Without A Trace

One.

"Cora get the hot water," Polly ordered clearing off the table frantically. I rush over to the sink and turn it to the hottest temperature there is before sticking the bucket underneath the flowing water. The boys were supposed to be on a mission that we clear as fucking day laid out for them. Heaven forbid they listen to a goddamn thing the rest of us tell them to do.

"Put him on the table," she says to Arthur and John. They hoist Michael up onto the hard oak table and immediately Arthur starts ripping open his shirt to get to the wound. Blood pools his shirt and hes yelling in pain. "Oi! You're alright Michael come on now take it easy," he says while grabbing some rags and applying pressure to the wound in his side.

Ivy walks in with fire in her eyes. For being quite soft in nature normally, she was annoyed and not at all surprised. Her heels click against the faded hardwood floors as she rounds the table smacks her husbands shoulder hard. He shoots a dagger look at her, "The fuck is wrong with you to do that?! If you weren't bleeding already I'd fucking kill you," she spits at him. She rips his shirt open more causing the buttons to fly everywhere. She grabs the tweezers and the alcohol while pointing to him before he can speak, "If you know what's good for you, you'll shut the fuck up."

She grabs the decanter and pops the top of it. She pours the amber liquid directly onto his wound, causing him to scream in pain. I started washing the blood around the wound with the hot water, clearly being able to see the gaping hole in his chest.

"You really fucked up didnt you? Idiot," I grumble while scrubbing the crimson out of my table top. "You stain my table and you'll wish you were fucking dead."

Ivy digs the tweezers into the hole and starts fishing around for the bullet, causing Michael to scream even more and grip the table almost breaking it.

"Hold him down boys damn it! Get your head out of your asses," Polly says yelling at John and Tommy, who quickly put all of their weight on Michael, pinning him down so he cant move.

After a few minutes, Ivy finally pulls the bullet out and tosses it in a bowl with a clang. Michael breathes heavily for a moment as sweat drips down his face. His eyes trail over to his wife and a shit eating grin spreads across his face, "I owe you love," he says leaning up for a kiss.

Ivy grabs his chin and shoves his head back down on the table, "Dont you fucking try and kiss me when you did something so fucking stupid," she says getting up and walking out of the kitchen.

Polly looks over at Michael and sticks her finger in his wound causing him to yell once more, "You're a Shelby Michael. Start fucking acting like one," she seeths before walking away.

I take a big ole swig of whiskey and put it in Thomas' chest, "Get this shit off my table before it stains," I say before following the other girls. I walk outside to the garden and watch Ivy and Michaels daughter Pippin chase butterlfies with the happiest smile on her face. I join Anna and Ivy on the couch out there before pouring myself a martini.

We're one big fucking happy family. We're the Shelbys, also known as the Peaky Blinders. We smoke and drink too much and we fight what seems like constantly, but we're thick as thieves. You mess with one of us, you mess with the whole fucking lot and hell will rain fury upon you. My husband Thomas is the boss and being his wife is a project in itself. His brothers are: the eldest of them all Aurthur, followed by Lewis with his wife Anna, and then lastly Michael with his wife Ivy and daughter Pippin, and finally John.

"Cora, get that blood off your hands before Pip comes over here and sees it," Anna says taking a sip out of her glass.

"Shit," I say to myself before walking over to the hose and rinsing them off. We try to keep the gruesomeness of our job out of pippins eye. Shes not old enough yet to understand everything.