Embers of the Brave // Peaky Blinders

Chapter 20

Strike

The working day had been nothing but utterly boring for Ella. She had barely seen Michael at all, except for the fleeting moment in the morning before he had been taken by John for business. Her cheeks flushed a bright red at the thoughts of the dangerously intimate moments the day before. It made her lips buzz, her mind scrambled as she tried to understand her fluttering feelings.

It was almost midday when Tommy finally came out of his office, the glass door slamming shut after his tall figure effectively silencing the entire parlour. His eyes casually took in his workers, from his brother's wives to the young peaky blinders that stood in the corners of the shop. Finally, the crystal clear eyes finally landed on the girl with almost matching hues. He had eyes that had gone cold with the hard years Tommy had faces while hers couldn't be any more different. The soft ocean blue clashed against the ice in his. He moved towards her straight away, patting Esme on the back as he passed.

"Grab your coat." He said fleetingly, his voice leaving no room for questions or reason. And so the little blonde scrambled from her seat and plucked the ruby coat from the stand. He didn't wait for her like Michael would, instead she found him already half up the street. There was enough word on the street about the Shelby's to know they respected no-one but their own flesh and blood, hence their tight-knit family that even when completely dysfunctional was completely loyal.

So, the girl stood still on Watery Lane and waited for the man to notice her lack of presence. He had almost reached five houses down before he spun slowly, noticed her still figure in the middle of the pavement. Tommy motioned to her in a beckoning way, annoyance bubbling from within. When she shook her head in disagreement, he began to move towards her in long angry strides until he was mere inches from her face. The loss of his wife - Grace - had aged him harshly, she noticed. Or perhaps it was the poor little boy alone in a mansion that weighed on his mind often enough to draw creases into his face.

"What are you doing?" His anger radiated down her spine.

Ella smiled softly and stepped away from him, beginning to walk the way he had come, "Mr. Shelby you are supposed to wait for your company. Not leave them stranded."

Tommy was quick to fall into step with her, his anger melting slowly. "You seem perfectly capable of walking Ms. Lee."

The use of her new name made her stomach drop and her fast, confident pace falter slightly. He didn't give her time to recover his grabbing her upper arm and pulling her back into time with his strides. It was abrasive but at the same time comforting.

"You did well on the last job." He spat words around the cigarette that hung from his mouth. The Shelby clan weren't known for their accomplishments.

"I need you again tonight. Heard your Italian was good."

She knew that Michael wasn't fond of the Italians and somehow she felt the division between nationalities and gangs. It made the girl want to stay far, far away. She was already trying to unravel her ties with this gang, she didn't need another.

"Okay, when do I get my identification papers?" She huffed back. He chuckled under his breath, it clouded in the frosty air.

Then suddenly he grabbed her forearm again and they made a sharp right into a house at the end of the street. The door gave no resistance, but Ella observed as he drew the overhead lock across the door frame. The locking of the door again gave rise to nervousness in Ella, but once she looked around the old home it became apparent that there was no-one there. The walls had been gutted leaving a large open room with a white staircase. It wasn't a rough job with the clean walls and new floorboards.

"What are we doing here?" She spoke, her voice bouncing off the empty walls.

He shrugged his suit jacket off and let it drop to the floor before beginning to release the cuffs of his sleeves. "We are going to box, drop the coat, I had the floor cleaned earlier."

Ella scoffed but still dropped her coat, folding into a neat pile and sat it next to his rumpled one. She was going to move away and face him again but decided to also fold his jacket to keep it from creasing too much. Once Ella was satisfied with the piled clothed, she turned back to the waiting man.

Tommy watched her with amusement as her scepticism became more apparent, with hands digging into the black skirt. "I know you can box. But I need you to be able to defend yourself in your everyday wear."

Ella nodded, somewhat agreeing with him. "But this is my favourite skirt."

His hands balled at his sides into perfect weapons. "I'll pay for its replacement. It is also very important that you don't mention this to your boyfriend."

So struck on the endearment word she almost missed the flying fist to her face. Ella's forearm came up just in time to block his punch, the sheer force made her entire arm quiver.

He didn't pause to see how the little blonde took the rabid swing, instead he continued to throw heavy punches towards her.

After what felt like ten minutes, Ella stumbled in her ruby coloured heels. She fell forward towards a strike. The girl had only managed two offensive hits the entire time, a stark difference from her usual fights and it had quickly drained her energy. Ella knew he was restricting himself but she couldn't keep up.

The leading Shelby wasn't expected the stumble his arm already flying at her face. He didn't have time to reel it in like he had been before, the blow clipped her sharply on the temple.

Ella stumbled again, this time away from the man. Thomas reached out and clutched onto her, stabilized her on her shaky feet. An emotion close to remorse fluttered across his expression, but how could the hard and cold Shelby feel bad for hitting someone when he had murdered hundreds.

"You kept up well." He stated and then as an afterthought he gestured to her throbbing head. "I didn't mean to actually get you, Ella. I'm sorry."

As the blonde struggled to pull her coat back on, the genuine nature of his voice confused her more than her cloudy vision.

After the incident, Tommy was quick to have her on her way home. He kept a tight grip on her arm, making sure she stayed upright. Once her apartment was finally in sight he gave her a gentle shove in its direction.

"Go home but don't fall asleep. Book a cab to my house for five, then we will talk with the Italians. You should put some ice on it too."

His rushed nervousness showed Ella that he felt bad for his strike to her face, but she also couldn't help the bad feeling that came with the Italians. Pushing both aside she focused on making her way into her apartment despite her world spinning.

A/N:

Hey Guys,

I am so sorry but my schooling has been so busy lately that I barely made this upload. I promise that it will become more consistent soon. Also, what's Thomas planning? I'm actually so excited :P

- Annalee