Angel

25

            "I really don't want to go," I groaned as we entered back into London. "I know angel, I know," Alfie said softly, placing a hand on my upper thigh. "What if we go back to Margate and just disappear, and leave this life behind," I begged, turning in my seat to face him. "If only, angel, if only," he chuckled lightly and I pouted beside him as he came to a stop a block away from Ada's. "Don't worry. We fuckin' own the cottage now. We can go back there anytime we fuckin' please, yeah? And the only soul who knows about it, right, is the old woman living a few towns inland I bought the 'ouse from," he said, and I nodded. I slowly gathered my things and prepared to step back into real life. "I'll see ya at 'ome later, angel," Alfie said softly, and I smiled, pressing my lips against his before turning and stepping out of the car. I waved goodbye and Alfie blew me a kiss. I grinned, turning away from him and walking down the street to Ada's. Alfie only turned the car to leave once he saw I was safely at the door. I grinned to myself at his actions before taking a deep breath and walking inside. "I'm back!" I called out as I set my things down and stepped into the parlour.

            "Back from where?" a deep voice asked, and I whirled around from the coffee table to see my brother entering the room. "T-tommy, what are you doing here?" I asked quickly, my once calmed nerves jumping at the sight of him approaching me. "Dropped by to ask Ada for some pregnancy advice," he replied lowly, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag. I nodded, swallowing hard as I turned from him and inspected the unopened post that lay on the coffee table, addressed to me. "Back from where? That's a lot of bags you've got. And no one's heard from you in a week," Tommy commented as my heart jumped to my throat. The names on the letters were a blur as my mind scrambled to come up with a cover story. "Jesus Tommy, give it a rest will you? She took a much needed vacation," Ada sighed casually as she entered the room, taking the letters from my hands and shoving a cup of tea into my slightly trembling hands. "Vacation?" Tommy asked, his eyebrows raised as I turned to face him. "Y-yes. I've been stressed recently, and Ada sent me on a vacation. She rented me a house for a week," I lied, my hands growing warm and slightly sweaty as I tried to pull off the lie. Tommy nodded as I sipped my tea, following me as I took a seat on the couch. "And where did our dear Ada send you off to?" he asked, his eyes searching my face for any sign of deception.

            "Whitstable," I answered, blurting the first town that came to mind. "And what did you do on this...vacation?" Tommy asked, his gaze still locked on mine. "I read, relaxed, I slept in, I swam in the water for a bit, napped on the sand," I listed quickly, growing more and more confident in the lie the more I spoke. Tommy nodded, remaining silent. My heartbeat accelerated in my chest as he leaned forward. "And why didn't the car drop you off out front?" Tommy asked. My mind raced, scrambling to come up with an adequate answer. "I stopped for a drink at a pub a few blocks down. You know, have a drink before coming back to real life. I figured I could just walk from there," I replied cooly. Tommy nodded, considering my answer. Though he looked as though he didn't believe me fully, he accepted the lie Ada and I had come up with. "Well, I have a heavily pregnant wife I need to get back to," Tommy spoke suddenly, rising to his feet and nodding us both a quick goodbye. I let out a relieved sigh as I laid back into the couch.

            "You're going to have to come up with a lot more lies if you are going to keep your relationship a secret, Lena," Ada chuckled, laughing at my reaction to Tommy's departure. "That was close. Thanks for the help, Ada, I wasn't expecting him to be here," I replied, sitting back up and sipping more tea. "It's no problem. I knew you were coming back today, and when Tommy showed up, I knew he was bound to ask questions, so I came up with a little something," she shrugged, and I smiled, shaking my head at her. "So, how was this vacation?" she asked, and I laughed at her choice of words. "Oh, Ada it was incredible. He bought me a cottage, you know," I told her, and her mouth parted slightly in surprise. "Wow, so this is serious then," she commented as I nodded. "It's beautiful there, nothing but the crashing of waves, no cars, no smoke, just the open air and no neighbors for a mile," I said wistfully, and Ada smiled. "That sounds amazing, Lena," she said, and I smiled. "It really was. I think we both just wish we could run away from all of this and disappear there," I told her, and she nodded. "Your gypsy half was always the stronger," she chuckled, and I nodded with a sigh.

            We were interrupted from our chat when the phone rang. "Hello?" Ada said after crossing the room to answer it. "Lena, it's for you," she said a moment later, holding the phone out to me. I rose to my feet, expecting to hear Alfie's voice on the other end. I took the phone from Ada's outstretched hand and she crossed the room back to her seat in the parlour. "Hello?" I asked cheerfully, waiting to hear the gruff voice I knew on the other line. "Elena Shelby?" an unfamiliar man's voice asked. "Who is this?" I asked, turning my back to Ada, who was preoccupied with the paper in her lap. "We received no response from you or Mr. Solomons to our letter," the man said, and I stiffened, eyeing the post that lay addressed to me on the coffee table. "Who the fuck are you?" I hissed, swallowing hard as my entire body was set on edge. "Forgive me, miss. Where are my manners. This is Darby Sabini, I believe you've heard of me," the voice said, and chills rose up and down my spine. "What do you want?" I hissed into the phone. "Well, my dear, our bookies have been running into some trouble on the tracks. Something about burned licenses. I believe your brothers were to blame for that little problem, hm?" he asked.

            "What do you want?" I hissed once more. "Well, you see, we had a treaty with my dear friend Mr. Solomons, which he broke to go into business with your brothers. What I want, sweet girl, is to get my bookies back on the tracks, and my treaty with Mr. Solomons restored," Sabini said, his voice sickeningly sweet. I let out a low sarcastic chuckle. "If you think I'm about to help you, you are sorely mistaken," I growled. "Ah, ah, ah. Before you deny me, I have some information you should be aware of. I know who you are, Miss Shelby," he replied. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "I have eyes all over London, love. I know who shares your bed at night. And if you refuse to help me, I have other plans in place to get what I want. You see, Mr. Solomons sometimes needs a...little push, for him to do what I want. I've been looking for a weakness of his for some time now. And I have just recently found his biggest one," Sabini said lowly. I swallowed hard, realizing he was insinuating I was Alfie's biggest weakness. And he wasn't wrong. "Do you really want to start a war between yourself and the Peaky fucking Blinders and the Jews of Camden Town?" I whispered harshly. "I will do whatever it takes to gain back what I have lost," Sabini growled on the other end, "And if you tell anyone about our little conversation...well, I know your biggest weaknesses too, love. Don't worry. We'll see each other soon."

            And with a click, the line went dead. I swallowed once more, the shock fading away as it set in that Sabini was threatening my life if Alfie didn't comply with what he wanted. I turned slowly away from the phone I'd hung up and walked back into the parlour, taking the cup of tea in my hands and sipping from it slowly, my mind racing. "Who was that?" Ada asked. I cleared my throat, setting the cup down back on the table. "Just a veterinarian I've been thinking of hiring to run a check up on Odin," I lied, and she nodded. "Something wrong with him?" she asked. "He has a cut on his hock, looked infected. Just wanted a second opinion," I replied, and Ada nodded. The phone rang once more, and I was immediately set on edge, my knee bouncing in anxiety. "We are popular today aren't we," Ada sighed as she rose to her feet and crossed the room to answer the phone. "Hello?" she asked, as I remained seated, trying to still my rapidly beating heart. "Oh my god, we'll be straight over," Ada said, her voice shocked. She quickly hung up the phone and busied herself gathering things from the parlour. "What is it, what's happened?" I asked, my stomach dropping as I wondered if Sabini had followed through already. "Grace's water broke. They need us, come on," Ada smiled broadly. "But she's not due for another three weeks!" I said as my jaw dropped and I matched her smile. Ada rolled her eyes, quickly grabbing her things as I shot up to my feet and gathered my own things, all thoughts of the Italians driven from my mind.