love knows no bounds | thomas shelby

a brutal encounter

eveline ward made her way home from the garrison, the rhythmic clacking of her heels echoing against the pavement below. smoke drifted lazily in the air, which created a hazy aura around her. 

people instinctively cleared out of her way as she strode down the road. once, the avoidance had made eveline feel like a monster, the way people would pull their children away or avert their gaze. but now, it was just another part of her reality, one she had grown accustomed to.

as eveline turned a corner, a figure in a black coat and cap emerged suddenly. he forcefully pushed her against a brick wall. the impact stole the breath from her lungs, and the back of her head collided harshly with the unforgiving surface, sending a wave of dizziness through her.

the man, with his irish accent cutting through the air like a razor, yelled at eveline.

"where's the money, lass?" he barked.

his grip tightened on her shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh, as he awaited her response.

eveline struggled to respond with her chest heaving as she gasped for air. panic gripped her as she fought to draw in a breath, her lungs feeling as though they were failing her. 

the man's impatience boiled over, and with a sudden burst of rage, he slapped the girl across the face, which caused the sharp sting to reverberate through her skull. then, seizing her head in his hand, he forced her to meet his eyes as he demanded, "i said, where is the money?"

her eyes locked onto the man's obscured face. his features were shrouded by the shadow of his cap. 

despite the fear coursing through her veins, she attempted to steady herself, summoning what little strength she had left.

with a shaky breath, she managed to muster a faint reply.

"i don't know," she breathed out.

the man's grip on eveline's face tightened. his fingers dug into her skin. this caused a sharp jolt of pain to shoot through her, causing eveline to flinch.

"don't be lyin' to me, grace," the man growled with his voice laced with manace.

at the mention of the familar coworker's name, eveline's senses heightened, though not with comfort. instead, her heart sank as she remembered that the name now belonged to one of her least favorite people, someone she couldn't trust.

with a conscious effort, eveline steadied her breathing.

eveline's voice was barely above a whisper as the uttered, "you've got the wrong person."

the man paused. he then studied her intently from head to toe, as if searching for something in her features. suddenly, a shift seemed to occur within him, and without another word, he forcefully pushed eveline to the ground and bolted away.

collapsed on the pavement, eveline felt her strength completely drain from her body, but she managed to prop herself up against the wall, with her back pressed against the rough surface. 

taking deep breaths, she fought to steady herself once more.

after a few moments, arthur and john approached, their footsteps halting as they noticed the distressed girl sitting alone.

"oi! is that our ev sitting all alone?" arthur's voice boomed out.

the boys demeanor shifted instantly to concern as they noticed the dried blood and bruises on her face. arthur's brow furrowed, and john's expression softened with worry.

without hesitation, john knelt down to eveline's level, his gaze gentle yet probing as he examined her face. 

"who did this to you?" john asked.

his concern then deepened as eveline remained silent with her eyes filling with unshed tears. she glanced between him and arthur. 

arthur's own worry was noticeable as his usually boisterous demeanor was silenced by the gravity of the situation. 

"go find tommy," arthur instructed his brother in a low, urgent tone, with his eyes never leaving eveline's battered form. 

johnny swiftly got to his feet and dashed off to find thomas, leaving arthur alone with the shaken girl.

a few tense moments later, john turned the corner with thomas following closely behind him. arthur quickly filled his brother in on the situation, explaining how they found eveline sitting there, unable to speak due to the pain she was in.

thomas wasted no time; he knelt down in front of eveline, his hands gentle yet firm as he assessed the extent of her injuries. he carefully turned her head from side to side. his sharp eyes were taking in every bruise and scrape.

she melted under thomas's touch. her pent-up emotions finally broke free as tears streamed down her cheeks. tommy tenderly wiped them away with his thumbs. his eyes were locked onto hers with intensity.

"whoever did this to you, they'll fucking pay," he whispered fiercely.

with effortless strength, thomas swept eveline up into his arms, and with arthur and john following behind, they made their way to aunt polly's house, which was a sanctuary in the midst of chaos. 

as they arrived, john knocked on the door, revealing aunt polly herself.

at the sight of the three shelby boys and the battered girl in thomas's arms, polly's expression was one of concern. without a word, she ushered them all inside.

as they entered the house, polly wasted no time in demanding answers.

"what the bloody hell happened?"

she directed the boys to seat eveline down in a chair.

as polly then busied herself gathering alcohol to clean up eveline's face, john's voice cut through the tense atmosphere.

"some wazzock hurt our eveline, an' now he's gonna end up six feet under."

thomas took the alcohol from his aunt's hands. his expression was grim as he gingerly began to apply it to eveline's battered skin. she flinched at the sting, instinctively reaching out to grip his arm for stability and comfort.

polly looked on and asked, "who? who's this wazzock?"

none of the boys could provide an answer, their frustration matching polly's as eveline remained unable to share what had occurred. 

her demands for answers grew more insistent as she refused to let the matter go.

tommy raised a hand to polly, signaling for her to cease her relentless questioning. 

he addressed aunt polly, "let's let her rest."

a simmering fire burned behind his piercing blue eyes. his silence spoke volumes, which was a warning to anyone who dared harm what belonged to him.

with a careful tenderness, he lifted eveline into his arms and carried her to bed, his jaw clenched tight as he noted the new bruises around her jaw.

once eveline was settled, thomas quietly left the room, closing the door behind him. almost instantly, exhaustion overtook the girl, and she drifted into a deep slumber.

downstairs, thomas and polly sat smoking cigarettes. polly decided to break the news to thomas that ada and freddie thorne had gotten married, adding another complication to the already hefty burden he carried.