Red On Her Hands | Tommy Shelby

Chapter Three

"I said 'get the fuck out'!" she repeated herself, this time much more forceful and confident.

"You little bitch!" the man snarked before he advanced on her. He was able to cross the room in three large strides, grabbing her arms before she was able to squeeze the trigger.

They continued to struggle against each other. The taller man attempted to bring the redheaded woman to the floor, but she continued to force the gun towards him as she tried to shoot him. She was failing, Lynette screamed as one of her arms were bent backwards at awkward angle. The gun fell to the floor beside the wrestling figures, both of whom dived to reach for it at the same time.

BANG!

Lynette shot upwards from her bed in hysterics as she woke from her nightmare. Her breathing was erratic, eventually she was able to tell herself that she wasn't in Glasgow, and that she wasn't anywhere near him, allowing it to return to a safer rhythm. The bedding around her felt drenched as she noticed the horrid sensation of stickiness which had been caused by sweat. She reached up to pull the hair away from her face and shoulders, which clung to her skin as a result of the salty fluid.

She lay there for a moment as the images of the event from seven weeks ago repeated over and over again in her mind. She had not thought of the man in a while, but it had been brought on after Tommy Shelby revealed that he knew her real identity. She was terrified that he possibly knew what had happened that night, but it should have been impossible. Lynette had ensured that no one knew which area of Glasgow she was from or what she did for a living there, and also ensured that not a soul would come looking for her when she left.

Reaching down to the area above her hip bone, she could feel the jagged scar under the soaked material of her slip. The memory of being shot now fresh in her mind, all these memories resurfacing as a result of Thomas Shelby and the power he held.

She understood now what Harry's warnings had been about. If Tommy had really shot Danny without consequence, and if he had found out about her old life, then what limits were there to his capability. He was the talk of the town for being the prime suspect responsible for the robbery of the BSA. He could easily shoot Lynette if he wanted to, and no one would bat an eyelid in fear for what he could do to them.

Shaking her head to try and rid of the worrying thoughts, Lynette looked around to see that the sun was now up and pouring into her room. Looking at the bath tub in the corner, she realised that she would have to get a move on and freshen up before she headed to The Garrison for her shift. She could only pray that Grace and Harry did not take note of her shaken state.

A commotion outside caused Lynette to stand up to approach the window that looked onto Watery Lane. Moving aside the curtains she looked out to see police officers lined strategically outside the houses. Some sat upon black horses, others were positioned outside the doors. She saw one older man further along the street, who locked to be in charge as he gave orders. She realised that with the absence of Sergeant Moss, there was a possibility that this was the officer from Belfast that Harry had told her about.

"Oh shit," the woman muttered in shock, as she realised that they were preparing for a raid. Then the whistle was blown, the noise echoing across the street as the violence begun.

..............................

Lynette offered to stay at The Garrison later than usual to clean the place, after being late that morning as a result of the the raids that were conducted in Watery Lane. Her home had also been searched, all she had been able to gather from the men that ransacked her house was that they were looking for guns. They did not confirm that it was the BSA guns, but that was obvious to the people of Small Heath. Much to her relief, they were unable to find the gun that she hid under the floorboards in her bedroom.