Bonnie Gold was unbeatable. If the Shelby brothers put Bonnie into a ring with a wild bear, Ailbhe wouldn’t be putting money on the bear. His opponent that night was over six feet and seemed to have fists the size of footballs. But Bonnie Gold was putting up a fight and Ailbhe knew he was only delaying it until the fifth round before putting him down. Finn and Bonnie’s plan was working and Ailbhe could see the scores of men queuing up and pushing to get their bets in on Bonnie’s opponent, bets that weren’t going to work out for them but were going to line the company’s pockets.
Bonnie had come out, looking confident as ever and no doubt crossing his face that he was going to win when he needed to. Jade had been babbling nervously, drinking from the little flask of whiskey that Ailbhe had passed to her to try settle her nerves. It wasn’t really working in steadying the girls’ nerves but it was making Ailbhe start to feel its effects in other ways. Ailbhe had been drinking since she got there, subconsciously sipping at the flask that Isiah had refilled for her twice already. Tipsy was coming for her and she felt all warm and loose, glad of the break from reality. She was glad Finn had made her come out.
“I don’t know will I ever get used to this, Alv?” Jade sighed, taking the flask and taking a long swig from it.
She had been nervously fidgeting and talking endlessly since Ailbhe had met with her outside the back room where Bonnie was getting ready. Jade had snuck back there when Aberama and his trainer were talking with Finn. She had just wanted to kiss him good luck and she should have known that she would be way more nervous than he was. He was as cool as a breeze, smiling easily and promising her he’d see her after he’d won.
Jade and Bonnie had been staying in Finn’s flat in Artillery Square since they got married, happy to have their own space and own little place to call home. However, Jade had told Ailbhe how they were going back into the country the day after Bonnie’s fight. He preferred to live outdoors and while Jade was much more of an indoor girl who enjoyed luxuries like electricity and running water, she was going to give it all up for him, at least for a little while. Bonnie’s sisters wanted to meet her and so did the rest of the people Bonnie had grown up camping with. Ailbhe had to admit that it really must be love for Jade to go without.
Jade grabbed Ailbhe’s hand tightly, holding onto her and squeezing as Bonnie took three bad hits to the face. She squeezed her eyes shut, not sure she could bear looking at it any longer but the way Bonnie jumped back up, spat out the blood in his mouth and swung for his opponent’s jaw, Ailbhe knew he was far from finished.
Ailbhe watched every second of it, keeping her eyes open while Jade took another sip and swore under her breath how much she just wanted it to be over.
Appearing behind them, Isiah slung his arms around Ailbhe and his sister’s shoulders, putting his head between theirs.
“Alright, ladies?” He grinned, that big dopey grin as the girl’s pushed his arms off them, rolling their eyes.
Ailbhe found it hard to believe sometimes that Finn and Isiah were intimidating to others, were frightening and threatening.
“What’s the matter?” He asked, sensing the girls’ nerves.
“Your brother-in-law is getting the shit beaten out of him in there” Ailbhe stated the absolute obvious, gesturing to where Bonnie was taking a fist into the kidneys.
Jade looked up at him, seeing the remnants of her twin’s play in the snow under his nostrils. She rolled her eyes, telling him to wipe it away. The cheeky grin Isiah that spread across his face as he wiped it away let them know it wasn’t his first line of the night.
“When is he finishing this?” Jade sighed, sneaking a peek at her husband who was now bleeding from a cut above his eye and didn’t even flinch.
“Any minute now, sister. Any minute now” Isiah promised, pulling out his pocket watch and nodding at Finn across the room where he stood beside Aberama Gold and Bonnie’s trainer.
Finn saw the signal, knowing time was up for Bonnie.
“Come on Bonnie, finish him!” Finn shouted, catching Bonnie’s eye despite the blood that trickled into it and clouded his vision. He nodded, the shadow of a smile crossing his young face as he rubbed the blood away from his eye.
The girls and Isiah watched as he started to circle his opponent, clearly ready to end this fight.
“Come on Bonnie!” Ailbhe cheered, gripping Jade’s hand in hers as they stood up and shouted with the rest of the crazed viewers.
Smooth, perfectly landed and rhythmic blows to the stomach, to the chest and then to the jaw sent Bonnie’s opponent tumbling to the ground, landing flat on his back and staying down there. He didn’t even attempt to get up, having worn himself out trying to knock out Bonnie, he didn’t have the energy anymore. All went exactly according to Bonnie and Finn’s master plan.
Knock out in the fifth round. As planned. Bonnie won and Finn raked in the cash. A perfect storm.
The next bit was a blur of shouting and cheering among the Blinders, the only people smart enough to bet on Bonnie Gold. Aberama grabbed Bonnie, pulling him into an affectionate grip and congratulating him profusely in Shelta. Jade sighed in total relief, so proud of him she felt like she could burst. She smiled through the kiss when he hopped out of the ring, down to her side and she wrapped her arms around his shoulder grinning but he pulled back for a kiss.
Ailbhe waited for Finn outside the back doors once the crowd had started to leave through the main doors. Bonnie and Jade came out first, the cut on his forehead now stitched and bandaged and the girl with him looked so relieved and happy she might burst. Bonnie looked like he should be exhausted but there was more adrenaline pumping through his face than he knew what to do with. Ailbhe promised to catch up with them in The Garrison, that she was waiting for Finn and would join them with him.
She leaned against the wall, wondering what was taking Finn so long when Aberama rounded the corner. He took off his hat, approaching her and almost even smiling.
“Miss Kennedy” He nodded, coming to a half beside her.
She liked Aberama. She wasn’t sure why sometimes but she did. And she knew that he admired her. She wasn’t sure Aberama Gold liked anyone except for his son. And maybe Polly.
“You must be proud tonight Mr Gold” She smiled, knowing that he was.
Bonnie was Aberama’s pride and joy.
“My son brings pride to my family every night, but tonight especially Miss Kennedy thank you” He nodded, running his hat through his fingers that rings on almost every digit.
He had something to say, something to ask.
“Thomas has warned me that your visions haven’t stopped since your return” He stated, it wasn’t a question but she was sure there was more.
She felt a little too tipsy for this conversation but nevertheless she was having it.
“I’m not a witch Mr Gold... I’m not sure what I am but I know I can’t see the future or predict fate... I have hunches and feelings and sometimes they’re right”
She admitted with a sigh, shrugging her shoulders and turning to face him.
She wished she could give him more of an answer. But she didn’t want him to be under the impression she was a fortune teller, that she had visions and dreams that were bound to happen. Polly told her she had a gift but for the most part, Ailbhe was just good at reading people. The dreams were rarely right and she tried not to read too much into them but the dreams about the magpie, about the black cat and about Séan had been right. Maybe she was better than she thought.
His dark eyes narrowed, watching her carefully.
“Witch or not, you know more than the rest of us ever will Miss Kennedy. But you must be careful... it’s not a life for the faint-hearted.” He stated, his eyes showing a flash of what Ailbhe felt could be concern.
“I know Mr Gold...” She replied quietly, knowing that these so-called gifts were more a cross to bear than anything. Her mother had to bear that burden and at some point, it got too heavy.
Aberama watched her carefully, noticing how she seemed to grow quiet and a little frightened. But he didn’t doubt her, not even for a second. She had proved herself to be tougher and stronger, smarter and sharper than any woman he’d met with the possible exception of her Aunt Polly.
“We are very lucky to have you among us men Miss Kennedy, gift or no gift” He stated, so matter of factly that Ailbhe wanted to believe him.
“Jade tells me you’re leaving Small Heath for a little while” Ailbhe acknowledged, eager to change the subject and knowing Mr Gold was going with them.
Aberama was sick of Small Heath and Birmingham, wanting some time away from it all. Ailbhe could understand that.
“Yes... Living in brick houses, working in the cities. It can begin to feel quite permanent” He mused, never tearing his eyes away from Ailbhe’s.
Most people got nervous around her, knowing how easy she found it to read people’s emotions and see through their lies. And so, most people dodged her eyes but not the Golds. They always looked her straight in the eye, as if they didn’t have anything to hide. Ailbhe liked that about them.
“Isn’t permanent a good thing?” She asked, a slight smile on her lips as she raised an eyebrow at him.
“It would be, if only it existed Miss Kennedy” He told her, stepping aside and putting his hat back on as Finn joined them.
“Good night Mr Gold” Ailbhe nodded as he made his exit, leaving Finn and Ailbhe alone and leaving Ailbhe a little unsure about what had really been said.
Finn bid Aberama good night too, glad to be alone with Ailbhe. While Ailbhe was drunk on whiskey, Finn was drunk on victory and money. They had cleaned up again and Finn was grinning from ear to ear.
He grinned, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her in against him.
“What did Gold want?” Finn asked, curious about what he would have to say to Ailbhe.
He knew that Aberama Gold had a certain fascination with her, intrigued by her gits and intelligence for a young woman of little to no education. Finn could understand it, she was utterly enthralling in more ways than one.
“He thinks I’m a witch” She joked, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing in against him. She didn’t want to talk about any of that any longer.
Finn nodded. He knew she was under a lot of pressure but he knew that whether she was a witch or not had nothing to do with the spell she had cast on him.
“How did we do?” She asked him, smiling through the kiss he pressed to her lips.
It was a question she didn’t even need answering. They had made more cash than ever that night and Finn was so glad Tommy was trusting him to do it.
But Finn wasn’t thinking about money or bets anymore, he was thinking about Ailbhe and how good she looked, how her eyes and lips were so tempting and her body pushed against his.
She was wearing a pair of high heels but she was still much shorter than him, her arms wrapped his mid-section as she looked up at him. She noticed how he smiled so easily with her, as though he was just a young lad in love, as if there was no other side to him. She knew he wasn’t like that around other people; it was just her.
She reached up, wiping away the remnants of white powder under his nose with her thumb. She knew Finn and Isiah were no strangers to the snow but she didn’t really care, she wasn’t Finn’s mother and it never changed him, it just gave Finn more energy than she knew what to do with sometimes.
“Come on” She nodded in the direction of the door, smiling up at him easily “The others will be waiting for us”.
But Finn held onto her, glad of the quiet and silence.
“Let ‘em wait” He told her, tilting her chin up to him.
He ran his other hand down her back, back up again and tracing the skin of her bare back in the low back of her dress. He could feel her melt into his touch, knowing that she craved and treasured his touch like he did for hers.
He was hoping she would enjoy herself, get out of Small Heath and spend some time with Jade, be able to relax and breathe fully again. He knew she was putting huge pressure on herself, trying to make herself into the Shelby’s little fortune teller as if her second sight was the only use of her in the company. While Tommy had enough to worry about already, now he worried slightly for Ailbhe. He had told Finn to take her out that night, to try and get her to relax a little. And Finn was going to.
Finn had seen her drinking from the flask Isiah kept filling and how relaxed she felt in his arms then, how her eyes were glassy, how her cheeks were pink and how she smiled so easily. He was glad, hoping she could forget about the dreams and the bad feelings.
Alcohol pulsed through her veins and she didn’t want to think too much more, she wanted to forget it for a while. She wanted to just be Finn’s girl, to just be Jade’s friend and to not spend the night dreaming about black cats and magpies that stared at her, gold rings in mouth and worry about Tommy and every other member of their family.
“Come on” He nodded towards the door, tugging her hand and letting her slip her hand around his upper arm and holding it as they walked.
Whatever shit and chaos that was coming for them could wait for one night.
*
For the first time in what felt like forever, Finn woke before her. He had always been a heavy sleeper and Ailbhe seemed to sleep less and less these days, especially since she was having more regular dreams again. But not this morning. She slept soundly on her stomach, cheek against the pillow he shared with her in the small bed Finn had always had. She had the soft look of someone in a dreamless sleep that Finn couldn't help but stare at. He never got to see her so peaceful looking so he savoured every moment of it. He couldn't help himself from reaching out and pushing a lock of hair back, trailing his fingers down the slope of neck and down the soft skin of her back where the blanket had slipped down. It might be rude to stare but he could look at her forever.
Bonnie and Jade had left for the country the morning after the fight. They left, not telling anyone where they were going or when they would be back but that was the norm for them. It had been six weeks since that night and Aberama's words had haunted her since. The old Shelby house on Watery Lane had been empty last night except for the exceptionally drunk pair that fell over the threshold at four o clock in the morning, lips joined and pulling the coats off each other. Finn couldn't help the satisfied smile that pulled at his thoughtful expression as he thought back to the events of a few hours previous. They hadn't made it to his bedroom the first time. The stairs hadn't been comfortable but she had been. The breathy moans and euphoric feeling of being inside her was enough.
As Finn started to trail her spine again from the base of her neck, she started to rouse. Opening her eyes, squinting slightly from the brightness she sighed in a way that practically sounded indecent.
“I didn’t dream about a black cat last night, Finn” she whispered, not even sure they were fully awake.
It was true, the black cat with grey eyes had avoided her dreams last night. Perhaps the snow and the champagne kept him away but the dream about the magpie lingered on. But there was something less sinister about it, something as if the magpie was just there, not warning her about anything but just letting her know that something sorrowful was going to happen but there was nothing they could do about it.
She had fallen asleep first the night before and slept until morning. Finn had stayed up a little while, just making sure she could stay asleep and not start fidgeting and mumbling in dreams like she sometimes did. After their exertions on the stairs followed by more in his bed, they had finally fell back onto the matress a mess of panting and content sighs.
“Good” he replied, his voice hoarse and low as she leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. He smiled on impact of her lips with his skin, it didn’t matter where.
"Think my heads going to split open"
Finn rubbed his temples but it offered no relief. Sneaking a look at her through his eyelashes, she looked extremely fresh for someone who had drank enough whiskey to put a man twice her weight flat on his back.
"The poor Garrison" Ailbhe commented, putting her cool hand against Finn's forehead and pushing the few stray curls off his forehead.
"Fuck" Finn groaned, remembering the state they had left the pub in. He didn't remember all of it. The whiskey and the snow saw to that. But he remembered a broken window and something about smashing glasses as part of a game.
"Niall and Arthur are gonna kill me"
Finn was sure of it.
"To be fair... I think the glass smashing was my idea" Ailbhe told him regretttably.
"Yeah but nobody's gonna question Princess Ailbhe" Finn reminded her, she was practically untouchable with their brothers' soft spots for her.
"I'll send the money for the damage over this morning" He promised her, sinking into her touch.
She was grateful to him for everything he had done for her but mainly for being there for her, for being able to calm her thoughts and pull her back. It was easy for him; it was what she had been doing for him for years but he just never thought he’d have to do it for her. But he never minded. He would do it forever if he had to. It was as if he had known that she needed to let off some steam, get out of her own head for one night.
He rolled towards her, wrapping his arms tighter around her and rolling until she was on her back and he lay almost over her. He rested his head in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply the smell of her perfume and her. It was almost as addictive as the way she ran her fingers across his back.
One of Finn's hands lazily ran down her side before gripping onto her waist and pulling her in against him. He pulled his head from the crook of her neck to take a proper look at her now that his eyes were adjusted to the light. He couldn't help the easy smile that pulled at his lips when he saw how she looked back at him, at ease and at peace.
"So, why always blue?" He asked, his fingers trailing along the soft satin of the two piece undergarments she was sleeping in. They almost always were blue, whether it was pale powder or a deep navy Finn always noticed the colour, reminding himself how lucky he was every time he was privy to the sight of her.
Ailbhe felt herself smirk. She didn't think Finn would notice such a thing but then again, he always had an eye for detail and his memory was almost as good as hers. Especially given the way he looked at her, drank in the sight like he wanted to savour every second.
"Well" she teased, "Blue is your favourite colour"
Finn felt a proper smile then. He pulled her closer. He had to pull her closer.
"So... you picked these out for me?" He smirked that cocky smirk Ailbhe loathed and loved in equal measures.
She rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Of course" she replied with a roll of her eyes and a light layer of sarcasm.
Finn already had an ego but he also already knew the she was the only one for him and he for her. He didn't have to even consider the possibility that his was not the only bed she stayed in sometimes. He couldn't even imagine it. The mere image that flashed in his mind of Ailbhe in some other man's bed, in some other man's arms was enough to make Finn's smile falter.
"I mean, who else would possibly see me in this?"
Her voice shattered the unpleasant image and he snapped back to look at her.
"Absolutely no one" He vowed, banishing those images forever as he ran a hand down her leg, hearing her quickening breaths when he reached her thigh and hooked her leg around his. "No one, not ever"
Ailbhe tilted her head, bringing her lips to Finn’s and wrapping her hands around his shoulders. What started off slow and soft, started to escalate as always, Finn’s hands running all over her body and her fingers digging into the muscles at the top of his back as he kissed and sucked the skin of her neck.
Banging footsteps on the stairs tore them away from each other as Finn grabbed the gun on the stool beside his bed, pointing it at the door when his brother burst in.
“Jesus Christ Tommy, ever heard of knocking?” Finn snapped, lowering the gun and pulling on the blanket, making sure Ailbhe was sufficiently covered.
Tommy was standing in the doorway, dressed in one of his best suits and a cigarette between his fingers as always. He didn’t seem shocked to find Ailbhe in Finn’s bed, nor did he care. But Ailbhe still felt mortified, feeling heat in her cheeks.
“Ailbhe, get dressed. I need your help with something. Finn, get up and get to the betting shop, it’s nearly nine”
He snapped, waving his hand at them and hurrying them on.
"And Finn, you're going to pay back Arthur for the mess you caused last night"
He warned his brother, pointing a finger in his direction before slamming the door behind him. Finn sighed dramatically, throwing himself back onto the mattress. Tommy really had ruined his plans to spend the morning just how he had spent his night, lost and buried in Ailbhe.
She jumped to life as soon as the door shut, grabbing spare clothes she kept in Arthur’s old room and pulling them on.
"Told you!" Finn joked, knowing that Tommy would never blame her "Princess fucking perfect"
Finn grumbled and complained as he dressed, only breaking a smile when Ailbhe promised she’d make it up to him later.
“If it helps, I love you” She reminded him, pressing her lips to his not once but twice, before following Tommy down the stairs. She knew he didn’t like to be kept waiting, his patience was almost as thin as hers.
He was standing outside the back door despite the cold, looking up at the sky as if he could see anything but smoke and clouds from the factories. She wasn’t sure what Tommy had for her to do this morning or if she was about to get a warning that her brothers would kill her if they knew where she had been all night. But he turned to her, his eyes tired looking and still a brighter blue than any sky in Birmingham.
“I didn’t dream about a black cat last night Ailbhe” He told her, his voice hoarse as he spoke and his eyes so tired looking that Ailbhe wasn’t surprised he hadn’t dreamt. It was hard to dream when you didn’t sleep.
Ailbhe felt relieved. Neither had she.
“Me neither Tom...” She replied, shaking her head when he offered her a cigarette.
“But I had the dream about the magpie again” She told him, knowing he would want to know.
He looked away from the sky, down at the girl he called sister.
"I thought you were gonna steady Finn, not make him even harder to handle"
He chastised her, but Ailbhe saw the lack of conviction. Tommy had never been any good at scolding her, his heart was never in it.
"It wasn't my fault-" She started to protest, but Tommy's piercing eyes caught hers and gave her a strict glare.
"Smashing glasses? That's a Kennedy move, Alv" Tommy reminded her, with a quirk of his eyebrow.
The fun in his eyes faded away. An anxious and tense atmosphere settled over them again. The state of the Garrison wasn't why Tommy was visitng her and Finn.
“Do you know what day it is today Alv?” he asked her, as if the date could be emblazoned into her mind like it was for them.
But Ailbhe knew this date for another reason.
“This day, fifteen years ago we enlisted Ailbhe...” He told her, reminding her of that day. She had been only five, barely remembering that day in particular but remembering all that came after.
“And then we came back... but we didn’t really come back” he shook his head, almost laughing.
“We thought that we could make a difference”
There it was, almost another laugh. It seemed almost laughable.
Ailbhe knew the boys would never forget France, never move on from everything they had been through over there and everything they had seen. She wasn’t stupid, she knew this. But sometimes she wished they could.
But it was exactly what Ailbhe had thought when she went to those meetings, when she promised to help people who had done bad things. But that part of their life was over, they had to close that chapter or else it would drip blood and mud into every other page.
“It’s Ruby’s birthday today Tom” She reminded him, knowing that this date wasn’t remembered by him for the birth of his daughter. But maybe he could change that.
Tommy stared back at her, digesting the information. He looked as though he tried to push it back, push the shit and the blood and mud from France back.
“I need you to finish the checks on Michael today. Telephone everyone he met in New York, everyone he met without you and find out what they discussed”
He told her, tearing his eyes away from her and looking out at the still, dark water of the cut.
“Alright Tom” She nodded, wrapping her coat tighter around her. It was freezing and Tommy didn’t seem to ever notice anymore.
“Come on” He beckoned, walking towards the offices.
He still didn’t trust everyone, not enough to let Ailbhe walk anymore alone. Even if it was Small Heath, even if it was day time. She didn’t question it, knowing better than to try change his thoughts.
“Be home tonight though Tom, please. Lizzie has a cake, I’m bringing her a present. It’ll be good for you” Ailbhe told him as they reached the office doors.
He didn’t even react. Ailbhe wasn’t sure he had heard her as his mind seemed miles away.
“Black cat dream is never wrong Ailbhe. Never”
He told her, pointing a finger at her as if to remind her that their dreams weren’t random. That they weren't crazy.
And then he just turned away, striding away from her without looking back leaving her to wonder if Tommy was losing it, if she was losing it or maybe if they had both lost their minds long ago and nobody had the bravery or heart to tell them.