𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘿𝙪𝙤 ; 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙗𝙮 [ BOOK 2 ]

TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE; MONEY IN THE GRAVE

Caroline awoke, alarmed and panicked to hear a thud which came in the direction of the en-suite bathroom of her hotel bedroom. Her heart thudded rapidly in her chest but as always, her killer instincts kicked in the minute she arose and with both hands, she grasped nearby guns and on the count of three, she swiftly kicked the door open, only to soften immediately and fall to her knees.

Tossing the weapons aside, Caroline took her husband's face into her hands. He lay on the floor, slumped against the wall. In life his eyes were every shade the sky possessed from dawn until dusk, in death they were black. His pupils have exploded to fill so much of his eye. Caroline wanted him to blink, to sit up properly and laugh at her like he would have done many years ago. He won't. His eyes were so still. He was always moving with every part of his being, with his limbs, his facial expressions, his never ending fidgeting no matter what. But in this new life, he was already gone.

Caroline eyed a familiar blue bottle, empty of its previously full snow white content. "You're going to kill yourself!"

"Can't kill what's already dead." He replied absentmindedly.

"Why must you insist on leaving us in a world without you?" She whispered sadly.

"Because you're better off without me, Caroline." Thomas hung his head with shame. "I'm a burden."

She grit her teeth and turned his head to look at her. "Only to yourself, but not to myself nor our family, especially not to the children in our institution that love our hospitality. You are a bad man, Thomas Shelby, but you have a heart of gold."

He swallowed drily. "Why didn't you leave me?"

"Do you need me to answer that truthfully?" Caroline responded to her drugged husband with bemusement. "For you already know the utmost love I possess for you, so leaving has never been an option."

"I can't - I can't cope with the grief."

Caroline raised a brow. "The grief?"

"My brother, my comrades, my father, my mother - they're all wiped out." Tommy drawled, though his eyes seemed to lock with Caroline's after a moment of silence. "But every day, I grieve to be the man you deserve. I let you down. I've hurt you and disappointed you and I-"

As soon as the last syllable escaped his lips, he found himself interlocked in a kiss. The tender touch they shared made the room around them disappear. There wasn't anything else in the world except the burning flame of their love. Something about the feeling made Thomas feel that just maybe, the pain in his head would disperse eventually.

"It's funny." Caroline breathed deeply, closing her eyes whilst pressing her forehead against his. "You only talk sense when you're in a parallel reality."

His voice whispered desperately. "I don't want to be here anymore. Help me, Caroline."

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do." She replied honestly. "Apart from sit back and watch the flames engulf you, for nobody can save you except yourself."

Caroline had grieved many times before for the death of her loved ones, but to grieve for someone who was alive was painful. To know there was no hope for Thomas other than a single blow to the head, courtesy of a bullet caused her stomach to tie in knots. Though, she didn't believe an enemy would do this. Rather, it would be himself to pull the trigger in a moment of pitiful despair.

Shedding a tear, she sniffled, though she pulled herself together for his benefit. He was weak and he needed a strong sense of security. So, Caroline stood up with a wobble, but after she composed herself and smoothed down her silk pyjamas, she extended her hand, to which Thomas took, and from there, she guided him to the bed; a place where all their worries seemed to mellow the second they drowned in the comfort of their linen sheets.