Child of Ice (Thomas Shelby)

Chapter seventeen: Make it out alive

'This time I'm not leaving without you Ayla' His voice more prominent as he finally turned to face her. She looked like a completely different person. Her hair was shorter and curled at the ends, her makeup was heavier but her green eyes never failed to sparkle and her outfits were more promiscuous, her dress had a plunging neck line revealing her perfectly sculpted chest, her scars were barely visible but Thomas knew exactly where to look. He didn't even know who he was looking at.She could barely look at him for more than three seconds, afraid of giving into him again which is the last thing she wanted to do right now. She wanted him all to herself from now till the end of time but she didn't have time to dwell on the impossible.

'Since you left everything in Small heath has gone to shit and its all because of your father' He said which stunned her anger boiling like a kettle that had been simmering for too long.

'He's not my father' she said plainly lighting a cigarette, her knuckles red and her arms bruised from undoubtably fighting somehow.She noticed him looking at her like a worried parent.

'Its nothing I can't handle' She inhaled sharply taking in every little bit of nicotine from the cigarette she was enjoying.

'Is that right?' he said which made her raise her brows at him.

'I found your pearls' he said taking the string of pearls out of his pockets and dropping them in her hands. She inspected them for a while running her thumbs over them but you could tell by the surprise on her face that something was wrong, there was something she wasn't telling him like always. Thomas had become used to the face she would make when something was being hidden from him.

'He found me Thomas, he took the pearls from me, he took everything but I managed to get away, like always' She bit her lip like she was hiding something, He looked at her bruises again. He wanted to touch her soft skin so badly. Wanted to hold her and tell her how much she meant to him, he was tired of being alone and depressed in a world where he would never be on top.

'Run away with me, look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want to leave and I'll leave you alone' He grabbed a hold of her cold hands but she looked at him like she saw nothing in him anymore, like she'd fallen out of love with him but that wasn't the case.

'Thomas you have to go, we never should have met. I never should have come to Birmingham, I never should have risked your life. My selfishness got you and your family into this mess' She spoke with pain in her voice, tears threatening to fall but he wasn't going to give up so easy.

'Why do you keep pushing me away? Don't you understand that if anything happens to you I could never live with myself? I tried forgetting about you, tried moving on forgetting about your very existence but I couldn't do it, I came into your life we all did none of this is your fault but our own' He said which took her aback she could feel the desperation in his voice.

'Thomas listen-'she tried to speak but he cut her off not giving her the chance to refuse

'Marry me...' He trailed off, looking at her face for any kind of happy emotions, a gasp leaving her lips when he asked the question she never thought a hardened man like Thomas Shelby would ever ask.

'You left me those rings for a reason, you are the only woman I ever want to be with' She had never seen him like this and by all the accounts of him a normal life wasn't on the cards. She may not have known him long but he definitely wasn't the gangster everyone talked about. Deep down inside there was a man filled with feelings and emotions that no person could ever understand but she did. No matter how much she wanted to say yes she couldn't...

'I can't, Its not that I don't want to because I do...' she cut herself off which broke his heart, more that it had ever been before pulling her hand out of his.

'Then what is it? What's holding you back?' He looked into her emerald eyes not wanting to look elsewhere.

'My father knows you're here. He knew you would come after me after you found the bodies' She said which changed his heart break into anger. He didn't know whether to be angry with her or himself for knowingly entering the Kings trap.

'I came to get you, I'm not leaving without you. We can run away go somewhere, anywhere' He begged but he knew what the answer would be.

'Where ever we go he will find us and you know it, he will kill everyone around us is that what you want? Do you really want to risk loosing everyone and everything just for me?' She said leaving him quite for a moment thinking about the biggest priority in his life although he undoubtedly chose her he couldn't leave his family unprotected.

'I figured maybe if I surrender he will let you go, leave all of you alone. He'll have what he needs so he'll forget all about you' She said hoping this would change his mind. Trying to walk past him but he wasn't going to let her leave, never again.

'Don't you dare walk away from me, he will just kill you and come after us anyway' Thomas held onto her arm like a child's first day at school.

'He wont kill me. He made me a promise. If I turn myself in, marry the King of Israel and let bygones be-' he cut her off knowing that the king's promises would not be kept

'So thats what you're going to do?' He scoffed 'Give in?, this isn't like you Ayla'He said as the brothers joined them both outside to see the commotion they had both become to be.

'Well thank fuck you found her' Arthur smelt of whiskey and John tried not to giggle, holding his brother upright.

'You need to go Thomas. I'm doing this for you why can't you see that?' She tried to fight her case.

'Because I love you!' Thomas shouted grabbing everyone's attention. It was the first time he had ever said it to anyone, tears now pouring out of her emerald eyes she didn't want to break his heart like this. She wanted to be with him away from all of this trouble raise a family and begin a normal life something they both never had but craved like a moth to a flame.

The sudden sound of shouting and gun's shooting in the distance great panic struck into Ayla, she knew if the brothers didn't leave now they would no doubt be killed within the next five minutes. The king and his guards were ruthless and didn't spare any mercy to anyone not even her.The thugs looked like heavy barbells, like people you wouldn't want to come across in the pitch black.

'You need to go! Please just go!' she shouted pulling her knives out of her holsters and running in the opposite direction. Thomas tried desperately to run after her but Arthur and John held him back.

'We haven't finished here!' Thomas called after her

'Live to fight another day. You won't be worth anything to anyone dead' Arthur finally said

'She going to get herself killed!' Thomas's voice was quiet and desperate. 'We're not leaving until he's dead' Thomas spoke watching the beauty running towards the commotion. No fear. That was the last thing he saw before his brothers lugged him away.

'If she's got this far without your help I'm sure she'll live' John finally spoke.