In Bleak Midwinter

Chapter Eight

Emily hastily made her way out of Sabini's house, half expecting Tommy to pass comment on the situation as they travelled out to the cars. John had momentarily hyped Emily's behaviour by laughing and giggling at the display of savagery she outed previously, however, he was quickly told to shut up by Arthur who tapped him around the back of his head aggressively.

The drive home was unbearably awkward. Emily could sense that Tommy's silence had turned into a calculated angry response to the situation, waiting for the ideal opportunity to emerge... this was not what Emily had hoped for.

The gang dispersed once they arrive at Small Heath. John helped Emily out the car; he leaned in to whisper in her ear before his two brothers could catch him.
"Tommy is angry" he muttered.
"I can tell" Emily responded quietly, gazing into John's eyes.
"Don't let him intimidate you. What you did back there was impressive. He's probably just angry because it wasn't him who had orchestrated this plan" John smirked. Emily smiled at his comment.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous the whole time though" Emily tutted, softly shaking her head.
"If it's any consolation, I thought it was amazing... and sexy" he winked.
"John boy!" Arthur called from the other side of the car. They two turned to the noise of Arthur's voice.
"Come on Em, go show Tommy who's really the boss" John spoke as he trailed off inside into the house after Arthur.

Emily stood in the street momentarily. She looked aside her to see Tommy blowing a fume of smoke which had come from the cigarette placed upon his lip. She walked round to his side of the car. Just before she could say anything, he interrupted.
"Get back in the car Emily" he told.
"Where are we going?"
"Back to my office. I have some things to sort out. I will take you home after".
"It's late Tommy, I should head home" Emily replied before quickly being interrupted by Tommy again.
"Get in the car".

The two arrived at Tommy's office shortly after. He took a deep sigh as he unlocked the doors. Tommy then proceeded to aggressively pull her inside, locking the door in the process. Taken back by the shock and disrespect, Emily squared up to the man from a distance.
"Tommy what the hell?" She cried angrily. She got no response from him; instead he walked rapidly towards her. For the first time she couldn't read his behaviour and she wasn't sure what his next move was.
"What the fuck was that all about with Sabini?" He said, stopping directly in front of her, staring soullessly into her eyes.
"What do you mean?" She frowned.
Emily wasn't frightened of Thomas Shelby and this would prove a problem for him. He had no intention of hurting her, though he wanted her to understand she was playing a dangerous game. He wanted her to know this because he cared so deeply about her. Tommy was abundantly aware of the danger Sabini could or could have placed her in - though he didn't show it, he was mortified of the possibility of losing her. But the fact that Emily wasn't frightened of Tommy, meant that the message he was attempting to convey was interpreted as other means.

"Give me my gun back" Tommy demanded.
Emily's heart sank momentarily.
"Sabini took it. I'm sorry" she muttered.
Tommy stared into her eyes blankly.
"Look, I know you're angry Tom, but I didn't know what else to do-"
"You could have started by telling me Sabini was in our territory?!" Tommy snapped.
Emily rolled her eyes and snapped back.
"If I had told you about Sabini then I would have put everyone at risk. Not just you. Not just John or Arthur. But Mary, Ada, Polly, Finn and even Karl! If you want to sit here and lecture me about rights and wrongs Tommy, maybe you should reconsider your own actions".
Tommy placed his hand around her chin and gripped tightly. The two locked eyes in a passionate stare.
"You could have died" Tommy whispered.
Emily pulled out of his grip. "But I didn't..."
Tommy tilted his head back and laughed to himself, placing his hands over his face before moving his head back level to hers. Emily took the chance to reach into the pocket of her dress and revealed a piece of folded paper. She unwrapped the paper and handed it to Tommy as soon as he uncovered his face.
"What's this?" He shrugged.
"The locations to all of Sabini's clubs, warehouses and so on" she started, pointing to each section on the paper. "And here is fellow buisness associates which could be of interest to you... including information about his dealings with Alfie Solomons in the past".
Tommy nodded carefully, taking in all the information being presented.
"Oh and information about deals that he is going to exploit, which ultimately if you play your cards right, you too could also exploit".
Tommy clicked his tongue and walked away, moving towards his desk and sitting down in the large chair before it. "How did you find out all of this then?"
"I have friends in high places..." She paused and thought about her answer. Tommy raised his eyebrow.
"I asked Lord White to take me to his offices. I met various people; people that know Sabini. I was able to gain information without being suspect to any suspicion - let's just say I used my social position to manipulate the situation..."
Tommy grunted in disbelief, lighting another cigarette and inhaling the smoke which emerged.

"You're not the only one who thinks Tommy" Emily said, trailing her finger along his desk as she moved closer to the man until she was stood in front of him. He slowly looked her up and down as the cloud of smoke dismissed itself as she leaned in, placing her hands on the arms of the chair and leaned towards him.
"So you want to play with fire?" Tommy smirked as he put out his cigarette...