The Sun Will Rise | T Shelby

twenty four

Neither Alfie or Angelina knew what the time was. Autumn had arrived meaning sunlight was shying away for more hours and the tiny window above them with bars across barely showed any of the outside.

They could've been in there for days, but neither of them were sure whether it had been an hour or a week.

Alfie had stopped speaking. He'd tried his best to reassure Angelina as the two of them wasted away with their hands tied, but his mind had got the better of him in the end and he'd retreated into himself, mumbling things to himself in the corner as Angelina tried to ignore it.

Luca hadn't been back down, but his men had given water and bread to Alfie and Angelina, not saying a word when they were down there, despite Angelina pleading with them at every chance she got.

She had grown tired, too. Her wrists were cut and bruised from the shackles and her back ached from not being able to stand or lay properly. She was cold and the room was damp, she felt as though she was losing air every time she breathed and she feared the room would have no oxygen left soon.

Angelina spent her time daydreaming. She watched as Alfie cradled himself like a child and it broke her heart. She couldn't bare to watch him lose himself, and so she chose to face the other way most of the time, disappearing into her own mind and spending the minutes up there, wishing she was back in Italy with her brothers and parents.

Her eyes were hazy when she heard the heavy door swing open, a loud creaking was almost deafening to her after hearing nothing from the outside world for what felt like an eternity.

"Angelina!"

She felt herself being shaken as her name was called, but her vision was blurred and she couldn't see the person who's hands were on her shoulders.

She suddenly felt empty and the sensation stopped, the room was still spinning but Angelina began to feel suffocated. She grew warmer, hearing more voices and shouting as she tried to focus her eyes on what was happening around her.

Angelina glanced over her shoulder and saw Luca with a gun pointed at Alfie who lay against the wall with his legs spread in front of him and his hands in his lap.

She looked around the room, trying to recognise more faces in the suits that had appeared from nowhere.

Thomas was stood before her, a pistol pointed at Luca, and Luca's men with their guns all aimed at Tommy.

Angelina wasn't sure whether it was real or she was creating a nightmare inside her head. She heard the men shouting, she heard Thomas' voice and Alfie's groaning in pain beside her.

Thomas wasn't shouting. His voice had calmed and Luca was listening. Angelina watched through fluttering eyelids, trying hard to stay awake. In her head she was afraid, but her body was numb. Her heart wasn't racing, she wasn't sure it was still even beating, but her bones felt heavy and her mind was cloudy.

"One last fucking chance, Shelby. One last chance."

"Luca," Tommy said in a hushed tone, "It's not him you want. It's me, it's me that you're after."

"Then I'll kill you next."

The shot rang in Angelina's ears, letting her know that this was all happening and it wasn't some sick, twisted nightmare that her dazed mind had conjured up from a state of insanity.

The second firing of the gun came only a split second after, and then a barrage of firing made Angelina curl up into herself, covering her face with her hands as the shouting and echoing of bullets hitting the walls and floors sent shivers down her spine.

Silence deafened her next and she felt her hands being untied and her shoulders being shaken again. She looked to her right and saw Alfie laying on the floor, Arthur kneeling beside him with John and a group of other men shouting amongst themselves.

"Alfie, oh Alfie."

Angelina hauled herself across the floor and burst into tears as she looked at Alfie. Blood was seeping from his chest and his eyes were fluttering open and closed. Arthur held his shirt over the wound, trying to tell Angelina to move away, but she didn't listen.

"Angelina," Alfie choked, forcing himself to smile weakly at her as she leaned over his body, her hands caressing his face and wiping the blood from his cheeks, "My darling."

She sobbed, letting her tears fall onto his skin. Her heart was breaking ever so slowly, shredding into tiny pieces over and over again. She kissed Alfie, whispering to him that he was going to be okay, even though she knew by the vacant look in his eyes that it was a lie.

"I, I love you."

"Oh Alfie," Angelina cried, squeezing his hand tightly against her chest, "I love you too."

Alfie's breaths were shortening and Arthur had stopped trying to save him, knowing that his attempts were useless.

"Tommy, Tommy!" Alfie called out using the last of the air in his lungs.

Thomas came rushing over, dropping to his knees beside Alfie.

"Mr Solomons."

Angelina watched as Alfie took Thomas' hand in his own, looking into his eyes.

"You look after her," Alfie whispered, coughing, "You fucking take care of her, or I'll haunt you like the son of a bitch that I am."

Thomas let out a laugh, wiping away the tears that had escaped from his eyes, smiling down at Alfie who even now had managed a smile back.

"Love her for me, I know you do, mate. Love her harder than I do, and do it forever."

Angelina covered her mouth with her hand as she choked out a soft cry, falling backwards into John's arms. She looked at Tommy who broke his gaze with Alfie to meet her eyes, then looked back at Alfie who lay still.

"I promise, brother".

Angelina felt herself being pulled to her feet by John. She was lifted into the air by him, carried over what she saw was Luca's body, and then over bodies of the men that worked for him.

The sunlight burned her eyes even through the tears that hadn't stopped falling. John sat her down on a sofa, bending down to look into her eyes.

"It's going to be alright, Angelina." he said quietly.

She sat and cried. John cradled her and listened to the pain that she was crying out, desperately trying to soothe her and make the pain go away.

He wasn't sure when Angelina dropped off to sleep, but her crying softened and eventually she'd fallen silent in his lap. John knew her body had shut down from exhaustion and shock.

Thomas entered the room and walked over to John.

"She's asleep, Tom."

Tommy nodded, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked down at Angelina and swallowed the lump in his throat.

Cocking his head to the side, John gently lay Angelina down on the sofa and went outside to help Arthur and the boys clean up.

Thomas sat down on the floor beside Angelina. He brushed her hair from her face and placed a kiss on her forehead, watching her chest rise and fall to make sure she was still breathing.

His fingertips gently lifted up the small locket that was hanging around her neck. He flicked it open and saw a photograph of Alfie inside. He let out a loud sigh and threw his head back, looking up at the ceiling with watery eyes.

He prayed. He wasn't sure what for or to who, he just prayed.

Looking back down at Angelina, he took her hand gently in his own and held it, rubbing his thumb across her skin lightly.

"I know it's hard, dear, but the sun will always rise again in the morning."