Love Is A Battlefield [2] (T. Shelby/OC) BWWM✅

Chapter 8 (S2, E5) - The Rat

A/N: Anna's outfit pictured above.

Anna had just finished her performance when the audience claps loudly as she gave a little bow and then made her way down the stage. Jack makes his way toward her, looking a little grim and nauseated as he did.

"What?" Anna asks worriedly.

"Alfie's here. He's waitin' for you in your office" he reveals to her as Anna sighs at this. She really isn't in the mood for Alfie Solomons and his ever changing moods right now.

"And away we go" Anna says with a sigh as she made her way toward her office, greeting some of the familiar faces as she did.

When she makes her way down the hallways leading to her office she isn't at all surprised to see that there were two of Alfie's men standing guard outside her office.

Jack gives her a look of good luck as he leaves her halfway as one of Alfie's men opens the door for her when she draws closer.

Anna knows that the action isn't because he's being a true gentleman but she'll take sarcastic gentleman for now.

Alfie was the face of a perfectly patient gentleman as he sat in the chair across from her desk, waiting patiently for her.

"Mr. Solomons" Anna greets as he turns his head to face her, "to what do I owe this pleasure?" she says as she walks around him before sinking into her seat across from him with a smile.

"Mrs. Locksley, lovely sight as always, yeah" Alfie says, "heard ya singin" he informs her, "I can see why people flock to your club, nightingale" he says.

"You flatter me far too much" Anna says as she unlocks her drawer and pulls out her tin of cigarettes as she did and then lights it up. "Can I interest you in something to drink?" she asks him.

"Oh no, no" Alfie says, "Perhaps next time, yeah?" he says but the way he says next time sounds awfully suspicious to Anna.

"So how can I help you, Mr. Solomons?" she asks him as she leaned back in her seat so that she can give him her full attention.

"I came ta check up on me end of our deal, yeah" he replies, "Today's Seder, a Jewish holiday an' I thought...I should prolly give a gift to my ally, the lovely Mrs. Locksley, shouldn't I?" he says as Anna takes a drag of her cigarette as she met his gaze head-on. "Oi!" he shouts, still looking her straight in the eye as one of his men makes their way into the office with a bottle of whiskey and places it on Anna's desk. "My gift to you, in honour of our alliance, yeah" Alfie comments as Anna places her cigarette on the edge of the ashtray as she took the bottle into her hands and read it over

"I wish you'd told me sooner" Anna finds herself replying, "I would have gotten you something as well" she adds.

"Oh don't worry ya pretty neck over it, yeah" Alfie says as he waves a dismissive hand at this. "Ya religious, Mrs. Locksley?" he asks her.

"Not particularly no" Anna admits, "My faith is better served far from places of worship" she retorts as she looked up at him from under her brow. Her parents had been the religious ones but Anna herself wasn't as invested in the idea of a god as they were.

"So you decided to make your own then, eh?" he asks her with a small smirk as she looked at him while he gestured around them at her club.

"Something like that" Anna retorts.

"My guys, yeah" he starts, "they've been polite? Not actin' up or causin' a ruckus?" he asks her as Anna places his bottle of whiskey in her drawer, her eyes glancing momentarily at the gun she kept there.

She's no fool. She knows that Alfie has an ulterior motive for coming to her club, especially since it was such a grand way of showing Sabini that they were "acquainted".