Arthur Shelby- Love at First Sight

"Wait and see if she needs it, stand down," he spoke with a slight buzz, the strike of a match and a heavy puff on his cigarette.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she chided, her back still to the small group of men as she rested her pint glass atop the jukebox.

The goon that stood behind her put his massive hand on her shoulder, but he couldn't do a thing before Patsy Cline's Crazy her sister's favorite song began to wail through the speakers. She turned without warning grabbing onto his arm with her hands and bringing her knee up swiftly shattering his arm at the elbow. He screamed and bellowed as he fell to the floor, his three sidekicks stunned. They weren't expecting her to fight.

The taller of the bunch lunged forward hands out to wrap around her neck only to be met with the sharpened metal spiked heel of her boot in his face jabbing into his eye. His hands raced to his face covering his eyes shrieking in agony.

The other two looked at each thinking they could double team her from each side. She only laughed at the attempt, the thrill of the fight. A flick of her wrist and the dagger slid in her palm from the sheath hidden beneath her jacket sleeve. A quick slash, faster than most eyes could capture and one of the goons fell to the floor hands clutched around his neck. Blood spurting out between his fingers and down his shirt, spilling onto the floor as he fell. The last man stood still afraid to move. He held his hands up in surrender and took a step backward away from her.

"Mercy," he whimpered, the stench of vinegar hung in the air as the urine flowed down his legs and pooled around his feet. She only flashed a sinister grin and took a step closer.

"Did Changretta offer mercy to my sister before he beat her? Did he grant her mercy each time he raped her? Or did mercy cross his mind as he slit her throat and watched her bleed out in front of him?" Her anger seething, coursing through her veins as she twirled the dagger in her fingers.

She tilted her head to the side seeing a group of men and one solitary woman huddled around the door she'd eyed earlier in the night. The Shelby's she assumed though she'd never seen pictures, she could gather who they were by how they held themselves. One, in particular, caught her eye. Tall, lanky build, a scrappy look to him like a boxer. Long dark locks framed his face already adorned with a beard. Her tongue wet her bottom lip staring at the man she assumed was Thomas. Forever a sucker for a stunning beard on a man. The last words her father spoke as she boarded the plane running amuck in her head.

'Don't fall in love with Thomas Shelby,' he spoke sternly. 'An alliance is one thing, bringing two families together in a fucking harmonious working atmosphere is a nightmare.'

She allowed herself to become distracted by the gorgeously bearded Shelby across the bar and the goon took his opportunity. He landed a punch square on her nose. Blinding pain and flashes of white filled her eyes. A savage growl fled her lips and filled the room. A commotion broke out amongst the Shelby's and a few hurriedly crossed the room taking ahold of the last  Changretta minion dragging him out back behind the bar.

She could hear the rabid beating he was getting and grinned. Lightheaded she found herself falling backward, hardly the best way to introduce herself to the Shelby's then again the slight embarrassment from her landing on her rump could be forgiven after proving herself, but the fall to the floor never happened. Her backside never met the cold hard wooden floor.  Her eyes still trying to adjust, everything was still a blur. She felt arms steady her and a soft but gruff voice as she held onto his arms.