TROUBLE - peaky blinders

48. play with fire, bound to get burned

A door down the hallway creaked open and banged loudly against the wall. Clara shot to her feet, her wild eyes scanning the outside of the cell as two darkened figures approached the holding cell. She gulped ever so slightly as they stopped outside of the cell door. The policeman stepped forward and unlocked the door as the rest of his keys rattled.

"Ms Shelby, you're free to go," the man sighed reluctantly. His eyes swam with anger, anger that he repressed as the figure behind him merely stood and stared. The policeman didn't even bother to wait as he slouched off and left the two in their staring battle. Clara's eyes were blurred and red from tiredness, the shadows under her eyes almost matching the night sky.

"Hello, John," the girl winced as she mustered up a weak smile.

☆

"YOUR COAT, JACKET AND BAG," THE policeman grudgingly handed over her things. Clara silently took them, her eyes not straying from the opposed man, as she scanned his face for any tell of fear and threat. She presumed that was the only way she had been left free— that...and a lot of hush money. Hell, maybe the policeman was dirty, if so, he would be rolling around in the bribe like a pig in shit. But as Clara watched him, she noticed his clenched jaw and the way he sucked his teeth. He was annoyed and it amused her. Perhaps, he would've been able to take a drug ring down by arresting Clara or even receive a promotion because Clara was his two hundredth arrest that month.

Whatever the reason for his annoyance, Clara thrived off of it.

John stood solemnly behind the girl, his arms crossed as he remained silent. It unnerved Clara, she couldn't believe he had remained quiet and brooding for so long. From what she saw out of the corner of her eyes, he looked indifferent to the situation as if he had better places to be— which he probably didn't. The girl shrugged on her coat feeling a small difference in weight on the right side from the bottles she'd stuffed into the lining.

The girl found her messy scrawl being repeated as she signed a few release documents. She didn't even bother to read them. She couldn't care less at this stage. All she wanted was to make snow angels in the depths of her snow and see Nadia...her Nadia. Clara couldn't lose her too. Nadia had been right, Clara had to make amendments and her heart would continue to break until she did.

Clara squinted as sunbeams flooded her vision. She followed John towards his car as he strolled towards it, maintaining his silence. A full thrumming raged through Clara's head as she walked with her head down towards the ground.

"Hurry up, 'n get in," John stated, already inside the car when Clara eventually caught up. The girl rolled her eyes and climbed into the car, her trembling hands inside her pockets.

"Can you drop me at The Aurora?" Clara asked, her tone rather monotonous.

"You're not going out drinking, 'specially not after what I've just had to bloody do," John huffed as he revved the engine and pulled out onto the street.

"I wasn't going to go drinking," Clara argued, her eyebrows furrowed. "I need to get my fuckin' car!"

"No, you're coming back to Small Heath," John responded sternly. "Straight back, no stops."

Clara's jaw fell open slightly as her heart sped up. She couldn't leave London, not yet. She had to see Nadia, talk to her and try to explain the madness she'd been trying to suppress. She needed to be with Nadia.

"I can't just leave it parked up here!"

"I'll get someone to collect it," He dismissed,

"John, I need to get things from my car!" Clara continued to argue. "Besides, this is bloody London, you send someone to collect it and it'll be gone before they even get there!"