CHAPTER THREE

"I think we're ready," Marco said, hands on his hips as he looked across the kitchen from the head of the table.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Adelaide muttered, rubbing her face with the heel of her palm.

"We can't back out now," Harry added.

"If you're all going to react like this, I'm never cooking for you again," Robinson said, ripping the apron from her waist and dumping it on the bench.

The food was already set down onto the centre of the table, free to be picked on and Robinson reached for the eggs, shovelling them into her mouth. The sound of a sharp crunch left them all cringing. Harry held back a guilty laugh. It felt nice to do something normal.

Avery pushed the plate away. "Anyway, are we ready?"

"We all know what we're doing, yes?" Marco asked. After a reluctant round of nods, he stood from the table. "We leave in ten."

They soon gathered in the hallway, faces drab and dreary. Adelaide said nothing as she thought of all that was being asked of her. The return to Small Heath felt wrong. The danger of it all loomed in the forefront of her mind. Harry seemed to notice her quietness and nudged her with his arm. Before he could say anything, a new presence interrupted them by the door.

"You're not leaving me here." It was Martine- Marco's sister- who leaned against the frame, arms folded and dark eyes glaring. Their faces were almost identical, but Matine's expressions could be far meaner. "I'm coming with."

"You're not coming with, Marti," Marco said, shaking his head.

"Yes, I am," she said, coming to wrap her arm around hers, nose placed smugly in the air. "Adelaide said I could."

"You can't leave her here, Marco. Not by herself. Besides, we could use an extra set of eyes and hands."

"If any of you mess this up..."

"We won't mess up," Robinson said.

"You've cursed us now," Harry shouted, brushing past Avery, making her lean against the wall, but the look on his face was teasing and humorous.

"Leave the curses to your Shelby boy," Marti said, pulling Adelaide to the end of the corridor, eyes blazing with unspoken meaning. "Come on."

Adelaide opened the door and stepped out onto the narrow street. Bathing in the light of day, it looked shabbier in a way, yet less haunted and hidden. The air was cold and the sun low as they made their way from the house. When she breathed out, the air turned misty, tickling her cheeks. They didn't speak. There was no need to. The previous night had been dragged out long enough with frantic planning, causing too much arguing.

Martine walked beside Adelaide, with their brothers walking with Avery behind them. She had not yet been informed of it all. There had been no time to explain everything but she had confided in her about Tommy Shelby long ago, and so Martine had not stopped until Adelaide had agreed to bring her with them to Birmingham. Martine believed she was going to make sure things were turned right again- whatever that meant.

The group snaked around the streets silently as if they were a labyrinth and they'd memorised the map.

"So who's car is it?"

"Sabini's car, our friend," Adelaide answered as her eyes came to fall upon the sleek, black car that was parked against the cobblestones, tires large and old against the fresh framework. It waited just where they'd asked for it to be.

"How do you know you can trust him?" Robinson asked, eyeing the car wearily. She was the first to step towards the door, though, opening it widely and moving so Martine could slip in first. But the girl only walked straight past, arms open to the man who hopped from the driver's seat.

"Marti! Baby! How long has it been?"

"Not long enough," Martine chided, but she hugged him anyway. "Thank you for doing this, Benny."

"Anything for my favourite lady," Benny said, but then his eyes fell on Marco and he gave a grin. "And her brother, of course. I have everything you asked for. A car and five tickets to Birmingham. Though only God can know why you'd want to go there."

"I don't think even God can understand our reasoning," Adelaide said. Benny only laughed and hugged Martine again, brushing off their gratitude as he walked backwards down the street with a smoothness that left Robinson rolling her eyes. As quickly as he'd appeared, the man had vanished, leaving them to pile into the car, two in the front, three in the back, Marco in the driver's seat. There was no time to waste with Sabini still on the lookout.

There was a bad feeling building in Adelaide's stomach- one that she couldn't ignore. At her side, Martine nudged into her, wrapping their arms together and squeezing. It was as if she felt it too as if that worry was electrifying the air and making them all the more nervous. Adelaide tried to calm herself as the car rolled to a stop down the road from the station.

"We'll be alright," Marti said, and with the way she said it, Adelaide was inclined to believe her. Their past was nothing but history, and there was the future to look toward now. But that future appeared bleak, no matter which direction she looked in.

Harry's exclamation didn't help. His hand smacked against the bonnet with frustration. "Shit, they've beat us here."

The girls quickly followed his gaze, finding the group that lingered by the doorway. They spoke for a moment, before nodding simultaneously and spreading out. Only one man remained by the front, leaning against the white pillar of the opening, cigarette in hand- distracted.

"We can cut through a crowd," Marco said, glancing at the thin watch on his wrist. "Wait until the train pulls up and then we can hurry in. We'll be able to slip through easily."

The plan was optimistic but it was the only one they had. There was no turning back. As they waited, Adelaide's eyes never left the man at the front of the building. He hadn't moved the entire time. He would be easy to surpass, but there was no telling of the others.

On the exact minute, their train pulled into the station, huffing out a pummel of thick smoke. They didn't need to voice the sign. Adelaide was the first out of the car, leading up to the steps at the same moment the commuters piled from the station, all dressed in workman grey.

Heading past the first row of pillars, Adelaide dissolved into the crowd, eyes flicking between her friends and the train in front. It seemed so close and reachable that she could almost taste the freedom, the relief. She found it taste of the smoke of Small Heath.

Her gaze found her brother, rushing rapidly in front of them all, and then back to Marco, who's eyes never left his sister despite being far further in front.

Just as her eyes found the girl's figure in the crowd, Robinson stumbled back as a shoulder whacked against her chest, landing against Martine. The other girl pushed her forward, but Avery wouldn't budge. Her eyes settled on the face of the man she'd sat across from only a day earlier- Sabini's cousin, she knew, from the brief time she'd been with the Davis siblings.

"Run."

Robinson didn't need to park her order twice. Her hands wrapped around Marti's arm, guiding her swiftly through the crowd, meeting Adelaide's side. A whistle echoed through the large ceilings and another shout of 'run!' bounced from the others. The doors were about to begin closing, the workers, peering their faces out for any signs of stragglers.

Harry was the first to push his way onto the train, keeping the door open even as the smoke billowed again and the train began to chuff out its beginning noise. His hand waved in the air, clasping his sister, pulling her in behind him, with Marco pulling himself on quickly after. Robinson pushed Martine forward, catching her by the waist, and hoisting her onto the train with surprising ease.

Marti's eyes were wide as she leaned against the open door frame, watching as Avery began to struggle. "Hurry!"

Harry through his hand out again, fingertips reaching, and with one last sprint, Robinson grabbed on. With effort and a jump, she landed with her knees against the floor and huffed out a deep breath. Harry sat beside her, smoothing his hair back against his head. There was a moment of silence before he spoke.

"I knew you'd bloody cursed us."

*

Her friends left her at the door of Birmingham Hospital with an awkward smile. There was little to be said. The entire train ride had been silent after the run-in with Sabini's men. They knew what it meant: Sabini would know where they were and where they were headed. Despite that knowledge lurking in the back of her mind, Adelaide stepped toward the reception desk of the hospital with a smile on her face.

"Who are you here to see, Miss?"

"A Mr Thomas Shelby," she said, his name sounding foreign on her lips.

The nurse gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid Mr Shelby isn't taking any visitors at the moment," she said, but something about her expression made Adelaide feel uneasy. She chalked it down to her own nerves- she hadn't seen Tommy in two years and had no need to speak his name in that time. The only place he'd stayed was in her thoughts. "May I take a name to give him?"

"No, that's alright," Adelaide said, stepping past the desk swiftly. "He'll see me."

She didn't know how long it took for the nurse to stop shouting after her, but Adelaide ignored the woman as she marched her way down the corridors, glancing through windows until she found him.

Tommy sat in a vast room of his own, illuminated by the light of the window he lay by. The door opened easily as her footsteps were drowned out by the isolating silence of the room.

"Tommy?"

Adelaide's vision was just as blurred from the tears that came to her eyes at the mere sight of the damage that had been inflicted to his face. The blood that she had imagined had been washed away and his dirty hair was brushed back from his face. Although she tried to rip her eyes away, she couldn't help but stare at his red-rimmed eyes. Puffy and swollen. Perhaps the cuts that covered his face would be temporary. But maybe, like the gunshot wounds he had received in Birmingham, they would remain, haunting and prominent on his face for years to come.

Either way, his face was still beautiful. His jaw held strong and lips surprisingly rosey. And Adelaide wasn't afraid to admit anymore, the fact that she admired him, appearance, mind-set and all.

When he opened his eyes, he seemed dazed for a moment, as if he'd seen a ghost and he uttered one soft, disbelieving word.

"Adelaide?"

Is this real? He wanted to ask, but didn't. Tommy knew it was real. His head still hurt, and the lump on his head still made his vision blur at times, but he could feel her hand resting on his shoulder. It was an extra weight that seemed to ground him, keeping him from nodding off again. Adelaide's presence was warm and bright, and he was reminded of how much he had used to revel in her company. He had been arrogant enough once that he thought he might've called her his. But Adelaide was no one's person but her own. She had made that abundantly clear.

Flip your coin, Tommy. Let it decide your fate.

"Yes, it's me, Tommy," she said, her voice smooth and soft.

Should it come knocking at my door, know I'm not the woman you thought I was.

But she was exactly as he remembered. Her hair fell in dark tresses down her back, her irises a deep, comforting brown set by tapered, fluttering eyes. There was a confidence to her that was unspoken and after all those years, he saw her more clearly now, sitting at the side of his hospital bed, than he ever had.

"Why are you here?"

Tommy could not avoid the question. He had given her no reason to see him again, not after he'd flipped the coin wrong. She should have been long gone from his thoughts, but it was in his mind that she was kept alive in fear he would never see her again.

"Do you want me to leave?" Her voice was teasing, jostled with a playful lilt that ran from her lips like sweet honey. He almost let out a moan right there.

And though he knew it was a joke, Tommy wrapped his hand around the arm that rested against his shoulder. "No, stay... please," he said, feeling so pathetically weak. "That's not what I meant."

Adelaide's voice was a whisper. "I know, Tommy. I heard about what happened. It was long overdue we saw each other."

"How long has it been?"

"Two years. I didn't even recognise Finn."

"You've seen Finn?" His heart beat was already elevated thanks to her nearness, but the mention of his brother could have given him an attack. Finn was not supposed to be in London.

"He's grown," she said, words purposeful and meant to distract him.

Tommy let her tactics work, nevermind the fact that they were hollow. He shook his head, clenching his jaw. The pain in his head seared like a flash of light, blinding him for a moment as he was forced to grip his eyes shut.

"That's not important," Adelaide said.

No, perhaps not. Finn was getting older and would have to grow up soon enough. But his brothers had not been the only ones under Sabini's roof, if Adelaide was to be believed.

"You were at Sabini's club," he said, trying not to sound accusatory, but failing.

She looked away and Tommy's body went cold. "You must have known," she said, shaking her head. "It wasn't supposed to go like this. It was you, who chose the wrong side, this time."

"That was before I knew who I was picking it against."

"We worked together once," she said, considering him for a moment. Roaming across his face, Tommy could feel her eyes level in on the vicious cuts on his cheek. When she met his gaze again, he felt the room still. "We could do it again."

For a moment, he felt his face flush, his jaw clench. She had left. She had returned. It was all too much. There was part of him- a part that had felt empty for a very long time- that was afraid she would leave all over again.

"Why did you leave, Adelaide?"

She turned away. "There was no place left for me there."

With a gentle quickness, Tommy reached a hand to take her chin between his fingers, forcing her eyes to meet his. "There would always have been a place for you."

"No. There was space by your side, but there was nothing for me," Adelaide said, shaking her head in a move that whispered listen. "I wasn't born to fill a space, I was born to make it. If I had stayed, what would have happened to my progress? To everything me and my family had ever worked for?"

She stayed silent for a minute, eyes roaming his face again in the same way Tommy did hers.

"I finished all that I started."

"Not everything," he said, letting his hand move to cup the side of her head, fingers lacing between thick locks of dark hair. Adelaide leaned into him, lips parting, brows furrowing as if she was in pain.

"Don't do that to me." Her voice was a whisper. "After everything, don't do that to me."

Then her eyes opened and were flashing with a meanness he could predict. She was looking to deflect, to distract, to hurt. Tommy would not let her.

"Where's Grace?"

"Don't you realise?" His other hand came to brush against her cheek. "She had nothing on you, Adelaide. Nothing. It was always only ever you."

Tommy thought she might cry. No tears of guilt or sadness, but tears of frustration and anger. He could feel the heat of her skin against his palms.

"I don't regret leaving."

"I know," he said softly.

"But I'll never regret coming back."

He wanted to pull her into him and take her there. He wanted to be arrogant, to name her his. Tommy wanted to speak of the power they could have together.

The sound of knocking interrupted his thoughts. It was a rhythmic sound, blunt hits against the floor- a sound he knew and recognised. The man knew well how to ruin everything Tommy loved.

"It's Inspector Campbell," he breathed. "You need to go. He can't know you were here."

Adelaide hurried out of the doorway, following the directions Tommy had told her. She sent one last glance his way, memorising his figure, even though he was beaten and bruised and unable to keep his head high for long. A part of her feared she would not see him again. That part was irrational, she decided. There was too much keeping her in Birmingham now and seeing him had only added extra weight.

Through the dark, maze-like halls, she wandered, retracing the steps she had been shown and emerging back into the reception where the nurse eyed her with agitation. Ignoring the urge to wave, Adelaide stepped into the fresh air of the evening, distracted by thoughts of Thomas Shelby.

She didn't see the bodies, the flashing of silver knives. Adelaide felt her body be wrenched sideways, ducking into the shadows. She let herself imagine it was her brother playing a joke, pulling her so she knew where they waited, but the grip on her arm was too tight. So right that she could feel the crescents of nails bite into her skin.

A cry of shock left her lips, air escaping her lungs. Adelaide fought to be let free, pulling her arms from one set of hands only to be locked in the grasp of another. Bare knees hit the jagged ground, scraping as her head was tugged upwards harshly. Her eyes would not cooperate, her gaze finding nothing of note as she was pushed to the side again.

Something cool met her cheek and in the next moment she was screaming, the sound muffled by a dirty hand. A blade- sharp and long- sliced into her skin, carving a bitter mark. The wetness of her own blood made her shiver and the salty tears that left her eyes made the wound sting.

"Sabini knows where you are." Hands pushed her head so hard that she fell to the ground completely, hands breaking her fall. "You're lucky the Inspector and his men are here."

Through blurred eyes, she could see feet, retreating quickly as the sound of shouting followed them. Adelaide gritted her teeth, holding back a scream. Her whole body shook. She wanted to cry, she wanted to shout and hit everything in sight. But she knew one thing for certain: Sabini would wish he'd killed her.

.