♤
"YOU RUINED my dress!"
"Calm down Ada; I'll buy you a new one." I rolled my eyes as she traced her fingers over the dried blood, pouting as though I had ruined her wedding dress.
Fortunately, before she started crying, Finn burst into the room with urgency in his words. "Alex, they need you at the Garrison, quick!"
I sighed and grabbed my gun, putting on my hat and coat before running with Finn to the pub. I had learnt a long time ago not to ask questions when I had been given orders.
Even if they came from Finn bloody Shelby.
We entered the Garrison which was uncharacteristically empty for a Saturday night, but I knew there was a Peaky meeting going on so I wasn't surprised.
Arthur, Tommy and John were sitting in the middle of the pub across from the Baltonis. I gestured for Finn to leave and he rolled his eyes before obeying, the door banging shut behind him. The sound grabbed the attention of the men, who all looked as equally pissed off as each other to see me.
"You're late, Alex." Tommy said bluntly as I approached the table, an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips.
"Sorry. I forgot." I replied just as frankly before taking a seat next to Arthur.
"Well, gentlemen. Shall we begin?" Tommy directed his question to the Baltonis, the leader nodding once in reply.
"I'm pissed off, Peaky Blinders," Alfonso Baltoni spat. "One of my guys was found dead this morning."
"People die, Alfonso."
He glared at Tommy, "His neck was slit and he'd been shot in the mouth. That's hardly a natural death, Shelby."
Arthur's head turned to me slightly. I hated how well he knew me.
Tommy just shrugged and lit his cigarette. "I'm confused, Alfonso. You called this meeting to accuse us of murdering one of your men?"
While Alfonso and Tommy spoke, I took the chance to take a mental image of the Baltonis as I had never formally met them before. There were four of them sitting opposite us; all wearing cheap suits with light hair and dark eyes. The three of them besides Alfonso were relatively young, as I seemed to recall he was either their father or uncle. There wasn't much to their appearance and I got bored fast.
"I propose a truce."
Alfonso's words slightly surprised me.
Tommy narrowed his eyes. "A truce."
"No more bad blood between us. One of your guys is dead, and now one of ours. No more."
"Which one of you killed my brother?" The youngest one asked suddenly, pure rage on his face.
"Henry-"
He cut Alfonso off. "Which one of you? Who killed George?"
"He killed Sam," I couldn't help but spit, sitting forward. "He got what was coming to him.
Arthur placed his hand firmly on my arm as if to warn me to keep my mouth shut.
"When I find out-"
"Henry, enough." Alfonso's words caused Henry to slam his hands down on the table and storm out of the pub. "He gets very emotional."
"So, a truce?" Tommy asked, ignoring the outburst.
The eldest son spoke up. "Let's put it simply: we supply you with ammo, you pay us, and we stop killing each other. For good."
Tommy shrugged and held out his hand. "Sounds good. Come to me tomorrow with a contract."
Alfonso shook his hand and we all stood up, watching as the Baltonis left.
"Fuckin' hell Alex, I was half expecting you to admit to killing that bloke just to spite 'em." John said with a tone of relief.
"I may be brave but I ain't daft." I replied, watching Tommy and Arthur as they got a bottle of whiskey from the bar.
"Why were you late, Alex?" Tommy asked, and I knew he wanted the truth because of the way he asked. There were times when I could get away with making a joke with Tommy, but there were also times when he just wanted straight facts.
"Ask John." I didn't want to give him the straight facts.
"Me? The fuck did I do?" John asked, walking over to the bar to get a drink himself.
"You didn't kill George at the docks so I had to do it instead last night, dressed in one of Ada's ridiculous frocks. She's spent the last hour complaining about the blood."
John snorted, "Wish I could've seen you in a dress."
Tommy sighed while Arthur drank beside him. "Well, the Baltonis shouldn't be a problem anymore. We officially have no enemies wanting our heads. Until further notice."
Arthur grinned and raised the bottle of whiskey. "Here's to further notice!"
♡
WHENEVER TOMMY said we could have a break from making threats and cutting men's eyes out, I savored the moments I had to myself as they were scarce. I enjoyed not being told what to do by Tommy and Arthur every hour of the day and being in control of my own time.
So once the truce was made with the Baltonis, I assumed I'd have at least a week before another problem arose.
It had been 24 hours when the next meeting was called for by Tommy.
"Well, I'm very proud to present Shelby Limited's very own gin." Tommy announced as we sat around the large square table, holding up a lilac bottle of alcohol. "We are officially licensed and ready to distribute our gin throughout the country."
"That's brilliant, Tommy." Ada grinned with bright eyes, taking the bottle from his outstretched hand. "We're gonna make millions."
"Not exactly," Tommy said. "While most of the pubs in and around Birmingham have signed contracts with us to sell our product, we're going to be losing money soon unless we get bigger clients."
"What do you mean?" Polly asked, stood to the right of my seat with her arms crossed and a slight frown on her face.
"We need to sell to bigger clubs, bigger than any here in Birmingham." Tommy's eyes shone as he spoke; his excitement evident in his face though he tried to hide it. "I'm talking London."
"Are you having a laugh?" John asked with disbelief. He was never one to agree with branching out of Birmingham. "How are you gonna sell to clubs in London?"
Tommy smiled, "I'm glad you asked that, John Boy. Because its you who's going to sort that out."
John didn't even reply as his confusion had reached a peak, and he didn't bother speaking as Tommy continued.
"You and Alex are going to London tomorrow while I sort out the betting shop with Arthur. You will be staying there for a week while you convince potential clients to buy our gin."
This time it was me who was confused. "Me? I'm hardly a business woman, Tom. And my persuasive skills aren't as good without a loaded gun in my hand."
"You're a smart girl, Alex. You and John will figure it out." Tommy stood and slid a piece of paper across the table to me. "Heres a list of the clubs I want you to visit. I trust you'll do well. Your train leaves tomorrow at 9am, don't miss it."
I was utterly dumbfounded; Tommy barely trusted John and I to buy groceries for the week, let alone land important clients for the legitimate business.
"We won't let you down, Tommy." John said, but I knew he doubted himself.
"I know you won't." Tommy's confidence in us put me under even more pressure.
I sighed and stood up, picking up the list. "I'll do my best."
◇
"I CAN'T believe he's actually trusting us with this." I said to John as the train rocked slightly. We had been on the train for five hours and as the train began to slow down, the nerves kicked in.
"I'd trust you to get anything done, Alex."
I smiled at his words. "Yeah?"
He nodded, a small smirk on his face. "You're brilliant, Alex. You could convince the Pope to buy our gin."
I didn't usually take compliments seriously, but when they came from John I couldn't help but feel nervous. I hated it. "Thanks, Johnny. You're not too bad yourself you know; I once witnessed you sweet-talk a nun into going home with you."
He laughed, then shrugged. "What can I say? Women love me."
Before I could come up with a smart reply, the train came to a stop and people began to rush out. We got up out of the seats we managed to get and grabbed our bags from the floor, John leading the way out of the train.
I got a few funny looks, most likely due to the fact that I was wearing a shirt and trousers instead of a dress, and I immediately missed Birmingham where everyone was too scared to look at me the wrong way.
John took my bag off me and grabbed my hand as we left the incredibly overcrowded station, making me roll my eyes at his back. This was the same man who had watched me cut a hundred pairs of eyes out but he still thought I needed him to hold my hand as we walked through the unfamiliar streets. But I let him, because I knew that the gesture was more for him than it was for me.
"Charlie said to turn left at this pub, and the hotel should be at the end of this street." He said, his hand still tightly clasped around mine although we had left the crowd far behind. I didn't have the heart to pull away, though.
We turned and continued walking as I replied. "Okay, we should put our bags in the room and then ask around about some of the clubs on Tommy's list."
"Sounds good," John nodded as we approached the small hotel.
It was definitely more like a brothel, but a bed was a bed at the end of the day.
Inside, it was dark and gloomy, with a smell I couldn't quite put my finger on. We had reached the receptionist and John's hand was no longer entwined with mine, but I didn't know who had let go first.
I leant my arms on the desk and spoke, "Good afternoon, miss, my husband and I just need a room for the night." Most places would look down upon an unmarried man and woman sharing a room.
The receptionist looked bored out of her mind as she looked through her books, giving a small nod once she looked up. "That's fine, please write your names down in this book and I'll get you your key."
I did as she said while she turned to the wall behind her and picked off a key, yawning when she turned back and handed me it. "Room 14, its just down the corridor. No loud noises after 9pm." She gave John a pointed look who just winked at her. I rolled my eyes and took the key off her, walking in the direction she sent us.
Once we got to our room, John put the bags down and turned to me as I looked around the dusty room.
"How come you only booked it for one night? We're staying in London for a week."
I smiled at him, "You expect me to stay in this dump for 6 nights? We're gonna be talking to some very rich men this week J, if we're gonna understand how they work, we need to live the way they do."
John just smirked and shook his head, sitting on the bed. "You're mad."
"Why am I?" I asked, taking out some of the dresses from my bag. Ada wouldn't let me borrow any of hers after the last time, so I had to buy them all myself.
"You really think we're gonna be staying in the Ritz?"
I winked and took out the wad of cash from my bag. "Oh, Johnny, I know we are."
"Where the fuck did you get that from?" He asked, his eyes wide.
"Tommy gave it to me for this trip. Said we needed to look the part."
"He didn't give me any fucking money," John frowned.
"That's because he doesn't trust you walking around London with all the cash." I put it in the side of my coat, walking over to John. "No-one is getting past this coat."
"Oh yeah?" John's tone was flirty, and I didn't know whether to play along or shut him down. Before I knew it, his hands were around my waist and I was stood in between his legs. "Not even me?"
"Maybe if you play your cards right." I had decided to play along. "You might get even further than just the coat."
His eyes lit up and I couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect of me having any sort of effect on him.
"You're being naughty, Alex."
I had no idea that words alone could get me so worked up, but there was something about John's confidence that struck me. "I- I am?"
My slight stuttering made him smirk; he had officially won this game. "You are. You know what happens to naughty girls?"
I couldn't let this go any further, so I took off his hat and stepped back. "They get cut?"
He sighed as I threw his hat on the bed and walked over to my bag to continue sifting through my dresses.
I knew he was frustrated, but I couldn't give in to the temptation that was John Shelby. At least not yet.
♧