In The Bleak Midwinter | T Shelby

SEVEN - A PUNCH AND A PISTOL

"You're a bloody idiot, you know that?"

Kaia scowled at her brother as he stopped the car outside her new office building. They had been on time for their day right up until they needed to leave the house, which is when Kaia spilled her tea down her freshly washed white shirt, forcing her to make a quick change.

She'd ignored Tommy's suggestion at not dressing so professional and opted for a black suit with a white shirt - one without a stain on - as well as black high heels and red lipstick. She couldn't care less what anybody thought of her, but nobody was going to tell her how to dress, she was certain of that.

"I know, thanks for the lift."

"I was coming here anyway, remember? I'm not doing this everyday for you. See if he's ready?"

Kaia grabbed her bag and flung her hair behind her shoulders as she got out of the car, turning back to flash a smile at Bonnie after he shouted 'good luck' to her.

She walked into the building the same way as she had done yesterday, heading straight up to Tommy's office to see if he was ready. He'd asked Bonnie the night before to pick him up that morning and drive them to wherever it was they were going, Bonnie wouldn't tell his sister.

She knocked on the door, peering through the blinds that covered the glass panel with Tommy's name on in gold lettering.

"Come in."

She walked inside and lingered in the doorway. Thomas was stood over by the window looking down at Bonnie's car in the street, a cigarette in one hand and the other buried in the pocket of his trousers.

"Morning, Tommy. Bonnie wanted to know if you were ready? He's waiting downstairs for you with the car."

"I know, I can see him."

Kaia wasn't sure what to say. Thomas hadn't even turned to look in her direction and she felt an overwhelming sense of awkwardness as her hand hovered over the doorknob, wondering whether she should leave or not.

"Alright, well I better get started, then."

Tommy cleared his throat, stubbing the cigarette out on an ashtray on his desk before finally addressing her for the first time that morning.

"Go down a floor, take a left at the bottom of the stairs. You'll see where you're meant to be."

Kaia nodded her head, almost forgetting for a second what she needed to do.

"Oh, before I forget!" Kaia walked over to Tommy's desk and reached into her handbag, pulling out the jewellery she'd taken from Michael Gray's house, placing it down on the table.

Tommy looked down at it before looking back up at Kaia, laughing slightly and shaking his head.

"These don't belong to me." He said, one eyebrow raised and both palms flat on the desk.

"No," she said, "But I don't tend to see the men I sleep with more than once. So perhaps you could return them for me."

"Nobody coming back for seconds?" He stared at her blankly.

"Why spend your life drinking the same wine when you can keep trying new bottles?"

Tommy pursed his lips and tilted his head, agreeing to her response.

"Tell Bonnie I'll be downstairs in five minutes."

He walked over to a coat stand in the corner and pulled off a black wool jacket and his cap as Kaia made her way over to the door.

"Tell him yourself, I start work in," she glanced at the silver watch on her wrist, "Three minutes ago."

She didn't stick around to hear Tommy's reply, if he intended to say anything more to her at all, that was. Instead, she took off down the stairs, following the directions that he had given her until she reached the room she assumed she was supposed to be in.

She walked in, the sound of her heels on the wooden floor echoing louder than the sound of pencils scratching on paper of taps of keys on a typewriter.

"You must be Miss Gold, is that right?"

A woman in her mid-thirties rose to her feet from behind a desk when Kaia entered the room. Almost all the other women turned their heads to stare at her, pausing their conversations, but quickly got back on with their work when the woman spoke.

"Yes, Kaia is fine, though."

"Kaia," she smiled warmly and held out her hand, "I'm Lizzie. Let me show you to your desk."

Lizzie was a tall, slender woman with piercing eyes and a friendly smile, when she chose to smile, that was. When she wasn't, she had an intimidating gaze that put even Kaia on edge.

Still, she was kind enough to Kaia, explaining her role and giving her some easy tasks to do for her first day. Luckily, Kaia's desk was right next to the window. She watched as men came and went from the factory and wondered whether the storm clouds in the distance would roll in their direction or pass over.

Her first day was easy enough. Kaia made friends with the two women sat closest to her, spending their lunch hour together as they filled her in on any gossip regarding the other women in the office.

Time passed quickly that day, and it had been remarkably uneventful until around quarter to five in the afternoon when the first gunshot was heard underneath the window Kaia was sat by.

She jumped to her feet immediately, the other women rushing to see what was going on below them. Kaia gasped as she saw her brother and father stood amongst a group of other men, all of them with guns drawn stood opposite another group of men who were doing exactly the same. Behind her brother and father, a gentleman who she didn't recognise was holding his shoulder, clearly in pain, being held up by two other men.

The sounds from the factory floor below them were loud enough to drown out the conversation that was happening between the two gangs, but whatever they were arguing about, it got heated very quickly.

Kaia felt sick as she watched a man throw a punch at her brother, and then suddenly felt even more sick when she noticed she could no longer spot her father in the crowd. Though the sound of another gunshot put her heart at ease, following the noise and seeing her father perched on top of an old garage with a gun in his hand, laughing to himself as he picked off the other men one by one.

"God, Tommy what are you doing!"

Kaia furrowed her brows together when she heard Lizzie mumble to herself underneath her breath before grabbing her coat and running out of the room.

Turning to one of the women she'd become acquainted with, Kaia raised an eyebrow, knowing she heard what Lizzie had said too.

"She's fucking Tommy Shelby," she said, chuckling sarcastically, "Or rather, he's fucking her. We think she's in love with him, not that she'll get anywhere."

"Why not?" Kaia said, glancing out of the window again to see Aberama pulling Bonnie back to his feet and wiping the blood from his son's face.

"Tommy Shelby doesn't love anybody. Apart from himself, of course. Believe me, Lizzie isn't the first woman to try and she probably won't be the last."

Kaia scoffed, learning now not only from her father how much of a self-absorbed bastard Thomas Shelby was, but now, from other people too.

She opened her mouth to speak, only was silenced by another woman from the office whom she hadn't yet spoken to.

"Oh my god, Bonnie!"

Kaia's jaw dropped as she watched the woman's face fall in horror when she looked out of the window before fleeing in the same direction Lizzie had gone a few moments earlier.

"What the fuck?"

"Don't tell me you're sleeping with Bonnie Gold too?"

If her jaw could've dropped any more, Kaia was certain it would've. She looked at her friend dumbfounded, almost laughing at her question before finally responding.

"Bonnie Gold is my fucking brother."