mozzafiato ➝ peaky blinders

tredici

stratford-upon-avon

-

"What took so long, mio teroso?" Luca asked. 

Gianna stood in the doorway of the hotel suite. God, she has almost forgotten what her father had sent her out to do.

She had scoped out spots that Luca could possibly use to sneak into Tommy Shelby's office. She could share them easily enough.

But she had made a commitment. 

So, looking at her father in the eyes, she did what she arguably did best.

"I did my best. But it looks like you're going to have to find a way in yourself. Sorry," she lied easily.

The men muttered amongst themselves, and Luca tutted, rolling his eyes, sending a disapproving glance her way.

"Unbelievable," he grumbled.

But within seconds, they were discussing a new way to get Luca into the factory.

Gianna retreated to her room in the suite before anybody asked her any more questions. She felt her father's eyes follow her as she went.

*

Dressed in only a large white men's button down, embroidered with two black initials, Gianna perched by the open window, sighing in disappointment as she tried to blow a smoke ring and failed. She had been a smoker for at least three years, and she had never been able to master it. 

She was taking a risk by smoking in the next room to her father. But it gave her a buzz; doing it behind his back was one of the easier ways to quietly, privately defy him. The nicotine was a plus, too. 

Just as she rose the cigarette to her lips again, however, the door catch sounded. Gianna jolted and tossed the cigarette out of the window. It fell to the field below, sprinkling ashes as it went.

Her head snapped to the door, forcing herself to appear as if she had just been gazing out into the night sky. Her heart was pounding, to her surprise. Why was she so tense?

But as she saw who it was, her shoulders relaxed, her chest falling as she released a breath.

"You're lucky it's me. You can smell that from back home," her uncle said, shutting the door gently and advancing into the room.

"What would he do, anyway?" Gia replied lightly, tugging down the sleeves of her shirt (and pulling the collar up to cover the mottled blue and purple on her neck as subtly as she could). 

Nico noticed the movement; it brought his attention to the garment. Specifically, the initials stitched into the breast. Initials that were distinctly not her own - L.N. He frowned.

Then, his brow cleared as he realised. His eyes flickered towards hers, and she frowned at the sympathy in them.

"What?" she grumbled.

"Nothing. Nothing," Nico replied, moving to lean by the wall beside the window. 

He cleared his throat, and glanced out into the dark sky. Gia looked at him, and frowned. She had come to easily read her uncle's emotions after years of confiding in one another. At that moment, she read nerves. Guilt.