In The Bleak Midwinter | T Shelby

TWENTY SEVEN - A BLACK HAND

"Bonnie thank God!"

Kaia ran into her brother's arms across the floor of The Garrison, the elder Gold sibling looking equally as relieved to see his sister alive as she was to see him.

She squeezed her eyes shut as he hugged her, holding her close to his body, both of them feeling overwhelmed with happiness that the other was safe.

Aberama strolled into the pub a few moments later, pulling off his hat as he did so. Kaia hadn't seen him wearing it for a while.

"Kaia, darling, come here."

Kaia went over to her father who welcomed her with open arms, though she still had hold of Bonnie's hand and pulled him along behind her, the family huddling together in the middle of the pub.

Tommy and his brothers were sat by the bar and Beth and Eliza had not long gone home, Michael escorting both of them safely back to their houses after they voiced their concerns.

Aberama held his daughter's arm, pulling her behind him as he pointed a finger in Tommy's direction.

"You were supposed to keep her out of harms way, Thomas, not put her in the fucking firing line."

"Dad," Kaia interrupted, jumping in front of him as he made his way towards Tommy, placing her hands on his arms and forcing him to look down at her, "This isn't his fault."

"Then who's fault is it? Why would the Italians come into the pub asking for our name if it wasn't to cut him where it hurts?"

Kaia swallowed. She didn't have an answer for her father and judging by the silence from the Shelby brothers, none of them had an adequate answer, either.

It was all very confusing and Kaia thought she'd have been far more scared had it not been for the adrenaline pumping through her veins for the past two hours, enabling her to feel numb to absolutely everything.

She glanced to Thomas who's eyes were vacant, hiding nothing behind them like they usually did. Kaia had become good at listening to him without him having to utter a single word, however in that moment, she knew he had nothing to say.

"It's my fault."

Everybody turned their heads to the front of the room where Bonnie was stood. Cap in his hands in front of him, his shoulders cowered inwards as his head was tilted towards the ground, eyes looking upwards like a guilty child.

"What?" Aberama narrowed his eyes at his son.

Bonnie just gulped, nodding quickly but keeping his head low.

"I shot one of the men a week ago. He had a woman at gun point and she had a child with her, I didn't know if he was going to let her go or not so I just..."

"Oh my god." Kaia whispered under her breath, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I didn't know it was them until now, the hats you described and all that. And I got this."

Bonnie reached into the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a scrap of paper with a black hand printed onto it.

"Fucking hell." Arthur breathed loudly, taking a large swig of whiskey straight from the bottle before storming off into another room.

"What? What is it?" Kaia asked, clinging to her father's arm.

"A bla-"

"It's a black hand. It means they're coming for you, all three of you." Thomas said, looking past Kaia and straight at Bonnie.

Kaia looked up at her father, terrified to the bone. She had no idea who these men were but she'd seen the death that cast it's shadow across Small Heath, knowing that there was no God to protect them from it.

Aberama felt his daughter squeezing his arm tightly, his chest tightening, knowing his little girl was afraid. She'd never been the easiest child to raise but the one thing she never was, was scared. Though now, hearing her shaky breaths in the silence was breaking his heart. He couldn't bare to look into her eyes.

"I have to face them on my own," Bonnie said, standing up straight all of a sudden, feeling a surge of righteousness fulfilling him, "I have to fix this, I need to keep you both safe I-"

"They won't stop at just you, Bonnie." Tommy said sternly, sighing loudly.

"What?" He replied, walking over to his sister and father.

"They won't stop just because you're dead, they want all three of you dead."

Kaia heard her father mumble something quietly but she couldn't quite hear him. She let go of his arm as she felt his body relax, his shoulders falling back as he shook his head.

He walked over to the bar and took a bottle of whiskey for himself, pulling out the cork and throwing it on the floor before drinking straight from the bottle as Arthur had done.

"Fuck," Bonnie whispered, turning to his sister, "I'm so sorry, Kaia, I was supposed to keep you safe, I'm your brother, I'm so sorry."

He hugged her again, hearing her sniffle into his chest, knowing she was trying her best not to cry. The guilt he felt was almost paralysing. He thought he was doing the right thing, he thought he was saving a life, but as bad as it seemed, he now wished he'd taken the risk to save his own family from the danger they were now in because of him.

"You can't stay here," John spoke up, "They'll come to your house, ain't that right Tom."

"He's right," Tommy agreed, "You should leave as soon as you can, take the horses from our stables. Just don't stay in the same place for too long. Leave Curly a letter telling him where you're going so we can check on you."

Kaia felt like her world had shifted off it's axis. One moment she was happy, being told that Thomas Shelby was in love with her and the next, she was being hunted like a deer.

The men began to talk amongst themselves, discussing a plan on how was best to approach the situation. Kaia wiped away the single tear from her eye and walked over to the fireplace, looking into the flames. The fire comforted her, watching it reminded her of the feeling that Tommy gave her. Winter had proven to be cruel to her but they'd always need fire, and Thomas was her fire.

She felt a presence next to her, knowing immediately it was Tommy. She didn't look up, though, feeling too weak to move and also not wanting to lose the lucid feeling she had while staring at the orange glow.

"It's going to be fine."

"How can you say that?" Kaia said, finally looking up at him with watery eyes.

Tommy stepped closer to her, taking her hands in his own and running his thumbs over her knuckles.

"I can say that because I'm going to kill the man myself, Kaia. Whether it's with a gun or my bare hands, I will kill Luca Changretta and every single one of his men if it means keeping you safe."

Kaia scoffed, "Do you ever wish you'd have stayed with Lizzie? I mean, I doubt loving her came with all of this."

Tommy looked at her, his eyes so narrow it felt like a glare into her soul as Kaia's hands began to warm inside his own.

"Kaia," he began, his voice low and rough as the rest of the men continued talking across the room, "I would move heaven and earth, even hell, for you. I'd do anything and I wouldn't have to think twice. And as for loving her?"

Kaia's bottom lip began to quiver as he looked down at her, his eyes changing from fierce to tender, his chest falling and his aura becoming warm.

"Loving you, Kaia Gold, has proved to me that no matter what I thought I've felt before, I've never been in love until I fell in love with you."