Bloodsport ; tommy shelby

𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 - double edged

Betty's little brother Archie sat in his chair swinging his feet as she served him a plate of baked beans and fried potatoes.

"Here you go," Betty said, patting her brother's head as she gave him his plate.

"Where's mine?" Iris joked.

"You don't get any," Betty said.

"What? Why?" Iris gasped dramatically.

"Too much swearing," Betty said, which earned a giggle from Archie.

Once the little boy had finished his dinner and been tucked into his bed, Betty came and sat down at the table again with Iris.

"I don't know how you do it," Iris told her as she sat down.

"Do what?" Betty asked.

"Look after him like that, like he's your son," Iris said. "It's... saintly."

"I didn't have a choice," Betty said. "And I love him, so it's not hard."

"You're going to be a wonderful mum someday, Betty Cox," Iris smiled.

Betty blushed. "You think?"

"Of course," Iris said warmly. "I don't think I could ever have kids. I'm too selfish."

"That's rubbish," the blonde retorted. "You could be a mum."

Iris raised an eyebrow. "Really, me?"

"You might be a bit scary, yes," Betty said. Her wide eyes were sincere and caring. "You know, I can tell you have a lot of love in your heart, Iris."

Iris said nothing, but her friend's words moved her. She realised now that Betty's almost childlike nature was not to be mistaken for idiocy. She was undoubtedly intelligent and one of the kindest people Iris had ever met.

Growing up, Iris had been cold and quiet with barely any friends, and though it was an unusual match, she cherished Betty's company.

"It's scary, letting it all out," Betty went on. "But it's worth it, always."

Iris nodded, tears forming at the brims of her eyes. "When did you get so wise, Elizabeth?" Iris asked with a smile.

♞

Iris sighed, leaning against the wall by her door as she fumbled in her bag for her set of keys. She stopped in her tracks when she heard a faint scuffling from indoors. Slowly reaching for her revolver, Iris unlocked the door. It swung open, and her flat was completely empty. Iris rolled her eyes to high heaven, laying her gun down on the kitchen counter before shutting the door behind her with a sigh. She was so sick of living in this constant state of paranoia.

She kicked the door shut behind her and made her way over to her bed, and was just about to flop down onto its sheets when she felt a hand clasp her nose and mouth and yak her background. Her heart beating out of her chest, Iris scrambled her hands around for her revolver, but remembered she had left it on the counter. Her vision began to blur from the lack of air and a sharp blow came to her head, sending her into darkness.

A ringing in her ear from the boiling teapot was the first thing she heard when regaining consciousness a few moments later. Her head throbbed, and her gagged mouth was filled with the steely taste of blood. It took Iris a few moments to remember what had happened, and when she did she craned her neck back to see who was behind her. There was a tall, lean man at the stove with his back turned, humming an eerie Russian nursery rhyme that gave Iris flashes of her childhood.

Suddenly the humming stopped, and the man stayed very still, his back still turned. "Did you miss me, Katerina?"

Iris froze, her heart drumming a mile a minute. Her real name sent shivers down her spine. This couldn't be real. How had he found her?

He turned, and Iris felt every muscle in her body clench. He looked the same as he always had. Pale and bearded with round eyes and defined sockets and a small angular mouth. His hair was close-shaven and he had a scar on his bottom lip that hadn't been there when she last saw him. He was handsome, at least objectively. Anyone could see the beauty, but nobody had seen the evil like Iris had.

"I'm so glad I found you," Ivan said in Russian, leaning down and stroking her face. She squirmed away and he smiled sadistically. "Beautiful as ever." He reached out and slowly untied the gag around her mouth. Iris spat in his face, and the smile vanished. A sharp slap rippled across her cheek, and he grabbed her jaw, yanking her face back so she was forced to meet his eye.

"Go fuck yourself," she spoke back in English, twisting her arms in a feeble attempt to loosen the bonds that tied her to a chair in her kitchen.

"Speak to me in your mother tongue," he curled his lip in disgust. "What have you become, Katerina?"

She said nothing, and he shook his head, getting up and turning back to the stove. "It's those Shelby's, they have made you forget your roots."

Iris gulped. Tommy. If Ivan knew about Tommy there was no telling what he'd do.

She wondered how long he had been watching her, and silently cursed herself for not trusting the gut feeling she'd had all this time.

"If they only knew what you really were," he chuckled, pouring himself a cup of tea. "What you've done."

"I'll stay away from them," she pleaded in Russian.

"She speaks!" He laughed cruelly, turning back to face her where he stood.

"What are you going to do to me?" She kept a straight face to hide her fear.

"You think so little of me, Katerina," he sighed. "Why do you assume I am here to hurt you? I loved you once, remember?"

Iris grimaced. She'd loved him once too, and she'd paid handsomely for that mistake.

"All I want is a simple favour from you," Ivan said, taking a sip of his tea before wincing at the taste.

If she knew Ivan, this favour wouldn't be simple, and it wouldn't be his last. Iris scanned the room for her revolver, which was sitting in the spot in which she'd left it.

He grabbed her chin, forcing her to face him. "Don't even think about killing me," he warned. "My brother knows how to find you, and he won't hesitate. Me, I would rather keep you alive."

"Why?" Iris said quietly.

"You are my wife, Katerina, I will always love you," Ivan said. Iris clenched her teeth and looked away, but he jerked her face back again so she was forced to meet his eye. "Deep down I think you know you love me too."

"I don't," Iris said defiantly, and Ivan delivered a harsh slap across her cheek. He got up, turning his back to her and breathing heavily. Iris' cheek throbbed and tingled with pain but she didn't back down. "I don't love you, I never did."

"Watch your words Katerina," he said with a balled fist. He still wore his wedding ring on his hand, a large opal with diamonds encrusted around its' edges.

"Hit me again," she dared him, staring into his eyes with pure defiance as fear pumped through her veins. She swallowed. "I'll still never love you the way I love him."

Ivan's face turned cold. He didn't react with violence this time, but the seething look in his eyes reminded Iris that ice was just as destructive as fire. Still, she didn't care. It was over. What else could Ivan possibly do to her now? She wanted to tell at least someone in the world that she loved Tommy Shelby before she died.

He didn't move for another few moments, until he reached behind Iris' back. She flinched, but all she could feel was him untying the rope that bound her hands to the leg of her kitchen table. There was no way he'd let her go.

"You don't know how much that hurts me, Katerina," he said finally. "But now I have a change of plan." He took her untied hands tightly in his so she still couldn't move, and stared uncomfortably into her eyes. "I want his heart broken the way you broke mine, Katerina. You continue with your life here for a few more days, and you see to it that that gets done."

Iris wanted to sob. Of course no happiness she ever felt could be anything but temporary. "And then what will you do with me?"

Ivan stood up. "I haven't decided yet. But you will be mine again someday."