.

Absentmindedly, they met each other in the middle of the floor in an embrace so passionate that the warmth radiated from one body to the other. The feel of his hands on her hips made her jolt with the sudden remembrance of the man who'd done it several days before, causing her eyes to darken and beneath the surface, she was back in the car with their hands gallivanting all over her figure. To know they were dead didn't matter, for women all over the world were suffering because of sleazy men who overpowered them and used brute force to make a self righteous statement. It made her sick to her stomach.

"This was the work of Sabini. Am I wrong?"

Thomas frowned whenever a whimper escaped her lips. "I'll kill the bastards who did this to you."

"They're already dead, but how come you aren't as well?" 

There was no way Thomas would have been left alive. His wounds were so harshly inflicted upon him that his nose looked crooked, his jaw and cheek broken and his eyes so swollen and bloodshot as well as the litter of cuts that overshadowed his ageing freckles. Sabini surely would have beaten him to death if it wasn't for a force that miraculously saved Thomas, and if she knew who the saviour was, she'd thank them eternally because she wouldn't know how to cope without him.

He heaved a sigh, one that told Caroline that she shouldn't thank his knight in shining armour. Numbly, he picked up her hands and prepared to witness how quickly her face would evade of colour, but he had to remain strong for the pair of them despite being so weak himself.

"Campbell saved me." Thomas continued after a strenuous silence. "You didn't kill him, Caroline, but instead, he walks with a limp and keeps himself upright with a cane that has a silver wolf's head as a handle. You need to get out of Small Heath. Somewhere far, far away from here."

"No." She growled immediately. "Look what Sabini's men have done to you! I can't leave you in this state!"

"They're coming for me and this is something I have to deal with alone. You can't keep getting involved in this mess-"

"You wouldn't have proposed to me if you thought that I couldn't handle it!" Caroline gripped Tommy's jacket, looking up at him with burning determination. "I'm not leaving you, not now, not ever. And if I have to wear that bloody ring to prove it then I will."

He couldn't deny the flutter in the pit of his stomach that pulsated upon the knowledge of her persist dedication to keep him well, and he felt the same, which is why he had already organised her departure, scheduling for her boat to leave tomorrow at noon before another hand could harm a hair on her head.

Sabini was a man of many talents, in particular, his keen eye for specific, detailed facts. He knew of the very gold tooth in Tommy's mouth before he pulled it out with pliers, meaning he recognised that Caroline was a huge part of his life, having found out what shop Tommy purchased the engagement ring from. But one thing he did not find out was that she had a beloved brother-one that Thomas would keep safe by means legal and illegally. So once more, the Kimbers had to part for an unfortunate greater good.

"All this time, I've been in Camden Town sorting out business with Alfie Solomons." The regret and hesitation evident in his tone. "He's agreed that for a price, he'll keep you hidden."